A Bama fan in Michigan, I thought they had all of you guys firmly locked up in Alabama. Go Vols. Seriously though Scott, sounds like you have really ridden this place. I have been once and am going back w/ my buddies 21-25. Eiger2 hit me up if you are coming down, you to Scott. Here is my take on this place. Run your tires at the appropriate pressure. Too much air will kill you and can only invite rocks to introduce themselves to the inside of your tires. Get a map and keep it clean, you will use it all day. Goggles, even if it has rained recently, the gravel roads you sometimes get on will be dusty. If a trail is marked moderate, count on it being difficult. Trail 16 is 4.8 miles and Scott hit the nail on the head by saying ride away from the parking area, not towards. The day we rode, it was 12 degrees and the trails were completely frozen, no traction at all. God bless the people from Bristol that were all packing brand new Sportsman 700's equiped w/ winches. They even got stuck. That trail, that day took us nearly 6 hours to complete. Pack for the worst, then pack some more. you need to have at least one flashlight and a way to start a fire (if you got stranded) and some kind of snack food. Be prepared like you are a Boy Scout. Let me know if you have any other questions. Hope this helps you.

Oh yeah, do not ride alone and make sure you have a tow strap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

You guys who ride Windrock may want to check it out - there are some new changes posted today. Now EVERYONE who rides (passenger or driver etc.) no matter what kind of vehicle, has to have a riding pass. (they say it is due to the insurance) The windmills are now OFF LIMITS - they're adding like 15 new ones, and if you're caught up by them your pass is revolked. It was posted on another board, they won't let me put a link to it here. I am sure it'll be on the Windrock board too. (Mrs. Q)

 

Hey, we went to windrock the last weekend in march and took trail 2 from the parking area then from trail 2 to 16 and when we went down the frist hill (deep ruts) we meet two other riders riding to us and they said the trail was a whole lot worse the futher we go. So we truned around and had trouble getting back out.
With that typed, we did have fun. Went to the wind mills and found our selves looking at the map alot.
A lot of trails where unmarked, but we had GPS mounted on our atv's.
All in all we had fun and will be going back sometimes later.

 

Yeah, that hill can be a tough one, especially coming up it when it's muddy. You wouldn't have had any problem making the rest of 16 on your Sportsman. I've ridden it numerous times on my Predator. Even taken my MOM on it. She likes that trail alot. Riding the Sportsman on that trail makes it pretty easy actually, so next time just do it.

Yeah Moles, there are Bama fans all the way up here. That's where we're from originally. Born in Anniston. We don't hate the Vols, especially when we are riding Windrock. Although, the big letters ROLL TIDE on the back of the motorhome tells everyone where our allegiance lies.

It looks like we will be there on Thursday. I think I'm going to have a whole week to ride. If any of you are going to be there, look for us. We'll be in the motorhome down in the lower parking lot. If you see any of the regular club guys, just ask them where the guys from Michigan are at, they should be able to tell you.

I wanted to ask you HC, did you make it on the other side of the highway? If you're going to be there when we are, I can show you all the trails over there, and some that are not on the map. The only problem we have riding on some of the trails we love, is that they are on Royal Blue. So far, we have never met up with anyone checking for permits to ride there. But, I'm kinda nervous about getting ticketed. It's too bad really, there are some AWESOME trails over there. We were getting 40-50 miles away from the parking lot. The trails there are not all beat up from riding. I'm hoping to make it back over that way.

Scott

 

Yes, we crossed the hiway and took trail 50 then right on trail 53 then left on trail 57 and we where getting close to dark so we took the gravel roads back to the parking lot.
We also stoped at the * 3 on G52 it was ok up to the point the three of us got to slinging mud on each other from the back wheels and from there it just got worse LOL

Mabe we can meet up the next time we go and you can show us some more good trails. I like getting far from parking lot [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I am truly impressed with your vast knowledge of WindRock,living so far away and all.So much so it embarasses me at to tell you that i live only 30 miles from there and never rode there. Being a truck driver I just dont have time anymore. The next time your down this way,Coming south on I-75 at the top of the mountain ,take Royal Blue Exit 141 .turn left and follow the main road out 1 mile till it turns to gravel follow it out to 3 big parking lots .unload there and your in for a treat. <u>Royal Blue Wildlife Reserve</u>.But keep in mind ,these trails are not marked ,and 4x4"s will be present.but not many . all trails basicly lead back to the main road thru there.it has lake beds ,lots of creeks ,(some DEEP) ,rocky hill climbs,.its next best thing to windrock .(just not as rough) You can also camp anywhere you want .if you want to ride all night ,or ride with no helment, go for it,It would take days to ride it all . Its a little more laid back than windrock and kid friendly.i hope every one will stop and try it. i never ride anywhere else.

 

pred03. you going down this week (easter). four more coming from michigan, maybe we'll see ya down there. i've spoken (in threads) with you before. under quadstock. we will be there thursday and leaving monday. i know you'll be camping right? we'll be at the double tree. we'll be driving a red 04 350 with an enclosed and blue 03 250 with an enclosed. if we don't meet up, have a fun and safe trip.........tim

 

Thanks for the kind words mudflapper. I've just been real fortunate to have had the time to ride the trails. The first day we started riding there, I got the map and studied it so that I knew every inch of it. At the time, there were 22 trails marked. So everything, including the other side of the highway, was unmarked. Having the knowledge of the marked trails opened up all the unmarked ones. I met up with a guy from Nashville. He's been riding there a couple of years longer than me. He rode there when you didn't even pay. So we hooked up and started exploring. Our first trip to the Flats in Caryville, was done almost exclusively on unmarked trails. It was a 95 mile 11 1/2 hour trip. I loved it. My dad and my son also went. We were totally hooked. That's why we keep coming back. One of the club guys, Rinkidink, also was very helpful in figuring out some of the off Windrock trails. He gave me a hand made map showing stuff all the way to Smoky Junction. He had learned from another guy, someone who know the trails better than I do. I rode with that guy and learned some from him, and even showed him a couple he didn't know about. So, it's all about finding good people to ride with. I'm usually real good at remembering trails, and so is my buddy Wayne. Which is good, cause we've found ourselves without any idea where we were at. Not the best feeling when you are 40 miles from the lot. But, it's always worked out. The exploring is the most fun part for me.

I bought my Predator down in Jacksboro, at Twin Cove. If you ever need to buy a machine, I highly recommend them, or even for service. Jim's a good ole boy, and he's the owner. Eugene is the mechanic. They've always done us right. I've never felt cheated in any way, and they go out of their way to be helpful. Any ways, Eugene wants us to ride with him. He goes to some places near Jacksboro, but I can't remember the names of the places. I think he said something about some sand caves. Not sure. I think he told me that riding there had been cut off. I'd like to go there with him sometime, sounded like some more great riding. I guess the biggest problem with riding at Royal Blue is the price. Somewhere around 150 bucks for out of staters is too steep. Maybe if we ever get tired of riding Windrock. We did have a guy who wanted to take us to LaFollette from Windrock. If we get time this summer, maybe. Still concerned about getting ticketed though. We'll probably wait and see.

Scott

 

Yeah Tim, I remember you from MATVA. I didn't spend too much time on that board. I always kept talking about Windrock, which wasn't too popular of a subject. Which I understand perfectly. We only rode in Michigan a handful of times before we went to Windrock, and it ruined it for us. If I've got to drive 4 1/2 to 5 hours to ride, I'd lot rather go south. We met up with a guy that lives on Windrock road, and we leave our machines at his house. It saves us a lot of time and expense. I'd like to go back to Bull Gap sometime though.

Unless we don't get there early enough on Thursday, we'll be in the lower parking lot. I have a set ride that we take new guys on. Some of it's marked, some not. It's not a difficult ride, but it's probably on some trails you wouldn't normally know about. It's a good weekend ride, gets you away from the crowds. Come down and look for us. Just look for the ROLL TIDE on the back of the motorhome.

Scott

 

Mudflapper, can you post some links to web sites for Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area?

And can you ride from windrock to Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area on atv's?

Thanks