MTB
Weekend in West Virginia With Sue Haywood
 Last
weekend (June 14-17) I had the opportunity to spend some quality
time with some quality ladies on some quality trails.
Elk
River Touring Center in Slatyfork, W.V., hosted a women's mountain
bike weekend, and Trek/Volkswagen Pro Sue Haywood and I were in
charge of showing the ladies
around Gauley Mountain.
Day 1
I arrived in Slatyfork
on Thursday afternoon just in time for a downpour that lasted
until dinnertime, so I didn't get to sneak in the pre-clinic ride
as I
hoped. Fortunately, that was the last of the storms for the entire
weekend.
Day 2
Friday morning most of the ladies started their day with yoga, while
I set up some skills drills in the yard. Next we got to know each
other over breakfast, then worked on skills
before heading up the mountain. Some of us rode the
5-mile climb up Mine Road, while others caught a shuttle with Gil.
We regrouped at the Tea Creek Parking Lot, then hit the Tea Creek
Connector. The Tea Creek Connector is quite a gnarly beast, and
those on the trip who had never seen it before were in for a surprise
(perhaps a shock?). Everyone warmed up to its roots, rocks, drop-offs
and railroad ties pretty quickly, though. Soon we were at the intersection
of Gauley Mountain Trail and on our way to our destination trail:
Bear Pen. We rode Bear Pen, then took Boundary Trail out to the
gravel road and traveled across the top of the mountain before
descending down Mine Road. A surprise awaited me at the bottom
of Mine Road: Pete was sitting there with his B.O.B. trailer! He
and Malcolm had successfully made it from Athens to Slatyfork.
Everyone headed back to the center and Pete graciously worked on
many bicycles (and enjoyed many thank-you beers). Margaritas abounded,
thanks to Jason.
Day 3
We all headed to the deck for a challenging yoga class headed up by
Sue George, bike racer extraordinaire and owner of Shenandoah Yoga.Then
it was another delicious breakfast and a shuttle
to the Little
Laurel
Overlook
on
the
Scenic
Highway. After some photos we headed across Gauley Mountain Trail
to the forest service road, then rode over to the top of Props
Run trail. There was plenty of opportunity to practice downhilling
on Props Run, which runs 9 miles down the mountain (all singletrack).
Some jacuzzi time, massages, another great dinner, many more margaritas,
a bonfire and it was time to hit the sack.
Day 4
Folks were moving a little slower by Sunday morning. Yoga was even
more challenging than the previous days due to sore muscles. Klara
talked Jill into busting some fancy Trek WSD road bikes out of
the demo van, and they rode up the mountain to Snowshoe and back.
The rest of us rolled down Highway 219 to enjoy some trips around
the base
trails
at the bottom of Gauley Mountain. Roaring Run is one of my favorite
little trails, and I was happy to get to ride up it twice and down
it once on Sunday morning. Then it was time to clean the bikes, clean
the bods, pack up, say goodbyes and head home.
Another awesome
weekend in Slatyfork! I'd like to thank Olga, Teresa, Anet, Germaine,
Jeni, Penny, Hattie, Ellen, Syd, Klara, Stacia, Jill, Ocean, Amy,
Sue and Sue for making it such a great time. And, of course, thanks
to
Gil,
Mary, Jason and everyone else at Elk River Touring Center for putting
this weekend together.
— Meredith,
June 20, 2007
Click on the thumbnail
images below for larger images and captions. Thanks to Olga, Syd
and Klara for the photos.
Return to top
of page
|
