The crew was back from a ripping weekend at Snowshoe and after a bit of rest they were ready to get back into some downhill action. I had to take a pass on the Snowshoe trip this time around so you know I was going through some serious bike park withdrawals. To ease my pain OG worked out a weekend for us to raid his cabin and session some new trails along with some old favorites.
OG, Steve-O and me broke out of work early on Friday to get in a few evening runs around the Wilson’s area. After unloading gear at the cabin we set up the shuttle to ride a new downhill rip that had been stumbled upon while checking out a map of the area. It’s a north facing slope with plenty of dark and damp coves full of ferns and mossy rocks. It has a great loamy west coast feel to it and a flow that works well for long travel bikes. After a couple of quick runs it was back to the cabin for post ride brews and grilling out.
What were once bright and sunny skies the day before had turned into dark, overcast and grey skies by the next morning. As we loaded bikes and headed toward Banner Elk for breakfast we all had the sinking feeling that we were in for a dose of classic east coast slop. We arrived at Sugar Mountain around 10.30am and were greeted with temperatures in the low 60’s coupled with mist and fog. As we rode the lift up the fog got thicker and the skies got darker. About halfway down the first run some light rain began to fall and by the time we made it back up for our second run the bottom fell out. Lucky for us there was no thunder or lightning, just solid rain and fog, so the lift kept running all day. As temperatures fell into the upper 50’s the mountain turned into a ghost town. For better or for worse it looked like we were going to have our own private downhill park for the afternoon.
Some folks think of Sugar as a “light downhill” run because of the lack of trail options and the relatively short trail lengths. What most folks don’t realize is that things get super technical super fast in the pouring rain and fog. Some of the steeper lines can get downright dangerous in spots when traction becomes optional. At times things got so slick and sloppy I felt like I was all over the place just trying to control the bike in mellow sections of trail. Slow and tech was the way things went down and by 4:00pm I had enough rain, wash-outs and slams to last me the rest of the summer.
OG forgot his rain gear again so he gets the true survivor award for riding the whole day in a t-shirt while rocking a borrowed umbrella on the lift. Steve-O gets the most dedicated award for inspiring us to buy a full day lift ticket and holding out until the last run of the day. Just a couple of shots from this trip…the camera gear had to stay in the pack most of the day due to the rain and slop.

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.

We had been trying all year to make it to ride the trails at Windrock. Every time we made plans something always came up at the last minute to keep us from ripping that little slice of downhill heaven in Eastern Tennessee. It was the beginning of November and we decided that if we didn’t make our way now the next opportunity to ride would be next spring. Steve-O, C-Los and I took an early out from work on Friday and loaded up the trucks to hit the road.
A landslide had blocked I-40 into Tennessee so we were forced to take a detour. A trip that usually takes three hours turned into a five and a half hour odyssey. We finally made it to the camp site and set up our tents around 11:00pm. After a rather chilly night in the Tennessee mountains we drove into town and fueled up for the day. By the time the first shuttle was set up the sun had come out and the air had lost its chill. It seemed as if trail conditions were going to be prime but Windrock has a funny way of changing things up in a hurry.
Windrock is pretty well known for its seriously demanding terrain. It’s a good idea to feel confident in your ability to hit 6+ drops, 15+ foot gaps and near vertical roll ins before you get into some of the advanced trails. They’re steep and technical with little room for error. This reputation has inspired many of the sport’s top riders such as Shaums March, Robbie Bourdon, Eric Porter and Kirt Voreis to stop and sample the trails while touring the east coast. On this particular day the fall leaves were over six inches deep making for some super sketchy conditions. This was a subtle detail we overlooked when planning this trip. Besides the lack of traction, it became near impossible to pick a good line where the leaves were really deep. It was pretty weird to be riding behind someone who has both the front and back brakes locked while still gaining speed down the hill. Needless to say we spent a lot of time clearing out the run ins and run outs of drops and gaps before hitting anything.
On a riding day with good conditions Windrock has always been a test of my personal limits. Things were going great and I was actually able to push myself past what I thought I could do until the last fifty yards of the last run of the day. While pedaling into the final gap the bike got loose on me and I ended up getting close and personal with the trail. Once I finally got out of my post wreck daze and took a look at the bike I noticed the crank set was bent. After further inspection we were all surprised to find out that the weld holding the bottom bracket to the frame had failed. This caused my crank arm to lock up on my swing arm sending me into my stem and front fork…ouch. Nothing like a five and a half hour car ride with a hipper the size of a soft ball. The best I can figure is that somewhere up the hill I had cracked the weld and the force of standing on the pedals while sprinting toward the gap finally caused it to fail.
No regrets though…even with the wreck this still ended up being one of my best trips to Windrock in a long time. On a side note, major props to Haro Bikes. They had a new warranty frame out to me within two weeks at no charge! Not too many photos from this trip. I was too busy just trying to keep my s#!t together down the mountain all day to take pictures!