BRS Outdoor Program

Clark Paul LaVoie Born May 7th 2008

2008-05-10T04:24:00.000-07:00

Here is the newest member of the BRS Outdoor Program. He was born on May 7th 2008 and is already looking forward to hitting the trails!!! Mom is resting and doing well. We look forward to you all getting a chance to meet him.

Take Care-
Mr. LaVoie

Blackrock Summit

2008-04-17T12:22:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we hiked on the Appalachian Trail to Blackrock Summit. This beautiful outcropping of rocks provides a fantastic view of the Shenandoah Valley. All of the guys seemed to enjoy themselves on this hike.

Raven's Roost

2008-04-17T12:17:00.001-07:00

The outdoor program had a great time at Raven's Roost the other day. We climbed for about 3 hours and then went to DQ on the way home. Here are a few pictures from our fantastic trip.

Dragon's Back Press

2008-04-08T05:47:00.000-07:00

Alex Strattman's picture made the press release in the Roanoke Times yesterday! Check it out at http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/157323. photo was by Kyle Green of The Roanoke Times

A new batch of Moab Pics

2008-04-07T10:00:00.001-07:00

I got some new pictures from Moab. Here are a couple of the highlights. I will have them posted on my web album by the end of the day. All of you should already have that link.

Dragon's Back Mtn Bike Race

2008-04-07T07:26:00.001-07:00

Well the Dragon's Back was truly epic. The junior beginner and sport course was 11 miles of grueling single track hill climb, gnarly traverse of the ridgeline and a tough descent. That being said the boys of the Blue Ridge slayed the dragon with a strong showing.

1st place junior sport: Dan Desenberg

2nd place junior sport: Dillon Long

1st place junior beginner: Mel Blevins

Everyone who did not do the short course tackled the accent one more time and did an alternate ridgeline as well as descent that was simply tough.

3rd place junior expert: Alex Strattman

7th place sport masters: Mr. Cunningham

All in all this was a successful race for the Mtn Bike team. Thanks for Mr. Deane for taking the trip and all of the boys who raced. CJ Jinning, Chris Stattman, Sean Dugan and Henry Guerra.

MOAB Pictures

2008-04-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

Mr Cunningham and I want thank everone who made the Moab trip happen. It was an absolutly fantastic opportunity for everyone that was involved. I have attatched a link to the pictures that I have gotten so far. Still waiting on one students photos. I will add those as soon as i get them. Please feel free to download any and all of the pictures that you would like. http://picasaweb.google.com/nolanlavoie/MoabSpringBreak?authkey=8EdDYAck4II

Nolan

Ride the Ridge Pics

2008-04-03T06:38:00.001-07:00

Here is the link to the pics from the ride the ridge race. There were not a lot taken so the album is a bit thin; however, if you by chance have more I can add them. Once again thanks for your support and check back here often for more rides and events at the Blue Ridge School. http://picasaweb.google.com/nolanlavoie/RIDETHERIDGE

Ride the Ridge Results

2008-03-31T05:58:00.000-07:00

Thanks for a great race. Here are the results from the race on Saturday. Look forward to seeing you all again soon.

2nd Annual Ride the Ridge

2008-03-28T10:24:00.001-07:00

The second annual ride the ridge mtn bike race will be held at Blue Ridge School tomorrow. We are looking forward to a large turnout of people and a great race. Look forward to seeing you there rain or shine. Pre-ride starts at 11:30am with the race kicking off at 2:00. All proceeds go to benefit World Bicycle Relief Agency. Thanks for your support.

MOAB PICS

2008-03-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics for your Moab Trip viewing pleasure. I will have more once Joe and Mr. Cunningham get me their memory cards.

MOAB Day 6

2008-03-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

The last day was fantastic. We had a great time riding up to the Gemini Brdiges. This was a more low key day for us with most of the 18 miles being on gravel. Ultimatly, we rode for about 2.5 hours with a nice lunch taken at the bridges. We also got to stop and see an infamous boulder problem and countless other great views. This was a great way to end the trip. I will try and get some pictures as well total tally's up in the next kew days. Until then. It was a great trip.

MOAB Day 5

2008-03-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

Today we rode what many have told us is the best trail in Moab. We rode the Porcupine Rim trail. After a shuttle up to the start of the trail we climbed for about 3-4 miles and then 12 miles of absolute bliss. The last 5 of which were single track. Once we got to the bottom of the trail we had a pleasurable 5 mile road ride back to the car. I think we rode a total of about 22 miles. We could not have asked for better weather. It was in the low 70's with blue bird skies. In short every second of the 4.5 hours that we rode was enjoyed by all. Well we are all off to reward ourselves with some ice cream and try and figure out what trail we will ride on our last day. This will probably be the last post until we get home so we will see you then.

The Moab Wrecking Crew

MOAB Day 4

2008-03-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

Slickrock Trail. WOW. I mean WOW. I think that this single trail has changed the way that we all look at mountain biking. There is no way to describe what 15 miles of riding on solid rock is like. It was so much fun that we rode both the beginner trail and the main trail. The boys did great on the wonderful blend of steep ascents, descents, and technical terrain. It took us about 4 hours but we treasured every single second. This trail truly made the trip. Well we are getting ready to chow down on some burgers to restore todays efforts. Until tomorrow.

The Moab Wrecking Crew

MOAB Day 3

2008-03-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

The Sovereign Trail system is single track bliss! We rode for about 3.5 hours putting our three day total at somewhere around 10-11 hours of riding. This trail area is a masterfully built single track playground with everything you would want in good single track. Rolling hills, moderate drops, technical climbs and descents, burmed corners, and adequate trail markings. What a blast. We even got snowed on today! It went from about 60-30 in 5 minutes and back again in a half hour. The weather out here is crazy. Anyways, we are all having a great time and are getting ready to go drive out to Arches and see some of the sites. I guess the sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits that Dillon and Riley made for breakfast are giving us the energy we need. Make sure when they get back moms that you make them cook you a meal because all of the boys have now cooked at least one. Until tomorrow.

The Moab Wrecking Crew

Moab Day 2

2008-03-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

Well today was truly epic. We rode the Amasa Back Trail which is just fantastic. Probably one of the best descents that any of us have ever done. As an added bonus we got to watch a lot of jeeps crawl up seemingly impassable obstacles of which Riley took a ton of pictures and video. Ultimately we rode about 15 miles with around 1600' of elevation gain. We were on the trail for about 4 hours enjoying the climbs, descents, and slickrock playground at the end. So far Moab is truly living up to its name. Until tomorrow.

The Moab Wrecking Crew

Moab Day 1.5

2008-03-14T17:16:00.000-07:00

After much wrangling we were able to get outfitted with our bikes. Everyone's bike fits well and worked great for the first day of riding. We headed North of town to the Klondike Bluff and Baby Steps Trails. These were a great introduction to slick rock/desert riding. It was so much fun we even went up and rode part of it again! Hard to describe how much fun this type of riding is. It flows so smooth. An added bonus was in the words of Joe, "we got to see some sick nasty jeeps." Riley also had a good time taking a ton of pictures and Dillon helped by pointing out the great views and dinosaur tracks. More to follow tomorrow!

Peace

The Moab Wrecking Crew

Moab Day 1

2008-03-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

Well we made it. We are at Gramma's house and got a great nights sleep last night after arriving around 11pm. Joe made us breakfast of egg burritos and it was delicious. Riley and Dillon cleaned up the mess and now we are getting ready to grab our bikes and ride off the sloth of the travel day. Stay tuned for more updates.

Gourd Mask Project

2008-03-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

Mr. Brown's Appalachian Experiences class has been hard at work making gourd masks. These masks are but one of the ways that Mr. Brown has used to teach the boys about different elements of Appalachian culture.

Bedford Race

2008-02-23T13:51:00.000-08:00

The Bedford race was fantastic. A strong showing by first time racers Dillon Long and Mel Blevins. Joe Hemphill, who competed in the fall had a strong showing as well. The format was "mountain cross" which meant a pleasant blend of single track, dirt roads, and cyclo-cross style obstacle. The laps were two miles in length and they used an equalizer format (sort of like a golf handicap). Ultimatly, a great effort by the boys of the Blue Ridge School. Congrats to Dillon Long for 4th place! Here are a few shots of the boys before the race.

MTN BIKE RACE IN BEDFORD

2008-02-20T11:08:00.000-08:00

Talk to Mr. LaVoie ASAP if you would like to race down in Bedford on Sat. AM. The cost is 20 bucks for registration and lunch. Check out the following link for info: http://bedfordtrails.wordpress.com/upcoming-trail-events/

Bear Fence Mountain

2008-02-20T10:13:00.000-08:00

From China to Orange VA. From Hawaii to Stanardsville VA. Students from all over the world hiked up to the Bear Fence Mountain Summit on Tuesday. The spring outdoor program is a diverse group of guys that will repetedly challenge themselves in the upcoming months on hikes, bike rides and climbs. This season is shaping up to be a great one so keep checking the blog to keep up with the weekly happenings of the BRS Outdoor Program.

Snowshoe WV

2008-02-04T16:46:00.000-08:00

What a great weekend of skiing, snowboarding and hanging out in WV! Mr. Welty, Mr. LaVoie, Teddy Wilson, Rober Gardner, Jeff Meadows, Vince Napolitano, Dillon McBride and Josh Snow took the Snowshoe ski resort by storm from Sat. to Monday. A great time was had by all. Check out of few pics from the trip below.

Peak Experiences

2008-01-14T08:21:00.000-08:00

Sunday the boys of the BRS went to Peak Experiences climbing gym in Richmond, VA. A great time was had by all here are a few of the pics from the trip.

BRS RIDE THE RIDGE MTN BIKE RACE

2008-01-14T07:04:00.001-08:00

Hello All-

The Blue Ridge School will be hosting its second annual BRS Ride the Ridge Mtn Bike Race on SATURDAY MARCH 29th. All of the proceeds will go to World Bicycle Relief a great organization that uses bikes to empower people and start economic engines and what not. Read more about it at http://www.worldbicyclerelief.org/. Last year we had a great turnout and this year we expect even more. We are especially hoping for a large junior division. Please tell any youngster you know about this race.

A few interesting facts-

1) All of the Blue Ridge School trails are student built and maintained.
2) The race will be ran primarily through student volunteer efforts.
3) We have built some new trails so if you think that you have been there done that. Think again...
4) Junior registration will be significantly discounted (prices to come)
5) Registration will occur at http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=5796
6) Trail Map and info. about the school can be seen at www.blueridgeschool.com
Any questions or comments please email nlavoie@blueridgeschool.com. We will also be looking for race day help if any of you would like to pitch in.

Thanks for your support-Nolan LaVoie and Tony Brown