The 2020 RockStar VA offered three different routes to choose from: trail, road, or gravel—all starting from Harrisonburg, Virginia. Here’s Laura Hamm and Thomas Oravetz’s story of tackling the gravel route aboard their tandem, Hot Tammy…
Words and photos by Laura Hamm
We heard the first of several “divorce bike” jokes before dawn on Saturday. This seems to be the most common reaction to the tandem (a close second is any number of jokes at Tommy’s expense for riding stoker, behind a woman). Tommy and I recently converted our tandem, which we’ve christened the Hot Tammy, from a mountain bike to a more gravel-oriented rig, and we were excited to test its bikepacking chops on the Rockstar gravel route, which runs ~270 miles from Harrisonburg to Roanoke, Virginia. Setting Hot Tammy up with our existing bike bags was easier than expected, with the only downside being the loss of the stoker’s thudbuster to accommodate a seatpost bag.
I usually captain, not because I am the better captain, but because Tommy is the superior stoker. This was evident heading up the rocky climb from Switzer lake to Flagpole knob late Saturday morning, where he put in bursts of power to keep us upright through some of my more questionable line choices. Tommy summarizes his job as stoker as providing three things: power, conversation, and wildlife sightings. He excelled in at least two of those things on this ride. We saw two owls, a red-tailed hawk, a bear, and two grouse on the first day alone; I don’t remember what we talked about.
One of my favorite things about bikepacking is riding into the sunrise. There’s something uniquely energizing about having the sun gradually warm you as it emerges on a cold morning. The warmth was particularly welcome on Sunday as we rolled into dawn on Smith Creek road, a beautiful forest service road lined with yellow-leaved poplars. We had camped the night before around 9 p.m. after making just under 130 miles for the day, including a glorious hour of riding under clear night skies with a bright-orange, nearly harvest moon and very visible Mars.
This was my third go at the Rockstar. I’ve ridden the trail route and the gravel route (solo) once before. I can easily say that this one was the most euphoric. It could have been the perfect weather, peak fall colors, good company, and solid eight hours of warm tent sleep that we put in on Saturday night. But I could also conclude that the Rockstar gravel route is ideal for tandem riding. It’s not all that surprising: the massive wheelbase makes for stable gravel descending, and the 350+ pounds of bike and rider provide guaranteed traction (and momentum).
On Sunday, we cruised another 135 scenic, relatively smooth-rolling miles. A well-timed bathroom break allowed us to cross paths with our friend Seth as we entered the Roanoke greenway system, and we finished out the climb up Mill Mountain together, rolling into the Texas Tavern (the end point) shortly before midnight.
Takeaway: get a tandem, find a stoker, be a Rockstar.
Congrats to everyone who participated in this years’ Rockstar VA event. Who’s going to give tandem bikepacking a shot in 2021?!
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