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I have mountain biked Showshoe several times twenty years ago and drove all over it. I am thinking about a possible 4 day weekend getaway for my little brother and some buddies. I remember the area being beautiful, but I can't remember if it would make good road riding trip. Gravel roads are cool I guess for them as well.
We had a great time cycling up north of Elkins in the Thomas-Parsons area on either side of the Cheat River Valley. That's outside of Pocahontas county, but we used this website for routes and with a little editing here and there all of the routes we used were pretty great.
http://www.cyclingscenicwv.com
North of Pocahontas is Spruce Knob and there is a gravel race that goes up to the top of Spruce Knob that is supposed to be pretty challenging. The website below has course maps for 50 mile and 70 mile routes.
Spruce Knob Cycling
There is a R-to-R trail heading north out of Durbin WV along the Greenbriar River called the West Fork Trail. There are area roads that connect to the trail that makes the trail a connector to other routes up and out of the valley.
West Fork Trail (West Fork Greenbrier River WV)
Further south starting in Caldwell and going up to Cass WV is the Greenbriar River Trail. That's 78 miles long and again, can act as a connector for other routes.
Greenbrier River Trail - West Virginia State Parks - West Virginia State Parks
And if you are cycling around the Greenbank Observatory, you are in the National Radio Quiet Zone so no cell phones!
Thanks Jorn! That's all very useful info. I will get studying on it. I always thought it might make for nice road riding. It is one of few areas I've been where driving a car is almost bearable.
I'm following this. I work for a large cabinet company with facilities in WV. I'm currently in AZ but my next move would be plant manager and given the odds, it would likely be in WV. Or just retire and plan on towing an Airstream through that part of the country.
Some of the prettiest small valleys and hollows I’ve seen. Like this stretch of the Cheat near Parsons.
Dropped pin
Near Cheat River, West Virginia
Google Maps
I've ridden a few times around the Snowshoe area. There used to be a fantastic road ride called the Cheat Mtn Challenge. Sadly it folded after only a few years. There are some tremendous roads a A LOT of climbing (esp if you stay at the resort which is [I]at the top of the mountain[I]. Any riding would have to be mostly self sustained. I don't remember passing by many convenience stores to refuel at.
For mtn biking, renting a downhill rig and gear and riding the lifts is a blast, but I am an intermediate at best.
Also, cell phone service is extremely weak, even at the resort, so be prepared.
Thanks for those links Jorn.
I am pretty familiar with that area, as my mom grew up on a farm 9 miles north of Parsons (near St. George). It's funny, for all of the trips I've made to that area in my life to visit family, I never thought about bringing my bike. Some proven good routes eliminates any excuses.