Riding here, riding there

Haven't had as much time for riding as I'd like. Schedule is picking up with fall sports to shoot and pesky clients who expect a little work.

Still, have had some time to ride some of the great roads in and around Southwestern Virginia, including:

U.S. 11: This is a good ride and you can head North or South out of Roanoke and have a good day in the saddle. North takes you through Buchanan, by Natural Bridge, Lexington, Staunton and up through the Shenandoah Valley. A good ride is to go all the way to Salsburg and then cut over to Front Royal and take the ridge throug Shenandoah National Park (Skyline Drive), hooking up with the Blue Ridge Parkway at Waynesboro.

South takes you up Christiansburg Mountain, on to Radford, Dublin and Pulaski where Draper Mountain awaits. Once over the mountain, U.S. 11 joins I-81 but you can follow "old 11" on Lee Highway that sometimes acts as a frontage road to the Interstate and then branches off from time to time through some of the hills and valleys of Southwestern Virginia. It can take you all the way to Bristol and through Wytheville, Marion and Abingdon.

U.S. 460. Head West from Christiansburg towards New Castle, Pearisburg and West Virginia, where you will find a lot of winding roads through the mountains.