ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, July 29, 1996 TAG: 9607290088
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
August 2 - Having fun on fat tires
The marriage of the Mountain State with mountain biking has established West Virginia as a solid mecca for fat-tire fans. Pocahontas County, the center of the sport, is a rural county where national forest land is laced with streams and capped with mountains and where sheep and black-eyed Susans decorate Alpine meadows.
Some days you will see about as many bikes mounted on vehicles as you will see rifles on racks in the rear window of pickups. You can bike on your own, or join organized events. One of the biggest and oldest gatherings is the 12th annual West Virginia Fat Tire Festival, headquartered at Elk River Touring Center near Snowshoe. It provides a week (Aug.2-9) of biking activities that range from races to bike polo, seminars to demo bikes. The highlight is a bike ride centered around the Cass Scenic Railroad.
Anyone planning to attend the festival should preregister. A brochure is available, 304-572-3771.
For youngsters ages 12 to 16, there is a Junior Mountain Bike Camp from Aug.4-9 at Snowshoe. Information is available by calling 304-572-1000, extension 273.
4 - Start them early with tyke hike
One of the most popular outings sponsored by the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club this past spring was a ``tyke hike.'' Parents were invited to join their youngsters for a hike and hotdog roast, and they did in great numbers.
The hike coordinators, Therese and Home Witcher, have scheduled another tyke trip for Aug.4. The 1 p.m. outing, to Wilson Creek shelter in Botetourt County, is three miles and rated easy. It includes a wiener roast. Dr. Bill Gordge, a veteran hiker and club official, will be a leader. The Witchers and Gordge have a special interest in youngsters. Gordge is a pediatrician, and the Witchers have two children who are frequent hikers.
Participants should contact the Witchers, 992-3932, or Gordge, 774-3061.
9 - Deer show is a classic
The Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show is an ideal way to bridge last year's deer hunting season with the upcoming one. There will be displays of trophy bucks bagged during the past season, and there will be 150 or so booths full of hunting equipment that will help you prepare for the coming season. Hunters are invited to enter the head of the trophy deer they bagged last year.
The 13th annual show is scheduled Aug. 9-11 at the Showplace, on Mechanicsville Turnpike in Richmond. The fee is $7 or you can purchase a $12 pass good for all three days. The event is sponsored by the Virginia Deer Hunters Association.
The highlights, in addition to the booths and big deer heads, include a display of live trophy bucks along with seminars on bird dogs, muzzle-loading, turkey hunting and deer wildlife management. There will be a 3-D archery contest and a turkey-calling championship.
For information on the deer trophy show, contact Denny Quaiff, 804-743-1290. For information on other aspects of the event, contact Hugh Crittenden, 804-748-7529.
Duck season is looking up
22
The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries will set the 1996-97 waterfowl seasons and bag limits Aug.22 amid reports duck populations are increasing. Interest in duck hunting should be sky high. This is the third spring when hatches have increased following a string of years when reproduction had dismal results. A major exception to the good news, migratory Canada geese numbers remain low, and there will be no season on the species for the second year in a row. The resident goose season has been set for Sept.3-21.
The regulations meeting will begin at 10 a.m. Aug.22 at the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries headquarters, 4010 W. Broad St. in Richmond. Recommendations from the public will be received then, as well as on Aug. 6 during a 7-9 p.m. meeting at the headquarters.
Written comments may be addressed to Bob Duncan, Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, P.O. Box 11104, Richmond 23230-1104.
Archers aim at state
31
The Sherwood Archers will play host to the 1996 Virginia State Closed championship Aug.31-Sept.1. ``Closed'' means the event is open to Virginia residents only. No hotshot can come out of Ohio or West Virginia to win this one.
The event will take place on Sherwood's ranges, located near Hanging Rock. The starting times each day are 9 a.m. Registration takes place 6-9 p.m. Aug.30 and 7-8 a.m. Aug. 31. The registration fee is $15 for a single competitor, $30 for families (three or more). Registration forms are available from David Keith, 7281 Breckinridge Mill Road, Fincastle, 24090. |- BILL COCHRAN
LENGTH: Medium: 89 linesby CNB