This year spring came on the heels of one tough ass winter here in North Carolina. What Mother Nature denied us with snow and ice she paid back in full with near perfect riding conditions the last couple of months. We’ve been ripping the local trails in Wilson’s every chance we get but with summer fast approaching we knew it was time to break out and hit up one of our favorite spots before things got too toasty. It was Kraigory’s last weekend on the East Coast so OG, C-Los, Steve-O and I decided to send that boy off in style with a trip to Windrock.
I-40 was open this time around so making our way to Oliver Springs was easy going. We figured we would ditch the tents this round and opt out for the comfort of a hotel room. I like camping but for a quick trip like this one it was nice not to worry about a bunch of gear or finding a decent camp spot. Being the responsible adult influences that we are, we took Kraigory out for his first underage beer in an actual restaurant / bar and cashed in early to rest up for tomorrow’s ride.
We woke up early and hit the free continental breakfast. The hotel was in the middle of some extensive renovations so what was supposed to be a breakfast of champions ended up being a breakfast of losers. The selection was slim and after our fill of stale bagels, nutra-grain bars, and room temperature orange juice it was time to get down to business. Most of us had hooked up with some new components for our bikes this spring so we were all anxious to give our new forks, brakes, protective gear, etc. a proper break in. If your rig can survive an all day session at Windrock you pretty much know that you’ve purchased something that will last for the long haul.
The trails were absolutely dialed in this trip. The dirt was on the moderately tacky side with predictable cornering and solid braking. This inspired a bit of confidence which was reflected in everyone’s riding. We all stepped up our personal limits and left the mountain better riders on this trip. Coal Creek Company has resumed mining operations on the upper part of the mountain so we were forced to session the lower half for the whole day. It was kind of a lucky break in the sense that we ended up exploring some older and less ridden trails, most of which were loaded with signature Windrock terrain. Super steep tech-gnar and natural rock drops had us all grinning ear to ear on an afternoon full of short but sweet runs. In usual fashion the end of the day came far too quickly and before we knew it we were packing up the bikes to head back to NC. A quick stop at Captain Tom’s BBQ was the icing on top of what was without a doubt a killer day of riding.

On a side note: if you’re planning a trip to Windrock soon remember there are no signs on Upper Windmill stating that the trail is closed. We gave it a try once and ended up popping out of trail about 3o feet away from a 200 foot cliff created from the blast mining. It’s pretty dangerous up there with all of the blasting and heavy equipment. We were pretty sketched out and obviously had no business that far up the mountain. If possible, try and hook up with a local rider if you want to hit anything above the Snakerock access trail.