Category — Stories

Local cyclists have found that no matter how fit you are, or how many times you’ve done it, cycling to Mountain Lake remains a challenge.

Story by the Roanoke Times’ New River Journal.

Blacksburg cyclist and sculptor Bill Johnson suffered a terrible crash in the 2007 Mountains of Misery, when he collided with a deer. After a tremendous recovery, he’s back to ride in 2008. A shrine in his backyard helped him make peace with the deer, and conquer his fear. The Roanoke Times tells the story.

This article originally appeared in the Roanoke Times. We would have just linked to it, but we can’t find it online. So we’re republishing it here.

By Mark Taylor
[email protected]
540-981-3395

NEWPORT - Ten hours and 100 miles into Sunday’s Mountains of Misery bike ride, life on the steep and twisty road to Mountain Lake was, well, miserable.

Of five cyclists on a 100-yard stretch of road, four were on their feet pushing their bikes toward the finish line.

Only Kathy Rohr was pedaling.

Although this was Rohr’s first attempt at the Mountains of Misery, she was intimately familiar with the brutal course and the toll it takes. [Read more →]

Dan Casey tells what it’s like to climb Salt Pond Mountain to Mountain Lake, as in the final leg of the Mountains of Misery. A day trip, starting and finishing in Newport: climbing the steeper “back side,” and descending the scenic “front side.” With pictures, directions, and a nice map.

Dan Casey of the Roanoke Times recounts the 2002 Wilderness Road Ride.