November 17, 2024
Sunday's Ride - Marlinton to Cass
Beautiful scenery for miles but no cell phones or Uber drivers
We had some difficulty getting started this morning. Our plan had been for me to drive our van/trailer up to the top of the trail, park it at Cass and catch an Uber back to Marlinton. Then from there I'd do the bike ride with the others up to the top of the trail and when we arrived the van/trailer would be waiting for us. So all we have to do is pack up and head home.
When I requested my ride on Uber that morning, it was instantly confirmed. So I quickly hopped in my van and took off north towards Cass. As I left town I immediately lost cell phone/data service because of the area's proximity to the Green Bank Observatory (radio telescope). When I arrived in Cass 45 minutes later, I still didn't have cell phone service but I was on time and was expecting to see my Uber pickup. No one was there though.
Fortunately the Cass Company Store was open. So I went inside, connected to their WIFI and was able to check in on my Uber situation. That's when I realized that even though my ride had been confirmed, there were NO DRIVERS AVAILABLE in the area to pick up my ride. (D'OH!). I guess I'd never been anywhere before where there were no Uber drivers available. If I would have waited another 5-10 minutes before taking off in Marlinton earlier that morning I would have gotten that response back from the Uber app and started looking into alternate plans.
But oh well, now here I am in Cass and I need to somehow find a ride back to Marlinton or my bike ride for the day is shot. If I can't get some sort of ride back I'm just gonna have to send my four friends up the trail without me while I have to drive back, get my bike, then drive back to the top of the trail and wait for them to arrive.
I started calling a couple shuttle services and left some messages, but it was early Sunday morning and no one was around. I was about to give up hope when my wife suggested we touch base with the owners of our Airbnb who were actually right across the street from our cottage working on a new unit. We were thinking they might know someone that would be willing to pick me up for fifty bucks. So she went over and talked to them and lo and behold, the husband (Doug) actually agreed to drive up to Cass (40 minutes one way) and pick me up.
What an unbelievable gesture by some super nice folks. By the way, their cottage was perfect for our group of five. Great location (for the Greenbrier River Trail or Snowshoe), radiant heating, hot water for days, reasonably priced. If you're ever looking for a great place to stay in Marlinton, I can't recommend this place and it's rock star hosts highly enough.
So I finally made it back to Marlinton and we started our ride about 90 minutes later than expected (which... unexpected bonus... actually allowed the temps to warm up a few more degrees), but to be honest, I just felt super fortunate to be riding at all at this point.
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We made it into Cass around 4:00 and grabbed a quick bite to eat at the restaurant at the Cass Company Store. Then we packed up our bikes on the trailer and got on the road around 4:30.
Even with my shuttle delay, we still made it back to Baltimore and everyone was home well before midnight.
It was a GREAT weekend with a GREAT group of folks on a BEAUTIFUL rail trail.
If you like extremely remote trails and bike packing, this trail is for YOU. I didn't mention it (and we didn't think about it at all because the normal temps in November drop below freezing and we don't do a ton of tent camping these days), but the Greenbrier River Trail has many well maintained camp sites with nice covered rain shelters, water pumps and outhouses. They're maintained by the state and FREE to use.
If you're like us and want to stay in a hotel/inn/Airbnb, Marlinton is the biggest town on the trail and probably the best option for overnight stays. It's got a cute little downtown area with lots to do including multiple restaurants, music venues and bikes shops. If we were gonna do it all over, I'd definitely stay in Marlinton again. But I might try to coordinate a different shuttle arrangement for Sunday or possibly try to split the ride up into three days.
I DEFINITELY want to ride this trail again some day.
Today's ride: 26 miles (42 km)
Total: 79 miles (127 km)
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