Dan Casey

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A chilly gust blew up the Blue Ridge Parkway, and where the breeze hit the asphalt it tossed a small pile of golden leaves into the air. They caught a patch of sun as the wind shifted and twirled them higher, a lazy yellow cyclone. Then the wind died and they fluttered back to the road.

I was lying on the grass shoulder of Apple Orchard Mountain and looking up a long straightaway. Far off in the distance, Erin Garvin rounded a curve and headed my way. Hunched down over her handlebars, she whizzed past at about 35 mph. I snapped the shutter button on my camera as she called out a "Whooop!"

I stuffed the camera in my Camelbak, slung it over my shoulders, hopped on my bike and sped after her. By now, I reckoned, we'd been heading downhill for more than 6 miles -- and we still had another 7 miles to go.

It had been a long, slow slog up the mountain, probably the longest climb in the state of Virginia. Now, we were collecting the reward: a rip-snorting 13-mile descent.

About half an hour's drive east of Lynchburg, the James River meets the parkway, and it is here that tar ribbon plunges to the lowest point in its 469 miles. The bridge across the James is 650 feet above sea level, about 150 feet lower than downtown Roanoke, in the depths of the Great Valley.

A hill they call Thunder Ridge

Go south on the parkway from the James and you'll soon find yourself heading up. For many long and snaking miles the blacktop climbs, over Petite's Gap (elev. 2,362), and past Terrapin Mountain on the left.

By the time you've ridden up for 13 soaring miles, your legs ache, your lungs burn and your eyes are wide from glorious views thousands of feet below. You're at the highest point on the parkway in Virginia (elev. 3,950). It goes by the innocuous name Apple Orchard Mountain. But hardy cyclists in Southwest Virginia know this climb as the more frightful-sounding Thunder Ridge. It takes its name from the Thunder Ridge Wilderness, which lies high on the northeastern slope of the Blue Ridge.

Drawn by the lure of a 13-mile screaming descent, a bunch of us from the Roanoke area had hankered to tackle this monster for awhile. Our group included Erin, her boyfriend, Mike Mills, Ted Remandaban, Robb Kidder and Mary Nottingham. After a pancake breakfast on a fall morning, we drove up to Big Island and saddled up on our bikes.

Dan Casey | The Roanoke Times

The six of us cross over the James River along the Blue Ridge Parkway as we embark on the longest climb on the parkway in Virginia -- 13 miles up to the top of Apple Orchard Mountain. The gain is elevation is 3,300 vertical feet. Although the climb is long as hell, the grades aren't too steep, and the return trip makes all the effort worth it.

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Notes

For almost all of the parkway, there is no shoulder, so you'll be sharing the one lane in either direction with cars. Be careful. The National Park Service recommends cyclists wear a helmet and have reflectors on their bikes and/or clothing. None of the parkway is lighted, so you're safest getting off it if you can by dusk.

On this ride, the last place you'll find potable water (there are restrooms, too) is the James River Overlook. It's on the left just before you cross the James River.

The fall is the peak parkway season, when hundreds of thousands of motorists flocks to the road to view the colors of leaves changing. That means it's also the time of the most traffic. You should be especially careful if you're riding between Oct. 15 and Nov. 15, particularly on a weekend.

No matter what season it is, when you climb 3,300 vertical feet it'll be a hell of a lot colder at the top than it is at the bottom. Plan accordingly. Bring extra clothes that you can wear in chilly winds, or if a sudden storm strikes.

Keep in mind that this isn't a great winter or early spring ride. Large parts of the parkway, including Apple Orchard Mountain, are closed during the winter because of ice and snow on the road. Don't go around closed gates, or you may be in for a nasty surprise.

Parkway maps and additional information are available from Superintendent, Blue Ridge Parkway, 400 BB & T Building, Asheville, N.C. 28801. Telephone: (828) 298-0398.

Cold War consternation

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when the desolate top of Apple Orchard Mountain was a Cold War beehive. As many as 200 Air Force officers manned a 27-acre rader base, part of the U.S. military's early warning defense network. From 4,200 feet above sea level, they scanned the Eastern skies for Soviet bombers and missiles around the clock. Bitterly cold winters sometimes brought 120 inches of snow, 100 mph winds and thick glazes of treacherous ice.

Rarely did any of the radar rangers need to leave. Up there on the mountain, besides three giant radar domes painted robin's egg blue, were 27 homes, barracks, a commissary, a supply warehouse, a lounge, a library, a clinic, a gym, a movie theater and a bowling alley. When the power went out, as it frequently did, they flipped a switch on a huge diesel-powered generator. And if they ever found a nuclear warhead or Russian bomber heading their way, they could take cover in a bomb shelter that had 16-inch-thick concrete-and-steel walls.

That era lasted roughly from 1954 to 1974, when the base was decommissioned and turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration. The fight over what would happen to the site and who would pay for its removal lasted a decade longer. By the early 1980s, the federal government had blocked state plans to convert the closed base to a minimum-security prison. The feds also reluctantly agreed to pick up the cleanup costs. They did a good job: All that remains today is a mostly-invisible FAA radar tower that track commercial airliners.

Getting there

We parked at the Otter Creek visitors center at mile marker 60 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. To get there from Roanoke, take Interstate 81 north to the Natural Bridge exit. Follow U.S. 11 north to Natural Bridge, where you'll pick up Va. 130 north. Follow this to Glascow, and take Virginia 501 east. Where 501 bears right and crosses the James River, go straight on Virginia 130 instead. Follow if for about two miles to the parkway entrance, and take a right (north on the parkway). The visitors center is just ahead on your right. There is plenty of parking and food, water and bathrooms here.

The ride

Rob Kidder let out a hoary laugh and spun his pedals a little more furiously. Although the Roanoke dentist is a few years past 50, he's one of those wiry, zero-body-fat dudes who likes to rub his climbing prowess in, especially when endomorphs like me are around.

"Dan! This like Wylie Drive, Dan!" he taunted as his bike pulled away. We were about halfway up the mountain, and the reference was to an absolutely flat Roanoke road that runs through a park.

Ted Remandaban and I snorted with disgust. We were climbing at 6-7 miles per hour, far slower than we would be if we were on Wylie Drive.

But Kidder's point was well-taken. It wasn't that bad. The grades are worse on the old road up Roanoke's Mill Mountain. And on the parkway itself, there are far steeper hills, such as between Roanoke and the Peaks of Otter.

What makes this ride hard is the length. This climb was the longest single uninterrupted uphill I've been on since 1983, when I rode across America. Even crossing the Continental Divide on the Rockies in Montana's Glacier National Park was only a 12-miler.

Although this may be one of the hardest road rides on this Web site, it's one of the easiest ones to follow. Load your bike on your car, park near mile marker 60 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and head south. The first three miles are flat, a good warm-up for your legs. As soon as you cross the James River, the work begins.

You'll go uphill for 13 winding miles. Just past mile marker 76, you'll see an overlook on the left with a large sign marking the top of Apple Orchard Mountain. Rest up, take in the inspiring views, don your warm clothes, then scream back down the way you came. It took us roughly two hours to get up the mountain and less than 25 minutes to get back down.

You don't want to try this ride unless you're a seasoned cyclist. Even then, it helps if you have low gears. You can get by without them, but watch out for cramps!