Day 1
Leesburg To Staunton
240 Miles ~16,000 Feet
Grand Departure 5:00 AM
Thursday begins!
- late sign-in
- bike inspection
- breakfast catered by Anitas
Riders take over the main streets of historic Leesburg for this early morning start, heading west away from DC before bearing south for nearly 200 miles and crossing the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The departure hotel is the Best Western Leesburg – 726 E Market St, Leesburg, VA 20176.
Local Food Not to be Missed
- Red Truck Bakery, Warrenton
- Mario’s Pizzeria, Orange
- Maybelline’s Convenience Store and Deli, Somerset
- Mudhouse Coffee, Crozet Pizza, Green House Coffee and Chiles Farm Market, Crozet
Channel Your Inner Mountain Goat Today
- Day 1 is the biggest climbing day. Rolling terrain abounds.
- The lovely Snickersville Turnpike features a long climb to the heart of Virginia horse country
- The climb over Rockfish Gap is the pinnacle of the day at mile 155 where you cross the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive
- After descending into the Shenandoah Valley, the climbing is intermittent with 10 miles of travel into the overnight control
Staunton Ends the Day
- That’s pronounced “Stanton”
- Live large for a randonneur at our overnight, Hotel 24
- Volunteers valet your bike and bag, like every night
- Dinner features chef-made Chili, Con Carne or vegetarian, roasted tomato soup with tortellini. Soda, beer and wine are served every night
History on this day …
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Leaving Warrenton, you’ll pass within a half block of the hotel where George McClellan bid farewell to his troops after President Lincoln relieved him of his command because of his failure to pursue Lee’s army after the Union victory at Antietam.
- At Rockfish Gap, you will pass the spot where a meeting in 1818 attended by presidents Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, as well as Chief Justice John Marshall, selected Charlottesville as the location for the University of Virginia.
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Lexington is home of the Virginia Military Institute, where Stonewall Jackson taught, and Washington and Lee University, where Robert E. Lee spent the post-war years as president.
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