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Rockstar 265 The Epic Journey Itself

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Pivot Cycles

 

You know the song, ” Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River, Life is old there, older than the trees, Younger than the mountains, growin’ like a breeze.” Trouble is John Denver must not have been looking at a map when he penned these words and spread the rhythm of Appalachia far and wide. The Shenandoah River, the Blue Ridge – those are all features of WestERN Virginia. Sorry John, maybe stick to the Rocky Mountains.

Nevertheless, Denver’s tune captures a slice of the place I’ve loved and called home most of my life. The Appalachian Mountains are special and storied. The word “Appalachia” is one of the oldest place-names in America. The legends and lore of the deeply furrowed mountains are well known; native Americans subsisting off the bounty of the forest, coon-skinned pioneers pushing west through thick greenery, moonshiners and revenue men in an ever-quickening chase, all taking place before a backdrop of rugged independence and self-reliance.

The Shenandoah Valley in particular is where I cut my teeth as an outdoor adventurer and where our story begins. A narrow “Great Valley” stretching along the length of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Appalachian Range. These mountains are named such because they appear deep blue from a distance. The dense vegetation and native tree life put off a chemical compound that absorbs more ambient light than usual, creating a blue appearance and often a haze of moisture. The mountains are literally thick and breathing with life. They may not be as rugged and imposing as younger mountains like the Rockies or Alps but their age and wisdom mean that they have had longer to practice resisting mankind’s efforts.

In our efforts to tame them cyclists like me have compiled dozens of routes through their ages-old trails and dirt roads. Many of them have legends all their own and have been pushing into my mind more and more as events I had planned make their wise decisions to postpone or cancel this year. One of these is the aptly named “Rockstar.” So named for its start in “Rocktown;” Harrisonburg Virginia and finish in the “Star City of the South” Roanoke VA.

The route itself launches west from Harrisonburg on rugged jeep trails and then winds its way south through the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. There are three variants of the route; singletrack, gravel, and “pave.” For my first encounter with the RockStar, I chose to put a gravel attempt on the calendar. With Dirty Kanza and other long-distance events having canceled my regular stage race partner Elliott Baring was also itching for a long ride and we felt that it was time the Rockstar Gravel route had someone give it an honest go to establish a new fastest known time. For all the bikepacking racers out there, the Virginia Endurance Series keeps records of FKTs in solo and partner formats on the Rockstar.

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