Travels with Pops

WINTER RIDE IN WV: TWO-FOR-ONE SPECIAL ON BIKE AND SOUL CLEANINGS

Heading back up out of the gorge, we hear Bull Run crashing down to the Cheat, and decide to go have a looksee. We find a massive overhang with a huge icicle...

....and a shoe well on its way to becoming a fossil, along with the requisite trash that you can find anywhere there are dumbasses who want to toss shit over a ledge instead of taking it to the dump (Slobis Ameriswinis). Undaunted, we keep scrambling, only to be rewarded with one of the coolest swimming holes I've ever found:

We deem it Red Beard Falls, in honor of our fortuitous meeting with the dude with the red beard. It was the least we could do for the guy since he kinda saved our bacon. I've seen quite a few places like this in WV, but this one takes the cake.

Heading back into Motown, we see the infamous Gunnar Shogren walking out of Pathfinder with a set of wheels. We saw him at Pathfinder a while back and he didn't seem to want to be recognized but his wife, Bunny, let us break the ice, and we got to talk to them for a few minutes. I'm usually not in awe of most people, but Gunnar qualifies as a legend in my book.

After a fine meal at Mountain State Brewery (two full dinners, and four microbrews for $37 bucks - I thought that was a deal).  A very cool place. I swear, Motown is a true mining town: you have to dig for the cool shit. Hidden behind nondescript and, frankly, grungy exteriors are some of the best places to eat and drink I've ever found. Hit up the Fishbowl, if you can find it.

Chris tries to talk me into staying at his apartment, but I know my place as a dad, and I wanted to go find some peace and quiet up on Chestnut Ridge by Cooper's Rock. I've had some of my best nights sleep ever up there. So I head on up, and wouldn't you know, there's a group of people at a cabin whooping and hollering around a bonfire. That sort of stuff never ends down there, but fortunately, they wrapped things up early, and I set up camp behind the old school house and hit the rack.

I won't lie: it was cold. 15 degrees of cold. My sleeping bag is only rated 20 degrees, and I woke up at 6:30 a wee bit chilled. I told Chris I'd meet him for breakfast so that gave me a chance to ride the access vehicle out to Cooper's Rock and see this:

And this:

The park roads were closed but they had plowed a lane for "skate style" cross country skiing, which I guiltily admit was perfect for riding on. I saw a dude on skis but he said the snow wasn't deep enough on the rocky trails, so I didn't feel too bad about not bringing my skis (next time, I will, though, because he said the skiing is awesome.) I was thinking about just sticking to the road and getting in some miles because the scenery was great, but then I had a better idea, so I did this:

The trail from Rock City down to Clay Furnace. I figured that going downhill in the snow wouldn't be so bad, and it wasn't. The snow actually cushioned some of the rocks and made for relatively easy going. The gameplan was to go down to the furnace then head back up to the parking lot on the other side of Clay Run gorge.

Cooper's Rock rules. It's the best place to ride in WV and I've been to a lot of places now: Kanawha, Spruce Knob, Big Bear, Davis, Gauley Mountain, and the New River. Haven't been to Snowshow yet, but that's a different kind of riding. Cooper's Rock beats them all.

The furnace at the bottom of the descent, way off in the background:

 

The climb up to the parking lot was zen, and the road ride back to the car was soul cleansing. It's amazing how riding in the snow can clean all the gunk from your bike, as well!! 

A peaceful Sunday morning, and a great weekend in WWWV.

I was still all fired up when I got home, so the dogs got to do some stompin, too: