LAST POST

I'm trying out a new website and blogging software. Katherine wants a blog site for work so I'm practicing on my atv site before we open one for the studio.
All future atv related blog posts will be on www.wvatvrider.com
If you get a chance stop by and check it out

Clear Creek Rod and Gun ATV ride

Jo and I met up with Jeff and Chris Feamster and made the trip up Anjean to the CCR&G picnic and atv ride. Since I have never ridden Cold Knob from the Anjean side of the mountain I thought it would be an interesting chance of scenery. Little did I realize that Anjean was little more than 10 miles from the trails I am used to and after Jeff got us back to the side of the mountain I recognized we had a brisk 55 mile ride on familiar trails.
We saw more grouse in one day than I have seen in the last 10 years. We also spooked up a couple bucks in velvet.
The trails were dust free as we had a steady rain most of the morning. It quit just as we left the registration table and didnt start again till we were on our way home.
We look forward to many more trips to the other side of the mountain but I think we will continue to do so from the Trout side. I believe we can park at Trout and ride to Anjean much quicker than trailering there.
Back at the trailhead we enjoyed a great meal and bluegrass music. We would have stayed longer but a warm shower and my couch seemed just too inviting to pass up :)
Thanks again to Jeff and Chris for riding with us. Between Jeff and I we were able to find our way around Cold Knob without getting lost.

I made a quick video from todays ride

Pic of the Day

Chris Feamster takes a shower and cleans his atv during the Clear Creek Rod

and Gun Club atv ride on Cold Knob July 11 2009

Pic of the Day

Rainy day ride at Burning Rock ATV park 6-08

Pic of the Day

Wacker enjoys the view at Cold Knob from July of 08

Pic of the Day

Garden Ground mudhole July of 2008

July 3rd and 4th ATV rides

I was lucky enough to have some friends come and ride here with us over the 4th. Wacker and Giddyupgirl, Mr. Ed and Bev, Zippy and Mrs. B, Prairie Pounder and Wifee and Sportsman all traveled from Pa, Oh and WV to enjoy the local scenery and the views from Cold Knob on Friday and to play in the mud at Garden Grounds near Beckley on Saturday.

The crew arrived at Brier Inn on Thursday night and after a few cold beverages we made plans for Fridays ride at Cold Knob. Thanks to the kindness of our neighbors Gary and Debbie Cochran we had a safe place to park our rigs on their farm at the foot of the mountain.

The day was cool and overcast but no one anticipated how cold it would be since the weather forecast called for partly cloudy skies. As we topped out on top of the mountain the wind and higher elevation made for a chilly start to the day and it wasn’t long before everyone had dawned almost every item of clothing they had with them. I don’t know how cold it was but I wouldn’t have been surprised to see snowflakes.


Jo and I had been riding there 3 weeks ago and I couldn’t believe how many changes had taken place in such a short time. The windmills are in full swing and I have never seen so much heavy equipment in one place. The road running out by the old slag piles looks like a 4 lane highway and many of the tower bases are already in place. It was interesting to see what goes into the footers as they were in various stages of development.

There was so much change that even with the gps I got turned around and managed to miss a couple turnoffs and ended up adding about 10 miles to the trip I had planned.

Once I got straightened out and we got back to Cold Knob we made our way out towards Briery and then on up to Big Bear road. My plan was to run the mile or so from there up Rt 39 so we could go to the Falls of Hills Creek. Maybe it was taking a chance but I think it was one everyone enjoyed as the falls were beautiful. Jo and I had been there one time before but it was the middle of winter with a deep blanket of snow. Despite the recent lack of rain there was plenty of water running and most of the group enjoyed the ¾ mile hike down past all three of the falls. I think I speak for everyone who has ever made the trek that the hike back is not nearly as enjoyable.

We came back via Becky’s Run and I was surprised to see how many campers are set up on the mountain. I’m assuming the bulk of them are for the construction workers but I couldn’t say for sure as no one was around any of them.

Since I was in front I saw plenty of game. 6-8 deer, a rowdy grouse, three turkeys and at least 6 hawks. I came around a turn and surprised one hawk that had caught a small grouse. He tried to fly off but had to drop the grouse right in front of me. Zippy managed to find it but since the hawk had already ate the head off it there was little we could do but leave it in the road in hopes the hawk would return to its kill.

We arrived back at the Cochran farm with over 80 miles traveled for the day. We loaded up and headed back to warm showers and a hot meal at Carlitos. We finished the day with some of Sportsman’s special cheesecake and headed home for a good nights sleep.

Saturday we left Lewisburg and headed for Beckley and the Garden Grounds. Due to all I’ve been reading about the Boy Scouts of America purchasing this tract of land we wanted to ride the area again in case it becomes off limits to atvs.

I knew we were in for a dusty ride and we tried to stay to the woods as much as possible. There are many trails in the area and we have only ridden a very few of them. We made our way out past the saw mill and then towards the beaver dam.
A long black snake was sunning himself in the trail and Zippy scooted him off and out of our way. As I was leading again I did spot a few deer including one that almost ran me over as it came back out of the woods.

Since all of our rides are scheduled around Wacker’s need for food we rode to the gas station at Glen Jean for pizza , subs and drinks. I must admit that it was much better than the cold sandwiches we had on Friday .

We rode basically the same route we rode over Memorial Day but in reverse this time. Once past the beaver dam we headed into the woods and out to Flag Rock. Thankfully the trails in the woods were still damp and many of the mud holes had plenty of water in them. I’ll take mud over dust any day.

As the leader of a ride its my duty to check the depth of mud holes to make sure its safe for the rest of the group and in doing so I managed to find a good one. Prairie Pounder was nice enough to winch me out without giving me too much grief.

After a group picture at Flag Rock we started the trail back home. It was then that we started paying for all the mud holes we had run thru. First Sportsman’s Polaris overheated, then Zippy’s Razr. Mr. Ed did a preventive cleaning and then after burying my brute force in some sticky mud it overheated. Wifee’s Honda was the last victim and I was beginning to wonder if we were going to make it back with any of the quads intact.

Somewhere on one of our rides someone had a 5 dollar water toy that they used to clean out radiators and I can say it was the best 5 bucks I’ve ever spent. It is basically a syringe like thing that you suck water in by pulling back a plunger and then expels it by pushing the plunger in. If you can find any water it does a good job of an emergency cleaning and it sure paid for itself on this ride.

After loading the quads we stopped by Lone Star in Beckley for dinner and then we had a wet drive back to Lewisburg. We sure could have used a little of this rain we’ve been getting today on Saturday to help with the dust.

After some more cheese cake and a few cold ones to wind down the day. Movie and picture files were exchanged and stories swapped and plans for future rides were made. We said our goodbyes until the next time.

As Wacker always says “ A good time was had by all”

rest of the pictures here http://www.flickr.com/photos/geebob/sets/72157620882250619/

Pic of the Day

Prairie Pounder and friends at Canada 2008

Pic of the Day

Stand up drag racing? Burning Rock ATV Park

Pic of the Day

Rocinate in a Burning Rock mudhole

Update on trailer

Just to let people know.
I emailed Aluma trailers and relayed my problems in regards to Allstate. I was shocked when I got an email from the president of the company less than 3 hours later, on a Saturday no less.
On Monday Evette (also from Aluma) called ME and was very understanding and most apologetic even though it wasn’t their problem. She said she would call Allstate and see what she could find out. Well I'm happy to report that I have a CMO in my hand and that I will finally be able to legally license my trailer. Obviously Aluma understands the importance of service after the sell and I have nothing but good things to say about them.
I'm just sorry that the enthusiasm of my original purchase was dimmed by Allstates terrible service. If nothing else this shows the difference between good customer service ( Aluma) and crappy customer service (Alllstate).

All we need to do in life is treat people like you would want to be treated if you were in their shoes.

All State Trailer in Tenn.

Just thought I would give you a heads up on http://www.allstatetrailers.com/. I found the alumina trailer I wanted on their web site at a fair price so I purchased it with my credit card. When I went to pick the trailer up the manager told me they had forgot to put the MSO with the trailer but to go ahead and take it and he would mail it to me the following week. The MSO is what you need to take to the dmv to get a title and license for the trailer. Long story short it has been over 110 days and still no MSO. Calls to the company are either unanswered or "we'll check on that and get back to you" but they never do. Emails are handled in the same way. If this is typical of their customer service I would suggest that you take your trailer needs to another dealer. I am pleased with my alumina trailer and would suggest it to anyone looking for a quality aluminum trailer at a reasonable price but I will never do business with Allstate again.

Cold Knob 5-31-2009

Since I went riding with the boys over Memorial Day weekend and Jo went horseback riding she decided I needed to take her riding today. We got a late start so we decided to make a short trip to Cold Knob and ride one of our favorite loops there.

We had a good rain last night so the air was cool and the dirt roads we traveled were free of dust. In fact at 4500 feet elevation I had to put my rain jacket on as it was a little too cool.

Recent rain storms had caused some of the streams to wash out. Nothing we were unable to get across.

If you have never seen the south branch of the Cherry River you are missing one of the most scenic areas in this region. I've lost track of how many times we have been here and I still enjoy the views each time we pass. I have seen many people fishing along the river so there must be trout in the stream.

We didnt try any new trails today but I was saddened to see they have added a log landing on Beckys Run trail so I assume they will be logging that hollow soon. We saw 5 or 6 deer and one lonely turkey. We passed three guys on sport quads looking for a lost buddy and a couple other riders on utility atvs. All in all it was a great day and we logged right at 50 miles in about 4 1/2 hours. Its time to renew our membership in the Clear Creek Rod and Gun Club so we have access to these areas to ride and after a day like today its easy to write the check.

You can find the rest of the pics http://www.flickr.com/photos/geebob/sets/72157619069576868/

Memorial Weekend was a great ride as some friends came down to southern WV from Ohio and Pennsylvania to partake the great atv riding in WV. Since they all stayed at South Charleston on friday night and I was to meet them at the Hatfield McCoy Bearwallow parking lot at 9 am I had to leave the house by 5 am saturday morning. I managed to get out on time and after a brief stop at hardees in Sophia for a bisquit I was on my way. Since there was no traffic on the road I found myself in the Bearwallow parking lot at 8 am. I tried to take a nap while waiting for the rest of the crew to arrive but the anticipation of the days ride left me to excited to grap a nap.

Saturdays Ride

Consisted of Ruger, his father Lenny and inlaw John, Full Throttle, Wacker, Midget and Zippy and long lost riding buddy Prairie Pounder. All I can say about saturdays ride was it was long and dusty. We had one mishap as Lenny hit a rock and knocked a huge hole in the sidewall of his right front tire. 7 tire plugs later we all held our breath as we continued down the trail. I think we were all surprised to see the plugs hold up the rest of the day.

Did mention it was dusty on Saturday? I rode drag some of the day and it wasnt uncommon to have to stay a couple hundred yards back or order to be able to see.

Silly moment of the day. Came across these two guys buried in a mudhole. It took two of our atvs to pull them out. Of course Full throttle had to give the mudhole a try and he was finally able to get thru it. After he made a couple runs at it and we were loaded up and ready to take off, these guys decided to jump back in. I hope they found someone else to pull them out :)

In the long run we got in over 70 miles. They headed to their hotel in Beckley and I came on home to a happy puppy and my own bed.

Sunday

Sunday found the same group of riders unloading across from the Sunoco on Rt19 at 9 am. Jim25901 from atvwv.com joined us. Even though Wacker and Ruger had the same gps tracks as me they allowed me the pleasure of leading the days ride.

Its been published that the Boy Scouts of America have purchased the bulk of the area known as Garden Grounds so it remains to be seen how much longer this area will be available to atv riding.

I was thrilled to find water in the mudholes and since many of the trails were in the woods they we not as dryed out and dusty as saturdays trails.

We werent long into the ride when we came across this turkey dusting itself in the road. Apparently it knew hunting season ended sat as it was in no hurry to leave.

Boys will be boys when it comes to mudholes and Sunday was no exception.

We made our way out to spy rock which has a great view of the new river. I hated to see all the trash that people have been leaving out there. Doesn't anyone have any respect anymore.

With some help we were able to find flag rock also. We always joke about us being the outlaw group so someone suggested the fake flag.

We had a great ride, found some new trails and as a friend says " a good time was had by all"

you can the rest of the pics here http://www.flickr.com/photos/geebob/sets/72157618749128106/