Ride Report - Paint Bank Loop (8/10/2008)
Route Map: http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/va/pembroke/788231994037
Towns along route: Newport VA, Mountain Lake VA, Waiteville WV, Paint Bank VA, Maggie VA.
Mountain Lake, VA -
- Mountain Lake is one of two natural lakes in Virginia
- Water levels of the lake fluctuate due to a fissure at the bottom that provides an outlet for both sediment and water and prevents the lake from otherwise simply becoming a bog
- Mountain Lake Hotel was the site for much of the on-location filming of the 1987 hit movie Dirty Dancing
- The highest point in Giles County, VA
- Close to the lake is one of Virginia’s few virgin forests, including a rare virgin spruce bog (now being eaten by the woolly adelgid)
 Mountain Lake Hotel |
 Mountain Lake (AKA Salt Pond) |
Waiteville, WV - “A 1932 excursion on the Potts Mountain incline marked the last time a train ran on the railroad to the once bustling lumber town of Waiteville, Monroe County, WV. Industrial development and subsequent decline played a major role in the sweeping changes that came to West Virginia in the twentieth century.” - West Virginia History, Vol 54
More history of the valley that Waiteville and Paint Bank are located - http://www.wvculture.org/history/journal_wvh/wvh54-3.html
Paint Bank, VA - “Settled around 1700, history has it that the Cherokee Indians who lived here used red clay from its banks to make their pottery and war paint. Later, the clay was used by settlers to make paint as well as bricks, and thus the town’s name, Paint Bank.”
“Now, thanks to a couple of philanthropists with a dream, there is hope the town’s economy will once again flourish, but this time its prosperity will be the byproduct of tourism instead of mining. Four historic town structures have either been restored or will be in the near future, according to Mikell Ellison, who is the general manager of the restoration project.”
Source - “Down Home in Paint Bank”, by Gwen Johnson in Cooperative Living
 Buffalo near Paint Bank, VA |
|
 Inside Swinging Bridge Restaurant |
 Front of Paint Bank General Store |
Ride results according to iBike:
- 97.55 mi (my door-to-door)
- 6:09 ride time (wheels turning)
- 15.8 mph ave
- 9200 ft climbed (anything that went up)
- 3500 cals burnt (I suspect that Bill burnt another 5-10% given his faster times up the hills!)
iBike Results
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