Photos by Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Izzy the toy poodle sits on the back of a tandem used by Fred Rawlins and Dixie Tooke-Rawlins late last month on the New River Trail in Hiawassee. The 57-mile trail also allows hikers and horses.

Last month, my husband and I drove our car 1,000 miles to ride our bicycles 100 miles along rail trails in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia.

Mercifully, rail trails are relatively flat, have few strenuous climbs, and are kind to anatomical parts that don't feel so youthful.

But you don't need to drive nearly the distance we did to ride on one of the best rail trails in the East.

The New River Trail, Virginia's 57-mile linear state park, is beautiful and unique in its own right.

Park manager Mark Hufeisen knows that's true.

He hears it all the time from people who arrive from out of state, particularly North Carolina, to cycle the New River Trail.

"You get a whole lot of, 'Man, I wish we had one of these at home,' " Hufeisen said, noting that although attendance at the park is down this year presumably because of gas prices, he can't complain.

"Last year was our busiest year," he said. "Bicycling is what brings people. It definitely accounts for over 50 percent of the usage."

Hikers and horses share the New River Trail with cyclists. Polly Mayberry of Winston-Salem, N.C., said that's the only drawback.

"We don't like the way horses tear up the trail," the 68-year-old said. "Bicycles and horses just don't mix."

The horses, however, are here to stay. A new horse arena on the trail at Jackson Ferry opened earlier this year, and Hufeisen said crews are getting ready to resurface the trail. As long as the bicyclists practice courtesy and yield to the equines, Hufeisen said both can have pleasant riding experiences.

Mayberry and her 78-year-old husband, John, have biked dozens of rail trails in both the United States and Canada, but the New River Trail is the one they bike most often.

"It's closest to home," Mayberry explained. "It takes us an hour and a half to get up there. It's well worth it.

"We thought it was wonderful when we started riding it years ago," she added, "but it has been improved so much in the past few years. It's long enough that you can go to different places and not get bored. Plus, there are lots of places where you can stop and take breaks and rest. It's way ahead of most trails in that respect."

With nearly 60 miles of uninterrupted riding now that Pulaski has added the Dora spur to the trail, bikers can pedal a straight shot from downtown Pulaski to Galax. The trail passes through four counties and two tunnels, over three large trestles and many smaller bridges and past several scenic and historic sites such as Claytor Lake and the Shot Tower Historical State Park, where ammunition was made more than 200 years ago.

Sidling up to the New River, the trail has four primitive campgrounds, including one at the Foster Falls headquarters where you'll find concessions and places to rent everything from kayaks to inner tubes to bicycles built for two.

In the future, you'll even be able to rent a room at Foster Falls. The state is beginning renovations on the old orphanage there with plans to turn it into a hotel.

"That's a few years away," Hufeisen said, adding that he believes the completed hotel will bring in more visitors.

Fred Rawlins and Dixie Tooke-Rawlins of Radford are surprised that more people don't flock to the New River Trail. Like Polly and John Mayberry, they have cycled rail trails all over the country since they started riding their tandem in 2001.

With Izzy, their toy poodle, perched in a basket behind them, the two try to get in 20 to 30 miles of cycling each day.

Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, 55, said the reason she never gets tired of the New River Trail is simple:

"I think it's the best."