Four GCC members headed to the "rolling hills" of Virginia on June 18 to participate in Bike Virginia. The five day ride began in Bristol and ended in Floyd, covering about 50 miles a day; that's 25 miles uphill and 25 miles downhill without a single foot of flatland. Club members Bill Cochran, Jere Steele, Dave Wagner, and Perry McGriff, all of whom normally tour at about 18 mph, found themselves going as slow as 6 mph on some of the climbs and hovering around 40 mph on downhills extending for 7 miles.
Small towns along the way competed for the contract to serve the riders as rest stops. Each provided not only food but personal character; highwaymen shooting blanks from horseback at incoming riders, steam trains to visit closed mining facilities, Arabian horse exhibitions, the home drugstore of Dr. Pepper, and many, many more.
Nights were spent in tent cities consisting of over 1000 tents tight-packed on high school football fields while amenities such as swimming, massages and meals were available at or near each site. Each evening entertainment was provided in the form of live music, dancers, local festivals or special theater; usually free but sometimes at an additional cost.
"There was no real way to prepare for the Virginia mountains while living in Gainesville. Dungarvin, 39th Ave and 8th Ave all offer some form of challenge but don't even begin to compare to a four mile climb never less than 8 percent," said Jere, whose training included 140 miles per week for two months preceding the trip. "But the RUSH we experienced on the down hills was phenomenal and made every second of the climbs worth it." A couple of the guys are planning to install a third chainring and head out again next year. Cost was $125 and well worth every penny.