Muni Gathering, Roanoke Virginia, June 2012: Pick a weekend and show up!

[munimag]

I looked at the websites for Carvins Cove and Douthat State Park. Both look like they have nice trails. Douthat may have more established and marked trails. Carvins Cove does not have camping or allow swimming in the reservoir. Douthat has camping and allows swimming in the lake. Douthat may be a few degrees cooler as it is a little higher up in the mountains.

[Nurse Ben]

Douthat State Park sounds fine, and it's closer to the folks coming from the DC area; plus it might be a little cooler:

Trails: http://www.virginiaoutdoors.com/park...e-park/Biking/

Camping/Cabins: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_pa....shtml#camping
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_pa...u.shtml#cabins

Getting there: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_pa...shtml#location

Don't forget to add your name to the list:

How about a head count for Fri, June 29 to Sun, July 1st:

1) Nurse ben
2) jbtilley
3) minimalist
4) (add your name if you can make it)

And please don't be "nervous" about trail difficulty and skill levels, we all work together so everyone rides

If you all really want to work on wheel truing, I'll bring a stand.

[munimag]

The link you provided for trails has some nice information on each trail including a picture. I had not seen that before.

It would be nice to reserve some campsites next to or near each other. Has anyone checked to see what availability is like? I will see what I can find out.

How about a head count for Fri, June 29 to Sun, July 1st:

1) Nurse ben
2) jbtilley
3) minimalist
4) munimag
5) (add your name if you can make it)

[jbtilley]

It looks like there is group camping... probably a campsite large enough to set up several tents. Would it be better to reserve one of those as opposed to splitting among several smaller sites?

[MadFurai]

I think reserving a group site would be the best, but I guess we'll let Ben get the details since he will be acting as the point man. Douthat State Park is fine with me. Although, from the descriptions, it sounds like anybody looking for easy trails might be disappointed. It's hard to tell until you get there, though.

Is anybody else bringing their wives and/or kids? I'm considering making this a family camping trip, so I was hoping I wouldn't be the only one.

Either way, count me in.

Current Head Count for Fri, June 29 to Sun, July 1st:

1) Nurse ben
2) jbtilley
3) minimalist
4) munimag
5) MadFurai
6) (add your name if you can make it)

[jbtilley]

Yes, my wife and kid will also be attending. Wouldn't go without them.

[Nurse Ben]

Well, Claude made a good call on getting the reservations early!

I talked to the reservation folks and they had one site remaining for the June 29th and the 30th, so I went ahead and made the reservation

So now you all have to meet me to ride

We're staying at Whispering Pines, the site accomodates six people, but I'm sure we can squeeze in more. There is some walk in camping that is first come first serve.

If it get's tight, like more than six people planm to attend, then we may need to add a site, so I'll look for cancellations, another option is renting a cabin if anyone is so inclined.

I'll have a small pop up camper. Is anyone else bringing a camper?

[MadFurai]

I'll be tenting it, and I'll have 2 adults and 2 kids in my group (including me) most likely.

[jbtilley]

Tent is the (tent)ative plan. 2 adults, one kid. We all fit in the one tent.

[Nurse Ben]

Wow, we are filling up quickly!!

Okay, so I guess I underestimated the number of suporting family coming along, so how about a head count like you guys already started:

Nurse Ben = 1-2
jbtilley = 3
MadFurai = 4
Munimag = ?
Minimalist = ?

So we are clearly going to need more spaces, so here's how the resaervation person said it works:

Whispering Pines is located on the park access road ~3miles from the main office, cabins, etc... I reserved the only space available for two nights.

I am checking on the availability now...and all that is left is a two person cabin, $79/night, grab it quick! 1-800-933-7275

I suppose we can squish a bunch of folks into that one site, but the fifteen cars we park around the site might give us away

So this does look like a great location, but we'll need to be creative in terms of getting everyone together.

There are other campgrounds nearby as well as lodging options in the nearby towns, also maybe some folks are just coming for the day. So, if we can stick with this location then I'll make the campsite our "Headquarters" where we can meet, eat, etc...

Is this sounding okay?

[MadFurai]

I just got a site at Whispering Pines for Friday night only. As Ben said, Saturday night was already reserved. So, I might only be there for the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning rides. If Ben or someone else has room at their site for Saturday night, then we might be able to move our tent. However, there is a 2 car limit per campsite, so keep that in mind.

[UPD in Utah]

I was bummed to have missed the Raccoon Mountain gathering, and I had heard rumors of other gatherings taking shape later in the Summer, and now I see one is taking shape near Roanoke.

I'm far from certain about this right now ... but this gathering might just work if paired with a visit to nearby family.

So Ben, count me in as a big maybe!

Cheers,

UPD in Utah

[minimalist]

Originally Posted by Nurse Ben

Wow, we are filling up quickly!!

Okay, so I guess I underestimated the number of suporting family coming along, so how about a head count like you guys already started:

Minimalist = 3

I'm planning on bringing my family too except we won't be camping. I'll be looking for some nearby lodging.

[Nurse Ben]

Bert, yes, that would be awesome, see if you can get to this one!

Yeah, it's amazing that the camping is completly booked, but it's prime time and this is one of the Top Ten campgrounds

Don't worry about the riding, there are a lot of trail choices, short, medium, long, easy to hard, plus plenty of pavement to play on.

If anyone finds some other camping choices, let us know. So it sounds like we'll have a little extra space on Friday night if Madfurai will share

Saturday night is the tough one. I'm sure we can squeeze folks in, esp if we park the cars somewhere else and shuttle in, then they won't know how numerous we really are...and of course I'll try to get an extra space when I get there on Friday.

I'm planning to get a ride in Friday night, so if anyone is up there early, give me a hollar: eight six five, four eight three, eight seven three five.

[ally1776]

Well as it stands right now, I'm out. As I feared, that weekend isn't going to fly with work responsibilities