[BigRingBash]

Hey Davis and others,

I may be moving to Buchannon near Elkins next year w/ my wife. She is from there. Are the Canaan valley trails near there? Also what other trails are right in that area that I can make afternnon trips to. Thanks for any info. I am in NC now, in the foothills, the trails are all rolling ups/downs lots of pedaling. I like to ride kind of agressively, but like XC compared to full on downhilling. Kinda all mountain I guess. Anyway what kind of riding should I expect compared to the rolling ups/downs I have here. Again thanks so much for any info. JC

 

[davis]

Hey JC-

Saw your post on the other thead but didn't have time this AM to respond. First off, you are a lucky, lucky biker. Buchannon is the county seat of Uphur County, but drive twenty minutes east and you'll be in Elkins. Elkins is the county seat of Randolph County. North of Randolph County is Tucker County, to the south of Randolph lies (my home) Pocahontas County. Tucker, Randolph, and Pocahontas make up the Monongahela National Forest. From Elkins its an hour's drive north to Tucker's hotspots of Davis/Thomas/Canaan Valley. Drive an hour south from Elkins and your in the Slatyfork/Snowshoe/Marlinton area of Pocahontas County. Parsons (Randolph County) is home to the Shingletree area and a few other goods, as well. Make sure you get to Fat Tire Cycles and introduce yourself to Joey Riddle. He's a superb wrench, and he'll ride anyone around into the dirt. He knows his stuff about your new area, and I'm sure he'll help you find things closer than Tucker and Pocahontas. There does exist some diversity in our forest, but what we have in spades is technical singletrack. Uphill, downhill, and the occaisional 50 feet or so of level technical. Think wet roots, wet rocks, and then some more wet roots.

Best restaraunt in your new area: El Gran Sabor (Venezuelan) on Davis Ave. in Elkins

Best brewery in the Monongahela Nat'l Forest: Mountain State Brewing Company, Thomas, WV.

Let us know when you get here, or if you're coming in for any recon missions. We'll be glad to show you around Pocahontas. If you can make it up for the last weekend of July, you should consider the little Canaan Valley soiree, we'll be camping on Camp 70 Road just out of Davis. Any questions, just ask. Again, welcome.

 

[outdoornut]

Hey JC,

davis pretty much sumed it up for you. You are a Lucky lucky biker as davis put it. That close to all the best riding in WV is great. I live clear over on the Ohio River at Parkersburg and do much of my riding over there in Tucker and Pocahontas Counties. Have been there several times in the last month and a half and will be in Pocahontas County next week and then plan on being at the "Moon Rock Madness" soiree in Davis with davis and some other great folks on the 28th - 30th. Welcome to the great state of West Virginia and hope to met you on the trail.

 

[BigRingBash]

Thanks a bunch guys for the info. I am excited about living there. I appreicate as well the info on food and beer. My 2 favorite things besides mtn. biking. I think the riding sounds amazing as well. I am not a fast rider, but I consider myself a fun rider. I visit there atleast 4 times a year and I have met the guy from Fat Tire. I believe he is the guy who won the state champs. Rides the 29'er. He was a very very cool guy. I mech at a Fisher/Trek dealer now and actually emailed him to see if he would ever need any part time help or so on. It would be nice to have the same job there I do here which is work on bikes! haha. I ride a Cake DLX 5" bike. You guys are pumping me up so much. If you have any more pics of the trails and even yourselves post 'em. I will do the same. Later buds, Justin

 

[davis]

Yep, that's Joey. Great rider and a nice guy to boot. His wife has a pro license.

Another trail network I forgot to mention lies in southern part Randolph known as the Cheat Mtn system. There's a really good map of that area that was made by the guys at Elk Mountain Outfitters before they went out of business. I'd recommend getting hold of one of those before they all disappear. Elk River Touring Center produces the definitive Slatyfork map. Also, I'd highly recommend getting the most recent edition of the Monongahela National Forest Hiking Guide. I'd bet its available on amazon. It's pretty much a must have for anyone interested in the outdoors here.

 

[outdoornut]

You guys are pumping me up so much. If you have any more pics of the trails and even yourselves post 'em. I will do the same. Later buds, Justin

JC,

There are a bunch of pictures posted on here from the Slatyfork area of Pocahontas County. Look under the passion forum and search for "Official Announcement - Slatyfork Shuffle". On the last 2 pages of that post there are a bunch of pics from the Shuffle and also on Passion is the "06 Slatyfork Shuffle - The last dance". Lots of pics there also.

Here is a few of the area near Davis WV we plan on ridding the 28th - 30th of this month at the "Moon Rock Madness" get together.

 

[outdoornut]

If you have any more pics of the trails and even yourselves post 'em. I will do the same. Later buds, Justin

Here are a few more of same area Justin.

 

[BigRingBash]

Man ol' man, I am getting excited. The rocks/roots look nice and tech. It may take me ahwile to get used to riding in those conditions hahahahaha. In the foothills here we have tons of roots, but not as many rocks. It just looks like fun. It is also looks as if I may need to put my granny gear back on. I run a 1x9 drivetrain here. Reading about the miles of climbing it may be a nice thing to have in West Va. I am pretty much gearing up to move to Buchannon next summer. My wife is a school teacher and has to complete this upcoming year before we move. We may start looking for a house in the spring hopefully in town so I can ride my bike everywhere. Look forward to it. I will post or shoot you guys an email when I visit again and hopefully I can ride w/ you guys, if you don't mind taking it slow for a West Va noobie. haha. I will post a couple of pics of the riding here and myself when I get home from work. For now I figure you guys may appreciate this one of me and the wife. later on, JC

 

[davis]

findin' more trail pics...

OutdoorNut posted a few specific threads to check, but you may also want to use the "search" feature of mtbr and query "davis" along with any of the following; "Slatyfork", "Canaan", and/or "Monongahela". Just a thought.

 

[BigRingBash]

Here are some pic of me riding when I had a 29'er as you can see I need to drop more weight and get my climbing legs ready for West Va. The trails here have short steep climbs that are like hitting walls. Someone told me today that in West Va. you will climb 10 miles to the trail head hahahaaha. Man I gotta get some miles in. Are the climbs nice and steady where you can ride tempo. Any other advice to get myself ready!! Again I am excited. Later guys, Justin.

 

[Hecklerboy]

I've got a few pics of Slatyfork trails on my website. Just go to the Local Trails sections.
Click on the link below.

 

[BigRingBash]

Man those trails look awesome. I have a Trek Remedy 5, so I will be ready for the rocks and climbing. Which of those trails are closest to Elkins or are they all the same. I will actually live in Buckhannon, but that is ony 30mins from Elkins I think. Looks like killer trails and seems if you guys have a similar attitude as myself. Ride, have fun, and relax w/ some frosty stuff. haha. Are there in any worthy trails in the Buckhannon area that I could hit in the afternoons after work when I move. Take care, Justin

 

[davis]

Justin-

All the trails you've seen in the Canaan area and Slatyfork area are roughly 1.5 hours from Buchannon, which around these parts isn't far. If I wanted to get to a WalMart or fast food restaraunt from Marlinton I'm looking at a two hour round trip, minimum. Needless to say, I'm glad for that. For info regarding riding in Buchannon, Joey is your best source of info. You might try to PM him through mtbr using his screen name of joeywv. Since a bunch of us are getting together in Davis next weekend, I'm guessing there's going to be some new Canaan pics up on the boards shortly afterwards. Probably going to ride the moonrocks area and the infamous park to park ride. Yeah, and probably a few from the Mountain State Brewing Company's pub as well, or at least the after effects.

 

[BigRingBash]

That sounds awesome. I will look for those pics. Have a good one. Justin

 

[inkd4life]

On labor day weekend my family and I are heading to Peterstown, W Va for a family reunion and would like to brings our bikes in case there is some down time. Are there any trails in this area. Please help would love to bike in the fine state of W Va.

 

[joeywv]

you are moving to a great area...

the buckhannon/elkins area is a awesome place to live. i lived in buckhannon most of my life and moved to elkins about 4 years ago. buckhannon has a tight riding community some good but not great trails and loads of back roads. elkins in the gateway to the mountains. where i live, about a 1/4 mile from the city limits, i can hop on the rail trail ride it out into the mon forest and be on trails in about 40 minutes. we have some super tech stuff up top of bickles knob and some realy cool long ridge rides. the cheat mt trails are only a 40 minute drive from elkins and imo are some of the best trails in wv. going up there today and doing a loooooonnnnnggggg ride. we are also always looking for good help at ftc. theres also an ftc in buckhannon right on main street. check out my blog for some cool wv pics...http://ridealotwv.blog.com/. give me a call at the shop and we can talk riding and employment: 304-636-0969..

 

[joeywv]

elkins area pics...

pics from the elkins area. mostly pics from bickles knob and along the shavers fork river.

 

[ThunderInTheMountains]

Close ride

If you're looking for a quick, fun ride, try doing Laurel Mountain from Belington to Elkins.

Drive ~20 minutes east on Corridor H and turn into Belington, WV. At the Belington stop light, take a right and go down the Laurel Mountain Rd. for five minutes or so and park by the resevior (you'll see when it turns to gravel).

It's maybe a mile or two up a gravel road full of switchbacks. Nice views along the way, and at the top. At the top, there is a washed out road on the left that will take you up to where there used to be an old fire tower. Their are a few logging access roads there that can be fun to ride, and follow along the ridgeline onto Westvaco/Mead property. This ridgeline is the boundary of Barbour and Randolph counties.

If you continue straight before the fire tower road, it will take you down a long, fast gravel downhill full of fun tombstone rocks. At the bottom, take a right onto the paved road to pedal two or three miles into Elkins.

I know plenty of other good rides in that area if you are interested.

 

[JC2niner]

Hey Guys this is BIGRINGBASH, Under new name etc. haha. I can't wait to hopefully get this move worked out!! I may be waiting until I finish college. Yes I am 32 but it is never too late. Working all day/school at night. Either way we will probably be moving to the area in the near future! The trails/rides/biking scene up there just looks amazing!! Can't wait. I will give a shout next time I am up and hopefully I can go riding when my wife goes around w/ her sisters one day. Thanks a lot for all the posts etc. JC