Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Double Down

This is one of the routes  that will go out on the group rides at the festival led by Rob Stull and Jeff Melnick.

 You can check out the route on Strava:
Double Down 

Start at the Davis City Park

Trials Road past Canaan Valley Institue
Expert route
Climb Mt. Strip Mine
Lonely moto in the woods
First roll down off Moon Rocks
Second roll down off Moon Rocks
Follow a local to find the line
HooDoo Rocks
Million Dollar bridge over Blackwater


Easy Climb  up old "Haul" Road
Carin marking Hellbender Trail

SplashDam is on the Heart of the Highlands Route

Flame Azeleas in bloom



Monday, May 12, 2014

Waterfalls of Canaan




The Spring has been perfect this year.  There has been just the right amount of sun and rain.  We have enjoyed many weeks of dry trails and this week looks a little wetter.  I love all the waterfalls that you can ride your bike to around here.  Here are a few of my favorites: 
Blackwater Falls near Yellow Birch Trail

I
Big Run Falls off of Forest Road 18 and Canyon Rim Trail
Douglas Falls on the Blackwater Canyon Rail Trail             

Monday, April 14, 2014

Adventure Seen at Canaan MTB Festival

Scott Wootten of Adventure Seen put together this little ditty that captures the Moon Rocks and the sweet loamy riding of Canaan.  Last year WooBear provided the entertainment at the VIP Party and raffle.  He showed some of his own bike movies and ones from around the globe.  It was  really great night and big raffle with proceeds going to the Tucker County Trails(TCT).  This year, Scott will be at the party again and be riding during the day and flying his drone helicopter getting footy of Blackwater Falls.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Logar wins the Iditarod Trail Invitational



John Logar is a doctor in Randolph County, but lives right here in Tucker County and often does the Ride@5ish.  He is one of the amazing athletes of Tucker County.  His motto is to be active every day. 


Since John won a free entry for 2015, he has decided he will train for the Iditarod Invitational , but on a bicycle for the  next time!  Congrats, John!

Monday, March 24, 2014

6th annual poster by Lynda Bostrom

The sixth annual Canaan MTB Festival poster was created by Harrisonburg, Virginia based artist, Lynda Bostrom.  She is a graphic designer, art instructor and freelance artist. Check out Lynda's website http://lyndabostrom.blogspot.com/

Most likely, Lynda will be at the Festival to check out the Thomas art scene, sign posters and ride bikes!

Monday, June 10, 2013

June 10 SIgn up on Bikereg.com !



Things are lush in Canaan right now with the frequent light rains and mild temperatures. Once in a while, you can look around and think that you could be in Costa Rica, Scotland or Portland. The mountain laurel and ferns are  becoming showy and proud, while the rhododendrons and blueberries are getting strong  for their prime time later in the summer.



Members of Tucker County Trails (TCT) have been out clearing trails after the destruction of Sandy and then a snowy winter that saw over 235 inches fall.  Chaga Todd said Plantation Trail is cleared all the way end to end.  Eric says most of the trails in Canaan Heights are looking good.  It never hurts to have a hand saw in your camelback, though.  A big thanks go out to all the folks that keep these mountain treasure trails in riding shape.


Your participation in the Canaan MTB Festival helps the Tucker County Trails stay active and motivated.  Its nice to have people contribute with money, time and great vibes to this special area of West Virginia.


On Friday June 21st , the summer solstice, there will be a Ladies Lunch ride.  We will do skills sessions in the morning and then ride to a homemade lunch.  We will tour around in the afternoon and end with post ride refreshments.  This day is a casual day for the ladies to learn and perfect some skills and then try them out on the trails.  All levels are welcome.  We will have several instructors for the different levels. Come enjoy riding with a fun group of ladies.


Please sign up for trail work on Sunday June 23rd.  Roger Lilly of Blackwater Bikes leads this group trail work.  Roger is still deciding what project we will be working on.  There is a lot to choose from.  You are welcome to bring your own tools, too.  We will work from 9-12:30 with a light lunch provided.


Please join us for a VIP Fun and Fundraising Party at Tip Top coffee shop in Thomas, WV.  The $25 ticket pays for food and the rest goes to Tucker County Trails.  We will also have a raffle with a Stan's Wheelset, Toasted Head wine, a weekend stay at Blackwater Falls State Park, a season pass at White Grass Ski Touring Center.  And hopefully some more goodies.  Raffle tickets are $5 for one or 5 for $20.  You can buy the raffle tickets at the party.
There is free primitive camping in the Monongahela National Forest on Canaan Loop Road.  There is also free primitive camping along Camp 70 road in Davis.  Also, Boomtown Coffee has offered a limited number of camping spots behind them in Davis.  Please let me know if you are interested in camping there.  There is a link to lodging through www.canaanvalley.org


Please email me with any questions that you have.  We would love to have you riding in Canaan that weekend with us!  suzehaywood@yahoo.com

Monday, April 22, 2013

2013 Poster



Liza gives some insight into her and Paul's artwork:

"Two foot long salamanders? Unexploded warheads from WWII? Plants that start life looking like tiny aliens? We looked no further than the bazaar mythology of Canaan itself to find inspiration for this poster. We brought our love of co-creating strange drawings together with our appreciation of all things bike and our admiration of the amazing wild and wonderful nature of West Virginia.

We have been collaborating artistically for going on one year now. The Canaan Mtb Festival is our first of what will hopefully become many posters. You can see our art through May at the Larkin Arts 6x6 Juried Show in Harrisonburg, VA. The same gallery will be showcasing our artwork along with Tim Skirvin for the month of July.

In our spare time: Liza Marshall Frolkis is the assistant manager at Radical Roots Community Farm and a participant in the Valley Herbal Guild. Paul H. Forrester works with Shenandoah Bike Company and plays music with his band Nip Twissle."




We want to thank Liza Frolkis and Paul Forrester for designing such a unique and wild poster. Their artwork will be added to the other awesome posters that bike lovers have made for our annual festival. We really like giving regional artists free reign on creating a fun representation of the festival.