I’m looking for folks interested in meeting at the Snowshoe Resort in West Virginia this summer to do some trail riding.
There are some nice amenities there for non-riders, great CC trail system, lifts assisted for downhillers, all kinds of trials stuff, and it’s just such a beautiful place to hang out at days end.
Go big or keep it mellow, stay on the hill luxury or camp out in the National Forest.
I’m thinking mid to late summer, over a long weekend, not a festival, just a weekend of muni with friends.
Check it out:
http://media.intrawest.com/snowshoe/docs/mtnbike/Basin_TM_09.pdf
http://media.intrawest.com/snowshoe/docs/mtnbike/Western_TM_09.pdf
I’d be up for other locations, just hoping to get something together to make up for not having some of the bigger events closer to home.
Let’s ride!
Snowshoe
That sounds like a lot of fun. I’ve been snow-skiing and snowboarding there a couple of times, favorite place for snow is Mammoth Lakes, CA though.
Last time I was at Snowshoe for skiing I took my muni down a couple slopes and they were pretty cool about it, they told me to come back with it when they opened up for the mountain bikers.
Anyway, I’d be in for that trip, I’ve been meaning to get back there in the summer sometime.
definitely keep me posted, i’m in richmond va so snowshoe is not too difficult a drive for me and i’d love to do some riding with other unicyclists this summer. sounds like great fun
If i get a muni i am in also. Any tips on what i should look at? Im about 5,8 and i want something that would be reasonable for all trails and decent for road rides.
Sounds like fun. I am interested as long as the dates don’t conflict with other vacation plans.
First off, when is the best time to meet?
I’m gone all of June on a cross country trip, so for me it’s either July or August.
Secondly, is Snowshoe a good location for folks to meet. Some thoughts I had were related to camping as most folks won’t wanna pay for Snowshoe lodging. Also, Snowshoe is hard to access since it is in the interior of WV.
It might make more sense to have camping central to the trail network.
I’m up for any ideas folks might have…
Ideal location:
Variety of trails
Camping, dogs allowed (please)
Drier conditions
Swimming spot
Central to East Coast riders, think mid Atlantic
Somewhere in the George Washington National Forest in Northwestern Virginia might be a good option. I am not familiar with specific trails but some are central to campgrounds. Access to I-81 would be better than central WV.
I am not available the last two weeks of July.
I did an internet search of the GW National Forest for areas with mountain bike trails and campgrounds and found some that look nice.
One is Douthat State Park. Here is a description from Trails.com
“There are 24 different trails to choose from in the park, totaling more than 40 miles of rideable terrain. The variety of “magic” mountain bike trails, as some have called them, has lead to the park’s nickname, “Mountain Bike Disneyland.” Mountain bikers have access to all but three trails. The park trail guide, available at the park office, details the distance and difficulty rate of each trail in the park. And one you’re in the woods, you’ll find that each of the trails is clearly marked with an abundance of signs and corresponding color blazes. It’ll be tough to get lost and even tougher to decide which trail to take next. Trail Surface: There are smooth sections, exposed roots, creek crossings, and technical inclines.”
A trail map can found at:
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/documents/douthat.pdf
There are smaller trail systems at Sherando Lake Recreation Area and Elizabeth Furnace State Parks that also look like they have some decent trails.
I have never ridden these trails so I don’t have any first hand experience. Is anyone familiar with these trails?
Hey Munimag, sounds intersting, but we need first hand riding experiences to realy know if it’s any good. Can you do a bit of scouting?
Anyone else have ideas?
I guess looking at NORBA might help, though what an MTBer likes is not always good for muni…
Here’s a forum with a listing of ride descriptions. Anyone from these areas know any of the rides? Is there a central place for some of these rides where we could choose from one of more each day?
MD: http://www.more-mtb.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=25
MA: http://www.nemba.org/aboutnemba/GreaterBoston.html
VA: http://www.evma.org/
Anyone else have ideas?
I am about 3-4 hours away from the trails that I mentioned in the GW National Forest so I don’t know that I would be able to scout the trails. There are some nice trails near me in Maryland (Schaeffer Farms, Black Hill, Greenbrier) that I ride frequently. They are fun to ride with some good hills but not in the mountains like the VA or WVA trails.
Hey guys. I’ve been following this thread with interest and it has got me thinking. If people are up for something low key Mid-Atlantic, we here in Western PA have some great MUni riding nearby. I can ride some fun for everyone beginner/ intermediate stuff within 2 miles from my house. We’ve got a boatload of great trail riding (Moraine State Park, Kennerdell, North Park, Deer Lakes, Hartwood Acres, and the list goes on) within an hour or so drive from here.
We had 4 MUnis on last weekend’s local ride and we didn’t even have everyone out from the area. Butler, PA is about a 15 minute drive from I-79 about an hour North of Pittsburgh. http://www.butlerwobble.blogspot.com is our club’s “official” page. We’re going to be building some trials obstacles at the local skatepark this Spring so we’ll even have some of that fun available.
As far as accomodations go, if there aren’t a whole ton of people we could easily work out places to crash.
In the full blown event category I’m focusing my energies on the upcoming distance (road) race, but that doesn’t mean a low key hang out weekend couldn’t be a lot of fun with little planning. We already know the trails.
-dave
Hey everyone, this sounds like a great idea and I’ll definitely try to make it whenever this happens.
The only problem with western PA is its pretty far from some of our VA riders in Fredricksburg, Richmond, and especially Ben (original poster) who’s apparently in Tennessee. I guess it all depends on how much driving people are willing to do. Riding in western PA sounds pretty nice though and I’ve heard good things about some of the trails there. The fact that there’s already a group of riders up there would make things a lot easier since there’s no need to scout out trails. Considering this I think PA sounds pretty promising if people could make the drive.
Hey guys, driving to PA is no big thing, we even have a camper, so we’d make it a long weekend of riding.
When the driest month up there?
Got any links to those trails?
The Southeast Munifest (Asheville, NC) is in September, so how about mid July?
What might be really cool is if it was a “floating” munifest, one that moves from location to location, year to year, maybe sponsored by a local club or riders group.
Anyone wanna volunteer to lead the charge?
I can guarantee three riders to any event as long as it’s not in June 
If anyone is interested there is a mountain bike race at the Schaeffer Farm trails in Germantown, MD on August 8. I plan to participate on my KH24 and it would be fun if others on one wheel did it also. The trail network is really nice with stream crossings, log piles, roots, rocks and hills. Here is a link to the race info:
http://www.ex2adventures.com/cranky-monkey.php