"I think this is the last steep part," Manly Aylor gasped as we slowly turned the granny gears on our mountain bikes. He'd said that with the last tough stretch, too -- a long and straight shot that seemed almost vertical. It had forced him to dismount and push his bike on foot.
This time, I called his bluff. "You're lying!" I laughed bitterly.
Aylor chuckled, then acknowledged he might be wrong. After all, it had been 25 years since he'd regularly visited this Pittsylvania County dirt road that winds up Smith Mountain. That was back in high school, when he and his buddies used it for beer drinking soirees. Booze and time cloud your memory for such things.
John Carlin waited patiently at the top of the rise, framed by small star-shaped white blossoms on the branches of slender serviceberry trees. His lean and compact physique cut a perfect contrast to the spare tire and lard butt I was hauling up the mountain. That was my excuse for falling behind. Aylor's was that he hadn't done any serious mountain biking in awhile.
Finally, Aylor and I inched to the top of the hill. We rested and caught our breath as Carlin silently gloated. We still had a few climbs to go.
The view
The ride up Smith Mountain was Aylor's bright idea. What sold me was the Roanoke insurance agent's promise of a lake view you could match only in an airplane. He also invited his pal Carlin, longtime news anchor for WSLS Channel 10.
I'm happy to report that Aylor wasn't exaggerating, at least about the view. If he had been, I would have strangled that sucker right there at the top, in the shadow of the giant white radio antenna that rises hundreds of feet.
Instead, the three of us gaped in awe at Smith Mountain Lake, sprawled out about 1,200 feet below. The air was crisp and the sun beamed brightly in a brilliant blue sky. The lake's meandering nooks and crannies formed a 20,000-acre watery maze, lined by rows of waterfront homes, resort condos and marinas. Microscopic motorboats left tiny white streaks in their wakes.
We'd shed a lot of sweat on the 5-mile climb up -- but the view was worth it.
Rude carp and other Smith Mountain Lake facts
Although it depends on exactly where you're going, Smith Mountain Lake is about 45 minutes by car from Roanoke.
To Yankees like myself, it is a very strange body of water. I learned to swim in natural lakes upstate New York and northern New Jersey. Most of them are semi-round, oval or oblong, some kind of shape best described like the Finger Lakes.
That is not the case with Smith Mountain Lake. It exists because of hydroelectric power. Because this is Western Virginia, there was almost 40 years of talk between the idea for the lake and its reality.
Finally, beginning in 1961, American Electric Power took 175,000 cubic yards of concrete and plunked it into a mountain gap where the Roanoke River once flowed through Pittsylvania County.
The otherwise unremarkable Smith Mountain was one side of that gap. Smith Mountain Dam is 227 feet tall and 816 feet long. As the water backed up behind it, it covered tens of thousands of acres of low ground and spread into higher mountain notches.
By the time it was at full pond six years later, the high ground had become waterfront points, peninsulas and lake shore lots. The body of water, 40 snaking miles long with 500 miles of shoreline touching Franklin, Bedford and Pittsylvania counties, became Smith Mountain Lake.
Many people who had the foresight to purchase former hilltops in those parts either got rich or ended up with choice waterfront property. And, it seems, the majority of those lots were later snapped up by retirees from New Jersey and other points north. Today, prime lakefront lots go for $150,000 and up.
A portion the state reserved for itself became Smith Mountain Lake State Park. This unusual peninsula is one part green grassy fields, another part imported sand spit/bathhouse/snack bar/lifeguard station.
I will never forget the summer day six or seven years ago that I spent on the faux beach there. Out there in the water, just beyond the buoys-on-a-string that mark the swimming limits, were large, slothful carp.
Those nasty fish were not bothered by nearby swimmers. Instead, they stayed near the water's top, floating almost motionlessly just beyond the buoys-on-a-string, sticking their noses and eyes above the water line, and giving us swimmers dirty looks. It was creepy as hell.
Unlike thousands of other people who use and enjoy Smith Mountain Lake, I've never had much use it since then. Those damn carp have tempered my enthusiasm.
But conquering the mountain that gave the lake its name -- heck, that baby's mine.
Dan Casey | The Roanoke Times
Carlin humps it up one of the mountain's long and steep stretches.
The ride
This 7.5 mile (one way) ride is not for the faint of heart, or for those who can't take a steep hill. But a novice mountain biker who's game for some climbs can do it.
There are no tricky single-track trails, no fallen timber to jump along the road, no stream crossings. The way up is a road: broad, fairly smooth except in a few spots, and in most places laid with gravel.
And except for a single turnoff where you begin to head up the mountain, it's a straight shot all the way. It would be almost impossible to get lost.
We parked our car in Penhook, near the intersection of Virginia 626 and Jasmine Road (Virginia 778). We headed toward the mountain on Jasmine. It's a wide gravel road that passes by green farmland on the right, woods on the left. In those woods we spied a few hunters on the prowl for spring gobblers.
A couple miles down Jasmine, look for a dirt road on your left that begins a climb up the mountain. This is where the work begins. The road starts out at a decent but not outlandish grade, with a few muscular siwtchbacks in the first mile or so.
That's the easy part. Then it gets steeper in a series of straight shots up. Between those are some brief downhill sections.
Dan Casey | The Roanoke Times
Manly Aylor (left) and John Carlin of Rocky Mount riding up the road to the top of Smith Mountain.
Related
Map
The uphill shots are tough. I wasn't kidding earlier, when I said Aylor had to walk it up the first steep stretch. I almost had to walk a few myself -- and a couple times I stopped in the middle of a climb to give myself a breather.
Five miles later, you'll be there, catching the same views that we did. The ride back is a hoot -- and a heckuva lot shorter, at least in time. Better be sure you're brakes are in good shape.
Getting there
Make sure you consult your map on this one. This is what we did: We took U.S. 220 south to Rocky Mount, then U.S. 40 east toward Gretna. Drive to Penhook. At Aylor's direction, I took a left off U.S. 40 at Penhook down a dirt road named Liberty Road. We parked the car there, then rode our bikes a short distance farther on Liberty Road until it ended in a T-intersection with Virginia 626. Jasmine (there's a road sign there) was down just a short distance; we hung a left there. The turn-off to go up the mountain is a couple miles down on your left.
Notes
Eureka! Waid has BATHROOMS!
I usually use this section to remind folks that they are heading into wilderness and they've got to bring every possible thing they think they'll need -- including toilet paper. But here, there are modern outhouses near the baseball diamonds, and actual modern facilities near some the picnic grounds. If you're biking at Waid, you can leave the toilet paper at home.
That said, I didn't check to make sure there's running water in the restrooms. So bring plenty of your own. There's also no snack bar in the park, but you can pick up essentials at a convenience store just a couple miles before you get there.
Martin will appreciate it very much if you pick up your own PowerBar wrappers, and any others that you stumble across out there on Waid's trails.
And he'd like to hear from you, too, about what Franklin County can do to make Waid an even better mountain-biking experience. Feel free to e-mail him here.
Directions to Waid Recreation Area
It'll take you about 45 minutes to get from downtown Roanoke to Waid Recreation Area. From Roanoke, take U.S. 220 south past Rocky Mount, then U.S. 40 west toward Ferrum. Go a few miles to the 40 West Minute Market, and make a right at the light there (just before the market is the sign, "Waid Recreation Area" with a right-turn arrow). Go 2 miles until you see the entrance for Waid on your left. Take the left, drive about a mile, and look for a place to park.
Right now, there's no map of the trails, so you'll have to explore on your own.
Have fun!
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