The inaugural Big Mountain Riding adventure – Whetstone Ridge Trail, VA
The inaugural bigmountainriding.com adventure shelled out a lot of what makes Big Mountain Riding so challenging, exciting and yes, dangerous at times. I selected the Whetstone Ridge Trail in Virginia’s Nelson and Rockbridge counties. I picked a doozy of a day for it. Highs in the low 40’s, snow flurries at higher elevations. And the weatherman had it right this time too. Snow flurries throughout the day on this longer-than planned ride.
Signpost listing distance of the Singletrack part of the ride (from the south)
The ride I had planned out using a USGS map of the area was a 20+ mile loop from the Whetstone Ridge Restaurant on the Blue Ridge Parkway, featuring a long ridge ride on singletrack and then a prolonged climb back on a mixed surface county road. I had not done the ride before, but I had the time and the experience with long distance riding in less than ideal conditions. Donning the cold-weather gear, I packed away a lot of backcountry equipment as well. These are items that go along on all back country expeditions, solo or group rides. 100-oz water pack, first aid kit with emergency blanket and water purification tablets, compass and map, more food than I think I’ll need. I also wore my crash pads (more later on the irony of that). Fortunately, I also carried my cell phone, although I didn’t think I’d have service for most of the ride. Read more…
