166 – Muddy Fun

Notice something missing on Ben’s bike?

Katie’s twin brothers, Ben (left) and Toby (center) are also cyclists, so when we found out we were going to all be in West Virginia (the mountain biking Mecca of the East) for her family’s reunion, we all jumped at the chance to bring our bikes and see what trouble we could get into.

Good to know!

Turns out, the answer was, “plenty.” Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park is a joint public/private venture in the “Mountain Lakes” region of West Virginia. It boasts the typical resort amenities, like a golf course (yawn) a spa, boating and fishing, restaurants and the like. But it is also home to about 8 miles of singletrack trail, suitable for hiking or mountain biking.

An early morning maintenance session.

The trail map I got at the front desk of the lodge described each trail in detail, and even rated them as easy, moderate or strenuous. Past experience at other resorts led us to roll our eyes a little bit at the descriptions and ratings, as they tend to be written with a somewhat older, gentler crowd in mind.

So imagine our surprise when, as soon as we jumped onto the very first trail, it went up. And up. And up. For 400 feet, with switchbacks every now and again, just to keep you interested. When we finally got to the top, we were laughing and panting at the same time, from the happy surprise of the unexpected challenge.

Dirtiness = happiness.

And it just got better from there. The initial climb put us on top of the ridge line, which we followed for another mile or so along some grassy doubletrack that overlooked the lake, before it plunged back into the woods and down the other side. The trail here was narrow singletrack, nearly overgrown by soft grasses as it flowed through the trees. It was slick from the recent rains and off camber in spots, and the encroaching undergrowth hid rocks and roots that would kick your wheels out to the side now and again.

The first trail ended with another set of switchbacks that stepped you down to where the trail emptied out onto the road, and we laughed and exchanged exclamations all the way to the next trail, which wasn’t as steep, but every bit as fun as the first. This trail flowed and swooped dramatically through the woods along the shoreline of the lake, finally turning back on itself, but offering another trail before it was over. We took that last trail and climbed, then descended through some tight, technical switchbacks down the back side of the ridge, crossed a creek, and hit a jeep road. It was so rutted and muddy that I couldn’t help but embrace my inner 5 year old, and I splashed into each successive mud puddle with enthusiasm, laughing as much at myself as at my mostly-roadie brother-in-law, who was picking his way around the puddles as best he could, so as not to ruin his brand new, bright yellow shoes. That didn’t work out for him, let’s just say.

The jeep road picked itself up out of the creekside and angled left, and then it shot straight up. I knew I had nothing for it after a hundred yards or so, so I unclipped and started pushing, but Ben chugged right up the thing! If ever I’m in danger of thinking I’m in good shape, I have only to look at that guy. Good grief. It was impressive!

Our first ride was a little over 10 miles, and we climbed over 2000 feet. Our concerns of boring, pedestrian trails were thoroughly dismissed. This place was a veritable playground!

The weekend’s riding ended with an exclamation point on Sunday morning, when Toby and Ben traded bikes, so Toby could try out Ben’s 29er. All was going well until Toby hit a pronounced dip in the trail more than a mile from the end, and the right side of the carbon handlebar failed, sending Toby to the dirt like a sack of bricks! He was uninjured, but then Ben had to ride the rest of the way out, about a mile of hilly trail, with one handlebar. We all couldn’t stop laughing, and the laughter continued hours later, when we got to review the crash a few dozen times from Toby’s GoPro footage.

It was a great weekend of riding, though I’m sure all three of us wished we could’ve gotten a bit more in. The trails were beautifully designed and a little unkempt, which suited my tastes perfectly. I like a little more rugged trail sometimes, as a change of pace from the carefully groomed and cared for trails we have here. Stonewall Jackson Lake is definitely some riding worth checking out, if you’re in the area.