Bicycling, Prince William Forest Park Scenic Drive between Parking Lot D and Oak Ridge Campground, Triangle, VA

This 7.4 mile ride (3.7 miles up, 3.7 miles back) took place on Wednesday, August 23, 2023. It was just me on this ride.

It was another early one. I got up at 5:00 AM, left Manassas, VA at 6:00 AM and got to the entrance to Oak Ridge Campground within Prince William Forest Park around 7:00 AM. About a month ago I attempted to ride my bike from Parking Lot D to Oak Ridge RD, which is the entrance to Oak Ridge Campground. I didn’t make it. But I’m not sure if I coined this phrase or heard it somewhere else. It goes like: If you fail, return and prevail. So I did.

Last time I was rushed because it was getting very hot as the day progressed. And I was not in good shape. Today it was 55 degrees when I started this ride and 59 degrees when I completed it. During the last month or so I hiked and biked a good deal. That probably helped. And I ate a good breakfast, took a multivitamin and two Advil before I started today.

So I started down Oak Ridge RD, passed an old family cemetary and then got to the Scenic Drive. I turned left and started going clockwise on the drive. The bike trail/drive was wavy. There were slight ups and slight downs. It did seem like there were more downs than ups going this way. I didn’t take any breaks while going to parking lot D. I made it there by 7:30 AM. I took a break, took a Voke energy tab and some water, and started my return trip.

On the return trip I knew that I would have more ups than downs. So I took breaks at parking lot E, the Burma RD intersection, half way between parking lot F and Oak Ridge RD and at the intersection of the Scenic Drive and Oak Ridge RD. I then peddled back to the entrance to Oak Ridge Campground and arrived back at my vehicle by 8:15 AM. I got back home by 9:00 AM in time to watch Perry Mason on TV.

I felt good after this ride. I either passed or was passed by four bicyclists, two joggers and one hiker. I expected the trail and the parking areas to be more crowded than they were. I had a good day today on my bike called the Costco Special.

Mike C

Map of where I biked