2019-2028 Blacksburg Transit Development Plan update

As an update the 2019-2028 Blacksburg TDP final report was finalized in September 2018. A required annual update letter was sent on 1/15/20 to DRPT. See the Transit Development Plans page. 

Catawba Run Around - pre-run report (Kaitlyn and Dylan's Aggressive Excitement edition)

On Dec 4 Kaitlyn wrote some friends about doing the run around...Kaitlyn and Dylan's Aggressive Excitement edition...Here are a few tips for Saturday, December 16th Catawaba Runaround. A conglomeration of input...Checking the weather indicates temps from 27 to 46, winds 7-9 mph, sunny - great running/hiking weather.

OTHERWISE - PACK EARLY! Take it from me, it is no fun scrambling in the morning after a short night's sleep. Put down a towel and lay out all the stuff you think you need, and then pack it up the night before...prep your coffee, breakfast and post-run food too ahead of time! Fuel up your car; check your alarm; make sure your friends/family know where you'll be and when you are likely to be home (by about 4-5 pm if things go well). OH YEA - REMEMBER TO CUT YOUR TOE NAILS!

• Jordan posted: 6am will mean headlamps at the start...a clockwise loop starting at the Mt tabor road crossing with a water drop at the mcafees lot. Dragons tooth-->north mountain--> tinkers --> mcafees-->PUDs--> done!  As for what to bring, I would pack food (gels and solid) for 7-12 hours, cellphone, headlamp, light jacket, gloves and small water filter. 



• just carry more food with you than you think you will need...the simpler the logistics, the more fun it will be.
• We'll all stick relatively together-meet up at all the overlooks and parking lots. 
• My buddy Matt will drop 3 gallons of water at the Andy Layne trailhead tomorrow morning..

• Josh re. (natural) water sources: There would be water after dragons tooth and again as you are finishing up the north mountain section (just before AL road crossing). The ‘dry’ section would start with the climb up tinkers and last until the puds. 

• Katie asked: Is the CRA a "bring music" thing or a "talk and run" thing? 
• Sean replied: I'd plan for both. The CRA is everything and nothing you expect lol

Random helpful quote: "I'm going to be slow. Could be an 11 hour day..."

As Jordan said, the route is a clockwise loop starting at the Mt Tabor Road crossing (which is actually labeled "Newport Rd" since it changes from mt Tabor Rd at about Gravel Hill Rd) to Dragon's Tooth (Cove Mountain), and then down to Dragons Tooth parking Lot (and across 311), along North Mountain for about 9 miles where you turn right/east down to Andy Layne Trail to Tinker Mountain to Macafee Knob to the Macafee Parking Lot (aka., "311 Lot") another 4 miles back to the Mt Tabor Road Crossing. The closest Strava route is https://www.strava.com/routes/11391706, which starts at Dragon's Tooth Lot (but we will start 4.2 miles earlier, starting at the Mt Tabor Road crossing, labeled Newport Rd).

CRA, July 2016

Brush Mountain Breakdown 2017 – Donuts and Beer

Brush Mountain Breakdown – race report – Donuts and Beer, Saturday, Oct 28, 2017, 12 noon

The 2017 Brush Mountain Breakdown was a blast and I am writing this mainly to archive my race and to showcase the photo shown herein. After falling in behind Katie Little and Michael Stowe going up the Horse Nettle trail, at about 1.4 miles in, I surged ahead and focused on my sub-1:30 Plan A goal. No mile-splits band this time…going by feel mostly. It was a gorgeous day with temps in the high 50s at the 12 noon race start. Just over 30 12-milers and 40 7-milers started the race at a fast pace with a few 12-milers riding the wave of the faster 7-miler pace (the 5 K race started separately at 11:30 am).

Donut bite & a beer swig at mile 5.8

Donuts and beer? Yes, at the make-shift 5.8 mile “aid” station, staffed by Laura Hamm and some other “supportive” mountain bikers. Check out the photo provided by Laura; some crazy mountain bikers provided vital “support” at the intersection of Poverty Creek and the Forest Service Rd, just before the Trillium turn. I can’t blame them totally for me missing my goal (lol), but the short version is that I think I missed my 1:30 goal by just about a donut bite and a beer swig (and a couple stumbles later). Apparently I was the first taker; “go up the ramp!” someone shouted – so I did. “Take a donut!” and I did. “Grab a beer! – so I did. Obviously, I was quite susceptible to suggestion as I tunnel-visioned my way along (I was not tempted by the mini-bottles of liquor, however). I barely comprehended who was standing there. After a swig and a bite, I continued across the service road and washed it all down with a swig of Gatorade at the official aid station there. 

Then my legs started wobbling as the interaction of sugar and alcohol hit my system. I kept moving but it took a full 2 minutes to feel somewhat normal. Stumble #1 and an adrenaline surge cleansed the toxins out. I hit the rock gardens at a steady pace, channeling my inner Kirby; around mile 8 down Queen Anne, Nick Kinney approached, and passed, so I picked it up and drafted along for a spell before he pulled away. Stumble #2 (again on flat trail) at around mile 9 along Poverty Creek, and a few more seconds lost – I bounced up and kept going thinking I might catch Nick. And I almost did – about ¼ mile from the end I saw Nick ahead and pushed up the pace finishing with an official time of 1:32:18 (see Strava track here), just 5 seconds behind him; the cost of 2 stumbles, a donut-bite and swig of beer? Maybe 2:18 or so. I’ll take it ;)

Notable finishing times were Clark Jeffrey, 5k winner with 22:16 and Nora Dragovic (3rd) with 26:51. For the 7-miler Ignacio Moore finished 1st with 45:12 followed by Brian Walter with 46:18; Audry Link (age 14) was the 1st female with an impressive 56:49. Jordan Chang powered out a 1:24:07 to win the 12-miler, followed by Danny Mathieson with 1:25:39 and Kevin McGuire with 1:27:38. Michael Stowe finished right behind me in 1:33:32. Katie Little was the 1st female with a solid finishing time of 1:33:47.

Bikesharing in the New River Valley

Perhaps I'm onto something. I took a photo of this old-school bike sighted in Christiansburg June 15, 2015 near BT's bus stop no. 2202 Laurel/Sycamore Wbnd (Kmart) while visiting a bus stop we were preparing to have improved. This was long before we started contemplating a regional New River Valley bikeshare system. So today I started messing around with Instagram and used the photo as my profile photo, in the hopes of eventually having New River Valley bikeshare followers to communicate with. Today I also received a request to review a paper for the 2018 Transportation Research Board. 

Photo used in Paul DeMaio's 1st blog post
May 17, 2007

As I scanned the TRB paper I noticed one of the references was to Paul DeMaio's http://bike-sharing.blogspot.com/ which he started in 2007. His first posting included a photo of a bikeshare bike in a very similar position as the one I photographed earlier. Just a bit eerie I must say.  Here's to hoping bikeshare in the New River Valley launches soon and is as successful as bikeshare in Washington, D.C.

Neon green while bike commuting

Car passing by with about 15-18
inches of space

I rode wearing both grey and neon green. Being seen and being given more room as a bicycle commuter is important, and I am convinced wearing a neon green shirt, neon green helmet, and blinking lights makes a difference. While not a truly scientific process, over about a 2-week period I alternated between wearing a grey shirt and no blinking bike lights and wearing a neon green shirt and blinking bike lights during my daily bicycle commute. I had both front (white) and rear (red) facing lights, and for this discussion, I focus on the behavior of vehicle drivers that passed me. I did not have a way to measure differences in passing distance, but I did observe what seemed like significant, practical differences in amount of space others left when passing by, and in my comfort level.

Wearing neon green with blinking lights;
drivers seem to pass with more room

From what I observed both while riding, and after re-reviewing video of my commutes, wearing the neon green and lights resulted in vehicles passing by me with more room. In many cases, if the left lane was clear, drivers were more likely to actually change lanes from the right to the left lane when passing by when I was wearing the neon green with blinking lights. When they did not change lanes they were more likely to provide more room between their vehicle and me by moving further left within their lane.

With grey shirt, drivers seem
to pass with less room

These images show both the front view and a side view in a mirror attached the bicycle handlebars. The first image shows me wearing neon green (and lights) with a blue pick-up truck in the left lane, about to pass by, with a full lane's worth of distance (about 12-14 feet) away. In this case the truck actually changed lanes from the right to the left before passing by. The other image shows me wearing a grey shirt (and no bike lights) while a white sedan passes close by, with only about 2-3 feet of distance between us. This difference was commonly observed throughout the 2 weeks. I think more drivers (duh) noticed me earlier and where more likely to change lanes or move left within their lane when I wore neon green with the blinking lights, as compared to the grey-shirt case.

2 front & 3 back blinky blinky
LED lights w/rechargeable batteries

I run redundant, blinking bike lights, all LEDs. On the front I have a 2 watt and a 1/2-watt light which both blink. I run all the lights all the time. The lights all have either AA or AAA rechargeable batteries such as those by Duracell (available at Kroger). On the rear, I have 3 different lights, all blinking. Of course you can set the lights to run steady (or have some blink and some on steady), depending on where you are, and what you need. At night I often run one steady on the front and back. I also have an external bluetooth speaker (which can play via your phone) or via a plug, such as with my i-Pod Shuffle. I have a small piece of Velcro attached to the stem for the Shuffle but I usually stream Pandora or NPR online. Sort of an obnoxious audio horn on most of the time as a ride down the road or path. People do hear me coming!

I also have a bling-bling bell to alert pedestrians when riding on a shared-use path (or occasionally the sidewalk), a beverage holder for water bottle or coffee cup, and a left-side mirror. I have light-weight rain fenders too, and wear comfortable hiking pants to commute in which are passable at work too. My neon green gloves are used to cut the edge when cool, and the jacket has zip off sleeves so I can wear it as a vest when it is warm.

Anatomy of a bicycle commuter

When it rains I bring/wear a jacket underneath, and have rain pants as well if I need/want them. I also have a rechargeable RePlay video/audio recorder mounted facing forward. I don't have it all the time, but do like having it in case I want to review a recording. I wear a neon green helmet 99% of the time. The exception may be when going on vacation and renting a beach cruiser (at low speeds) along the boardwalk or while riding in a bouncy house (hah). When I travel to conferences, I usually plan ahead and find a bikeshare system and bring my helmet and jacket along. Most bikeshares have lights on the bikes.

All of this is not needed to ride a bike. You can jump on and ride relatively safely in work clothes and no helmet. One big reason I wear a helmet is that I have been hit (head on) and hit both the hood of the truck and the pavement with my helmeted head, and was able to walk away (much to emergency services' chagrin). Also a neon green helmet is visible to others, and one can even mount a light(s) onto it, and attach additional reflective tape. Or even a video camera. Plus it holds down a hat, and feels sort of like a thunder blanket or seat belt on my head.

Stay safe and get alternatively commuting!

Are we living in an active, healthy town?

Virginia Town & City, April 2017

One of my Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon* defaults is to notice anything with a bicycle, bike icon, or other related bicycle-related component on it. This week I spotted the April 2017 Virginia Town & City magazine at work, which features an article by Susan DeFrancesco, entitled "A place that's fit to live in." It is particularly fitting since May is both National Bike Month and the Ride Smart Challenge. The author sent me a PDF of the article. Take-aways include these tidbits for a community, many for me which seem obvious - but I am in the weeds - do others think our town is an "activity-friendly environment"? The article mentions that such communities:

• Encourage walking, bicycling, and active play and recreation
• Adopt and implement transportation policies and practices that create complete streets, streets designed and operated to be safe and accessible for all users
• Prioritize pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure
• Have an environment where healthy foods are available and accessible
• Have a comprehensive plan that promotes healthy and active living

Poverty Creek Trail System Map 

I think the Town of Blacksburg has most of the components to some degree, and we too could join the Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Campaign if someone were to champion it; we have a bicycle plan, some town staff know at least what complete streets is (and is not), we have a Corridor Committee that annually prioritizes the "missing sidewalk-segments" list by high, medium, and low priority, we have a robust downtown Farmer's Market (that accepts and encourages SNAP at double-value), and the transportation chapter of the Town's Comprehensive Plan (being updated through 2017 - take the survey!) mentions the pedestrian and bicycle routes, including the Huckleberry Trail, and other shared-use pathways. We also have two health-food stores, a fair number of organic food products in our grocery stores, a vibrant running and a walking/hiking store, and nearby we have Pandapas Pond and the 17-mile Poverty Creek Trail System. And there is more if you look. 

What is your take on it? 

I am just a lowly daily bicycle commuter and a runner in a small college town, admittedly on the fringe, so I cannot claim to represent the majority. All 5 of the bullets above seem wise, but what seems walk-able or bicycle-friendly to me may not seem so to others. What the Town has listed online may not align with your personal experience as to what makes for a good, activity-friendly environment.

*The Baader-Neinhoff Phenomenon is "where one stumbles upon some obscure piece of information and soon afterwards encounters the same subject again, often repeatedly."

Highlander Half Marathon Plan B - facing the facts

Plan B for the Highlander Half Marathon was me facing the facts, as Trevor recently discussed in his blog post after his Boston Marathon for which he adjusted his training. To me part of his point was that sometimes inspiration can only take you so far, and there comes a time to face the facts. For me it was an epiphany I had during a mid-week commute run on the way to work. This was my last day of running before the Highlander Half and it was a partial race simulation to see how a 7 min. mile felt. After a couple of warm up miles I hit about 7:15 and that was about all I could muster. My body (and quieted ego) were speaking to me: "Time for Plan B."

Plan A was to run the race in under 1 hr, 30 mins. It was definitely "aiming big" as Trevor calls it. But again those pesky facts! I was not ready to push myself to that degree and stick to Plan A, and my legs and cooperative ego were telling me so.

Back side of mile-splits
wrist band I wore

The entire idea of a plan at all (with a mile-split band) was something I had stumbled upon, so having 2 plans was also novel. It had to be a challenge but I wanted to be smart about developing my new plan. After several fiddling sessions I came up with Plan B. Plan A was still there: I literally made a 2-sided wrist band with mile splits for both Plan A and Plan B on opposing sides.

That mid-week run guided me, and I was listening. I felt I was at 94% or so in terms of recovery from pacing Blue Ridge. But 94% is not where you need to be to achieve a big goal, no matter what the stage-coach driver in your head is telling you. Have the dream but hold it for another day. It was not until sometime Friday morning that I decided to accept my Plan B strategy and I tried on my band, B-side-up. I had reviewed my own running data from similar races; I studied the elevation and course map, and I even invested time going over the route virtually using Google Earth. Plan B was becoming solid. And Plan B was still a stretch.

Scouting out the race route,
Wildwood Park on Friday

And Plan B was still just a theoretical waiting to be implemented. Having a plan may be smart but carries no guarantees. My wife and I actually were able to scout out part of the route prior to packet pick-up, so that helped solidify my decision. And I spoke both A and B aloud. Perhaps that is when I confirmed that my mid-week epiphany was on the right track. Plan A was unrealistic. Even at 100%, successfully implementing Plan A would have probably taken more months and definitely more pain, as we are talking a full 5+ minutes faster over 13.1 miles. That may not sound like much but that works out to about 30 secs faster per mile on an unknown, inaugural course.

Race day on Saturday was excellent with over 250 runners, fine weather, and lots of enthusiastic volunteers. After a teaser false race-start, we were off. Along with several potentially faster, adrenaline-inspired 8k racers, I held on to that holdin-on feeling, eased back the throttle just a bit, and followed my wrist mile-splits. Mile 1 and 4 were purposely slower to account for the half-mile uphill sections. As I had prepared my Plans I had also become familiar with the route - a very wise strategy in this case, as the leaders made a couple of wrong turns, and others missed turns along the way.

Trail at about mile 6.5
Wildwood Park, Radford, VA

As we split from the 8-kers, we approached the river and were welcomed by cool breezes: right on track, cruising along the water. Through the tunnel and then into Wildwood Park, a section we had scouted out the day before. Running through neighborhoods, we were greeted by volunteers and police officers who instilled confidence at the intersections, and by supportive locals cheering for us. Mile 8 is where it started to hurt a bit so I glanced again at my watch and wrist band and dug in for each split.

Mile 10 was a peak. That was the last aid station and I even gulped a shot of Powerade, grabbed 2 small cups of gummy bears and a handful of some sort of jelly candies ... sugar = good! Muscles responding as I locked in to the runner ahead - dreams of catching him - Aim Big, why not? Right on track. I didn't know what place I was in - I just knew I had to keep digging in to stay on track. I kept him in sight, slowly decreasing the distance between us. Then at about 12.5 the guy took a wrong turn ... I kept going as we tried to discuss it between gasps to keep us on track.

Plan B executed for a 3rd
Place, 4 seconds faster
than my goal

I passed him. The race marshals dwindled at the end with very few race markers present ... which made it that much more challenging.  Focus. Run the splits. Follow the Plan. Hit the final turn around cone and dig in.

As I peaked the final ascent and saw the clock reading 1:34 something or other, I thought, "Could I make it?" Sprinting, pushing, hurting, cross the final mat and hit my Garmin-watch stop button. Plan B had my splits so I would finish in 1:35:25. My time was 1:35:20.7. Nailed it again!


Plan A is still waiting. I have lots of time to evaluate it. But it was Plan B that got me there - and with surprising results.  I was not thinking of places, or medals, or anything but B. Got it done by 4 seconds ... very happy with that, and I felt great. Plan A would have me running along, ignoring the facts. On race day Plan B was mine. Plan B was what I created as a result of creating Plan A, and as a result of listening to my inner voice, accepting that gut feeling, and adjusting accordingly.

Hanging out with other runners,
savoring our accomplishment together

Why run? Because we can. Chose to move your body, and do so in a way that inspires and invigorates. Share your experiences and tell others about it to pass on that inspiration and to inform your friends and family of some of your inner thoughts.

Why write about my accomplishments in a small, local running race? The answer may be the same as that for the question, "Why run?" To me, this write up affirms the importance and value of introspection and of listening to that "inner voice" and heeding the resulting decision one makes after listening.

Why listen? Because we can. Because we *still* can learn. And I am still learning as I chose to listen to those fleeting thoughts and subtle feelings (and insightful friends) to help guide me along the way. Whether it be creating a race plan, actually running the race, or accomplishing other life goals, the plan for a Plan B will ever be in my arsenal.