Friday Morning Forest-Roads Ride

General information:
(see below for weekly ride specific information, posted at the beginning of each week)
The Forest-Roads Ride is evolving based on what we learn from each ride. The rides are intended to be exploratory in nature to familiarize with local forest road routes and side trails. Some of these trails can be an hour drive from the neighboring cities.

We like to stay together as a group, but these are not no-drop rides, and we will keep them moving along to meet our exploratory goals. You should expect some climbing (we’re riding in the GWNF) on anything from smooth dirt forest roads to double track (think jeep roads). Each rider can and should gauge their ability and turn back early if needed to avoid being left too far behind. Note that there is often no cell service where we ride.

Regarding suitable types of bikes, the group rides a mix of mostly mountain and gravel bikes and some are e-bikes (with the overall pace set by the non e-bikes).

• Time: 9a on Fridays
• When: Spring-Fall
• Location: Meet at Mole Hill Bikes in Dayton, then caravan out to the George Washington National Forest. *the trail location can range upwards to an hour-long drive.
• Pace: Less than 10mph
• Length: Typically 3-4 hours, 15-20 miles.
• Ride Surface: This is a gravel/forest service-mountain bike ride, so plan for dirt singletrack trails with some rock.
• Regroup Points During Ride? There are not clearly identified points where the ride will stop and regroup, however there will be a sweep rider at the back.

View a sample route.
Another sample.
PLEASE SIGN THE WAIVER PRIOR.

Weekly ride specific information:
Our next ride will be Friday, 6/14 when we will ride Forest Service Road (FSR) 95 from Elkhorn Lake to just beyond the WV line, and return. We will meet promptly at 9am at Mole Hill Bicycles in Dayton and drive / carpool to the parking area at the start of our ride - a 45 minute drive on asphalt roads (see the Google map below for driving directions). We will plan to start riding as close to 10am as possible.

FSR 95 is a good dirt road, suitable for MTB or gravel bikes. E-bikes are welcome but non-E-bikes will set the overall pace. See the Ride with GPS map below for the out portion of the ride. Total out-and-back mileage is 18 miles with 1,500 ft of elevation gain. Ride time will be about three hours at an average ride pace of 6 to 7 mph, and with short snack breaks. Total time out should be about four hours. Since this is an out-and-back, you have the option to ride faster, or ride slower and ride less than the full 18 miles, as long as you manage your time to arrive back at the cars by 2 pm so we can be back at Mole Hill Bicycles around 3pm.

Current forecast is for temperatures in the mid to high 80s and partly sunny. Bring snacks, sunscreen and plenty of water.

Ride with GPS "out" portion of the out-and-back ride

Drive from Mole Hill Bicycles to Elkhorn Lake