Haha. Yeah, we turned around at the first gate and thought we had lost our way
There are no gates from Whitetop to Damascus and no sign on the first gate, so we thought we had gone astray. Couldn't find another path though and asked a local out in his yard and he told us 'yeah, just open the gate and go on through!' 5 or 6 followed over the next many miles. Why don't they put a sign on the first gate? Heck, I don't know...
First time we rode it, I was on my hybrid. This time I brought the MTB. In retrospect, I think the hybrid was the best bike for the ride. It has no trouble on the mostly hard packed crushed rock and I'm more comfortable on it on a 30+ mile ride. It'll be the bike I bring back.