Huntington Quarterly Summer 2022

Mountain Biking is one of the best ways to experience nature, especially in the Appalachian Mountains.

- Audy Perry

At Heritage Farm riders can be chauffeured up a mountain in a six-seat Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV). When they reach the top, the driver points to five different paths and says, “We took you up, now you get to choose your adventure down.”

pandemic to construct five different trails, all named after a piece of equipment found on the farm. Like at a ski resort, different colors assigned to each trail rep resent varying difficulty levels: green for easy, blue for intermediate and red or black for the highest difficulty. Perry said he’s tried every trail, but prior to his rides at Mountain Rim Bike Park, he did not consider himself an avid mountain biker. “It’s amazing what you can learn with repetition. Most places you go down once, and that’s it; you’re done. But at Heritage Farm’s mountain bike park, because of our UTVs, you can go repeatedly, which allows you to build your confidence and your comfort level. So, you may want to explore the forest when going down the first time — slowly,” he said with a laugh. “But when

you go again, you’ll know what to expect. You’ll gain confidence with each ride.” Confidence is key for beginners, which is why the Hay Baler Trail provides a 1-mile practice loop to allow riders to practice their skills while taking turns.Winding back and forth, the Cornhusker Trail is described as a long, slow ride down the mountain. Perry said his personal favorite is the Humdinger Trail, which has a series of five rolls that remind him of “being a kid on the Little Dipper at Camden Park.” “If the Humdinger is the Little Dipper, then the Hit ‘n’ Miss Trail is the Big Dipper,” he joked. “They are just a lot of fun.” The fifth and final option for riders is the expert level Stump Grinder Trail, which Perry said has made

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