http://www.flickr.com/photos/julianmeade/sets/72157634266766597/
The ride was a 63 mile loop on the Solstice starting from the Staunton River Battlefield up the south side of the Staunton/Roanoke River crossing on the historic Clarkton Bridge then on to Red Hill, Patrick Henry's last home. Red Hill is well maintained and a beautiful spot for lunch and a nap on the picnic table in the shade of an ancient oak. Located in the front yard is the National Champion Osage Orange tree which is amazing in itself and the fact located adjacent to the house it survived the 1919 fire that destroyed the original structure. I returned on the north side of the river following the more rural and gravel roads (and its hard to be more rural than the southside) most if not all of which are well over 150 years old. The final crossing of the river was at the Staunton River Battle Rail Bridge which as the Clarkton Bridge is open only for non-motorized traffic. This area along the river basin was once thriving and wealthy, now has somewhat of an abandoned feel.tobacco is waning, the factories located in the towns are for the most part closed, the small farms don't cut it, and many folks simply moved away, simply a bygone era.many of the fine older homes which are still standing and maintained are not visible from the roads.I could have and should have taken a ton more shots. At times I would ride for a 5 mile stretch and never see a car or person.and along the gravel roads it was sometimes 3 plus miles between houses.a great area for cycling but its definitely BYOB.(bike, beer, breakfast, lunch, etc) Meade Anderson -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
