Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 16, 1994 TAG: 9405170048
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Scenes in travel publications of unhurried back roads, mountain hamlets, white country churches and flaming maple trees have lured thousands of bikers to the New England state.
Well, Virginia's Shenandoah Valley is every bit as enticing.
That's the message you hear from Randy Porter, co-author of ``A Cyclist's Guide to the Shenandoah Valley.''
``When people come here it is a real eye-opener,'' he said. ``I think it could be a great cycling area; it could attract a lot of bicycle tours. I am hoping that our book will help at that end.''
Porter, and fellow writer Nancy Sorrells, have highlighted 28 loop bike tours, from Natural Bridge to Mount Jackson. They are routes where mountain-valley vistas and national history blend with each turn of a skinny tire.
``What Nancy and I wanted to do was show our love for the Shenandoah Valley; Nancy's love in terms of history and my love in terms of the great cycling and the people - the geography - that makes it a great place to ride.''
Porter has a solid background in biking, the co-owner of a cycling shop and one of the founders of Bike Virginia, a touring business. Sorrells is a recreational biker who is a professional historian, on the staff of the Museum of American Frontier Culture near Staunton.
History comes in many layers in the Shenandoah Valley, and reclines on lush, green valleys that reach to the distant foothills of ancient mountains, said Sorrells.
``I think the area has an incredible amount to offer. We have the same little villages [as Vermont] that are kinda forgotten, the same local characters, guys who have grown up on the land and never left Augusta or Rockingham county, who live in the same house that was owned by their great grandparents. There is a lot of local flavor waiting to be discovered if you get off the main track.''
Bikers are starting to take notice. During recent years, the Tour DuPont has given Virginia increased exposure among cyclists, and commercial tours, including Backroads, Four Seasons Cycling and even Vermont Bicycle Tours, have moved into the Shenandoah Valley.
But what about the hills? Aren't they killers?
``For years when I did bike tours, people would always say the same thing to me, `Well, I would like to ride, but it is just so hilly around here,'" said Porter. ``So long ago I said if I ever did a book it would give lip service to some flat riding in the valley.''
Appendix A does that. It outlines five flat routes, including a nine-mile stretch along the South River north of Lexington.
But it is the hills, in part, that give the Shenandoah Valley its special character, said Porter. So the book's 28 loop routes do not go out of their way to avoid them.
``We wanted it to be a book that would cover a wide range of abilities,'' said Porter. ``For the most part, distance is an indicator of difficulty. Every route starts and ends in the very same place. The shortest is about 13 miles. Then they go up to 70-72 miles.''
If you follow Sorrells' example, you will stop often, not just to rest, but to see history close up. When researching the book, she paused frequently to knock on doors, asking: ``What do you know about your house? Do you have any family stories?''
That makes the volume as much of a report on history as on biking. In fact, some people are buying to use as an automobile tour guide.
But the best seat in the house for viewing the Shenandoah Valley is found on a touring bike, Porter said.
"A Cyclist's Guide to the Shenandoah Valley" is available at book stores and bike shops or may be ordered for $14.95 plus $3 shipping from Shenandoah Odysseys, P.O. Box 1986, Staunton 24402.
by CNB