I am new to road biking and the state of Virginia. I just moved to Newport News and don't know where to ride. I have been to a couple of bike shops and been given a little info. They have rides for their customers that I will likely attend. One of the rides goes from Newport News up to Williamsburg then all the way down the Colonial parkway and back. I have driven the parkway and it seems really bumpy....it is surfaced with a small rock type finish. Has anyone ridden it or have any comments on a similar surface? Does anyone here ride in my area? I could really use the guidance.

I know that Conte's is very well known for quality programs down there, they should be able to steer you in the right direction. There's also a neat book called "Road Biking Virginia" that you might pick up, it features a couple of rides in the immediate area. Check with The Tidewater Bicycle Association web site and the Penninsula Bicycling Assoc. web site for information on those clubs and their rides. I know there are a lot of fairly serious riders out of the area, and they didn't start out competing.

I live in Williamsburg and have just started getting back into riding after a 3+ year hiatus--pregnancy, birth, and chasing a toddler around have kept me off my bike until the last couple of months. The Bike the Parkway (think that's what it's called) is a very popular ride run each May--lots of riders ride the parkway from Jamestown to Yorktown. Don't think it would be so popular if the surface caused problems. I used to take my bike to Jamestown Settlement (the one with the fort) and ride onto Jamestown Island (the one with the archaeological dig going on) and do the loop there--not a long ride, but nice scenery. Save it for the fall, now though, the bugs that drove the first colonists away are quite prevalent this time of year. When we took our kids to do the ride we all had bugs chasing us and using our helmets as taxis through the park. I went to Bike Beat's site and found several rides up in Williamsburg--in fact last weekend was the 50+ mile Park to Park ride. You can get the maps and do the rides yourself--what I plan on doing. Here is their site: https://bikebeatonline.com/site/intro.cfm Also a link to Williamsburg Area Bicyclists https://www.wabonline.org/ and Peninsula group https://groups.hamptonroads.com/PBA/ They have a number of rides on the weekend--including three group rides this weekend. There are tons of back/country roads in Williamsburg/James City County that are perfect for road biking--we see them all the time--much more traffic friendly than the lower peninsula. Check out the above links for maps, load up the bike, and head up our way!

Hi, welcome to the area. I think the area is great and you will find lots of good rides to enjoy. Check out these two sites for lots of various rides provided by the main cycling clubs. The PBA is on your side of the water but you can always come to the south side and do the TBA rides. Good luck and enjoy.

Welcome to Virginia! I'm an MTB'er myself, so if you ever get into our crazy world, give me a holla.

I did see a blurb about some road racing online at my bike shop's website... here ya go: https://www.threesports.com/resources...ces/index.html

Aug 6-7. Ashland, VA. It'd be about a 1 hour 45 minute drive from Newport News.

Wow, I did not expect all the responses so quickly. Conte's is the shop that does the ride to Williamsburg and down the parkway. I just bought some shoes from them and will buy some shorts too.....I feel like I should buy from a shop if I am gonna go on their rides.

Funny to hear a MTB rider chime in. I started biking about a year and a half ago on my Gary Fisher Tassahara. I am looking for some trails too. I just get tired of falling so hard so often and looked for a road bike for some consistent cardio.

I'm a Richmonder really; I don't know of any trails off the top of my head in the Newport News area. Here's what I see at MTBR, scroll down for Newport News: https://content.mtbr.com/cat/united-s...918_50crx.aspx

I've never gotten into road biking... I'll have to try it sometime if the number of road triathlons keeps going up.

I found this site a while back that lists some nice-looking rides in your area:

https://users.inna.net/%7Elancucki/

Also this thread https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycling/110975-anyone-ridden-skyline-drive-va.html has some info about riding Colonial Parkway.