Look – let’s be honest. When people talk about riding gravel in Virginia, they can mean a bunch of things based on their location. Loudon county riders get to experience almost road bike grade couch gravel, rolling light ribbons through neatly mowed horse pastures and big stable country.
Head to Richmond – where gravel means the short section of unpaved park access road from Belle Isle to the Nickel bridge, spaghetti networks of mellow singletrack found in most parks, and faint squiggles of animal trail promoted as “a new cut.”
The more west in the state you go, the closer to the mountains, and the closer to big rocks. Gravel can mean anything there – from rutted, muddy jeep road with large embedded rocks in the surface, to normal looking unpaved road with 1-2″ chunks of rock as gravel. West starts to mean elevation – and often hike a bike if segments are too steep for traction, or wildly rutted and rocky.
Its nice to find a middle ground – and that’s where Central Virginia riding comes in. From fine crushed gravel rail-trail to rooty, fun singletrack – it has it all. Expect rolling elevation that stays below the golden ratio, but still leaves you feeling it. Like all rural riding, you will experience loose dogs, cool farm animals, great convenient stores that operate like little grocery stops or lunch spots, creek crossings, and more.
Way back in 2020, I started riding in the region quite a bit, enamored with the State Forests, State Parks with swimming lakes, and quiet connections. I made a big route that connected things I found important, like safe places to sleep, good convenient stores, reliable parking for a car drop – and more.
This summer I’m inviting you to give it a whirl – come ride the whole thing, a part of it, half of it – whatever you want. Using Farmville as your main start/stop makes for easy parking and access to a bike shop, coffee shop, and plentiful food options. I’m hosting a small fundraiser for Bikepacking Roots, an organization that works to expand the future of Bikepacking through public land advocacy, route stewardship, and community strengthening. Make a donation that fits your budget if you believe in those things, join me at camp, and I’ll tell you more about the work they do. That blanket statement above doesn’t begin to cover the scope and depth of where they reach.
I’ve booked a primitive group campsite at Bear Creek Lake State Park for Saturday August 15th, and will be there at camp to welcome you in and offer you a place to sleep for the night. No camp adjacent water and electric, but you can ride or walk to nearby spigots or the bathhouse to use it. I’m happy to hold reasonable camp hours and grill some veggie dawgs, and pack a cooler with shareable vegetarian sides. Quiet hour is 10pm onward, so please be respectful of other campers on site.
SPACE IS LIMITED! I can only house a certain number of campers, so you gotta let me know if you’ll be coming. If you don’t reach out but plan to camp, I can’t guarantee you that there will be space. As per park rules, we are also limited to the number of cars on site – starting and stopping in Farmville at the public lot is strongly encouraged, just like carpooling.
MTNCAT100 