Robinson Gap: Rockbridge & Amherst County, Va.

Up and over the Blue Ridge.  Here's one of the many retaining walls that support the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Appalachian Trail, still covered in snow.

With just a little snow left on the ground at home and the sun shining brightly I headed out on the road bike looking for some gravel climbing.

By far my favorite way to access the Blue Ridge Parkway, Robinson Gap Road offers a scenic climb with almost no traffic.  I encountered exactly two cars today as I traveled there and back on this eight-mile stretch of gravel.

Best of all, the road goes through national forest land with a number of forest service roads that offer more challenging gravel climbs.  I had intended to make a loop today by using the forest service roads, but they were still thoroughly impassable for a road bike.  I was glad to see, however, that the snow hasn't stopped hikers from trudging along on the Appalachian Trail.

Beware of logging trucks heading down the mountain.

Much of the snow from our recent snowpocalypse was still hanging around in the mountains despite warmer weather that melted most of the snow in the valley below

So since the BRP was closed and the forest service roads were snowed over, I decided to head back the way I came. 

The gravel was in good shape coming up the mountain from the west, but once I crossed over over the crest of the ridge, I found lots of big rocks, slush, and red, red mud to sink my wheels into.


With grades of around 15%, coming back up the mountain through that mud was a job.  Even with 28mm tires, I was cutting into the mud pretty deeply.  The mountain bike would probably have been a better and safer choice for the eastern half of Robinson Gap Road, but old Blue made it through unscathed.

Blue the Bike rests in the snow.

There's a nice little stream that runs alongside the road on the eastern side of the mountain called Enchanted Creek (middle photo below).  It's one of many chances to stop and enjoy the national forest property adjacent to the road.

So yes, that's Robinson Gap Road, eight miles of the loveliest gravel in this part of the state.  And Garmin claims that I burned over 3500 Calories; that's one pound of fat!