Cherokee Hiking Club
198 Crews Drive, Benton, TN 37307

Virginia Creeper Bike Ride
Saturday, June 27, 2009

 

Brief Description:  This is  a bike ride in Southern Virginia. We are going to ride on the Viriginia Creeper Trail, a 30 mile bike trail. We will take a shuttle from Abingdon VA to the top of the trail and ride. The first 17 miles are literally coasting down hill.  The trail is an old railroad bed that has been converted to a rails to trails bike path.  It goes over railroad bridges, open fields/pasture, creeks and through little towns, if you could call them that.  The path is mostly on dirt and beaten down grass with a little gravel. You can do the first 17 miles and stop midway or you can do the entire 30 miles.  The bike rental company said to allow 2 1/2 hours for the first part or a total of 5 hours for the entire trail.  You can take your lunch or stop at restaurants in the little towns on the trail. This includes 1 hour for lunch, but does not include shuttle time to the top of the trail. We will pass numerous cascades and small waterfalls and finally by a 35-foot waterfall. The 125-foot cliffs are visible from quite a distance away. We will lunch at the cliffs.

Length:  17 or 30 miles

Difficulty Rating: Moderate

        Hike Leader:  Dee and Gary Harwell. If you want to go contact Dee or Gary Harwell at home 344 - 5772 or email d8tician@aol.com. 

Directions to the Trailhead:   It is a solid 4 hour drive to Abingdon from Cleveland. We will meet early in Cleveland Saturday morning and car pool. Some people are staying overnight and driving back on Sunday. Some people may choose to drive up Friday night and meet at shuttle on Saturday. We are coordinating a 12:30 shuttle with bike company in Abingdon, VA 201 Pecan Street SE  276-676-2552 or 1 888 245 3648.  The shuttle is $13 or if you want rent a bike from them it is an additional $11 to total $24. As of 6/10/09 we have 12 shuttle spaces reserved and 6 commitments so far. 

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