Ninety-degree weather in a car with no air conditioner, and not drinking much along the way to Roanoke is how it all started.  It took nine hours to get to the Roanoke Adventure store. I found parking around the corner at a state park. When I arrived, only a few people were already waiting. Paul – our paths crossed again at about mile 180. He said: ‘look at that!’ when he saw me unpacking my seat bag on a side of a gravel road, to retrieve my pump. My back tire was low on air and I noticed a small tear on the side wall. Of course, it got me worried, but the tire held till the end. He was looking for a place to camp. He informed me matter of factly that he hates to ride with a headlamp.

Stephanie – she signed up for the 166-mile paved route. She came down to ring a bell for me 26 miles before the finish. I thought it was very sweet of her.   

Emily – she aimed for the FKT on the gravel route, and shared with us that she had 23 gels and almond butter packets for nutrition during her ride. She was riding through with no sleep. She finished in 26 hours (very impressive), however didn’t break the record. The rain was most likely responsible for it. I hope she can do it next year.

Christina – she was riding gravel in four days with her husband and friends.  

There were more people: Kevin, Gregg, Ed, Jacob, Mike and the names that I forgot and crossed paths with on the route. Of course, Chris and Justin (my friends from CT).

A total of thirteen people were accommodated on the shuttle to Harrisonburg. We were dropped off by the Ice House building. We found our way to Ruby’s (local brewery) to just sit and talk about goals and bikes. It was pretty interesting.

Greg approached me there to talk about the TATR race. I rode it in 2021, and he did in 2022. He also knew that I did it on a fat bike. ‘The world is so small’.

It was dark when I headed to my Airbnb room. I had problems finding it, but finally I did. It appeared to be a very nice room. I repacked my seat bag as it was hanging lower for some reason than originally planned. Although, the setting was great I had problems falling asleep.

In the morning I stopped at Seven Eleven to grab a sandwich and two bananas. I had a chance to chat with some people there. They were asking me questions about my loaded bike and my travel plans.

It took me 20 minutes to get to the start of the ride at Black Sheep Café. I could sense the excited atmosphere among the riders. Some of them were standing in line to get their breakfast, others just walked around. The organizer’s wife was checking participants in on her phone camera. Everyone was stating their name, route, and showing off his/her bike. And finally, at 7am, we started riding. I was taking my time, and I think I rolled out as one of the last participants.

We started on bike path and then diverged into a twisty singletrack, which led to beautiful country roads and long climbing gravel section. We were heading to Reddish Knob trail (very technical, steep section).

It started raining but soon stopped. We crossed a stream and continued climbing. I took my rain gear off, to put it on again later, as it started raining once more. Everyone I saw was pushing their bikes up the gnarly ascent. The climb seemed to never end.

The descent was even harder than the ascent. The rain made it very slippery. I got a stick stuck in my derailleur, which almost broke it and ended my adventure right there. I was very lucky that it didn’t.

After the gnarly section we started riding down on very beautiful double track.

The views were outstanding. Then we climbed on paved road to the top of Reddish Knob. The view from there was even grander.

The route down on uneven gravel was rather freezing. The rain soaked my gloves. I got a thick stick in my wheel and broke my spoke, and bent another. Someone suggested I should zip-tie it to another spoke instead of leaving it to hang and possibly get into my derailleur. ‘Very good idea!’

The ride from here was very easy now and soon we arrived at the first resupply point -Mountainview Store. I ordered a hamburger and fries. And bought too much water, which I ended up carrying in my bag.

Chris and Justin headed to the camp where they were staying, and I continued on the route. I was asked how long I’m planning to ride that day, but I always replied: ‘I’ll see how I feel’.

There was one more big climb. The paved section of it was steep but rideable. The washed-out double track was not so much (at least I decided that I won’t waste my energy on climbing it) and I just pushed my bike.

After that, the trail was blocked on occasion by fallen trees, but the climbing wasn’t as bad, and I enjoyed the rolling hills on forest double track and steep downhill singletrack. I think that was my favorite part of the whole route.

I proceeded on the downs carefully, as I picked up a lot of sticks, and was afraid I might break my wheel farther or possibly the derailleur.

Around 7pm, I was passing a farm and saw a rider sitting by a mailbox. I inquired on what happened. He got a flat on one of the downhills and bent his rim trying to change it. The rim kept puncturing his tube. He was waiting for his wife to pick him up. I stopped few yards farther and dressed and prepared for night riding. My feet were soaked, and I put warmers into my shoes to keep them warm. I rode in the dark for a while. I stopped once to rest but I was too cold. It motivated me to keeping riding. The climbs seemed more exhausting at this point and took much longer. I was chewing on my hard candy and tried to look for a place to camp. I crashed into a deep washout in the gravel. The fall made a hole in my pants and scratched my knee. Neither I, or my bike sustained any serious injury however, and I proceeded.  I saw some riders to be camping at parking spots along the road. I was looking for my own space, not wanting to impose. Finally, after reaching mile 93, I saw a camper trailer. I believed it would protect me from the wind, and I decided to setup my bivvy bag between the camper and wooden parking boundary. I ate one of my peanut butter sandwiches that I packed the night before.  It was cold and I discovered that my foot warmers were not working, probably because of the wetness. I changed into warm dry socks and dived into my sack. It was cold and uncomfortable to be laying on the ground. I must have fallen asleep, as I was surprised by a truck driving into spot next to the camper, and flashlights directed at my face. They were hunters and the trailer belonged to them. They were trying to figure out if I was ok, as they saw someone laying on the ground. I assured them that I was, and that I will be gone soon. They said they are going hunting and in my sleepiness I asked if they hunted at night. They laughed and remarked that it will be daylight soon. I looked at my watch. It was five o’clock. My whoop app showed I slept one hour (hey, better than nothing). I mixed my greens but couldn’t drink them. The mixture was way too cold. I decided I better warm up first before drinking it.

I had every possible layer of clothing on me but I was still freezing. I started moving though and slowly took of the layers. I warmed up enough to drink my greens and eat another of my peanut butter sandwiches. The mist over the fields created a beautiful blanket. I hanged my socks from the previous day on the handlebars to dry.

At mile 142, I reached a store. I ordered a hamburger, fries and a big salad. Of course, my eyes were hungrier than my stomach and I couldn’t finish the salad. I threw it in a Ziplock bag. I knew this would be a treat when I was hungry again soon. I also bought two cheese and berries rolls, and M&Ms.

Right after leaving the store a huge, paved climb appeared. And past that climb much easier riding. It was flatter and the sun seemed to spread its warm rays everywhere.

I decided to lay down on the side of a gravel road and take a nap. The sun felt amazing, and I didn’t want to move again. This half an hour nap was totally rejuvenating but leaving me feeling too relaxed. I couldn’t give in to this feeling. The rough gravel road turned into rolling terrain with many stream crossings. I continued on until the world was consumed by darkness.

I pushed my bike up a very steep paved road and zigzagged down from the top. What a ride! My hands hurt from holding the brakes as the turns were very sharp. I continued till I got into colder and windier air pocket. I didn’t want to camp there. I was tired though and that’s when the M&Ms came to the rescue. They instantly lifted me up and I continued to ride for a little bit longer, as to at least find myself somewhere warmer. I think I reached about 110 miles point that day, before I found close to a perfect spot, and built a shelter to crash for four hours. I slept like a baby.  I didn’t even mind the hard ground beneath me.

I woke up in good spirits, but my rear seat bag decided to give me some trouble. I adjusted and adjusted it, but it kept rubbing my tire. I was really aggravated by it. I finally, stopped on the greenway, the last time, and attempted to repack it differently. Finally! It seemed to improve. I made it up on the single track to the Roanoke Star and felt a little nostalgic. I really didn’t want this adventure to end just yet. The atmosphere of the race, the participants, the views, the smells of the trails were going to dissipate from my memory soon. And I didn’t want that. The route was challenging, but not the most challenging. The beauty of the region, however, was imprinted on my soul now. I made the decision at this moment that I must come back next year.

I rolled in the direction of the Texas Tavern to take a picture of my bike and post it on the event Facebook page, altogether with my finish time. I was done and celebrated with a hamburger, hotdog and chili. It was a marvelous adventure.

Later, I found out I made it into the Hall of Fame as women’s third place.

Read More:

• June 2024
• May 2024
• December 2023
• November 2023
• October 2023
• August 2023
• July 2023
• June 2023
• May 2023

Event Link:

RockStar Challenge 2023