Another motorcycle ride:

Richmond – Buena Vista – Blue Ridge Parkway – Montebello

September 12, 2009

Buena Vista up close

The trip to Buena Vista is a straight shot from Richmond on Rt. 60. On the way I pass over Long Mountain which has a nice wayside/picnic area at the top.  The temperature drops dramatically on the descent. I shiver on the next climb to the Blue Ridge Parkway and turn the heat on for the slow, tight turns down to BV.

The town is surrounded by mountains and is much more appealing from a distance. However, there is a restaurant called Captain Tim’s and is run by a captain named Tim. He serves fresh fish, Po Boys and other fishy stuff. He has his fishing connections that let him get fish to the mountains while they’re still flopping. Good t-shirts too.

Buena Vista from a distance

The Blue Ridge Parkway scenery is fantastic.

The standard view from the Blue Ridge Parkway

Harley riders are soooo tough

When I asked a fellow rider where she put the dogs while riding, she answered “Exactly where they are now.” She drove by later and  wasn’t kidding.

Montebello warning

The road to Montebello is a motorcyclist’s dream, a trucker’s nightmare.

They have a great sense of humor there

When I got downtown…

Downtown Montebello

I could smell burning brakes in the parking lot of the country store/gas station/volunteer fire department/post office/cafe.

Montebello's only visible house

The suburbs of Montebello.

From here it’s a tight twisty climb to the summit and a steep, blind curve descent past Crabtree Falls into the valley. Don’t look down. There is no shoulder or guardrail – not unless you call trees a guardrail – and you will die if you pull over.

Once in the valley I attempted a short cut on 699 to 680. This looked like it would save many miles on 151. But surprise: 699 was gravel, kinda like an old washboard. After about 100 yards I did a rooster tail turn and opted for pavement. When I passed the intersection of 680 and 151 it was still gravel. Hmmm.

151 passes through Wintergreen and imposes a 45 mph limit for what seems like 300 years. By this point I’m hungry and eat some peanut M&Ms while riding. My rule is that both hands stay on the bars over 55. Under that is OK to eat as long as the food can fit under my helmet. Kids, I’m just joking, don’t try this at home. Although really it’s less dangerous than riding with two dogs.

No more M&Ms when I turn onto Rt 6, the cutover to 29. The locals must like the escape from the ridiculously slow 151 because everyone is going about 70 in a 55 zone, still 2 lanes. On 29 the limit goes up to 60 (75) and once on 64 it gets up to highway speed (80+ and getting passed). Time to get home.

Route:

522 south

60 west to Buena Vista (Captain Tim’s is on the right as you enter town)

backtrack 3 miles to the Blue Ridge Parkway north

56 east to/through Montebello and past Crabtree Falls

151 north

6 east

29 north

64 east

Total distance: 285 miles

Nasty swamp

It’s fun to act silly occasionally, and that’s what the Henricus Dauber Dash is all about.  It’s a messy 5-mile race and obstacle course that passes through some of the nastiest swamps around. The race site proclaims, “This is not a race for walkers!” It’s also not for serious racers. The course conditions and crowds are handicaps that no one can avoid. Yet runners flock to the Dash, which closes registration at 1,500 racers.

The 2009 course followed the Citie of Henricus Park lagoon trail, detouring for about ten obstacles. They included several up-and-over hay bale walls, barbed wire crawls (they used string instead, much friendlier), rope-assisted muddy hill climbs, slogs through shoe-sucking marshes with 90+ degree water, and a final wire crawl through a pool of deep mud at the finish.

Someone managed to keep a camera lens clean and posted a Dauber Dash mud run video on YouTube. If you pause at 0:12 you will see me running closest to the camera in the still-clean lavender t-shirt. Slide 8 in this collection was taken after about 1/2 mile and captures me at the front where I’m second from the left, shirt still dry. It didn’t stay clean or dry for long. And it didn’t make it home. The registration site encourages you to wear clothes and shoes you can throw away, and we took their advice.

Enjoy the video highlights and the photos. If this looks like your kind of race, you can sign up for the 2010 race here. It’s sponsored by the Richmond Sports Backers. I’ll be cheering for you!