Front Royal, VA and other 'undiscovered' towns.

[redir]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

LOL, Harrisonburg is a big ol' city now compared to when I grew up in the area 40 years ago. Funny to see some of these comments about the area when I see so much growth and change from the Shenandoah Valley I grew up in. Guess it's all a matter of perspective.

Blacksburg has grown so much too. The UVA used to joke that all dirt roads end in Blacksburg like it was a podunk hick farming school but we turned around and showed them

In fact it was true for a while but then this guy named Frank Beamer came to town.

[Chris(NJ)]

I lived in West Monroe, LA and coming from NJ, it is easily one of the best places I've ever lived and that includes San Diego, Tucson/Phoenix, San Antonio and Brunswick GA. People are genuine and an absolute pleasure to be around. A lot of cycle-curious people in the area w/ a small group of road/gravel riders. They need some better shoulders on a few roads, but the main artery has big 6' shoulder and can get you to any side road or section that you need. And there is plenty of gravel to explore w/ limited vehicle traffic once you're off the major side roads exiting the 20.

[glepore]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

LOL, Harrisonburg is a big ol' city now compared to when I grew up in the area 40 years ago. Funny to see some of these comments about the area when I see so much growth and change from the Shenandoah Valley I grew up in. Guess it's all a matter of perspective.

Yeah. I grew up in Charlottesville, spent most of my adult life in Philly/Lehigh Valley, and returned here to retire. Shocking.

I had a really serious moto accident in 2010 and "gave up" motos, but after moving here, had to give it another go. The BRP is pretty much moto heaven-almost all of the curves are constant radius, the pavement impeccable, and its designed such that you don't need to go at breakneck speed to enjoy. Skyline is nice, but during the season the number of rv's and peepers going at camel pace make it less enjoyable.

On a bike, the Montebello climb loop (DB brewery -Montebello-BRP-down Reids ) is sublime as a once or twice a year challenge

[Spaghetti Legs]

glepore and I are fellow Charlottesvillians at the southern end of Skyline. It’s been a long time since I’ve actually been in Front Royal. A coupe of years ago, during that summer lull in Covid, I organized a credit card tour for a bunch of friends from around the country. I had planned on riding from Cville to DC via Front Royal and Harpers Ferry , but ended up a different route starting and finishing at my house. We only made it as far north as Great Meadows. At any rate, researching a stay in FR I found a nice beer garden and a hot tub centric B+B which was intriguing.

Anyway I love riding on Skyline, I used to buy an annual pass and now I have a free veterans pass, so even better! The few times the past couple of years that I’ve been on the northern half, I found the traffic a little heavier, presumably day trippers from DC. Weather IMO is a challenge as the summers are longer, hotter, more humid now but at least there’s the option of going up on the mountain to try to drop a few degrees.

[Baron Blubba]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

What part of NJ did you move from?

Sounds like a nice place to visit, but I dont know that I could live that far south.

I moved from the Ocean/Monmouth County area. 90 minutes south of NYC, 50 minutes east of PA, and 15-20 minutes from the ocean. My dad and I still have a bike shop in Howell (B3 Bikes), so during the spring, summer, and early fall I'm back up there helping out 4-5 days a week.
The town of Front Royal specifically is very very southern for a place that is so geographically northern. Oodles of Trump, guns, Jesus, Good Ol Boyism,
sexism, and Confederate flags.


@Louis the weather is much better than other places I've been in the NE-Mid Atlantic regions. The absolute coldest morning last year was 9 degrees. This year we had a cold snap of a few days in a row at those lows. But my typical winter morning rides are in the 20-40's. While some months are a little rainier than others, this area of VA is one of the driest.
If it gets hot and humid in the summer, just go up on the Skyline and ride the ridge. It's typically 10 degrees cooler and significantly less muggy up there.

@Redir, I've heard nice things about Blacksburg and look forward to checking it out sometime soon. Harrisonburg is fantastic. The city itself is definitely a city (albeit a small one), but ride your bike 3 miles from JMU and the downtown area and you're back in the middle of nowhere. The Jeremiah Bishop Alpine Loop Fondo starts and finishes in Harrisonburg, and there are some places on that route where there are less people living now than there were 200 years ago.

@Makoti, yes, Skyline Drive is known by many cyclists around the world, and the Skymass loop is well known to cyclists within a 100 mile radius. However, other than those roads, the play outdoors potential of the area remains obscure.

@WitcombUSA, I'm not complaining that there are not enough people here. I'm just surprised by the general absence of outdoorsy people here. Given the opportunities I mentioned in my original post, I thought before moving here that this place would be a mini Asheville, NC or outdoorsy Colorado town. Turns out, not so much.

[bigbill]

Before retiring last summer, I was a plant engineer for a company based out of Winchester. We would have our engineering conferences in Front Royal (Holiday Inn) so I spent some time in the area and it is spectacular. When my son was attending the Naval Academy, he was on the cycling team and they would do training rides from Front Royal. I'm glad it's still affordable, much of VA is not.

I live in NW Arizona which has a significant number of dirt and gravel roads. Many of the roads are better with a mountain bike, but there are still many opportunities to get off the pavement. Rt66 runs past my neighborhood and it has a great shoulder for road riding.

We summer in central Wyoming which has great road riding with nice roads. The state has money and they spend it on schools and roads. There are also endless miles of gravel roads on BLM land built and maintained by oil companies.

[Baron Blubba]

Originally Posted by Chris(NJ)

I lived in West Monroe, LA and coming from NJ, it is easily one of the best places I've ever lived and that includes San Diego, Tucson/Phoenix, San Antonio and Brunswick GA. People are genuine and an absolute pleasure to be around. A lot of cycle-curious people in the area w/ a small group of road/gravel riders. They need some better shoulders on a few roads, but the main artery has big 6' shoulder and can get you to any side road or section that you need. And there is plenty of gravel to explore w/ limited vehicle traffic once you're off the major side roads exiting the 20.

That red dirt looks great, and those pictures make me want to go ride my bike (preferably somewhere with great looking red dirt).

[Kirk007]

Originally Posted by redir

Blacksburg has grown so much too. The UVA used to joke that all dirt roads end in Blacksburg like it was a podunk hick farming school but we turned around and showed them

In fact it was true for a while but then this guy named Frank Beamer came to town.

Us Wahoos at UVA also used to chant at UVA-VT football games "If you can't go to college go to Tech." I mean, given the quality of UVA football in the late 70s we had to chant something ;-).

I'd like to visit Blacksburg. I still have a fondness for Charlottesville too. In general that whole region is beautiful, great riding from Shenendoah down to the Great Smokies and fun to explore.

[Kirk007]

Originally Posted by Baron Blubba

The town of Front Royal specifically is very very southern for a place that is so geographically northern. Oodles of Trump, guns, Jesus, Good Ol Boyism,
sexism, and Confederate flags.

I grew up in Northern Pa and attended UVA in Charlottesville (1976-80). It was quite a cultural shift.

I had never known that the war of northern aggression was still being fought, that I would have to learn to use y'all instead of you guys, and that conforming to the kahki pants, Izod shirt and Speery docksiders uniform was the easiest way to not get sideways glances from the southern girls and to be welcomed at frat parties where you could drink their beer without joining and going through the hazing process. All that said, I loved that part of the world then and still do believe it is one of the few places on the East coast that I would move back to (although I also recognize that C'ville is a little insulated and more purple than places like Front Royal).

[Baron Blubba]

Originally Posted by Kirk007

I grew up in Northern Pa and attended UVA in Charlottesville (1976-80). It was quite a cultural shift.

I had never known that the war of northern aggression was still being fought, that I would have to learn to use y'all instead of you guys, and that conforming to the kahki pants, Izod shirt and Speery docksiders uniform was the easiest way to not get sideways glances from the southern girls and to be welcomed at frat parties where you could drink their beer without joining and going through the hazing process. All that said, I loved that part of the world then and still do believe it is one of the few places on the East coast that I would move back to (although I also recognize that C'ville is a little insulated and more purple than places like Front Royal).

While there has been a recent large influx of severely Orthodox and decidedly un-Confederate folks in Front Royal, I think Charlottesville is decidedly more cosmopolitan and modern in mindset than the general population here. No one's wearing Izod and khaki here. It's old ripped jeans, baseball caps, and plaid (not hipster plaid, real plaid) over paint and grease stained T-shirts.

[Blue Jays]

Originally Posted by Baron Blubba

"…The town of Front Royal specifically is very very southern for a place that is so geographically northern.
Oodles of Trump, guns, Jesus, Good Ol Boyism, sexism, and Confederate flags…"

Superb technique to totally sidetrack an otherwise wonderful thread about a gorgeous area for pedaling bicycles.

[Baron Blubba]

Blue Jays, I was replying specifically to Angry Scientist's comment that he didn't think he could live this far south.

Also...if you look at the original post, you'll notice it was me who made this topic, partially to call attention to this beautiful area to pedal bikes, to hike, to paddle, to ride horses, etc.

I will clarify that the demographic that I referred to there is far from being the exclusive demographic in this town, but there is definitely an old fashioned deep-south vibe that permeates the area. Still, I live here and love living here, and have made many friends here.

[bigbill]

Originally Posted by Kirk007

Us Wahoos at UVA also used to chant at UVA-VT football games "If you can't go to college go to Tech." I mean, given the quality of UVA football in the late 70s we had to chant something ;-).

I'd like to visit Blacksburg. I still have a fondness for Charlottesville too. In general that whole region is beautiful, great riding from Shenendoah down to the Great Smokies and fun to explore.

My son is dating a recent UVA grad he met in Charlottesville. When he told me, my cyclist brain immediately thought, "there's good riding around there." My bike-focused cortex makes me check out shoulders and lane markings when I travel somewhere.

[jamesdak]

Still chuckling and enjoying these comments. Growing up in that area it never really dawned on me it was the south. It wasn't until I joined the Army and folks starting telling me I was supposed to be a redneck, racist, rebel that I really keyed in that it was the south. Salt of the earth people for sure and I do miss that aspect of being back there. I don't miss the humidity and just those memories are one reason I'm pretty sure I'll never return.

But having spent time in Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana that is the south to me and a bit of a culture shock from what I grew up with in VA.

It really does come down to a matter of perspective.

Our farm was basically that field north of the rest station as well as 40+ acres of the woodland to the left. I've still got 6 acres there, just in case.

[unterhausen]

A lot of the good riding in Virginia isn't going to have lane markers at all, just not enough traffic. Last time I rode past Harrisonburg, there was a disturbing amount of exurban sprawl, but you get past it fairly quickly. We visited Blacksburg some time back and the story is the same there. Which struck me as funny, because when I was a kid my parents couldn't get a loan for a house because it was too far out of town. That location is definitely in the town limits now.

I always thought the UVa bumper stickers were pretty funny. They do have a good medical school and a once-great English department.