A Rough Cut of Part 1- A clamor from the Virginia backwoods

I left the farm country and a group of head shakers in Ottobine. SR742 became 933. The going got good at 225 Union Springs and the snow met me at 85/ 85A. This was a trickle of a dirt road that met a strip of pavement at an out look for the Shenandoah Mountain. Back to dirt it met the 95 at the Little River.  That Junction was the start of a fantastic, long squiggle of Shenanadoah Trail. This borders the Ramsey Draft wilderness and divides Highland and Augusta Countys. Bikes are not legal in the wilderness area so I was advised to "ride on right side of the trail".   

   I met a friendly dude named Ben running up the Road Hollow trail.  Hwy 250 and some coffee at the Market in West Agusta. Down Paved 629 towards Deerfield. I overshot the turn I wanted (173 Benson Rd.) and ended up taking 399 toward Wallace Peak. This route should be avoided unless you happen to carry a chainsaw and stilts. But it eventually got me back up to the ridge and down trail 447 past the Sister Knobs. A Ralph on SR627 Scotchtown Draft a Louie on paved SR625, eventually leading off on SR624-> SR609.  Swing left at the Bath Alum windsock on a nip of hwy39 and turn onto SR629. This is where I was spared the "stumble-a-bike" of Little Mare trail and breezed the rideable route into Douthat State park. As the name Suggests you should really "Do that". Beards gap got me to Stoney run  up to Middle Mountain Trail. I hit Clfton Forge for supplies, a Pizza feast and a stay at The Red Lantern Inn.  Back up the SR606 and south onto the Fore MTn Trail. A stupid fun Decent plopped me onto a frontage road of the I-64. At Low Moore I turned onto SR616 then 621. This was a scribbly rorschach of roads and I ended up missing a turn somewhere and got stuck on the West side of the Patterson range. Craig creek outlines the bottom of this ripple and several dirt roads frustratingly end at the river. Not wanting to retrace my tracks back up in a cold drizzle I stayed on SR615 into Newcastle. Off the 311 I turned back up 618 and took a right on 224 Wildlife Rd. Flopping back out on the 311- I dog-legged onto SR621 and pushed up for a stay at  The Pickles branch shelter on the AT. This was the end of map 2 of 4. So we will call that part 1.