BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

The bike directions in Google are a good tool, I think.

They suggest the Panhandle trail to WV. I concur. That would get you north of Wheeling. There is a bike path that would take you most of the way to Wheeling.

After that, Google suggests going down the Ohio River Valley, first on the WV side, then crossing over to Ohio. I'd be a little concerned with heavy traffic, particularly industrial trucks, though.

One alternative would be dragging the Google path into Ohio away from the river. It's Appalachian Ohio, so there are hellacious hills, but it could get you away from the traffic.

If I recall correctly, there is a racing group in Marietta. If you found out how to contact them, they might be able to help.

Hmm, the Pandhandle Trail does sound like a good idea. The question is, risk the traffic and try the flat state roads along the river, or ride through the Appalachian region, yikes... I'll say this, I've driven down there several times, and those roads are definitely not in terrible condition. And, if I remember, they do have rumble strips but the shoulders are fairly generous. Thanks for the advice.

The Panhandle trail stays pretty far north of where you want to go, and dumps you out without any good options.

I would stay away from 2 and 7, just crappy. You could get out to Carnegie, pick up the Panhandle, to the Montour trail, to route 50, take that to WV 88, and take 88 all the way past Wheeling to to 250 and take that to Moundsville, then jump over to the interior of Ohio and pick your roads from there.

Not the most direct route, perhaps, but an option....

Follow PA Route A (I think) south to PA/WV line south of Morgantown. Continue south to pick up North Bend Trail to WV 31. Follow WV 31 into Marietta.

What I like least about this routing is the reliance on one day of road riding and one day of trail riding.

If you take Swalfoort's route, there are trails through most of WV.

Pa Bike Rt A -> WV border

Rt 19 -> Morgantown

Mon River Trail -> Fairmont

5 miles on roads through Fairmont.

North Fork Trail -> Shinnston

4 miles on roads -> Spelter

Harrison County Parks Trail -> Clarksburg

6 miles on roads -> Wolf's Summit

W. Bend Trail -> Parkersburg

15 miles on Roads -> Marietta

It's 205 miles, rather than the 146 miles that the Ohio Valley route would be, but it looks pretty nice to me.

The Panhandle trail stays pretty far north of where you want to go, and dumps you out without any good options

The google map would have him get off the Panhandle trail at Collier, about two miles SE of the end of the trail. I'm not sure if this is any better, but I*'m guessing.

Wow, working on the route with Google makes taking 88 seem incredibly scenic. It does seem like a narrow road... but, I suppose the traffic wouldn't be as heavy. It'll be steep if I go that way, that's for sure... but it really slashes the mileage to only 66.4 miles to get to Moundsville.

woops. i should put cue sheets up there..

the bikely route is a pleasent way out of the city and it takes you past meadowcroft. which is one of the oldest sites of human occupation in the new world. the main advantage over the trail is that this is paved.

i've ridden down most of the ohio river and i hopped back and forth between route 7 and 2 to get to marietta. at certian points they are horrible and others pretty nice. the plus is this way is pretty flat. a automobile map is probably the best tool to use in order to navigate this part of the route, so you can avoid the highway sections.

Hmm, well, here's what I've come up with to get to Wheeling, with 2 and 7 being used the next day to get to Marietta. I figure I'll do what you said, Nick, and just improvise along the Ohio River...

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Panhandle+Trail,+Carnegie,+PA&daddr=Rt.+50,+PA+to:Highway+88,+West+Virginia+to:Moundsville,+WV+to:Marietta,+OH&geocode=FfdbaAIdLTU5-ykxoHGoCVA0iDHoaM4nMsL9QQ;FfIwZwId2D83-ykLGvvnKk40iDFv3WnjXTwwgQ;FY8gZAIdxbgx-ymnJdLeks81iDEpLZJzZX_83A;FeEiYQIdG_Uv-yk5OUGwvuA1iDFOoHu9WZGogQ;FThuWQIdBBkl-yktMsQM4cxJiDGV5OSRNSdiPQ&hl=en&mra=ls&dirflg=b&sll=40.114314,-80.634327&sspn=0.049361,0.056648&ie=UTF8&ll=40.086477,-79.447632&spn=3.441733,4.938354&t=h&z=8&lci=bike

I've ridden down to New Martinsville a couple times on a similar route and wasn't really into either sides of the river down there, they have done a lot of construction to turn the roads on both sides of the river into pretty serious highways, just a heads up.

You could take the GAP into Connelsville and then trails almost all the way into parkersburg... it would be long but beautiful and stress free!