Unicycle Skyline Drive - Shenandoah National Park, VA

[siafirede]

Thought I would make a post to see if there would be any interest or future interest in this ride:

I think it would be cool to complete the skyline drive on a unicycle (shenandoah national park, VA). I have always wanted to do this, but never got around to it. Skyline Drive is a 105 mile road that goes through shenandoah and it is curvy and has rolling hills (probably a lot like nova scotia will have).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyline_Drive

Four options for skyline drive are:
1) completing the 105 miles in one day (this would be very very tough considering the elevation profile)
2) bringing a backpack and packing a lightweight sleeping bag and bivvy sack and doing about 60 miles the first day and then sleeping in a 3 walled wooden shelter that are found in the park.
3) cheating and having my sister act as a support driver so we wouldn't have to carry a sleeping bag or food during the ride.(probably the safest bet) This way, we would still camp out in between riding days.
4) same as #3 but maybe staying in a motel or lodge somewhere halfway.

#2 or #3 would definitely make for a fun adventure, and I could probably get a friend or two to join on a bike.

My sister just moved out down to Fishersville VA which is close to Shenandoah, and another unicyclist, Phil(PDC) lives out near some part of the park as well. My guess is that I could stir up some interest in the ride and make it happen. The sooner the better since it is getting colder outside.

The plan would be to go in on the North entrance and come out the South entrance on Skyline Drive. I would probably drive down from the DC area and park somewhere by the north entrance, and then have my sister or someone else pick us up at the south end of the park.

Anyway, this is all tentative(I am sort of just looking into it now), but it would definitely be fun and good training for Ride The Lobster. I would need some time to plan and look into where on the map the free shelters and the lodges are and some time to secure my sister as support.

Possible unicyclists that I can think of that might be interested(let me know):
me, Nick (MD), Frank from Richmond, Phil from central VA, and maybe other riders(PA, NC, etc) if I get interest.

other riders:
possibly my friend on a bike.

support:
my sister

I am going to look into this, and see what weekend would work best. It would probably be too short notice to have people come down this weekend, so possible weekends would be: oct 27th-28th, Nov 3rd-4th, Nov 10th-11th, or ...later? The weather is perfect right now so the sooner the better. Also, things to consider...if instead of riding on sat/sun, we did fri/sat or sun/mon, there would be a lot less traffic to deal with on the ride, this is harder to do though since people would have to take off work.

For those that are interested:

What weekend would work best for you, and what option would you prefer? Also, could you take off a Friday or Monday sometime (to cut down on traffic on Skyline Drive).

Also: If you are interested, but don't think you will be able to complete the full distance let me know as well. Things might be able to be worked out to accommodate this.

[siafirede]

Another link I found with mile by mile info/pics:
http://www.milebymile.com/main/Unite...el_guides.html

[U-Turn]

I've driven that; it's a nice drive.

You might not need a bivy if you are doing the lean-tos. I don't know what's available (the AT goes through there too).

You should easily be able to keep your pack weight way down. You could bring no-cook food. I vote for #2!

[hell-on-wheel]

If I can make one of those weekends work, then I'm definitely down for it. I've been taking the coker to work lately, just a 7 mile round trip, but it's a pretty hilly commute. When I did the C&O towpath, I wrapped a little one person tent around my sleeping bag and strapped it under the seat, some pictures here.
Once you got used to the weight distribution, it wasn't much of a burden. Course, the C&O was flat, so that probably made a difference. But if your sister is willing to be support, that would be cool. #2 or #3 is fine with me.

Unless I ask off, I just get two random days off each week (not necessarily the weekend), so it doesn't really matter what particular days I ride, but the first week in November would work best so I can give enough notice.

[SqueakyOnion]

I go to college in Texas, but I'll be coming home to PA in in early December. If you don't get the trip together until then, I'm definitely in. The cold doesn't bother me

It's too bad I'm not still at Shenandoah University in Winchester. Woulda been perfect.

[rem48]

I would like to join in (am in NC) but too short of a notice. Can you take a uni on the AT?

[hell-on-wheel]

Nope, except for a very short section around Harper's Ferry, WV, cycles aren't allowed on the AT, and probably for the better.

[siafirede]

Originally Posted by hell-on-wheel

If I can make one of those weekends work, then I'm definitely down for it. I've been taking the coker to work lately, just a 7 mile round trip, but it's a pretty hilly commute. When I did the C&O towpath, I wrapped a little one person tent around my sleeping bag and strapped it under the seat, some pictures here.
Once you got used to the weight distribution, it wasn't much of a burden. Course, the C&O was flat, so that probably made a difference. But if your sister is willing to be support, that would be cool. #2 or #3 is fine with me.

Unless I ask off, I just get two random days off each week (not necessarily the weekend), so it doesn't really matter what particular days I ride, but the first week in November would work best so I can give enough notice.

Cool, yeah that first week in November could work. I can probably take off a Friday or a Monday depending on how much work I have, but otherwise I am free on Sat and Sun for sure. I will wait and see if anyone else would be interested and what their schedules are like, then I will finalize the days with my sister and friends (if they want to bike with us).

Yeah, a lightweight sleeping bag shouldn't be too heavy, and if we stay in the basic shelters for free we wouldn't need a tent. They also have fire pits there so we can have a fire at night.

[spokes]

Don't forget to stop off at the Luray Caverns. Cool place to visit.

[sutton629]

Rem48....
i live in nc also and would love to ride part of the parkway. I live in boone and would be more than happy to make a ride here in nc if we can get enough people.

[siafirede]

Pretty sure I am going to shoot for the first weekend in November (sat/sun). My sister said she can definitely drive whomever back to the north entrance after we finish up on Sunday. She is unsure about camping with us and carrying supplies though, I will know that later. Also, my friend Zach definitely wants to join on his bike.

Frank - I will give you a call in the next few days if I finalize this and plan it out.

If anyone else wants to join in, let me know shortly. Hopefully this will be going on Nov. 3rd and 4th and will definitely count as a Ride The Lobster qualifying event for those interested in that as well.

[siafirede]

First day of riding looks like it will be at least over 50 miles of riding and at least 5501ft of climbing. Should be fun!

[hell-on-wheel]

Sorry man, I couldn't get off next weekend, some else already asked off. Sucks though, I really wanted to go.

[joshben]

hey, James, and everyone else,

Some of my friends are thinking of doing a weekend tour on Skyline Dr. Do you have any ideas weather it would be likely for a cokerer to be able to keep up with bicyclists? We would all be carrying a light camping load, but all are pretty fit cyclists.

The idea right now is that we'd park some cars in Front Royal, then carpool down to the Loft Mtn. campground @mile 80. We'd ride 30 miles north to Big Meadows, camp there, and then ride 50 more miles to Front Royal. In terms of mileage, it seems like it should be totally doable on a 36er. I know that there's a lot of climbing, and probably more importantly, a lot of descending. I know i won't be able to keep up on the descents by any means. To make things harder. i'm pretty sure they'll all be riding geared bikes. Is it possible in general, to beat them on the uphills, (hopefully enough to even it out overall)? If i have a brake, do you think 125's would be a good crank choice?

I realize that a lot of these questions depend quite a bit on me, and on te people i'm riding with, and i should probably juist go for a hilly ride with them to figure out some of them.

Also, if/when this happens, would anyone else be interested in joining us?

[siafirede]

Originally Posted by joshben

hey, James, and everyone else,

Some of my friends are thinking of doing a weekend tour on Skyline Dr. Do you have any ideas weather it would be likely for a cokerer to be able to keep up with bicyclists? We would all be carrying a light camping load, but all are pretty fit cyclists.

The idea right now is that we'd park some cars in Front Royal, then carpool down to the Loft Mtn. campground @mile 80. We'd ride 30 miles north to Big Meadows, camp there, and then ride 50 more miles to Front Royal. In terms of mileage, it seems like it should be totally doable on a 36er. I know that there's a lot of climbing, and probably more importantly, a lot of descending. I know i won't be able to keep up on the descents by any means. To make things harder. i'm pretty sure they'll all be riding geared bikes. Is it possible in general, to beat them on the uphills, (hopefully enough to even it out overall)? If i have a brake, do you think 125's would be a good crank choice?

I realize that a lot of these questions depend quite a bit on me, and on te people i'm riding with, and i should probably juist go for a hilly ride with them to figure out some of them.

Also, if/when this happens, would anyone else be interested in joining us?

I would use 140mm cranks, but if you don't have those, 150s are going to be a better choice for you. I used 125s for some sections of Skyline drive and they were pretty nice, but for that first 15 miles out of Front Royal...125s are not going to feel great unless you have a lot of experience climbing steep roads with 125s. As far as beating the bikes uphill...it is possible, I went faster than my friend, but he didn't have a road bike and wasn't experienced. I was going faster than one other bike on an uphill, but as you said, they will blow past you in the decline. It won't even out, the bikes (if they are experienced cyclists) will be much faster than you, but 30 miles sounds like it is doable on the first day. You will probably be dead after 30 miles of skyline drive with camping gear on a coker though. The next day sounds rough.

A Brake is very important to have on this ride. I did my first ride (~30 mi) at Skyline without one, and every downhill I was wishing I had one.

This trip sounds fun, but I will probably not join. I am staying away from riding with extra weight on my back and doing long distances for now (still paranoid about my knee injury).