A rare nice day in March turned into a great day on the trail.

After a long winter, and too many mindless miles spinning on the trainer, the temperature hovered in the high 60’s and it was time to ride outside. Fitness has been fleeting for the past few months for a variety of reasons, so a nice flat ride, like the New River Trail, was just what the doctor ordered.

One of the easiest options in terms of travel from our home in Roanoke is the New River Trail, which stretches for more than 50 miles through the region, with the closest point at Pulaski, just off Interstate 81.

When I say Pulaski, I mean Dora Junction.

That’s that name of the parking area near the town of Pulaski, which is the county seat in the, well, County of Pulaski.

No Matter. That’s where we started.

There is a reasonably large parking lot with a restroom, some picnic tables, and a few permanent maps to get you started.

Not like you could get lost.

Mary and I rode our gravel bikes, which are perfect for the trail’s cinder surface.

The Ghost Train on the New River Trail

The New River Trail sports lots of features that keep it interesting. One of them is a weird series of sculptures called the “Ghost Train.”

The cast iron cut-outs are mounted on tall poles beside the trail. When you view them through a fixed telescope beside the trail, they are supposed to line up and give you the visualization of a train coming down what were once railroad tracks, long before this became a rail trail.

I couldn’t see it.

But Mary could.

All I could see was a cloudy eyepiece. But it could be that I just wasn’t doing it right. Mary said she could make out the shape of a locomotive.

A faded sign explains how it all works, and some background on the artist. But honestly it’s pretty weather beaten and needs an update. It’s a cool idea and I hope they can give this effort some new life.

The great thing about rail trails is that you can turn around whenever the distance suits you. After a winter of less than stellar training and dealing with the side effects of medication from sarcoidosis, Read more about cycling with Sarcoidosis here.

Then we added a couple of miles for good measure turning around at one of the old railroad mile markers, P 13.

The New River Crossing

On the way, we crossed the trestle over the New River near where it forms Claytor Lake. It’s a long bridge with impressive iron work. It’s important to take a moment to realize that it would never have been built just for cyclists

We only benefit from it, because at one point it made economic sense for a train to cross the river.

Kudos to the rails to trails movement.

It’s almost always worth stopping for a photo at the bridge.

We rode on through the little community of Allisonia. which is quaint but as near as I can tell did not offer any opportunities for re-stocking of food or water.

I didn’t look too hard because we had energy bars and plenty of fluids. It’s not like we were riding that hard after about 10 flat miles.

Brunch at Draper Mercantile

As we turned back, my mind and stomach drifted to thoughts of the real prize on this ride: Brunch at The Draper Mercantile — which is just off the trail at Draper.

The Mercantile is an original. The kitchen cooks the food to order. The menu items are unique and delicious. In addition, there are little shops where we found stuff that appeals to a sort of trail state of mind.

Don’t ask me to to define that.

I can tell you that my three egg omelette, sour dough toast, and pancake were delicious and turned this venture into a calorie positive experience.

But isn’t that a least a part of why we ride?

I pity the people who drive there to eat that meal! (Well, not really.)

After brunch, we enjoyed a leisurely 4 mile ride back to the car.

This is an easy, fun ride, that can be as long as you like. Instead of turning around where we did, you can explore the entire length of the New River Trail which dips all the way to Fries in Southwest Virginia — more than 50-miles from where we started.

And when you start at Dora — you can always schedule a great meal just four miles from the finish.