7/17/08
http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/169730
By Tim Thornton The Roanoke
Times
Where, in Radford, can a person find a couple hundred acres or so with miles
of fresh mountain bike trails that range from easy to advanced?
Well, nowhere in Radford, exactly. But the city does own about 250 acres in Montgomery County, just outside the city limits not
far from Interstate 81’s Exit 105. And on Saturday about six miles of trails
will officially open there.
At 11 a.m., Mayor Tom Starnes plans to cut a ribbon opening the trails and
commencing a 10K bike ride. A 5K run along the trials is scheduled to begin 10
minutes after that. Five minutes after that, a one-mile family walk and ride
will commence.
Registration for the rides, run and walk begins at 10 a.m. at the site.
There will be door prizes and bike demonstrations. And you can get a hotdogs, a
drink and some chips for $1.50.
The city has owned the land for decades, but it’s mostly been left on its
own, except for deer season, when the city lets hunters use the property.
Mike Leersnyder, chairman of Pathways of Radford’s trails committee, said
volunteers began working on the network of trails in August, soon after the
city signed off on the project.
“We’ve had 50 show up for a work day and we’ve had four people show up for a
work day,” Leersnyder said.
But they kept showing up.
They found what Leersnyder described as old wagon roads and not nearly so
old four-wheeler trails. The trail builders used those trails where they could,
and cut new paths through the woods, too. Volunteers built the trials to
International Mountain Bicycling Association standards, so they should stand up
to lots of use. They put up signs to show people where to go and a kiosk to hold
information.
All it took was council’s permission, 300 or so hours of volunteer labor and
about $1,500 for equipment and chain saw fuel. So far. In addition to the six
miles that will open Saturday, there are about three more miles that need just
a little more work. There’s the potential for more than 20 miles to go in
eventually, Leersnyder said.
Leersnyder moved to Southwest Virginia from Vermont, where cross country ski trails
double as bike trails when the snow melts. He lived in Roanoke for a while, so he spent a lot of
time on the trails at Carvins Cove. But when he moved to Radford, he longed for
some place closer. Pandapas Pond and its network of mountain bike trails was
all right, but still a bit far.
“I’ve got three little kids and my wife won’t let me get away too far,”
Leersnyder said.
So Radford’s land in Montgomery
County seemed ideal.
And while most of the talk is about bikes, Leersnyder said the trails are
also great for walking, running and bird watching.
But all that will still have to take a break during
deer season, Mayor Tom Starnes said at this weeks’ council meeting. Deer
hunters and mountain bikers can be a bad mix.
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