8/19-Riding With the Guys!

The West Fork Trail out of Shinnston to Fairmont was really nice. The first part was newly paved, and smooth as buttuh!

I suppose this was long before the trail…

Looking very nice!

As you might guess, this trail followed the West Fork River. There were a few people out walking. I came upon two gentlemen. I stopped to chat with them. Their names were, of all things, Tom and Jerry! They both ride, but not long distances.

Water seems to be still high

Good morning little fawn

The rock walls were cool

Pretty long bridge

The trail was less improved at the very end just before Fairmont. 

Not quite so great

Then this super steep bit to get up to the road

The ride through Fairmont was not the best. Lots of traffic for one thing, and the condition of the pavement meant I really had to watch where I was going. Of course, as soon as you are not on a trail, it’s very hilly. I made a quick chocolate milk stop at the grocery store, then continued to work my way to the next trail.

The Marion County Trail wasn’t too long, but it had a cool tunnel.

Inside there were lights!

At a park, there was a short connector trail to the Mon River Trail South. The Mon River Trail follows the Monongahela River all the way to Morgantown. At the beginning, it was so smooth, I thought it was paved, but it wasn't. It was just recently compacted with a roller.

That looks like pavement!

There’s the roller!

The Monongahela River

I was cruising along when I came upon four guys on bikes. Well, they weren’t on their bikes at the moment. Of course I stopped to say hi. They said, “Are you with Sarah?” They had met her about 30 minutes before me. They were Mike, Harvey, Keith, and Darrell (who was videoing our conversation). They came to ride the trails for three days in the Morgantown area. 

Since they were now heading back to Morgantown, we rode together. It was very enjoyable chatting with them as we were riding along. The miles flew by, and soon we were coming into Morgantown. The guys had told me about a restaurant that had good banana pudding. We stopped there, and they said they wanted to buy me lunch! How nice was that!!! I had a margarita flatbread, and of course the banana pudding. It was all delicious! We had a great time chatting. Thanks again, guys, for the ride, the conversation, and the lunch! Also, thanks for the intel on the GAP and the C&O.

Their hotel was close by, so we said our goodbyes. 

Bye!

I had about three more miles to go to the other side of Morgantown (maybe it’s really Star City?) to the Quality Inn. The trail went under the WV Univ Tram. The tram was built to shuttle students back and forth between the two campuses. Unfortunately, it is known to break down quite a bit. It seemed to be working okay as I saw several tram cars go zipping back and forth.

I arrived at the turn for the hotel. Luckily, it was just one block up off the trail. This Quality Inn is pretty generous in the word “quality”, but it’s also pretty cheap, so I’m not complaining.

Today’s weather was great, but I think it’s back to rain tomorrow *sigh*. At least I hope it’s not floody floody!

T-minus one week to DC and Nolan!!!