West Virginia rides

[beckyl]

So, while many of you heroes (I mean this) were out there clearing the trails over this past week, us slackers were on a short vacay (BTW, we're in for any upcoming work parties).

At the end of last year we bought some land in the middle of Seneca State Forest in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. We just returned from our first camping/mtn biking recon trip there and I want to share some of the pics we took. To anyone who is familiar with the area, we are 2 miles from the Clover Lick access of the Greenbrier River Trail (a 77 mile long rail trail) and 16 miles from Snowshoe Ski Resort. The Allegheny Trail runs through the state forest in the woods adjacent to our property.

Our first day there, we explored double track trails and did tons of climbing.



Ended up riding a short distance on the road (which as you can see ain't too bad).



Then ended up taking the GRT about 17 miles to Marlinton for lunch.





The second day we did tons of climbing (again) on double track to get to some decent single track.



Unfortunately, toward the end of the ride storm debris took out Nevin's rear derailleur...needless to say there was some pretty foul language while he was turning the bike into a SS. Then, I managed to find the only large rock (hidden behind grass) on this screamin' downhill double track that sent me air-born where I literally ate dirt. Luckily, there was a tree down and it kept me from going off the side of the hill and I only bruised my thigh. Most importantly, the Yeti is okay. Third day we took a nice 8 mile hike and climbed some more.

So, if any of our SORBACSRA peeps are interested in a road trip, let us know! Nevin is hoping to get a group of dudes together for a trip to try out Slatyfork which is a short drive and supposed to be pretty technical.
www.senecastateforest.com/senecamap.pdf
www.greenbrierrailtrailstatepark.com/
www.gorp.com/parks-guide/travel-ta-west-virginia-monongahela-national-forest-mountain-biking-slatyfork-elk-river-elkins-sidwcmdev_059576.html

[yetichick]

Wow! That place is everything you said it would be. I thoroughly enjoyed the pics and so glad you are okay and not seriously hurt from your escapade with the rock. You have a lot of biking options in that area!

[beckyl]

Yes, we had a great time and it was a bit cooler up there which was nice. Made for good sleeping in the tent. Eh, the rock wasn't a big deal....I'm afraid your snakebite has me beat! We are so thankful you are okay. Looking forward to getting you and MD up to our little piece of WV heaven!

On another note, this weather is freakin' oppressive! It's got everyone here at work in a funk.

[azdrawdy]

So, so impressive. Seriously. Those pics reveal 100% of what I expect to experience in WVA.

I read a recap of a book on West VA this morning called "West Virginia Beauty, Familiar and Rare" and thought about you guys. The book is on order. I want to chase a Shay and ride some RtT stuff. Then a bit of BnB stuff (without the snake).

Thanks for the pics, and glad no one got hurt.

MD

[mhanna]

Great pics. Sorry to hear about the mechanical and the crash. Glad you are okay.

I haven't been to that area of WV but have been to Douthat State Park in Clifton Forge, VA and the the Trails around Harrisonburg VA. They are both only about an hour or so from where you were. You probably go right by Douthat on your way. The 40 miles of singletrack at Douthat are outstanding. The climbing is always a bit long but the ridge riding and downhills are just incredibly fun. Like FATS on super steroids. Not technical and wicked like Pisgah.

You should check it out on you way one time. Shame to go so close and not ride Douthat.

Would love to do a long weekend trip up to ride. Been trying to get Ted up there for a while but the timing just hasn't worked out.

Wife and I will be up there for a week in October. It's beautiful around those parts in the fall. I'll bet the GRT is a sight to behold when the leaves are changing.

MH

[beckyl]

Glad you guys liked the pics. MD - looking forward to getting my cross bike so the four of us can do an overnight trip on the GRT to Lewisburg, among other things. We have loads of fun ahead!

Thanks for the info Mark. Can't wait to try those trails. I love to climb and push the limits of my endurance but I'm not wild about super technical stuff. I've already had to lose an afternoon of my life waiting in the ER just to get stitches (in '07) and that is not very appealing at this point in my life. I hope Nevin can get a group of you guys up there to ride. Even though we are on the side of a mtn there are plenty of flat spots to camp on the property thanks to the folks that owned it before us. We'll probably be up there sometime in October as well to see the color.