West Virginia ranked high for bike riding
By Dave Lavender
The Herald-Dispatch
September 28, 2006
Tony O'Leary's been pretty proud of the report card lately.
O'Leary, the outdoors specialist for the West Virginia Division of Tourism, isn't going back for some Will Ferrell "Old School" education -- he's just got lots of smiles when the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) publishes its annual report card for states.
Since 2003, West Virginia has been a Top 3 state and in 2004, West Virginia became the first state east of the Mississippi to be the top state ranked by the IMBA.
Last year, Virginia topped the list with West Virginia right on its tail.
Known internationally for such amazing races as 24 Hours of Snowshoe and the Wild 100 Backcountry Race, West Virginia now sees hiking/mountain biking as the most popular "unique" activity for visitors to West Virginia, in terms of popularity stated by past visitor studies, O'Leary reported.
While shopping, dining and visiting family and friends is tops here and in most every state, hiking and mountain biking edge out sightseeing, visiting state parks and heritage as the top "unique activity."
O'Leary said that speaks volumes to the growing popularity of West Virginia as a Mecca for mountain bikers.
"West Virginia has everything a mountain biker could want: endless miles of back-country singletrack, the heart of the Appalachian Mountains and a culture of avid riders who live and breathe the sport," O'Leary said. "The West Virginia Mountain Biking Association has emerged as one of the top mountain bike advocacy groups in the nation, balancing trail-work, advocacy, riding and racing to appeal to a broad spectrum of cyclists. But what really sets West Virginia apart from the pack is the support of government agencies like the state tourism department and governor's office. This support -- combined with great trails and advocates -- earned West Virginia the top billing in the 2004 IMBA Report Card."
Veteran mountain biker and Milton resident Michael Boyles, who organized WVMBA's "Dirt Derby" this Sunday at Barboursville Park, said the beauty about mountain bike riding in West Virginia is that there is room enough for a lot of different riding.
"It is kind of a different camp of riders over around Snowshoe with more freestyle riders and more downhilling and stuff like that. You would have to say the riding in Barboursville Park is more fitness and cross country based. At Snowshoe, there's great marketing for the sport and plenty of perks, and that is the beauty of mountain biking."
O'Leary said more and more, the Division of Tourism is using mountain bike photos in its ads and promotional materials, such as brochures and its Web site.
"It helps project one of the main messages we want to sell -- that being that West Virginia is a great escape for those living in the many big urban cities in our surrounding states," O'Leary said.
Boyles, who also helped maintain and promote the Beech Fork mountain bike trail system for years, said the Barboursville system, packed with trails of varying degrees, offers the best of both worlds.
"The good part about it is it is a great escape," Boyles said. "The way they are laid out -- they are pretty close to each other but have been designed to make the most of the land. That is fairly unique for a city park to have something like that with the level of trails where people don't have to travel two or three hours to ride."
