When I came to Beckley, West Virginia, for a two-day Bicycle Friendly Community workshop earlier this month, I wasn’t sure what kind of turnout to expect. What I found was a room full of people who didn’t need convincing. Parks directors, trail advocates, city engineers, a youth mountain biking coach, folks who work in regional economic development… people who came because they’re already doing this work, and who want their state to be better for biking.
Take Phil Waidner, who drove over from Fayetteville, where he runs one of the region’s premier cycling destinations: Arrowhead Bike Farm. Phil didn’t need a workshop to tell him that West Virginians love to bike, he’s built a business on it.
If you build it, the cyclists will come (and they’ll bring their wallets)
Outdoor adventure recreation is already West Virginia’s brand. Rafting, hiking, climbing, and increasingly, biking, are all commonly enjoyed by West Virginians and tourists drawn by the allure of the Mountain State. You don’t keep those tourists coming back without a rich local bike culture: shops to explore, restaurants with bike parking, destinations like Arrowhead Bike Farm where the whole vibe is built around bikes and the people who love to ride them. That’s the neat thing about investing in bikeability. If you build it, the people who bike will come — and they’ll arrive with empty stomachs and open wallets.
Tourism is just the start of the benefits you get when investing in better biking. Expanding a rail-trail corridor like the Lewis McManus Memorial Honor Trail (the four-mile Beckley rail trail we explored during the workshop’s bike audit) attracts out-of-town riders, but it also serves locals who are already biking to get groceries, the car-free college students trying to get their fast food fix, and the older adults for whom cycling is one of the most accessible and age-friendly ways to stay active.
Mitch Lehman, Director of Beckley’s Office of Outdoor Economic Development, says: “One of the practical goals is improving connections between existing recreational assets and everyday destinations…we want to make it so that you can bike all around Beckley, and especially getting folks from the Harper Road area into our downtown space is super important.”
The terrain is the point, and the challenge
West Virginia isn’t called the Mountain State for the bumper sticker. The topography that makes it such a draw for adventure recreation also makes it challenging to build connected transportation infrastructure, especially with limited small-town budgets. As one attendee described it, communities in West Virginia can feel like a collection of islands: small-town oases tucked into river valleys and hollows, separated from one another by winding mountain roads, steep grades, and rugged terrain.
You can’t move the mountains. But throughout the workshop, there was a clear sense that communities across West Virginia are trying to build more connections across them. Dr. Christiaan Abildso, a Physical Activity Specialist with WVU Extension’s Family Nutrition Program, described helping the tiny town of Clay, West Virginia (pop. 399) secure a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) planning grant. The funding will help Clay County develop a comprehensive safety action plan focused on reducing roadway fatalities and improving conditions for people walking and biking: building critical infrastructure like sidewalks, pedestrian bridges, traffic calming, and improved signage.
In a state where many communities are separated by mountains and miles of rural roadway, that kind of support can make the difference between recognizing a problem and having the capacity to address it.
What the data says
The enthusiasm in Beckley tells one story. The League’s Bicycle Friendly State rankings tell another. Together, they make a compelling case.
West Virginia currently ranks 33rd in the nation and 8th out of 13 states in the Southern region. Its lowest scores are in Infrastructure (49%, 38th nationally) and Capacity & Support (42%, 33rd), which tracks with what workshop attendees described: communities that want to build, plan, and connect, despite low capacity and limited resources.
There’s reason for cautious optimism: West Virginia has seen a record use of federal funds on biking and walking projects over the past two years, and seven communities across the state have received SS4A grants to develop comprehensive safety action plans. That federal investment is already headed in the right direction. The opportunity now is for state leadership to coordinate around it, amplify it, and push for more.
One thing that would help enormously is a statewide transportation advocacy coalition. West Virginia previously had one (West Virginia Connecting Communities) but it has since dissolved, leaving a real gap in organized, unified advocacy for biking and walking at the state level. That absence shows up in the data. It also showed up as a recurring undercurrent in the workshop: community leaders doing good work in relative isolation, without a statewide network to connect their efforts or amplify their voices.
West Virginia, it’s time!
Beckley is already a Bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community, and the people there are ready to go further. Folks left the BFC workshop energized, connected, and already talking about how to keep the momentum going.
What they need is for West Virginia’s leaders to fight for funding that matches the level of demand that already exists. Not because biking is a niche hobby for a niche crowd, but because it’s economic development. It’s public health. It’s how kids get to school. It’s connectivity for communities. And based on this workshop’s energy, it’s what West Virginians are asking for.
The federal investment is already there, waiting to be met. The communities are ready. The next Bicycle Friendly State report cards come out later this year — and with the right support, West Virginia has every reason to move up.