Mountain biking in West Virginia will be celebrated during a three-day event this weekend in Preston County.
Bike Bash WV will be July 19-21 at 450 Big Bear Lake Road in Bruceton Mills.
The event is hosted and produced by the Big Bear Lake Trail Center, a private trail center in Preston County that’s been given the reputation as the “Mountain Bike Capital of Preston County.”
Jeff Simcoe — event director of Bike Bash WV and recreation land manager at the Big Bear Lake Trail Center — describes the festival as “a multi-day, mountain bike-focused event with onsite camping, bands and a mountain bike-focused expo area.” He added that the event serves as “a way to celebrate mountain biking in the Mountain State and to raise funds to support the operational costs that are associated with running a trail center on private property.”
When the event started in 2017, Bike Bash WV was under a different name — Dirt Fest WV. That event was produced in partnership with Dirt Rag Magazine — a mountain bike news outlet based in Pittsburgh, Pa.
During 2020, the festival was not held for two reasons: Dirt Rag Magazine went out of business in January 2020 and the U.S. was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was in 2021 that the event resumed under the new name and without the partnership of Dirt Rag Magazine.
Along the way, the Big Bear Lake Trail Center has found new partnerships to keep the festivals going. This year, the Spent Grain Cafe — the restaurant division of Screech Owl Brewing — will be providing food during the event.
Over the years, Bike Bash WV has attracted people from all over the country, gaining more attendance each year.
“We’ve seen our reach grow over time and last year we attracted attendees from over 17 different states,” Simcoe said.
During the three-day event, Bike Bash WV will have various group bike rides — each lasting about two hours. There will also be mountain bike skill clinics and yoga sessions at the event, both of which last close to an hour.
Bike Bash WV will also have bands performing Friday and Saturday. Megan Jean’s Secret Family — a band based out of Western Maryland — will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Optimus Riff — Big Bear Lake Trail Center’s house band — will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Organizers are limiting the attendance to 800 people due to the need for the festival to function properly.
“The reason that we advertise a limit of 800 attendees is because we want to preserve the quality of the event and leave enough space in our camping areas and on the trails where people don’t feel too crowded,” said Simcoe.
Simcoe believes that Bike Bash WV reflects the cultures of mountain biking and West Virginia.
“Our out-of-state vendors always comment about how nice everybody is and how much fun is being had throughout the weekend,” he said. “The challenging trails, the tall ferns, the vibrant moss and the various forest types that exist across the Big Bear Lake Trail Center property provides a unique landscape for event attendees to enjoy.”
Bike Bash WV 2024 will open at noon Friday and close at 3 p.m. Sunday.
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