Let's plan a trip up to Tasker's Gap in VA on the weekend of Nov. 26,27,and 28. I will start making phone calls to the guys around here. Maybe leave Friday or early Saturday and come back Sunday. It will be a great ride.

Steve

 

MyScrambler,

I hear that the legendary Steve Thompson will be there and may even treat us to another Underwater Adventure. Any chance of that?

 

Maybe this time I'll find a nice deep mud hole to sink into. BEWARE if I show up in waders!

L8R,

Steve

 

I don't know where you guys are from but myself and a club from northern VA are heading up to Tasker's Saturday and the club is staying until Sunday sometime. I don't know whether it's convenient for you to come up Saturday so I don't know if I'll see you there but at least you got a days advance on knowing.

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Jeremiah Lucas

1989 Yamaha Banshee

 

CORRECTION: WORK PARTY IS SUNDAY, 14 NOVEMBER ONLY! (Forest Service changed its mind about campsite specifications; new trails will be broken on Sunday; only task planned.)

T. F.


The Northern Virginia Trail Riders plan a work party at Tasker's Gap Saturday and Sunday, November 13 & 14, meeting around 10:00 a.m. at the trailhead off Route 675 about 3.5 miles out of Edinburg.

Planned tasks include building campsite perimeters and lay/burn in new trail.

I also nominated removal of the huge tree blowdown on the Upper Trail.

Certainly all helpers are welcome.

Tree Farmer

[This message has been edited by Tree Farmer (edited 11-12-1999).]

[This message has been edited by Tree Farmer (edited 11-12-1999).]

 

Jeremiah, after reading your post, I wondered: why would you EVER choose a username like "VENOMOUS?" (Just kidding, imagine a smiley face here!)

From my edited post above, the Northern Virginia Trail Riders (NVTR) work party is scheduled today, Sunday, November 14.

If you're at the trailhead around 10:00 a.m. today, I guarantee you at least one other quad to ride with (ignore those dirt bikers!). Besides, I may need some help removing that huge blow-down on Upper Trail!

Regarding your perception of ORV trails in the area, you can compare your reaction with the half-dozen or so guys who rode "Quads, On-the-Rocks!," and reported their comments in the "Tasker's Gap" feature article accessible from the ATV Connection home page.

To the best of my knowledge and belief, every legal section of the Tasker's Gap-Peters Mill Run Road/Powell Mountain Trail is negotiable by ATV. Surely, some sections favor 4X4 machines (the most difficult to me is the optional short trail connecting Dynamite Trail and Tasker's Gap Road parallelling Tasker's Run), but I've ridden with 2WD sport quad riders there.

NVTR holds its AMA-sanctioned Little Fort Trail Ride in this Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) area each spring, with both dirt bike and ATV classes (including women and juniors). I know one father who, along with his 14-year-old daughter, both plan to enter next year.

While others and I find Tasker's Gap interesting and fun, you are certainly entitled to your own preferences and your own perceptions; George Washington/Jefferson National Forest maintains several other ORV areas in the system; I hope you find trails more to your liking elsewhere.

Further, you mention club affiliation. The Faquier Free-Wheelers ATV Club contact is in the Tasker's Gap feature article mentioned above; these guys know lots of places to ride.

Best wishes,

Tree Farmer

[This message has been edited by Tree Farmer (edited 11-14-1999).]

 

Well I rode up at Tasker's Gap earlier today being Saturday. There were a lot of vehicles up there but all of them had dirt bikes or dual sports and no quads besides myself and two brothers on Foremans black powder hunting. I never really rode very far on the trails there until today and I will not ride on them anymore unless I get a lifted utility quad which I doubt will happen in the near future. It is too rocky for any real riding pleasure and the pain in my back is proof of this. If anyone does want to ride up there make sure you bring a heating pad for your back when your done because you will get the heck jarred out of you. My personal favorite trail in that area is the Tasker's Gap road that is located about a quarter mile or possibly more past the entrance to Tasker's Gap ATV parking. It is on the right side of the road right across from a larger dirt road that dead ends a few hundred feet up and makes a perfect parking lot for this trail. It has a few loops that the NVTR put in and it is wide enough for trucks to go through which I have done several times before. For the most part it is smooth with just a few rocky sections on the way. If you want to be able to actually get some speed to cool off your machine this is the trail to do it on. There are quite a few nice jumps or water breaks and some camping sites along the way. There are trails that connect this road or trail to the Tasker's Gap trail system but I do believe there are very tall rocks on the connecting trail. I talked to a guy today up at Tasker's that was hunting and he tried to go that way on his Foreman and it took him 2 hours to get back and it's not a very long trail. He said the rocks were sticking out of trail upwards of 3 feet. Again I say that the Tasker's Gap trail system is mainly for dirt bikes and the such since it is easier to maneuver a 2 wheeler through boulders than a quad. I was really dissapointed when I have been looking forward to riding with this group only to find out that there were no quad riders and only dirt bikes. I guess I'll have to move somewhere to actually have a quad riding club or group.

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Jeremiah Lucas

1989 Yamaha Banshee

 

Whoh!

This thread began with MyScrambler's invitation to join him at Tasker's Gap. I think he was mainly directing his invitation to the Tar Heels on the site, such as Jerome, et al, but obviously we would like a chance to ride with others we've met at ATVConnection. For Myscrambler and myself, this is a fairly long drive. Of course, we don't expect "Tasker's Gap" to compare at all with the famous "Steve Thompson Trail System" we have here in North Carolina. However, we believe the fellowship will be worth the drive.

We hope our Virginia and West Virginia brothers, and anyone else who can make it, will join us. It sounds like the trails will be extra fine with Tree Farmer and his guys volunteering their time and effort.


[This message has been edited by kclayd (edited 11-14-1999).]

 

Don't get me wrong, I think it is a great place to ride if you have the proper machine. Regarding my name VENOMOUS it's the license plate on my heavily modified 89 LX Mustang 5.0 plus some. Any way we all know Banshees aren't much for trails and the trails at Tasker's are deffinelty not for a Banshee. For a Banshee the Peter's Mill run or Powell as we call it around here is a much smoother ride with quite a few waterbreaks that make for some good air and you can really get up to some good speed up there in sections. The Tasker's Gap road is where I and most of my friends used to ride since it is a wide road with some of the NVTR's trails on it as well. I say again I'm not putting those trails down and especially the workers who put many many hours into making them. If I had a dirt bike or a smooth riding utility preferably a 4x4 model you probably couldn't get me off the trails. In my case I drug too much on rocks and such and my Banshee is not set up for trails of this type. Sorry if I offended anyone. I just would like to find a Cross Country track nearby or get together with someone and buy some property like a large field and turn it into a Cross Country track and who knows maybe the GNCC would have a race there if it was big enough.

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Jeremiah Lucas

1989 Yamaha Banshee

 

Venomous,

You might be interested in visiting the Motocross track at Beachnut Park in Mt. Airy NC. They have family camping there, and in the summer a swimming pool and water slide. I don't know how far it is from you, but I would guess no more than 3-4 hours. It is just off I-77. For more information, check out the topic "Where in North Carolina?" under the Where to Ride thread. I think you would have a blast there.

[This message has been edited by kclayd (edited 11-16-1999).]