Just got back from riding (most of) the AML. It's really a great short tour to do...I highly recommend it. Great scenery, natural and man made, good roads with nice climbs/descents and very little traffic (some days, maybe we'd get maybe a car per hour passing us). Here are some notes from the trip they may help out some riders:
-You can leave you car at Tangent Outfitters in Pembroke - friendly people, and they have ice cream for a post ride treat
-White Rocks CG off of 613 is up a gravel road - its cheap $4, water and bathrooms, but no showers.
-Morris Hill CG (on lake Moomaw) is almost 2 miles up a steep road, the non-reservation sites are pretty close together. If your staying here try to get a reservation and get one of the more spaced out sites. They do have showers ($16)
- The Bath County Pump Reservoir CG ($10) was very clean, had swimming in the lake, nice showers and we had the whole place to ourselves...only thing it needed was a few more trees to shade it better
-At Durbin, make sure you turn on 250/11, rather than staying on 250...else you'll be climbing more than you have to. (just pay attention to you maps)
-The National Radio telescope Observatory is pretty cool, its free and you can ride your bike to the telescopes
-The Dirt Bean cafe/coffee shop/bike shop in Marlinton has great fresh/healthy style food - highly recommend it
- The Greenbrier -off route in White Sulphur Springs is a good side trip - good diner in WSS also (Diner on the Green?? its a tiny white building)
-Didn't go to Lewisburg (off route), but locals said its a cool town.
- Gap Mills had a great little grocery store (great fresh deli sandwiches) and bakery near just east on SR3 from Zenith road, be sure to stop at both
- Humpback Bridge is a cool place to stop and eat & wade in the river.
-Campsites on the Greenbriar Rvr Trl were nice and clean - many of them had water, I think all of them had pit toilets (they were very clean), and two of the northern ones had 3 sided shelters to stay in (great if rain were in the forecast)
We rode touring bikes with 32 width tires - they were fine on the gravel roads/Greenbrier Trail. We did not ride the top loop up to Glady nor the West Fork Trl, and we took 311 & 159 (minimal traffic on Memorial day) rather than the gravel section NE of Sweet Chalybeate.
Be prepared on this route....as food selection is somewhat limited - especially in the VA section. Plenty of water.
enjoy
