Gravel Ride of the Week: Pantani XV
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Never underestimate a mountain road! Neither the kind that delivers awesome blog post content, nor the kind that takes you high up into the mountains. The name Pantani should already be a good tip that the latest Gravel Ride of the Week was filled with lots of epic climbs in the mountains. Like the famous Italian cyclist, Marco Pantani, who spectacularly scaled the high mountains in Italy and France, I needed to scrape together each bit of my climbing skills to complete this ride. It was steep; it was icy; it was cold and it was awesome! Let’s take a look at how this unforgettable ride unfolded.
The Pantani ride is an annual event that normally takes place outside of Earlysville, VA in the middle of the icy cold February weather. Hosted by the Virginia Endurance Series, this event usually attracts a few die-hard riders who are willing to take on the challenging winter riding conditions in the hopes to complete a mountainous ride through the beautiful Greene County. Unfortunately, due to current health considerations, the 2021 event, or Pantani XV, had to be cancelled. All was, however, not lost and an alternative plan was set in place for those who still wanted to take on this course by themselves. Instead of a mass start, originally scheduled for Feb 13th, the private parking was made available for the full week that followed this date, allowing riders the option to still get out on this incredible course, should they wish to do so.
The flexibility with the dates actually played into my favor, since it was possible to pick a day with slightly better weather. Winter has really delivered in 2021, and this particular week was filled with a few snow showers and some icy rain spells. I picked Feb 20th as my date and even though temperatures would be below freezing for nearly the whole day, it would at least contain a fair amount of sunshine. Going into the day, I knew that the preceding snow and ice storms would make the course ultra challenging, especially in the mountains where the gravel roads aren’t cared for as well.
The route consisted of two loops. The main loop held a mix of paved and gravel roads, offering a very enjoyable riding experience. Aside from the muddy gravel roads, this bigger loop actually went much better than what I was expecting. This part of the course made its way around Fox Mountain and took me through some truly incredible country scenery. I can only imagine that this landscape must be even more spectacular in the summer time. There is an option to shorten the full route and only complete the first part, but the real challenge of the Pantani ride lies in the second loop that breaks away, into the mountain peaks. This shorter, more intense loop, contained most of the climbing and delivered a far greater challenge when it came to the road conditions in the less traveled areas with higher elevation.
My hunch that the roads would be icy in the mountains turned out to be correct. This was especially true for the shaded side of the mountain where the icy passes tested my bike handling skills on multiple levels. Not only was the descending fairly treacherous with ice and slush on the road, but it also proved to be incredibly cold as the lack of pedaling instantly cooled down the body. The climb that led me back out of this second loop contained a few super steep sections where the gradient jumped to well over 20%. Some sections were also completely iced over to the point where I needed to resort to pushing the bike up the ice. In total, the route measured in around 47 miles (77km) with the real contender on the day being the 6200 feet (1900m) of elevation gain. This is surely one ride that I won’t forget anytime soon!
If you ever want to try out this route for yourself, be sure to check out the Ride with GPS link below. Keep in mind that this route was designed with a starting point which sits on private land. There are, however, a few schools in the area (such as Broadus Wood Elementary) that can serve as alternative parking spots. If you need to stock up during the ride, you can take a quick detour down Bacon Hollow Rd to the town of Dyke, for Maybelle’s Market and gas station. Here you’ll find clean restroom facilities, convenience items, WiFi, and a nice selection of items on the menu, including sandwiches and pizza. Keep in mind that cell service is extremely limited in this part of the state.
All in all, this ride can be summarized with three simple words: Epic, Stunning, Insane! Riding on icy mountain roads after some crazy winter weather might not be for everyone and it presents a challenge no matter what level of skills you possess. Ultimately, I’m very thankful that I managed to get through this one without any incidents and that I could see this beautiful part of Virginia. I’m definitely planning on going back to Earlysville in the warmer months when I’m sure the natural beauty will be even more striking. Until then, I can look back on this awesome adventure and be reminded of a time when a mountain road tested me to the limit.
- Wiehan
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