Smoke pours from the Virginian Markette in Troutville. Photo by Pam Stump.

US Bike Route 76, the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, has lost a bicycle friendly establishment. The Virginian Markette is recognized by the Virginia Bicycling Federation as bicycling friendly because of its speedy biscuit breakfast, large servings of Hersey’s ice cream, inviting picnic tables under cover, and a bathroom. Located on US Route 11, the store is between Buchanan and Troutville. Cyclists froom Roanoke regularly frequent the Markette as a destination.

The owners say they are insured and plan to rebuild. Read the story in the Roanoke Times.

As any touring cyclist can tell you, finding a place to pitch your tent is often the issue that drives your daily ride.  The distance between camping facilities may mean a forty mile day, or it may mean a hundred.  Finding  a safe place to camp is a major daily blessing — or curse.

There never seems to be enough places to camp along the Parkway.   With the constant climbing along the crest of the Blue Ridge, campsites always seem to be spread out farther than a rider would like.

Located at milepost 120, the Roanoke Mountain Campground has, for years, offered a respite to the tired cyclist.  In an area that has become more urbanized each year, camping options are scarce; and riding into Roanoke to find a hotel room can be treacherous on the busy urban roads.

The National Park Service is considering closing this camping facility, unless they receive input from citizens requesting it stay open.

The VBF recommends that that the Roanoke Mountain campground be maintained (option A) or upgraded (option C).

Please take a moment to ask that we not lose this facility, which is an oasis to cyclists and hikers.

Post your  comments at the NPS website or visit the ROANOKEOUTSIDE.COM blog and  ask  to keep the campground open.

Job Losses Plaguing Southwest VA – Trails Can Help

The Richmond Times Dispatch recently featured a series of articles on declining communities across Virginia.  The August, 14 edition featured Southwest Virginia, former home of booming coal and textile industries.  Many of these industries have closed, and locals are desperate to find work.

A number of hiking and cycling trails, including the Appalachian Trail, Virginia Creeper Trail, US Bike Route 76 and New River Trail pass through Southwest Virginia, bringing tourism dollars and desperately needed jobs to these communities. 

Trails like the A.T. and Creeper have become economic engines for small towns like Damascus, where work in traditional industries is hard to come by.  This type of tourism is so vital to  Damascus, it bills itself as “Trail Town, USA”.

In the Times-Dispatch article, one resident, Tony Blair, who returned to Pulaski, summed up the situation and stated the benefits of these types of trails quite well:

Blair, 65, was born and raised in Southwest Virginia before leaving to embark on a career as a geologist. He recently returned to take care of his ailing mother in Pulaski County and can’t find work.

“It’s a beautiful area, but it’s a really tough place. The textile industry has really gone down. It’s that and geography,” he said, adding that having to blast a road through the mountains is less desirable than building them in flatlands. “And maybe the image, too — that we’re all hillbillies.”

Blair added that one thing that Pulaski, and all of the Southwest, has to build on is its natural beauty, pointing to the New River Trail State Park – which meanders 57 miles through four counties along an abandoned railroad right-of-way — as a prime example.

“One of our best assets is the trail, because it’s kind of hard to move a trail to China,” he said.

Tony Barrett & Barbara Duerk

Tony Barrett, Maine board member for the East Coast Greenway, attended the Appalachian Trail meeting July 2011. Barrett cycled the Trans America Bicycle Trail end to end. In recognition for cycling the 570 miles of Interstate Bicycle Route 76 in Virginia, Virginia Bicycling Federation’s representative Barbara Duerk presents Tony with the Trans America Bicycle Trail pin.

The Virginia Bicycling Federation awards a commemorative pin to cyclists who have ridden all 570 miles of US Bicycle Route 76 in Virginia. If you or anyone you know would like to receive a pin for this achievement, please contact us.

We’re a little late in posting this, but better late than never! Slideshow courtesy of Joe Morgan, who also did a great job documenting route issues along Bike 76; and jazz musician Bob Peckman, who came along this year and last. We’ll have the 2011 slideshow posted soon.

From an Adventure Cycling Association press release:

The first new official routes in almost 30 years herald growing momentum for U.S. Bicycle Route System

Missoula, Montana — Adventure Cycling Association and the American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) today announced that AASHTO’s Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering has approved six new U.S. Bicycle Routes (USBR): USBR 1 in Maine and New Hampshire, USBR 20 in Michigan, and USBR 8, 95, 97, and 87 in Alaska — the first official U.S. Bicycle Routes to be established since 1982.

There are no Virginia routes on this list, but there could be. We’re working to identify new corridors. (Expect an announcement soon.)

Mostly we’ve been working to improve USBR 76 and USBR 1, in partnership with VDOT, AASHTO, and Adventure Cycling:

The Virginia DOT has been working over the past year to update their U.S. Bicycle Routes, submitting two applications for realignment in the fall of 2010. This spring, they updated sections of USBR 1 and USBR 76, and last week, AASHTO’s Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering also approved these realignments.

“We are taking advantage of emerging bicycle infrastructure as it becomes available, and making adjustments out of necessity in order to provide safer alternatives,” said Liz McAdory, policy and planning specialist for the DOT. “We are also working with our districts to continue to sign our existing two U.S. Bicycle Routes — 1 and 76. Our department has a long-standing working relationship with bicycle advocates, especially the Virginia Bicycling Federation. Through this partnership, we’ve been able to identify necessary changes and update the routes, and will continue to do so.” USBR 76 is also known as the TransAmerica Trail, the first mapped cross-continental cycling route in the U.S., produced by Adventure Cycling in 1976.

Last year, our Cross-State Riders carefully documented all 570 miles of USBR 76 in Virginia, from the Kentucky border to Yorktown. This year they’re doing it from the other direction. Proposed route changes and updates were drawn from our riders’ observations. We’re planning to do the same next year, with USBR 1.

To help us continue this work, please donate $10, or more, to the US Bicycle Route System fundraising campaign.

Donate $10 today!

Our 2011 US Bicycle Routes fundraiser has ended, with $330 raised by Team Virginia. Thanks to Mark Blacknell, Matt Camp, Terry Dorn, Arman Esraghi, Daniel Widner, Marshal Lefleor & 3 anonymous donors. Over $30,000 was raised in total by Adventure Cycling Association, which will go a long way toward establishing official US Bicycle Routes. Read the campaign summary and press release.

During National Bike Month in May, the Virginia Bicycling Federation is helping the Adventure Cycling Association to raise money to support the creation of an official U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS). Recognition by AASHTO, federal and state governments, and having the routes numbered, signed, and mapped, would further legitimize bicycling, and help promote bicycle-oriented tourism. With 570 miles of Bike 76 in Virginia, as well as USBR 1, this is important for cyclists, and for our economy.

Right now, members of the Virginia Bicycling Federation are on our annual Cross-State Ride, to raise awareness of cyclists on our highways, to promote Bike 76 and USBR 1, and document any issues with signage and safety. We encourage anyone to ride along as we pass through your area. But if you can’t, you can still help by donating just $10, or more, to the cause. Please click this button…

…or use the widget at the top right of our website.

Even better, embed the widget in your own website! Then ask your bike club members and others to donate.

20% of proceeds will go to the Virginia Bicycling Federation, to help us continue our work as the coordinators of US Bicycle Routes in Virginia. We’re the ones who go out on the road to document issues with routing, signage, and safety; and work with Adventure Cycling and VDOT for improvement.

Any help you can give us is appreciated!

Please email this to your lists, and share it on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colonial Parkway will be closed to motor vehicles between Williamsburg and Jamestown on Saturday, May 7 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the 15th annual Pedal the Parkway event.

This year’s family-friendly event will feature a bike rodeo and helmet giveaways for youngsters. 

Rest stops at Archer’s Hope and the Jamestown Information Station at Neck of Land will offer refreshments.

Limited parking is available at Jamestown Settlement history museum and the Williamsburg Winery.  The event is free and open to the public.  It  will take place rain or shine.

For details, visit the Williamsburg Area Bicyclists  site.

The Virginia Bicycling Federation advocates for bicycle accommodations; promotes tourism and carries the Governor’s Bike Month Proclamation across state. The Virginia Bicycling Federation’s annual Cross State Ride celebrates the 570 miles of the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, US Bike Route 76, located in Virginia. Adventure Cycling Association’s mapped route is signed in Virginia. Cyclists are asked to sign Cross State Ride registration book located at the Yorktown Colonial National Historical Park. Other registration books are located in the Mineral fire station’s break room, Lexington Visitor’s Center and Breaks Interstate Park camping office. If you ride all of the 570 miles you can fill out a ride completion form to receive a free Virginia Bike 76 pin.

Biking Bis, a bicycle touring blog, has a neat article about US Bicycle Routes in Virginia, and plans for new routes in Virginia and other states. VDOT bike coordinator Jakob Helmboldt talks about these new routes, and Virginia’s new state bike plan. Check it out.