Friday, May 15: Now I know I’ve started a few blogs with the “Welcome to the Jungle” open. But nonetheless I’ll start it this way again. It was truly a jungle out there for the first half of the day. So Judy dropped me off at yesterday’s end point and I was dressed for the occasion - with my jungle Jim pants, long sleeve shirt, hiking shoes, and backpack - to ride a bike! Yea, that first section where the RR line ends is just a jungle. So our gameplan was to have Judy stay in close proximity in case I had to make a switch to bikepacking rather than riding. So I just had her go one road Xing at a time as I rode on this mess. First half mile was like riding blind through an abandoned farm field with chuckholes and small sapplings all over the place. I played dodgem the whole time. 

Made it through that section, met Judy and motioned her on to the next abomination, this time I had to push the bike up the old RR grade to the ballast and then ride this total crapfest for another mile or sod. From a old concrete bridge above the road below I motioned her to continue on to the next point. But about a quarter mile up I ran into this complete blockade of woods on the old grade. Even the ATC guys avoided this section. I mean it was just a complete jungle of 20-30 year old trees and brush, so tightly packed together I’d have needed a machete to get through the mess. So I went to plan B - ride berm for a couple miles on these old country roads to the next section. Now I recommend this, wrote it down, memorized it, the whole shot, but be damned if I didn’t make a wrong turn! Got my gps out and sure enough, I’d just berm ridden about 2 miles all for naught. Established the right road combinations and went the right way. Had a few little climbs along the way - on berm at 3 mph - and I was just soaked in sweat what with the long pants, long sleeve shirt, and hiking shoes while riding a bike. I must have looked like a homeless guy riding around totally oblivious to the world. 

But I met up with Judy at our designated meeting point, this little cafe that’s looking pretty OOB, and that called Rails To Trails. But hell, it’s listed on Google maps. So I peeled off the soaking clothing I had on, and changed into my cycling kit…BUT I still kept on knickers, and a long sleeve polypro top, this because I knew what was in store for me on this crazy mouse section of ATC track on the abandoned RR grade. Did this thing back in 013, and I knew that I’d have to have a freaking suit of armor on to withstand all the shit that was coming at me on this one. So I asked Judy to meet me in Point Marion and just wait there. I’d be on my own for this little outing. 

Got going and right off the bat I was weaving around these massive mud puddles and trying not to get my freaking head taken off by low hanging branches - no wonder these ATC guys were full motocross helmets! Jesus, I needed a damn welders mask and body armor on to withstand all the low hanging branches, rose bushes, prickers, and blunt end limbs that came my way. But that was the tame stuff. Just down the trail is this section where the RR trestles were removed, and I’m talking like 5-6 trestles removed over this little creek. So what I found in my recon in 013 is that the ATC guys go down and either ride across the creek and then back up to the old grade, or ride IN the creek between the old bridge abutments and then go back up AT the abutment. I knew from past experience that when the main track goes down to the creek….THAT’S the right track. Take a softer side track on the high side and you come to the top of an old abutment and you’re SOOL. 

And hell, I even remembered the sections of downs and ups, which made me feel good. But still, I had to really stay aware of the track because the downs, some of them are at like a 45-50-degree angle. I mean there’re VERY steep, and some of the ups are just the same. So you pick your battle carefully. And then at the bottom you really have to ride right across the creek or you’re like an old lady walking on marbles for 20 yards, what with the slimy, goose-shit slippery rocks on the bottom of the creek bed. Cycling shoes and that slimy crap just don’t mix. Well, on that new 29er, I have to say my 26er was way more stable riding across and through the stream beds (used a 26er on recon in 013). Maybe that’s because I’m so much higher on the 29er. But most of the time I did make it across. Now I did get soaking wet feet from the splashing. And a couple times I just about lost it on the slimy rocks, like BIG rocks, these long chunks of shale about the size of a coffee table!

Ok, now the gnarly stuff for the day: Biffed it on a descent. On these descents you have a choice - either be totally committed or ride down chicken-shit style. I’d do the low angle descents to the creek totally committed, but do the chicken-shit thing on the steep ones. So on this one, it started out low angle and then just pitched really steep. So I feathered the brakes, and my mind was like “dude abort this mission NOW”, so I tried to stop to dismount but the rear end was just pulling off the ground and I was stutter stepping with one leg so as not to do an endo, and finally dumped it on my left side - my sore freaking left knee side! The mission was indeed aborted and I was ok, save for my right wrist that help to brace the landing. 

From then onward I was Mr. Chicken-shit, and walked the descents. Now the second gnarly, well that one was a creek Xing, one of about 10-12 Xings. But this one, God, it went about 3 feet deep into the stream. I mean it was like going from 10 mph to 1 mph, doing this slow motion thing of pedaling IN the water - aqua-biking. I had to pull out and walked the bike the remaining 1/4 of the way across. Tell you what…I damn near had it if not for the mud on the bottom of this Xing. Then there was another section that I had to ride down the middle of the stream for about 50-75 yrds - cuz that’s where the ATC guys went. No tracks on the sides of the creek. 

So I made it through this stream section and got down to the Cheat River. Then there’s yet another abandoned RR line that the ATC guys have tracked out which goes east-west along the river. This was great, as I rode right along the Cheat, just above a road on some really good ballast. These guys have some of these sections just carved 2-3 feet down into the ballast, with the ballast pretty cemented down to good dbl track. But for the last 2 miles of this section, one of my favorites over the years of recon work, that they’re putting in this massive pipe system. So it’s been torn up from digging and such. It was a total pain in the ass with all the construction work that has been going on here. Makes me wonder if this last few miles will be gone in the near future. 

Go to Point Marion in pretty good time. I was a soaking, sodden mess. I dropped my soaked clothing over the windshield of the van to dry as I sat in the van and fueled up for the next section. So I’d just crapped out a second set of clothing in less than 4 hrs! Put on fresh socks, a fresh top and got it rolling for the next section - The end of the Sheepskin Trail, and onto the Mon River trail. So if you’re wondering what the hell I’m doing, I’m actually connecting the Sheepskin trail in Dunbar, PA, to the Mon River Trail in WVA - it’s the very same RR line. Now this is supposed to be a thru rail trail in the future, but I’ll tell you what - NOT in my lifetime, that’s for sure. 

Rode about 3 blocks of berm in Point Marion, a pathetically morbid little place, and hopped on the southern end of the Sheepskin trail, a bumpy ride on raw RR ballast. That goes straight into the Mon River Trail as you enter WVA. The name comes from the Monongahela River - Mon River - which you ride along.  First 6 miles are nice crushed limestone, then it turns to pavement for 6 miles as it passes by Morgantown. Had to do berm, and it’s just hilarious as I’m riding berm and these people look at me like “what the hell, get on the pavement you idiot!. Some of the berm section as just about 2 feet wide, and that’ s exactly why I had Steve cut me down some shorty bars, just for sections like this. That way I won’t get the bars caught on fencing or branches. Worked great. Now it was hard, don’t get me wrong, but that’s where this big 29er with 2.4 tires just shines. I can hold onto a cambered line and just stay with it. My 26er was very unsteady on these cambered berm sections when I did recon. 

Met Judy in downtown Morgantown, fueled up again, and was off for the final section of the day - 18 miles of crushed limestone on the Mon River Trail to Fairmont and Prickett’s Fort SP. Beautiful scenery and easy riding all the way. I think I did about 13 mph for the stretch. Hit Prickett’s Fort and had to do a little berm section cuz the trail went back to pavement for the last half mile. Now the next section is this paddle from Prickett’s Fort SP to the start of the West Creek Trail in downtown Fairmont. So with the luck we’ve had in our coordinating directions I decided to go there with Judy to show her how to get there. Well, the road I’d chosen was private property, so I asked a person at the business there how to get to the trailhead. His directions were vague, but we followed them and ended up in this freaking little nowhere’s ville that’s barely even marked. Thank God I did this with Judy cuz we’d have had another episode - and that’s on me not her. 

So what I’m going to do tomorrow is paddle the West Creek at the start of the West Creek Trail, and take it into the Monongahela and paddle back to Prickett’s Fort. Then we’ll drive back to the start of the West Creek trail and I’ll ride that 18 miles to Shinstown. This way Judy will have me to navigate this shitty section through Fairmont. I have to do the paddle to bypass all the inner-city riding through the dregs of Fairmont, WVA on asphalt to connect these two trails. 

Ok, my left knee. Pretty damn sore this morning. But I can ride. Just hurts to walk. I’m walking with a slight limp right now, and all that pushing and pulling the bike up and down that stream section, that really hurt. Two buffs over the last two days on my left side didn’t help either. But, let’s just keep this thing rolling. 

Want to say hello to some friends who were kind enough to email and call within the last several days: Thanks much to Bill R, Wally S, Andrew F, and Dominc C. Love you guys and thanks so much for your encouragement. Talk to you all soon…….Pete