RAVEN ROCK: No better way to start the trip than a ride at Cooper’s Rock, still my favorite ride in all of West By God. FROM DAVIS TO ELKINS: Spent the first night in Davis but decided against riding there, opting to devote the week to riding places I’d never been. The first part of the drive was through the clouds, and even though the mountains of WV pale in comparison to the mountains out west, this sight reminded me that you don’t have to drive the country roads to see something wild.
JOEY”S BIKE SHOP: Stopped at the local bike shop in the cool little college town of Elkins and got a chance to chat with Joey Riddle, a regional legend and veteran mountain bike racer. He confirmed that my next destination, the Mower Tract Basin, was a great place to ride. Getting to the trails involved a seven-mile drive on a gravel road back up into the clouds. The trail system is only a few years old and is well-signed and maintained despite being pretty far “out there.” SHAVER”S MOUNTAIN: I really enjoyed these trails even though I only rode about half of the total mileage available. There’s some awesome campsites, and I stopped at one of them to talk with a couple who had pulled their trailer all the way up the forest service road to a beautiful overlook. Turns out that the guy was the great great grandson of the namesake of Shaver’s Mountain and the Shaver’s Fork of the Cheat River. We had a really cool conversation about the abundance of bears in the area, and shared travel stories.JUNCO LOOP: Apparently the beaver wanted to help make a bridge for this section of single track. The area is a reclaimed strip mine, and there’s plenty of evidence of reclamation and regrowth, GREEN BANK OBSERVATORY: Started heading south toward Snowshoe, but couldn’t get a cell signal because of the radio blackout in the area that keeps the space signals clear. Stopped for directions, and a friendly local told me I was on the wrong side of the mountain. I liked that and I love West Virginia people, Despite all the stereotypes, I’ve never had a bad encounter.DIRT BEAN: After checking in at the Snowshoe Inn, I did an orienting ride of the basin side, then woke up the next morning and headed toward the small mountain town of Marlinton, a place I’d always wanted to visit. Dirt Bean Coffee and Bike Shop (checkout the website) was created by another veteran mountain bike racer and is well worth your patronage if you’re ever in the area. While I was eating my fully loaded De Kine Bagel, I had another cool conversation with a father/daughter couple who were also riding Snowshoe. They were from Ashville and the dad was a veteran whitewater kayaker who loved paddling the notorious Green River Narrows and the Gauley River.MONDAY LICK TRAILS: The plan was to hit the local single-track just outside of town for my morning ride. The system was designed on a series of ridges and involved climbing for about 20-30 minutes up a forest road, then ripping down the fresh and well-built singletrack. Got a chance to talk to one of the trail builders from Appalachian Dirt and Rock Solid Trail Contracting who happened to be from Davis. Again, I didn’t ride all of the available singletrack, but I definitely will someday.On one of the trips back up the ridge, I decided to pull into the driveway of this cabin to see if it was an AirBNB. My wife and I are planning on building small home on our property in Northern Michigan and I’m really interested in this design. Turns out the guy who was renting was from Ohio, and once again I had a nice chat with a total stranger. SNOWSHOE: The main destination of the trip was supposed to be the Snowshoe mountain bike trails. The folks at Fort William in Scotland thought it was strange that I had never ridden there, given the fact that it’s one of the best downhill mountains biking destinations in the US. So I vowed to go this year. I”M TOO OLD TO BE A BIKE PARK KID: The gameplan was to ride the blue trails as a warmup to the technical rooty and muddy black trails and use an access road to ride back up to the top of the slope each time. After checking out Dirt Beaver and Dreamweaver, I decided to try the “E” trail which I found to be blown out and generally slow and no fun. The 6000 Steps trail descends the other side of the valley, and honestly, I was already tired of the noise and business of the bike park, so I decided it would be interesting to climb rather than descend the 6000 Steps Trail. BACKCOUNTRY-ISH: It was a great decision, and I really enjoyed the climb up the ridge as well as the singletrack along the Allegheny Trail. The views to the East from the backcountry cabin were Pure West Virginia. ALWAYS THE NEXT TIME: A great loop would be to descend Rooty Pebbles at the park, climb 6000 Steps, go north on the Allegheny Trail, descend Bailout back to Shaver’s Lake, then climb back to the top of the slope. On an ebike, of course. Otherwise, I concluded, the riding at Snowshoe Bike Park just wasn’t for me. Fortunately, the guy at the bike shop set me straight. DINNER FOR THE NIGHT: Hotdogs and beer, right across the street from the Snowshoe Inn. All you need. SHOULDER SEASON: Not many people at the Snowshoe Inn (perfect) but eventually a couple of vehicle clubs rolled in. Strange contrast between off-road wheelers and Porche afficionados. NOT REALLY: The bikeshop guy pointed me to the trails at the north end of the resort, where the trails were in much better shape but no less rocky and rooty. Even though the “zone” was relatively small, it was enchanted, beautiful and unique. SILVER CREEK: Bikeshop guy also pointed me to the trails beyond the ski slopes to the north, which I found to be classic West Virginia singletrack – exactly what I came for. Once again, I saved some for later. I COULDN’T BELEIVE IT WAS OVER: This is possibly the only trailside tool post I’ve ever encountered that actually had all the tools intact and unpilfered. The Trek Rail performed perfectly throughout the week: nearly 100 miles of hard riding and 13,000 feet of ascent. On the way home, I decided to drive across WV and head up into Ohio on Rt, 77. Along the way, I drove by the Rich Mountain Battlefield, and got treated to a nice history lesson about how WV seceded from Virginia because they didn’t want to be a slave state. I believe there is still a vibe in this state that speaks to that sentiment. Also along the way, I saw a sign for Watters Smith State Park and decided to check out a place that I hadn’t ridden in 16 or 17 years. In the parking lot, I had the good fortune to meet the original train builder, George, and another guy, Jason, who does a lot of trail maintenance and who also coaches the local NICA team Great people and they took me on a fun ride around the trail system. Really glad to have met them. And it turns out that they know Joey Riddle from Elkins as well as the trail builder from Davis. Such a cool community of riders. I couldn’t imagine a better ending to a wonderful time in a state I love.
My son and his wife invited friends and family to Scotland to help them celebrate their 10th anniversary.I spent the first night in the small town of Peebles, jumping head first into Scottish life.Peebles sits along the famed Tweed River, the birthplace of flyfishing. The Tweed Valley is known for horses…and mountain biking!I just couldn’t force myself to eat everything in a Scottish breakfast. The beans and black were two of the very few things I didn’t appreciate about Scotland. One of the other things was the driving. Never quite got used to the narrow roads, driving on the left side and the constant roundabouts. Might not look like much from this angle, the Riders Retreat at Glentress was one of the best mountain biking experiences I’ve ever had.Glentress provided an introduction to trails that are uniquely Scottish: rooty, rocky, steep and open year round.Ran into a group from London while riding the black loop. The dark mossy forests are unlike anything I’ve ridden anywhere. Unfortunately, I had to leave this incredible spot ahead of the lads to get back before my rental Specialized Levo turned into a pumpkin. I forged ahead into a Scottish downpour and made it down the mountain. I found out later thru Strava that they nicknamed me “Hank” and invited me to the UK for some proper British riding. The chef at Riders Retreat talked me into trying the Haggis Poutine…and I liked it so much that I had it again for dinner the next day. I can’t recommend the Riders Retreat enough: Murray and crew provide the perfect place to enjoy mountain biking with a group of like-minded people. The view across the road from the Glentress Ride Center: remains of a castle circa 1200 in a field of sheep. The Glentress Ride center is a short ride on a rail trail along the River Tweed to the small town of Innerleithen, home to the famous Golfie enduro trails and no less than five bike shops!Witches and faeries abound in the forests of Scotland- but you won’t a single NoTrespassing sign. Glentress is one of the 7Stanes ride centers in Scotland, a government initiative to bolster trail construction and attract riders. Like everywhere else, as Murray told me, the system is not without its conflicts and issues, particularly with the Scottish forestry service that clear cuts large sections of the forest. Because of land access laws, riders can (and have) built off-piste trails nearly everywhere on public lands. The recently added flow trails at Glentress were mostly government funded, tho. Prime example of a Scottish off-piste enduro trail: steep, wet, rooty and in many cases, beyond my ability level. Scotsman are mad riders! Don’t go to Scotland if you miss your dog. The Scottish attitude toward dogs reminded me of my experiences in Canada: people are just cool about dogs.The scenery in the Tweed Valley, and most hilly regions of Scotland, is made unique by the deforested hill tops and alpine regions. Its vistas are strikingly beautiful. Emerging from the darkness of a forest to a moody sky – I have to admit I didn’t miss the sun.Riding alone most of the time, I took it slow and carefully. Met my son and his wife and plenty of friends and family at an estate near Edinburgh for a five-star meal. Then got lucky to meet StreetPigeon the local YouTube star who frequents the Riders Retreat. His videos played a large part in my research of the riding of the Tweed Valley. With Murray’s advice, I did some navigating and found the route from Glentress to Innerleithen, which took me to the back side of the mountain on a ridge decent into a wild valley of isolated sheep farms. I had to keep stopping to comprehend the beauty of it all. I found that the black trails overall were within my ability level but just too “twiddly” ( as a British rider called them) for me to risk riding by myself, so I tried to stick to the Red trails, one step up from the Blue trails. Sheep everywhere. And stone fences. And ancient ruins. The castles and stone houses give Scotland a sense of permanence and deep culture missing from our country. Yes, everywhere. Checked off the list by doing an extended emtb ride with a re-charge in Innerleithen. Should devoted more of my three days in the Tweed Valley to the Golfie trails. Next time. I think I saw a total of two MCDonalds my whole time in Scotland. Ironic since McDonald is one of the two largest clans.The Santa Cruz-themed bar at the Traquair Arms hotel in Innerleithen. Horses along the Tweed. You can ride anywhere in Scotland as long as you don’t do anything dumb and make sure you shut the gate behind you. The rivers, however, require special permits for fishing.The Scots clearly have a higher tolerance for the possibility of death on the highway, but I am now a huge fan of hybrid cars. I was unprepared for the beauty of the Scottish Highlands. the gray clouds are an essential part of the landscape. Narrowly avoiding a night spent sleeping in the back of my rental car ….I found a small room in the Castle Inverlochy for the night, the Ghillie’s Closet, which had everything I needed, including grapes….A sewing kit and robe…And a Snooker table. The witches were looking out for me, but I now owe them a successful hunting trip. A grove of Sequoias line the lane leading to the castle, planted by the founder of the estate, Purdey, who supplied weaponry for Darwin’s expeditions.The graves of the barons who died in the wars rest eternally among the groves of well-tended trees and gardens. By some uncanny coincidence, my son and daughter-in-law planned to stay at the Castle Inverlochy in the coming days. Fort William. Home of the legendary and iconic downhill mountain bike racing course.The track doesn’t look all that gnarly from the gondola. With the encouragement of some riders I met, I decided to give the course a try, after a couple of lift-accessed runs down the much tamer Blue Doon.Unfortunately, Top Chief was closed, so I was quite unprepared for my first ever run down a World Cup track.The rock gardens are gnarly and I picked my way down them. I cannot imagine how big your balls haven’t be to ride this track at World Cup speed. After being passed over by the UCI this year, the sentiment among the guys at the bike shop was dark especially since a local racer got pretty smashed up at the South Korea venue.If I go back, I’ll rent a legitimate downhill bike and body armor. I was unprepared for the alpine nature of the Highlands since the max elevation is less that 5000 feet. Honestly, I had more fun and sense of camaraderie at Glentress. The whole ski resort thing is not my “scene” but the area felt much more like the American west. Rented a Saracen emtb and did some roaming on my second day at Fort William on the UCI XC mountain bike trails. Where the witches drift out at night and look after poor fools like me. Probably should’ve. spent more time exploring the coast. Everyone says the Isle of Skye is incredible.Finally got a view from the Base Camp Hotel of Ben Nevis, which gave me inspiration for my last ride. Sweet Trek Rail with bell and reflectors from Nevis Cycles. I have one at home with a Bosch Gen 4 motor. The Gen 5 is an everyman’s bike. Tooled around Ft William for a bit. The best way to explore is by bike. A long way from home. The ride up to the CIC Hut on the north face of Ben Nevis.I had to ditch the trusty Rail halfway up the singletrack, tho, because the going just got tricky.Weirdly, it finally felt like I was in a European alpine setting. Met a group of people from Singapore who graciously offered me food, then had a wee dram of single malt at the bothy, one of my trip goals. Met my son and daughter-in-law again for dinner at a pub on the grounds of Inverlochy Castle, where, coincidentally, they were staying. Yes, the same Castle where I found lodging in a stroke of sheer witchy luck a few days earlier. The sun finally came out the last day, which was perfect for viewing the highlands of Glencoe. A stunning landscape that I would like to revisit. The Kelpies near Falkirk. Hard to stop looking at these amazing sculptures. Don’t go to Scotland alone. You’ll end up missing riding horses with your wife. The national soft drink of Scotland, which fortunately has not been co-opted by the States.The musical hall of fame at Boston Logan airport. This good witch of Boston appears between Aerosmith and James Taylor.
