Sporting

Comments

• Cycling attracts businesses ...including mine!

  We moved our speech therapy software business to Blacksburg (from Portland Oregon) about 5 years ago. Our main criteria included lots of outdoor recreation such as cycling (road and mountain biking).
  
  One of the iconic images of Blacksburg, that seemed too-good-to-be-true was of the Huckleberry Trail. But it's real. And really great to ride one. Very soon now, the connector James mentioned above will run from the Huckleberry through our neighborhood and to Old Farm Trail (from which I can then get to Pandapas Pond).
  
  So, I'll be able ride to the NRV Mall faster than I can drive to it. And I can ride there 100% on trails with my kids.

  Posted by October 11, 2010 19:09:45

• Connectivity by bicycle raises property values

  Pandapas Pond is a premiere regional mountain biking destination, and an asset for nearby Blacksburg and Virginia Tech. The Huckleberry Trail, at it's core a converted rail trail, is close to having a connecting spur to the Pandapas Pond property. This will raise the utility and appeal of both assets, and of the community that boasts them.
  
  Connectivity of recreational assets enhances their value by encouraging usage by families. The trip becomes part of the outing, instead of just another shuttle destination, and raises the value of properties adjoining such trails.
  
  The rest of the nation is adding bicycle trail fast! We already boast the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Let us continue to develop opportunities to utilize our greatest asset, our natural beauty, by linking our population centers together with bicycle accommodations, such as Rails To Trails, and Rails With Trails. Connectivity spurs development, and encourages entrepreneurship. More Trails!

  Posted by October 10, 2010 21:02:12

• Blacksburg's Trails are great!

  Very cool history about the Pandapas trail system! I bike the trails often and am also an avid mountain biker and VT cyclist. Those trails helped the VT team beat WVU in the ACC Collegiate Mountain Biking Championship this fall, breaking their ten year reign. It'd be great to expand them and connect them! I can see joint partnerships between VT Cycling, Venture Out, Parks and Rec, Greenway/Bikeway/Corridor Committee in an effort to expand the trails and get everyday people out into Blacksburg's trail system to experience the sheer beauty of southwest Appalachian nature/biodiversity.

  Posted by Lyndsay McKeever October 10, 2010 20:39:59

• Bicycling Tourism attracts big dollars

  Bicycling Tourism in Virginia attracts cyclists from across the nation and international guests. Canadian teams train in the Blue Ridge Mountains. 600+ riders cross the United States from Yorktown to Austoria, OR each year on US Bicycle Route, the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail. 570 miles of this route are in Virginia. The V. Creeper Trail, New River State Park are economic engines attracting millions of visitors a year to rural areas. Want to bring properity to your area? The cost/ benefit ratio makes bicycling accomodations a great deal!

  Posted by barbara duerk October 10, 2010 18:15:40