Dan Casey

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Ah, summer...

The windows were down and the sunroof was open on Ian Webb's Honda coupe as we headed north along the curvy spine that is the Blue Ridge Parkway. Scrubby pines ruffled in the breeze of passing cars, the total extent of the Sunday afternoon wind. On our right, a grimy gray haze hung over the flatlands of the Roanoke Valley far below, a smog that would do Los Angeles proud.

We were headed north toward Bobblets Gap, an overlook a few miles south of the Peaks of Otter. The temperature hung around 90 degrees and as a percentage, the humidity was at least that. And covered with sweat and dirt, we were completely wiped out. We were also glad for the opportunity to "cheat," via a car we'd left at the ride's three-quarter point.

Webb and I had done this once before -- that is, foolishly ventured out on mountain bikes in a mid-July heat wave. That was in 1999 on a dry and dusty ATV trail near Big Island in Bedford County. Before that minor adventure was over, we cursed ourselves for running out of water and threw ourselves into the tepid James River to wash off a coat of salt and cinders.

We thought we had learned our lesson about riding in oppressive heat. But we were wrong.

The Day Creek horse trail

Our companions this day were Brian Lang and Morris Masinter, two fine mountain bikers who would show their mettle by riding farther than Webb or me. Our object was a loop that included the Parkway, a couple wide dirt roads that lead up to it and down from it just west of Bedford, and the Day Creek Horse Trail. It's a teensy path that in a very roundabout and wormy way parallels the Parkway on its eastern flank for a distance of about five miles.

Webb had figured out this loop. It was inspired by a ride in "Mountain Bike! Virginia," Randy Porter's fine book that covers off-road riding all over the commonwealth.

The big difference is that Porter routes riders on a portion of the Glenwood Horse Trail, a wide, 70-mile-long non-technical horse trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway's western flank. This is a good idea. Not only is the Day Creek trail on the other side of the mountain, it is to the Glenwood Horse Trail what the Roanoke River is compared to the Nile -- impossibly narrow, rocky, meandering and almost overgrown in some spots. Webb knew this, of course, because he had ridden it some years before. The rest of us were about to find out.

The ride

Bobblets Gap, elev. 2,111, an overlook at Blue Ridge Parkway mile marker 93.1, was to be the start and finish of this ride. It's 27 miles north of the Parkway's Roanoke turnoff. Look around the parking lot there and you find a small concrete picnic table hidden beneath trees in one corner. There a small trail here that leads back underneath the Parkway then suddenly broadens into a wide jeep road.

This is a rip-roaring speedy descent, but don't take it too fast. Otherwise you'll miss a couple great views of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the left. After a while, the dirt turns into gravel and takes you past houses here and there. When you hit the gravel road, begin watching on the right for big red dots on trees. These mark the Day Creek Horse trailhead. There's also a small sign with a horse-backed rider and an arrow pointing right, although the name of the trail is nowhere to be found. Make a right on this trail and begin some real work.

This so-called trail amounts to a meandering path that you'll fight for about the next five miles. What it's got going for it is its solitude (you'll likely be the only ones on it) and the variety of terrain. It's up and down as you head south parallel to the Parkway, and you'll pass through thick forests, sunny meadows and shady mushroom groves. Parts of the trail are hard-packed and firm, but other sections are a mix of sand, soil, packed leaves and loose rock. There's at least one meadow where the trail virtually disappears amid overgrown weeds.

Eventually, it dumps you out at the Day Creek equestrian parking area. This is a drive-in lot along Virginia 698 that's accessible from Montvale. Although you're done with Day Creek, a different kind of real work is about to begin.

Back to the Parkway

Dan Casey | The Roanoke Times

The trail down from Bobetts Gap quickly widens into a dirt jeep road, then cuts underneath the parkway.

Related

Map

• Map of the Blue Ridge ride

After fighting that infernal single-track for two hours, repairing two flats to my front tire along the way, I was ready for a nice, wide dirt road. What I wasn't quite ready for was climbing 1,200 vertical feet on it back to the Parkway. As it was the only way back, that's what we did.

This is the Old Sweet Springs Road, a byway popular among 19th century travelers. You take a right turn from where the Day Creek Horse Trail brings you out to the parking area, pass a gate and you're soon on your way up. The road is wide, hard-packed earth dotted with loose rock and ruts in some places. It's a lot like the well-known fire road up Brushy Mountain near the back entrance to Carvins Cove, with one difference that was important to us on the early July day: Wild blackberry bushes lined the lower part of the road. Famished, we feasted on these tart treats.

We paid for every bit of fun we had on that initial thrilling downhill from Bobblets Gap in this push. It wouldn't have been too bad except for the heat, and the fact that we were close to being out of water.

You'll know you're near the top when you come to a large dilapidated sign marking the spot where once stood The Black Horse Tavern, a wayside for 19th century tourists. The Parkway and Black Horse Gap, elev. 2,404 (mile marker 97.7) is only a few hundred more yards up the road.

Webb had stashed his car here, and we made use of that, throwing the bikes on top and driving north on the Parkway to Bobblets Gap, our starting point, where my car awaited.

Lang and Masinter, meanwhile, rode 4.6 miles on the black hardtop. It was mostly downhill.

Getting there

Take Walnut Avenue out of Roanoke, where it turns into Fishburn Parkway out to the Blue Ridge Parkway and turn left, heading north. Go about 27 miles to Bobblets Gap at mile marker 93.1.

Notes

There is no water anywhere on this ride, so you'll have to carry your own. If it's hot out, I recommend you not do this ride unless you're an experience mountain biker in great shape. In that case, take as much water as you can carry. I took 136 ounces (my Camelback plus 2 water bottles) and I ran out just before we got back to the parkway.