It is summer time, and one of the best activities in the warmer months you can enjoy in Giles County (in addition to the New River) is bicycling. This article highlights some of the areas in the county nice for riding. Don’t forget to take water and cell phone with you, and to always wear a helmet. Riding on the mountain roads is great, but you should always practice caution and use hand signals whenever possible.

(click for larger image)

1 – Castle Rock Loop (challenging, approx. 5 miles) – in Pembroke, you start at Kal-Bee restaurant on Snidow St. Turn right onto Snidow St, then turn right onto Castle Rock Drive. Take First St. on your left, and take a right on Chestnut St … this leads to a right turn down Second St. At the bottom, you are back on Castle Rock! Continue, and the road takes a sharp left. Continue going uphill — it levels off a bit as you pass Old Farm Rd on your left. Go straight on until you reach the golf course parking lot; stop here to stretch, get some water, etc. When you are ready for the last leg, exit the parking lot and go up Horseshoe Farm Road. The uphill climb levels off after about 1/4 mile, after which you continue to ride until you reach the cul-de-sac. Double back until you get to Old Farm Rd. on your right — take it! This is a great downhill section. At the bottom, you are back to Castle Rock Dr. Take a right, and continue back down the way you came, all the way back to Kal-Bee on Snidow St.

Now, you should be hungry — go in and see Connie for a burger!

(click for larger image)

2 – Cascade Drive (Moderate, 8 miles round trip) – Start at the old Ben Franklin store parking lot, and cross 460 onto Mill Road. Take this until it joins Cascade Drive. Continue until you reach the Cascades Trail Head parking lot. If you brought your lock, you could chain up the bike and hike up to the Cascades waterfall and back. A nice thing about this ride is that although it ranges from flat to a slight uphill on the way there, it is all downhill coming back.

(click for larger image)

3 – Rocky Hollow Road/Guinea Mount Rd. (Very Challenging, approx. 10 miles round trip) – from Kal-Bee again, take a left onto Snidow St. and follow it until it forks out to River Road. Take this fork, and River Road becomes Rocky Hollow Road. You will continue straight on up to the very top where it meets Guinea Mount Road in Eggleston. The final two miles of this ride are very challenging, so pack plenty of water. Once at the top, and after a rest, you could explore Eggleston a little before heading back down, which of course is all downhill

(click for larger image)

4 – Spruce Run (approx 16 miles round trip, challenging) – start at Newport Hardware, just over the county line from Montgomery County, and just off route 460. This is my favorite ride — you just take Spruce Run all the way until it ends. It is a beautiful ride. You can double back right away, or you could explore the area by taking a left and going down by the banks of the New River. Or, if you take a right, you’ll eventually hit Eggleston Rd.