Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eDUALSPORT e Blackwater 200 The Blackwater 200 dual sport ride takes place in the same area as the legendary Blackwater 100 cross country race. ac wa er By Ca rrie Ru ssell Photos by Paul C lipper ention Blackw ater, and for many, visions of bike-swallow ing mudholes , swamps and the infamous Hig hway 93 riv er crossing co m e to mind . These peop le have, no doubt, e xp e r ie n ce d or read about the Blackwater 100, a cross coun try race which over the past 19 years has turned in to the most fa mou s - infamous? AM A Grand National Cross Country Series round . But there's ano ther side to Blackwater, a much more relaxed and easy-going side - it's the Blackwa ter 200, a dual spo rt ride . In only its third year, the Blackw ater 200 has turn ed into one of the country's m ost popu lar orga nized d ua l spor t even ts. Well over 300 riders and passenge rs participa ted in th is year's even t, w hic h too k place in the s ma ll Wes t Virginia community of Davis - population 812 - and the surro un ding Can aan Valley area . The eve n t allows pa rticipants a chance to tour - on motorcycles throug h some of the most unique forest and -mountain areas in the United States. The tw o-d a y rid e, h o st ed b y Rac e r Productions, includes a variety of activiti es d esign ed to hi ghlight th e scenic beau ty of central West Virginia. Th e Blac kwater Lo d ge, located in Blackwater Falls State Park, served as headquarters for this year's event. The management has always been receptive to the motorcyclists who visit the area. Ride registrati on was held in the main lobby of the lod ge, a rustic retrea t. Bike washing equipment was ava ilable at the ma intenance building and showers were available for those wh o wanted to clean up befo re heading home after th e rid e Sunday evening. Da ve Coombs, the founder of the Blackwater 100 and the trail boss of the M 12 200, cond ucted the riders' meetin g on Saturday morning, reminding the crowd th at the 200 was not a race. "You don't win anything by beating me or anyone back to the lod ge," said Coombs, w ho la ter took the pa ck across some of the more accessible parts of the Blackwater 100 race course, which crosses the floor of Canaan Valley. The valley is consid - ' ered a geographical treasure due to its un iqu e for ma tio ns a nd plant life. According to scien tific theory, wh en the glaciers o f the la st ice age be gan to retreat north, some of th e pla nt life on the frin ge of t he ice was left beh ind in th e valley. The high altitude and cool temperatures of the area made su rvival possible for plant life tha t is otherwise rest ricted to the tund ra that exists near the Arctic Circle. But even with its speci al o ri g in s, Canaan Valle y was 'n o t spared from the grow th that most of the Un ited States has expe rienced since its founding. The community of Davis was founded around the huge timb er boom tha t saw most parts of the valley clearcut. The area was once filled with hu ge hemlock, blue pin e and oak trees, comp arable in size to those th a t fill th e fore st s of th e Northwest. Th e ti mber was subsequently used to build homes a n d bu ilding s in the Ba lt im o r e, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. areas. After the timber companies had finishe d with the area, they left rail lines and tram roads that led into what ha d become a nearly barren vall ey. Th ey also left a hu ge fire haza rd in the form of all the treetops that were left where they had fallen. According to local lore, the valley literally caught on fire just after the tum of the century, w hen ligh tnin g sparked the refuse. The soil was so rich w ith d iscarded tim ber, ba rk a nd decomposing leaves that the fire burned six feet deep - all the way down to the rock. For more than a d ecade, Canaan Valley simmered, at one poi n t forci ng those left in Davis to dig tre nc hes aro und the town to p reven t the fire froin reaching them . To add insult to injury, the area was later u sed fo r tar get prac tice du rin g World War II. Some of the target sights w ere loca ted on th e d ua l sport ro ute and, accord ing to Coombs, the National Guard still keeps their eyes open for any u nexplod ed bo mb s tha t might still be around. The valley is still used for annua l We'st Virgi n ia Nationa l G uard maneu vers, and one hears an occasional sonic boom from Air Force jets as they p ractice below-radar flying. In the pas t two decad es, concerns for the environmen t ha ve gro wn parallel to the Blackwater 100 itself. Now the bul k of the damage d on e to the area com es from the mostly unres tricted and un controlled access to Cana an Valley by "wee kend warriors" o n a ll ty pes o f mo torized equip men t. (A large part of Canaan Valley is o w ne d by the Monongahela Power Company, who long allowed p ublic access to their property). Some environmentalists view the annual Blackwater 100 race as a magnet for ye ar-rou nd play-riding and ha ve called for a halt to the even t. But man y of those who live in the community of Davis rely hea vily on the bu sin ess the even t brings into the area . The local residents seem to have taken a liking to the Blackwater 200, held on the week end before the infa mo us Bla ckwater 100 cross country ra ce, because it mean s even more visitors will be joinin g them in the coming yea rs. Th e adva nced route on Sa tu rday too k riders on a 40-mi le tre k acro ss Cabin Mountain and por tion s of th e Blackwater 100 race course. The regular rou te headed out Loop Road and went tow ards the peculiar . Doll y Sods was the first stop of the poker run, w hich took place over the course of the weekend. Dolly Sod s is another tundra-like w ild erness area 'w ith a m ajestic overlook. In or der to ea rn credit fo r the poker check, riders were re quired to park the ir bikes and walk to the overlook of th e giant boulders, w hich ar e affectionately dubbed Moon Rocks. After the Sod s, the riders enjoye d a l 4-mile, two- track d irt road with seve n gates intermitten tly placed along this ro u te . Rid e rs were requ ired to stop, open the gate, pass thro ugh, an d' close each ga te. It may sound mon ot on ous, but it actually turned into a neat game of lea p- fro gging, as riders took turns serving as gate keeper, After a series of gravel roads, the route brought the group to the Sinks of Gan dy for po ker stop nu mber two . The Sinks is a pla ce where the Gandy River runs straight in to a mountain and disappears underground, passing through the mounta in via an under ground cavern . At the rider s' m eet ing, Coombs had exp la ine d that if anyo ne took a fla sh light they cou ld walk a mile or so all the way through the cave to the other end of the mountain . "Bu t you have to stay to the right, " w a rn ed Coombs . "There's only one place where the cave splits up; go to the right:' Whe n the rid er s reached the Sinks, Ro n Da niels a nd fo r me r Nation al Enduro Cha mp ion Jeff Russell were on hand - a rm ed w ith wa terproof flashligh ts - to guid e the truly adv en turo us throu gh the cave . Coombs also warned that there were places wh ere the water might be e x treme ly d eep. Wh at h e did n't warn the d ual sporters about was what to do if you we nt left instead of right and yo ur light burned ou t! That 's what happened to a group of riders who b ra ved the ca ve with a Zippo lig hter and very litt le sense. They were found three hou rs later in a dark pa rt of the cave, swimming in full ridi ng gea r in seve ra l feet of water. About 20 riders made it all the wa y through the cave , including Trail Rider ma gazin e's Paul Clipper. These rid ers ea rne d the p restigious Cavema n Club Member Aw a rd , and w ill rece ive plaques comme morating their initiation into this exclusiv e society. "I wanted to give the guys an opportu nity to experience wha t migh t be a once-in-a-lifet ime thr ill," Coombs said of the cave tour. "The federal government bou gh t the cave ea rlier this year, a nd it will p robably be closed to the public soon. We'll ha ve to come up w ith something else nea t for next year:' Ride participants wer e also offered a cha nce to visit the Smoke Ho le Caverns via guided tou rs. The nex t g a th e ri ng took .pla ce at poker s top number three nea r Bemis, West Virginia, where a catered barbecue lu nch awa ite d everyone ac ross from Schifflett's Genera l Store. Bemis is an isola ted fish in g commu nity al on g the Shaver's Fork Rive r. Sch ifflet t's serves as th e tow n' s grocery s to re, tavern, social hall, and sometimes th e courthouse . The si g n a t the d oo r wa rns, "Decla re all weapons, " and th e wall s and ceiling are adorned with hundred s of dollars worth of currency th at was a u tographed an d do na ted by people who have visited the tavern. According to one patron, the last person who tried to free the mo ney from the wa lls s uf fered two broken legs, compliments of the bartender and his Louisville Slugger. The toilet at Schifflett's is an old-fas hioned outhou se . Just be for e the Blackwat er 200 a patron accidentally drop ped his keys into the hole. The man struck a match to look for the keys and was pr omptly blown through the door of the ou tho use . Fortunately, he only suffe re d sligh t facial and arm burns, so me si nged ha ir and eyeb rows, a nd

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