New River Trail Galax to Pulaski and back around 110 miles.

 For years, I have driven up 77 through Virginia and passed over the New Year Trail. Every time, I kept thinking that I needed to do this trail. I had targeted doing last year, but then the powers that be decided to update the bridges on the trail. Sometimes, they provided detour, but in many instances, they didn't. This meant that the trail is closed in sections, and I would not be able to achieve my goal. 

So, I watched and waited. When they appeared to have finished the bridge updates, I started thinking about a date for a ride. Originally, I was planning it for the June 21st as it was the supposedly the longest day of the year. Something came up, so I ended up pushing it back a week.

I drove up Galax from Charlotte on Friday evening. The drive from my house is about an hour and 45 minutes. 

The next morning, I ran from hotel down to the trail to get some running time in on it. After finishing my run, I had breakfast at the hotel and drove back to the trail for my ride. 

My plan was to get started around 7 AM, but nothing was going as planned. I was finally off around 7:50 AM. 

Rain drizzled for the first hour and half, but the foliage kept the rain at baye. I could the rain hitting the water in the distance, but for the most part I was dry. 

The miles passed. First, I hit Fries junction where part the trail leads back to Fries, Va. I had already done this section on a different trip, so I skipped. I was interested in getting to Pulaski. I went through Ivanhoe, Foster Falls, and Austin. I actually rode past the ending official trail head. I couldn't find the back story on this, but strangely, the trails for another mile so, then there is a sign that says the "Trail Narrows", maybe 10 yards later another sign says "Stop". At this point, the trail just ends in a field behind what looks like some plant. I was confused by this but with nothing else to do, I rode back to trail head, and finally back to the DORA trail. this side trail takes riders to downtown Pulaski. I decided to venture to Pulaski, just to see what it was like. All that I will say about it is that on Saturday afternoon, downtown Pulaski is pretty quiet. 

I took a few pictures, and started my trek back to Galax, Va. Several times on the trip back, I stopped to take pictures. Mostly at the bridges. There are several cool shots that I captured. 

Throughout the trip, I saw plenty of deer, but I cats, dogs, a couple of turkeys. I saw one huge black snake on the trail. I saw a horse. The horse is an interesting story. So, I am riding down the trail toward Pulaski. My eyes are all over the place with so much to take in. Suddenly, I became aware of this strange sound. It took me a bit to figure it out. Finally, I looked and here came a rider on a horse at full gallop. I moved to the side of the trail as they passed me. They went maybe a couple of hundreds turned around and back the other way on the trail. As far as I remember, this was the first time that I have been passed on a bike by horse. 

Some things that I learned about the trial. There are plenty of restrooms along the trial. There are also plenty of places to air up your tires if you have flat. There not many places to pick up water or food. Finally, know that there will be miles upon miles that you will not see anyone. I went on a Saturday in June and expected to see lots of people. To my surprise, I had a very quiet ride. 

How far did ride, I'd say somewhere between 110 to 115 miles. I rode past the trail head on the Pulaski side, and I rode into downtown Pulaski before heading back. If I stuck to just the trail, I'd say it is about 104 to 105 miles. It is a full day experience if you slow down and take in the surroundings. 

I would do it again, but maybe just a one-way trip. By the time that I got back to my car, I was tired. 

Oh, yeah, one last thing, parking is $7 on the trial. You can pay it online, but I went with the cash method. 

The Cool Down Runner