By Rick Steelhammer, HD Media
CLENDENIN, W.Va. — A mountain bike park featuring steep, challenging riding terrain, downhill race courses, uphill shuttle service and trails built to accommodate adaptive cycles for riders with disabilities will soon begin taking shape in the hills east of Clendenin.
The planned development of Air Raid Bike Park — to be built with a $2.16 million grant from federal Abandoned Mine Lands funds on part of an 8,600-acre portion of the former Morris Creek Wildlife Management Area — was announced in April during a ceremony in downtown Clendenin.
Construction of the bike park’s trail system — incorporating jumps, berms, natural terrain features and 650 feet of vertical drop — is expected to begin this summer and be completed in 12 to 18 months.
“It will be a world-class destination,” said Jake Smith, leader of the Kanawha Adventure Impact Alliance, the group that will build and operate the facility.
‘Why not have something like this in West Virginia?’
Unlike bike parks that operate in conjunction with ski resorts and are open only during warm-weather months, Air Raid Bike Park will be open year-round, according to Smith, boosting the potential for rider visits.
After sampling the trails at year-round bike parks like Rock Creek in Zirconia, North Carolina, and Windrock Mountain Bike Park in Oliver Springs, Tennessee, with other members of the Adventure Impact Alliance team, “We thought, ‘Why not have something like this in West Virginia?’” Smith said.