Harrisonburg VA is a college town that is home to James Madison Univ. and Eastern Mennonite Univ. and is launching point for all sorts of Appalachian adventures. I knew it best for Luigi's Pizza, an unparalleled post-rock climbing dinner in the mid-'00s.
It may still be? I hope so.
 |
| Town feels a little like Durango, CO - you know, if the Rockies were <5K feet tall. |
My last trip to Harrisonburg was for the 2018
Alpine Loop Gran Fondo, 100-plus-a-few miles of all sorts of fun in early fall. I was way out of shape (still am) and the climbing knocked me around a bit.
 |
| Others getting knocked around on climbs in the Harrisonburg environs. Kudos to the Gran Fondo for making these virtual backgrounds available in full size on the website. |
The Alpine Loop event includes some good dirt, with one long steep gravel climb followed by an exciting rutted and muddy descent. D__ waited a long time for me atop that one. Not too shy to say I waited a long time for him at the bottom of the descent - after passing the photographer's pickup truck.
 |
| Dirt road climb. It got steeper. Kudos to the Gran Fondo for making these virtual backgrounds available in full size on the website. |
So when D__ proposed we get back in the saddle by meeting in Harrisonburg I was all in. Turns out there are some epic gravel-ish rides out of there. And I have this new 3T, you realize.
Rocktown Bicycles keeps
a page listing gravel routes starting and finishing at its shop. These range from the casually named "Morning Gravel," a 17-mile offering that looks like a lovely way to start the day - to "The Big Spruce," 145+ miles with >15K elevation gain. Oy vey. And, plenty to keep coming back for.
D__ and I started with "Harris-Roubaix," a marvelous name for a ride if I ever heard one. Here:
https://www.strava.com/routes/12620059. After a few annoying miles getting out of H-burg proper, we were on small country roads through farms maintained by members of the region's Mennonite population. Roads were small, cars were few, and maybe 40% of the route outside of the H-burg metropolis was pleasant gravel, only occasionally washboarded.
Basic details (Garmin Edge 500):
- 32.3 miles,
- 3035' ascent.
- 2:19 at
- 14 mph.
This picture was not on the gravel portion. I couldn't be bothered to pull the phone out at other times.
 |
| D__'s new Open W.I.D.E. Nicely built rig, even if it lacks Square-o tubes. |
After a bottle change at the cars downtown, we headed back out for "Typical Morning Ride." Here:
https://www.strava.com/routes/11140484. Another nice spin, some of the same roads (which of course is what happens with a "best hits" list from the same start-end points). Too much tarmac for our liking, but with roads lightly trafficked not an unpleasant ride at all.
Basic details (Garmin Edge 500):
- 22.9 miles,
- 1827' ascent. Only descended 1824 though.
- Took us 1:40 for
- 13.8 mph.
How did the 3T Exploro perform? Largely, perfect. The bike continues to roll and to handle like a road bike. It does not feel snappy climbing, but I think that's probably operator error - seriously. It feels downright quick in the drops on the flats or on rollers, so my strongest guess is that my fitness is just not there for the 17% grade at the end of Harris-Roubaix, or a number of similar sharp rises between the two rides.
Not sure if it is the aero frameset or my superior tuck or my superior girth, but I descended meaningfully faster than D__. That's not an entirely new thing and I also note his 46cm flared Enve bars - not an aggressive tuck position in the best of circumstances.
I'm getting a creak in the bottom bracket. Surely that's just a tightening job, but it's a little irritating <1000 miles in.
D__ was on the Open W.I.D.E. in the Yeti-blue paint job, with Shimano GRX Di2 and 57mm Schwalbe Racing Ralph tires. A really nice looking setup and he raves about the ride.
