Happy Birthday to our 35th State.

Did you hear about the New $3 Million West Virginia State Lottery?

~You get $3 dollars a year for a million years.

Yet another of the many, many jokes directed at the 35^th state.  West Virginia has been the brunt of jibes for decades.  West Virginia is unique, it is the only state to secede from the Union twice.  First, when the area was still part of Virginia and Confederate secession came about thus becoming a contributing factor to the Civil War and second, during the “Wheeling Conventions” of 1861 when a group of legislators decided their large swath of land in the Appalachians should secede from Virginia, become a state and join the Union.  West Virginia was accepted into the Union in 1863 and for much of the war was a border state.  Like the other Border States, West Virginia sent men and munitions to both the North and the South.  This year marks 150 years of West Virginia statehood.  What better way to celebrate than with a bike ride in mountaineer country.

A good place to select for a nice ride is the New River Gorge region.  The area is a National Park and open to the public daily.  The park encompasses 70,000 acres and has over 50 miles of trail and roads for riding and hiking.  A number of quaint towns exist allowing for a step back in time.  One such town is Thurman (pictured) and a good way to get to town is along a rail trail that was once part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad.  The C&O brought quick prosperity to Thurman.  Between 1900 and 1925 the coal coming out of the Appalachians was moving into Thurman on its way to Eastern and Rust Belt factories and homes.  Thurman is a prime example of an American boom town. More railroad revenue was generated by Thurman than by Cincinnati and Richmond combined—two other large C&O depot towns.  At its height Thurman received 15 passenger trains daily.  When Appalachian coal went bust so did Thurman.  Today a ride through Thurman is of a place frozen in time.  When the coal stopped coming through town so did change and progress.  

Back in the New River Gorge Park, the New River powers its way on a flow to the Ohio River.  An interesting note to the New River is that it is not new.  Geologists who study such things have determined that the New River is the third oldest river in the world.  How that is determined is to look at the mountain ranges that contribute to a river’s creation.  The Appalachians are the oldest mountains in North America.  They were actually part of the prehistoric super continent of Pangaea and before that an undersea range in a giant salt water sea.   Out of the eons of time comes the New River.  Today the river is part of the American Heritage River System and also designated as a Wild and Scenic River by the federal government.  The roads along the New offer spectacular rides.

Most of what people know of the New River is the iconic bridge across the gorge near Fayetteville.  For many years it was the largest steel arch bridge on earth (it is now fourth).  At nearly 900 feet in the air the bridge is also very high and base jumpers flock to the place every October for the annual “Bridge Day.”  Unfortunately the bridge cannot be crossed on a bicycle but guided tours can cross on foot.    

So Happy Birthday to West Virginia.  We have posted on our website a cool video of a sold out Milar Pusker Stadium all singing a John Denver classic following a WVU victory at www.stickybottleteam.net.