Lauren O’Brien
Intermediate Mountain Biking at White Park- Sunday, February 27.
WEST VIRGINIA- West Virginia is known for its mountains covering almost all 24,000 miles of the beautiful state. Due to its natural steep hills and paths from historical moments in US History, Adventure sports has risen in popularity over the years, especially in Almost Heaven. The Mountains of WV provide a breathtaking- and thrill seeking- adventure, with variety of options on what to choose: such as the skills Mountain Biking provides. From world-class difficulties Snowshoe gives, to the intermediate bumpy White Park.
Mountain Biking originated in California in the 1970’s, and has only grown tremendously since; with 9 million people today participating in the muddy sport. Growing day by day, mountain bikes have evolved in terms of the bike, growing thicker inches in tires (26 in-29in), shorter chainstrays and heavier in pound, changing the way the sport goes forever.
The biking obstacles were not always set out for intense drops and quick turns but there were deer trails and walking paths that became essentially what riders would use as their obstacles today. The reason for the bike change was due to the paths becoming more embedded into a sport.
West Virginia trails are known for being past beginner level and aimed towards experienced bikers, one of the many reasons why Mountain Bikers love to, as junior national champion Ben Richter likes to call it; “shred the gnar” in the lovely state. With the point of risk, WV provides specific mountain biking paths to test the skill levels of the adventurous bikers.
“North/Central West Virginia is rocky, rooty, muddy, plateau. It’s not as friendly to beginners. It’s more hardcore and rocky” the famous Matt Marcus devoted to bike almost all mountains, gives WV a thumbs up on the mountain difficulty in his interview about Eastern Mountain Biking.
World-Class Mountain Biking Resort, Snowshoe, West Virginia. Holds tournaments all four seasons of the year for mountain biking, recently being National Championships. Holding 40 trails during the off-ski season, snowshoe provides 1,500 vertical feet of descent for those feeling comfortable enough to hold on tight, speed up, and prepare for drops.
National Champ Richter won his tournament in Snowshoe and felt every moment of his ride; “It was pretty rowdy actually, you know, slamming into corners, those ruts. Flaring a bunch of rocks up, you know, shredding the gnar,” going back in time when he was in the moment at snowshoe, Richter shows the experience.
Changing direction of West Virginia and skills, the mountains for beginners bring a nice bike cruise while jumping over mounts and taking sharp turns. White Park, West Virginia Located right outside of West Virginia University, has off path trails lasting 3.5 miles, meant for beginner-intermediate level bikers, specified as Blue Diamond. The trails to each end side of the main path give mountain bikers a chance to go through a domino effect jump and drop, or take a fast skidding, bank-turn, all while feeling comfortable, with a hint of risk.
Important to notice, beginner mountain bike trails are not only meant for beginners, but for adventurers that need a break from extreme thrill. White Park gives opportunities to bikers to explore all different sides of the park and trails, from the waterfall, to jumping logs, cutting banks, or connecting trails of other parks to bring long distance biking and Morgantown together.
The sport itself had recently caught up with technology, such as making the bike more durable for harder skills, changing how the paths were to make it more difficult, or the promotion of the sport to gather more people.
However the future may hold for Mountain Biking, athletes are ready to take on new technology; “I don’t know where the future is going. All I know is the bicycle is one of the greatest inventions that man has ever made and it’s not going away.” Marcus has been biking before technology caught up, as he explains the bikes value and meaning in an interview.
As it is not just a sport to many participants, Mountain Biking is closer to the beginning of the sport and is preparing to continue to evolve as athletes and mountains change for the better. Through advanced and professional snowshoe, to intermediate and skilled White Park, the past and future of Mountain Biking brings value and love to the sport throughout the states.
Hyperlinks
https://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/biking/road-legends-conversation-eastern-mountain-bike-legend-matt-marcus/
https://www.snowshoemtn.com/things-to-do/activities/snowshoe-bike-park
https://www.flobikes.com/articles/5968006-14-year-old-mountain-bike-champ-ben-richters-scale-of-one-to-gnar
https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/4559221/white-park
Lauren O'Brien 