Connector Leg Scouted for Possible North Bend-Mountwood Ultra
My apologies for such a late posting, but my computer was infected with a virus that required its complete rebuilding.
To the best of my recollection, this ride took place on the first Sunday of November. It was a blustery, but sunny day and attendees included Kim Broughton, Greg Moore, Danny McDonald, Brette Swarr, and myself.
An ultra race encompassing singletrack in both Mountwood Park and North Bend State Park has long been mulled over by members of RVMBA, and while trail loops in these parks could easily be designated, nailing down two connector legs between these fantastic riding spots has been and still is a matter of conjecture. An obvious solution would be to find the quickest route from Mountwood to the Rail Trail and use that as the corridor between the parks for both legs. However, a quick glance at the West Virginia Gazeteer (p. 34; roads ridden correspond to names in this guide) suggests intriguing possibilities on seldom and little-used gravel and unimproved roads in Wood and Ritchie Counties. Our goal for this day was to scout out one possible leg.
We departed from our home and took a few miles' ride on paved road to where Petroleum Road (CR11) departs Volcano Rd. At the sharp bend halfway up to the ridge top, we quickly crossed into Ritchie County at the western terminus of Short Run Rd. (CR 18-4; part of the proposed Mountwood-Rail Trail multi-use connector trail). This very thrilling section of doubletrack led us to Myers Fork Rd. (CR 50-1). We then took a quick left followed by a fast right near an older farmhouse, which sent us eastward on CR 18-1. This turned into a lengthy climb that dropped us off at the top of an extremely fun unimproved downhill run that ended up at Goose Creek Rd. (Cr-18, paved). We crossed this road directly onto Long Run Rd. (CR 31-2). There are some interesting oil era relics on this generally low-lying section. After roughly 5 miles we intersected Route 31 (paved) and took a right and a fast left onto 31-3. At perhaps 1 1/2 miles we went right at an obvious fork onto Buky Run Rd (CR 8-5). A downhill followed (naturally) by an uphill led us to a perpendicular intersection with Cornwallis Rd. (CR 8), that looked from high above onto the N. Fork of the Hughes River. A snappy descent put us at river level at the northwest boundary of North Bend S.P., where the road meets the Rail Trail.
From here we decided to beat a retreat for from whence we came by heading west into the park on the Rail Trail. When we reached the town of Cairo we ran into our old friends Duane and Scott Jones, who happened to have been doing some vehicular traipsing about this area on that day. After Cairo we continued to the next westward stop on the old B&O line, the town of Petroleum. Here we left the Rail Trail and took the gorgeous CR 13 to where Ritchie, Wood, and Wirt Counties all converge at Eaton's Creek. A few miles later we were exhausted, but back to our starting point. Those who could stay were treated to a very satisfying chicken dinner prepared by Brette.
It never fails to amaze me how scenic, varied, and extensive the back road routes in West Virginia are, and if such an ultra race involving two of the best mountain biking spots in West Virginia ever does become a reality, I suspect that our ride eastward on this particular day would well fit into the overall course as a challenging and scenic leg between the two parks. Of course we'll keep you posted on the progress of this potential ultra; but if you want my advice, I suggest trying this route as soon as possible. At roughly 30+ miles, it's a real hoot.
