October 2016 from Ashland ATV Resort - WV ATV · PDF fileOctober 2016 from Ashland ATV Resort ... Using Danger Daves formulary, ... vendor peddling his shine while driving through

October 2016 from Ashland ATV Resort

Prelude to a Ride

October. This is the month I hardlee ever get to ride in WV. But that seems to be changing! This would be my second October in a row. WOW. Weeks were spent waiting and sending e-mails to pump up the group I would be riding with from the Great Lakes area of Ohio. This is an annual trip for them, held in September last year. So let’s get on with the story…

Friday Day 1: Hoping for a noon arrival, I found myself at the Subway just below the Kroger about 11.20. As I’m walking out of the door, I see Skip go by. I holler. Nothing. I do my best highway patrol impersonation and give pursuit, blasting by the Kroger while Aaron sits there and waits for me in the parking lot. I forgot about that. Knowing I’ll never catch Skip at 35 MPH, I reached him by phone and he waits for me at the 71 intersection. It’s about now I notice the text from Aaron. He’s still waiting. Barelee before losing cell service, I ask him to meet us in Montcalm. 10 minutes later we are together and heading for Ashland. Aaron will be picking up a machine from wvatvrentals.com, so we feel a need to ‘get there’ as soon as possible. We are the first to arrive to the confusion. Skip had rented three cabins. One of the big ones and two smaller. We had #AO7. We parked and began to unload. The key opened the door but it was clear that this cabin was occupied. I went and stood in line to report this discrepancy to management. As I’m standing there I hear “Oh chitte, that guy’s trouble” as I take a hit to the shoulder. Dave Bell (hereafter known as Grandpa) had arrived. After a noticeable delay, Aaron and I were moved to AP7. We started making it our temporary home.

Grandpa drives a Rhino so he transported Aaron to pick up the rental. We will call this MACHINE 1, a Canned Ham 450 2-up with about 5K miles on it. In the meantime, Stephen arrives as does the group of Youth and Exuberance! Danny, Ray, ‘Antonio, Ethan, Eric, and more. We need to do a signup sheet next time! 3 sport quads were in attendance. It took us a while to get ready to do anything but we did eventuallee leave the campground. Our first destination was the top of Wagon Hill, above the Wagon Wheel. Riding in front as the unofficial tour director, I periodicallee looked behind and saw multiple headlights, so I keep going. We made it damn near 5 miles before noticing we were a bunch short. Time to turn around! We found them here.

They lost the lead draft when some sort of difficulty was encountered, and overcome. I should have taken this as a sign. Moving again, we worked our way down to Wagon Wheel Road and continued toward and through Pinnacle Creel Campground. Before turning up the mountain, I look behind and see multiple machines. Reaching the haul road we stop for a headcount. 1, 2, 3, 4, … UH, we’re short again! Looking to the last in our short line I asked where the others were last seen. I was told he was sure they saw him turn. Oh well. We go the top and even crawl through the cave and climb the rock. Then we see them moving slowly on Wagon Wheel Road in the direction of the Steps. Something had happened and I didn’t see how we’d be able to catch them before Ashland.

Resigning myself to returning without most of the group, we took the route from the haul road down to Northfork. This is when the Canned Ham (rental unit one) started acting up. It was making a h3ll of fuss from the rear end, so loud I was varying my throttle to make sure my Yamacliner was OK. We made it to the pavement just as ride member David drove by on his way to the campground. I hollered, again to no avail. We were to move slowly up the hard road to Ashland but the 450 had other ideas. The rear end completelee locked up. SHIP! Skip, Stephen, and I picked up the pace so we could have David unload and take his trailer back to pick up Aaron. David not only picked him and it up. They hauled the quad back to Wvatvrentals and returned with a 2WD Honda. Sounded like Rick was trying to make good by Aaron. Enter rental unit #2. The Waywards finallee returned. We learned that Grandpa’s Rhino had a failure. Front wheel bearing and ball joint. Ziggy’s lent a helping hand!

We had mostly survived Day One. We would need to work on our group riding skills though. In together out together isn’t quite the same as in together, get back best you can!

Saturday Day 2: This day was going to be a wet one. We had decided on Mullens as the destination. Machine prep was underway when Aaron noticed MACHINE 2, the Honda, had two locked up front tires. We knew it wasn’t another differential problem since this one was 2WD, so we took the blunt side of a hatchet and worked to free up the brakes, we hoped. It rolled reluctantlee but it rolled. So we rolled out! We made it almost past the Steps before Aaron reported 3rd gear only. The Group of Youth and Exuberance is well staffed with mechanics, I mean Technicians. We learned about Honda’s ESP! Now with all gears working again on rental unit 2, we took the creek route toward Tiny’s Corner. There was hardlee any water in the creeks. We stopped by Jim’s Wet Willie for photos and were brieflee part of a much larger group. Riddle me this: Why do some people (most actually) feel the need to park in the middle of a trail every time they stop?

As we progressed through the creeks, Grandpa reported a second failure of his right front bearing. The Leaning Tire of Rhino had returned! We stayed together until Tiny’s and gave Grandpa directions back via a non trail route. There is a whole ‘nuther’ story here, but Grandpa met a Good Samaritan up on Burke that not only helped, but also unloaded his ATV for Grandpa’s Grandson to ride as he hauled the Rhino back to Ashland!

In route to Mullens we had to stop here. The port-a-potty has been moved. I’m happy to say I had nothing to do with that!

Relinquishing the lead to the fast movers, I said only take the first right. And of course they didn’t. We veered in the direction of the trailhead without them. Using Danger Dave’s formulary, after a couple of pulls I went In Search Of. Less than a mile back up T-11, I met them heading our way. They had missed both the first and second rights. Machines and bodies were refueled. Some at Subway, some at the Pizza Place. They had some good Pizza and free wifi. Do some, that is very important! Even I made a post…

We planned our return via Spider Creek, the Trestle, and the Blue Building. Spider Creek turned out to be an eventful choice. Stephen experienced some tie rod damage which Ray repaired.

Then one of the Sporties took the wrong side of this hole.

Somehow we make it the trestles!

And then somehow, WE ALL made it back to the campground. This turned into ‘that night’ with a local vendor peddling his shine while driving through the campground (a green apple flavor), Grandpa sharing and peddling his N Wilkesboro brew, and the group of Youth and Exuberance pouring Fireballs! Ugh… I’m under pressure to share this item. Trying to get the fire going, I asked for oil. Any kind of oil. We knew better than to use gas and didn’t have any kerosene. We do not waste shine on things like this. It was going on dark and I didn’t have on my glasses when I was handed the oil. It hissed and about put out the best smelling fire we’ve ever had. This photo is a reactment!

Meet oil.

With Grandpa’s machine down, he went to rent a SXS from Rick (MACHINE 3). With Aaron dissatisfied with the 2WD Honda, he went with him and come back with MACHINE 4, another Canned Ham 450, but with very low miles.

In the meantime, The Group of Youth and Exuberance went exploring behind Hilltop.

Sunday Day 3: For a first, this will be the first time that I can recall where someone will have ridden 3 different machines during three different days of riding. This singular Honor goes to Aaron. For a second first, a total of 4 rental machines will have been involved in a ride. By request, we would attempt to enter and visit the state of VA. We got to moving somewhere around or after 10AM. Our route took us across Crumpler, beside Jakes, in front of Wild Willy’s, and past Boo’s Grocery. We took the Worth / McDowell Community Connector to Indian Ridge T-13. Moments later a left on T-80. Then we went off system on a trail recentlee called ‘The Sheethole’. We made it to what we term as the halfway point pretty much without incident. I again past the lead off to someone else (advising that if they saw a bypass around something to take it), dropping back to about fourth position. It wasn’t all that long until we were here.

I think we should start calling this catch all hole The Jeffery. We regrouped on Windmill Gap Road before taking a fast and direct route to Bramwell.

With nothing to slow us, we next stopped here & here for photos. We did go and see the Spearhead / Pocahontas VA Trailhead too. Melinda of the Pocahontas ATV Resort gifted us with free use of the radiator wash out equipment.

It was maybe 1.30 when some stomachs started dictating we have lunch. We had so many, I feared a long stay at any place we went, especially downtown Bramwell on a Sunday. I convinced the group we should dine at The Mud Pit. We hopped, skipped, and jumped (a little) across Pocahontas arriving at The Pit around 2.30.

Stephen found this location’s amenities soothing.

A conversation regarding gasoline erupted. The sport quads needed 93 octane and that was not to be had here. 87 or worse only. Danny said he could top off his RZR with the 87, and that the guys were welcome to siphon from his tank. We wondered how they would overcome the physics of siphoning uphill when they broke out the weirdest hose set up I have seen on the trail. With a brass body and ball, they stuck it in the RZR’s fill hole and began to jerk gas, uphill, to the ATV tanks. I say jerk gas because anybody riding by would think something very peculiar was going on in that group of guys. It was NOT a pretty site. ;) Moving again, our final trail-pop stop was at the top of the Spillway.

Then just like that, it was time to go. We rode up the pavement to the top of Windmill Gap so Grandpa and Aaron could break off and turn in rental units 3 & 4. The rest of us returned to Ashland and while some started cooking, others started loading for AM departures. Some were not done, going out after dinner on a night ride - until 1.30 AM. I was NOT part of that group!

We were provided a killer dinner selection (each night) by our hosts and trip sponsors. Alcohol was present but not in the highest of demand this last evening.

Sundays Track:

The group (less Grandpa)

I rather enjoyed myself in WV, and there is not much I’d rather enjoy than that! Many thanks to the ones who made this possible: Skip, David, and Stephen Allen. My hat’s off to the entire group too. Great group of guys to go out and play with, even if I can’t remember all of your names and use salad dressing as a fire starter… Until next time, Lee @ wvatvriding.com