Tuesday
So after a surprisingly comfortable nights sleep, despite the 27 degree weather, and after much convincing on my part that it would warm up if we rode, we went riding. Now the terrain and trail system is a blend of what Hardrock and Gatorback have to offer. The ground ranges from solid rock, to very loose rock, to the slipperiest clay I've ever ridden, or loose coal. And due to the showers throughout the night, let me be the first to say it was mighty slippery terrain. Now most of the trail system is a series of access roads to check up on utilities in the area, but those are just to get to the good trails. The entire area has a rating system, to determine the difficulty of the trail that goes from easy to more difficult to most difficult and then single track. All the trails are open to quads too except for the single tracks. And like Mr. Gilbert said earlier, trails may be rated easy but may not be as easy as you think. If you think, "well if quads ride the trail too it must not be that hard," you'll be in for a big surprise. Let me put it this way, on some of the trails I was glad I was on a YZ426 and wondered how Jaco was doing it on his 125. Some of the trails go up hill and never stop, they just keep going up and up and switch back and forth then go up some more. So we set off to tackle the mountain, I decided that since I have been here before I know how it is and that we should tackle a difficult trail 1st thing. Well… the trail I chose (196) wasn't more than a cow path on the side of a mountain, ridden maybe once or twice before, it was an awesome trail. But more slippery than snot, the leaves on the mountains hide everything from sheet rock to 1 foot diameter trees. I must of slipped out and laid my bike over 5 times with in the 1st ½ mile. Jaco was negotiating the trail the best, having only stalled a couple of times. Now Eric on the other hand, he was having a rough time, he had managed to slip out and go tumbling along with his bike about 50 feet down the mountain. After Jaco and I regained our composure we made sure he and the bike were ok. We decide to stop and take a breather and enjoy the view as well as the dry air. That lasted about 5 minutes because down came the buckets of rain we endured for most of the day. With the added challenge of the rain to the trail, it was enough for Eric and prompted hum to turn back.. So Jaco and I continued on without much trouble, finished the trail and went back to camp. Normally rain is no problem to ride in, but when it has only WARMED up to 45 degrees you learn otherwise. Now don't think all the trails are stop and go, there are lots of fast paced hard packed trails that put ones flat tracking abilities to good use. So riding put on hold till the rain resides we decided to hit the local bike shops, still in gear. The town of Logan is the largest town in the area it is a community that survives on coal mining. But they have 2 motorcycle shops, the 1st is a Kawaski Suzuki dealer. The other is a Honda Yamaha and KTM dealer. Most of their business is hunting quads, but we were surprised to see a pair of YZ250F's and the full CR line minus the 450, they also had a 400 and 520 EXC. We spent a good hour or so talking to the people in the Honda shop, they are a lot nicer folk than people at the Kawi shop. Well after being in the shop way to long, and after much reminding of why we drove 1000 miles, I finally convinced Eric and Jaco to give a ride in the rain a try. So we headed back to camp and were glad too see nothing missing. The wind hadn't taken anything and neither had the locals. But what luck we had, when we got back the rain stopped. By now it was 4:00 and the sun was almost below the mountains. But were determined to get some more riding in that day. We decide to go to the hill me and Eric had found last year at the corner of trail 41, 16, and 14. It is off the marked trail but visible from all 3 trails and the actual hill goes from 41 to 14 and parallels 16. We found that the most interesting hills were off the beaten path. But it is not recommended to travel off the marked trails for it is very easy to get lost. We took the cameras for some live action and still photography. The cameras do no justice to the size or steepness of the hills. But nonetheless we got some good footage of us climbing hills, a lot of falling, and a good shot of Jaco trying to jump up a hill and launching his bike into a tree. Due to utter exhaustion (bikes get heavy after awhile) and it having turned dark we headed back to camp. What a day of riding, well now we were in a predicament. It was getting cold again and we were hungry. Well luckily the local Papa John's has a Tuesday special, 1 large single topping pizza for $4.99. We went ahead and order us 3 pizzas and told them we had to go to the Super Wal-mart to get a fire log and some firewood. The super Wal-mart is the social livelihood of the town. It is where everybody goes to hangout; there is seriously, absolutely nothing else to do for entertainment. We were told be an upstanding local that almost 60% of the population is on welfare and live in trailers. WV also has the most cases of severe obesity in the country, and it is obvious. This area is so far from modern society, it was a culture shock for us the 1st time we went into town. Well as it turned out Wal-mart was sold out of wood and fire logs as was the Lowes next to it. But after some convincing we managed to get the people at Lowes to let us get their scrap wood to use as fire wood for the night. So with the expedition loaded down and the 3 fresh hot pizzas in hand we headed back to camp. Once the fire was blazing we sat down around the fire and enjoyed the pizzas and BS'd about the days to come.

Wednesday
    Being born and raised in Lutz, Fl I am a warm weather person, as is Eric, and especially Jaco, being from S. Africa. Well Wednesday morning was anything but warm, we woke to a crisp 29 degree day with snow flurries all morning. Me being the responsible one immediately went to work firing up the grill and stove to make coffee and fry up some eggs and bacon. All the while the snow flurries were falling and my compadres were sleeping, I set to work making myself some breakfast only to later that morning head to the local McDonald's. Now this is the first time we actually went to town during the day. It is a completely different atmosphere, the drive thru line was wrapped around the building and moved slower than an I4 traffic jam while the inside was barren except for some school kids and their parents. Keep in mind this is at 10:00 am, I don't know what they were doing in there. But the food was good and we got to see some of the locals and what they do. Mostly nothing but a few scholarly seemed to be coming from some sort of profession. Well it being our first sunny morning we headed back to camp as quickly as possible to get a good start on a hopefully long day of riding. Referring to our nicely laminated trail map, bought from the Four Way Market, we decide to take the long trail around the blasting zone to the 7.5 mile single track. So we set out on trail 16 and hopped on trail 86, a black trail that takes you up and over the mountain instead of around. As we crested the mountain we came upon a small clearing, and to our great surprise a tree in the center of it w/ and FTR arrow tie wrapped to it. It stood there as symbol of what FTR has become. Like a flag staked on the top of the highest peek showing triumph the arrow stood there showing FTR has been there and done that. We then continued down the other side of the mountain on a downhill that eventually roasted my brakes. But I didn't know this yet, that problem will arise later. On our way down the mountain we came across some awesome scenery, we happened across a cave in the side of the mountain, something you don't see too much of here in Florida. As we reached the bottom of the mountain we came across a huge pile of clay. This pile stuck out like a sore thumb, what was it doing here? And better yet why was there cracks in the clay with 10 ft walls of heat coming out? Also how come the side of the mountain was burnt up? Well… apparently under that pile of clay was a mine shaft, a shaft that led down to coal mine that is on fire, and has been for as long as anyone can remember. Jaco being himself decided he needed to climb up there and take a look into the cracks, after explaining to him what was waiting for him under that clay if he fell through he decided to just walk up to the edge and give it a peek. Well we thought we had seen it all, unbeknownst to us that right around the corner lay an abandoned coal quarry. Talk about an awesome site, mountainous piles of black rock, backed by amazing view down the valley. And hills so tall they make suicide hill at Croom look like a rain gutter. Now one would think coal would be a hard terrain, and it is but not when it is in pieces the size of golf balls. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the hills and crevices of the quarry and vowed that tomorrow we would bring the camera to show what everybody's missing. So after a brisk ride back to camp we again faced the problem of freezing temperatures and no wood to burn. Well earlier that day, as I was visiting the Market to buy some shower tokens, the owner mentioned that if we needed to use an ax to split some wood he had one we could use and a bunch fallen trees from some land he just cleared for fire wood. So all 3 of us went back to the market and got the ax plus a sledgehammer and wedge. We thought we were in good shape, well about a minute later the owner cam out with a chainsaw and cut us a bunch of pieces of wood perfect for splitting. That is what probably kept us from freezing that night so I thanked him greatly, but he just said tell your friends about the campground. That is what you call customer service, generosity and kindness. And for that reason if you go to the Hatfield McCoy Rec. Area check out the Devil Anse Campground. With our split wood in hand we went back to camp. Now it was getting around dinnertime and a good days ride deserves a good meal. Well after pondering over the choices of what restaurants to go to we decided on the only one the town had to offer, the local Bob Evans. Neglecting to take our gear off due the fact that it was cold and our gear was warm we strolled into the Bob Evans and immediately taken and sat in the back. We are then greeted by a red head waitress by the name of Susan who immediately says, "You guys aren't from around here are you? You must not be you have all your teeth." And apparently neither was she, having moved from Atlanta to Logan 3 months ago we ended up chatting with her thru most of dinner and learned a lot about the town and the locals. Maybe we were just hungry that evening, but that was one of the best dinners I had had in a long time. Stomachs full Jaco, Eric and I headed back to camp to get a fire going. A couple split logs, some kindling wood, motor oil, and a shot of gas later we had a blazing fire that cut the chill out of the W. Virginia cold.

Thursday
Now this was a day to wake to, we woke early, about 9:00, to a bright sun and cloudless blue sky. This was a beautiful morning and compared to the rain, cold, and snow we couldn't be happier. Given the fact that it was still 35 degrees, and one would think that would put a downer on the day, it was pleasant enough to go without a shirt, I wore my mesh AXO jersey and still got hot. With no pollution in the air and not a cloud in the sky you could feel how hot the sun really is. For the first time during the trip, we were off to ride before 11:00 and with out much persuasion. That morning is what I would consider the perfect time to ride, awesome weather, awesome place, and no worries. We set out on trail 16 with the cameras to get some footage of the big air and crazy hills at the coal quarry. We were off, and at a good pace, but in the morning on that first ride out the bikes always felt a little off, I just dismissed it as usual. We make the trip to quarry and stop at the stream crossing near the bottom of the mountain to decide what we're going to do and where we're going to film. As they came to a stop, I didn't, my rear brakes were no longer working and what fun it is having no brakes let me tell you. After a couple of quick pumps they kicked in and I stopped. "This is just great," I said, "I hope to god I didn't fry my caliper." Being a good friend Eric comments to me," hey Nic that there back tire is looking kinda low too." And guess what it sure was, because to my surprise my tire was dang near flat. Great! I rode all the way out here to get a flat! And my brakes don't work! So now I gotta ride back to the truck with a flat tire and no rear brakes. I didn't want to spoil the fun so I told Eric and Jaco to "go ride, take my camcorder, get some good footage, and if you brake it my dad will kill you." All the while I went back to camp to repair the damage done. I have found that if you ride real slow the engine braking of a 4 stroke is a very effective method to stop, as is the front brake. I made it back to camp in one piece and began working on the bike. Fix a flat in both tires fixed one problem very quickly, while the other required a trip to town. Apparently I had over heated the brakes boiled almost all of the fluid out and wore my pads down to almost nothing. A new set of CR pads at the local Honda shop and some of the best KFC I had ever had made my lunch hour. Slapped some new pads on and a quick flush and a little bleeding made them better than new. Bike all ready to go and me ready to return to the woods, Eric and Jaco come cruising up, done for this mornings ride. They were worn out, but they got some dang good footage of Jaco doing his crazy South African stunts, and on the side of a mountain nonetheless. Since I hadn't yet got to get in a good ride I was anxious to hit the trails again, but to my dismay Jaco and Eric weren't. But eventually we were up and out and I led the pack, because I had seen some hills that looked good but were way off the beaten trail. Instead of immediately jumping on trail 16 we veered off to the right to ride up stream at the base of a valley. Now this is some of the best riding we rode the whole week. Even though the stream was only a few inches deep the obstructions and debris in the stream made it a challenging ride. Numerous times we had to get off our bikes to get them over or under fallen trees at least 2 feet in diameter. And miniature waterfalls are no problem to traverse when riding down the stream but going up is a different story. Which leads me to one instance where Eric decided to take swim. Jaco and I had just negotiated a section of the stream, where we had to ride along the shoreline to get around a fallen tree then ride back into the stream which was about a 3 foot drop then immediately climb up a 2 foot water fall created by another fallen tree. When Eric came up to the drop we warned him that the water was deeper than it looked because its at the base of a waterfall and that he need to lean back or he was going to endo into the water." All this at hand he drops into the stream and his front tire goes under water while his back stays on the shoreline. He is up over the front bars balancing doing a split with his feet between the fallen tree and the shoreline. All the while he teeters there on the verge of going face first in to the water, Jaco and I are almost brought to the ground laughing. I decide I better get over there and help him before his bike takes a plunge and renders it useless. As I walk back to Eric I hear a slip and down he goes on top of his bike into the water. The bike going most of the way under water kept him from getting entirely soaked. I got the bike back up and standing in the water because Eric was too tired and frustrated to care. That whole event was the most hilarious thing to happen on our trip and we cursed ourselves for not having some sort of camera on us to get a picture. For having almost nearly submerging the bike underwater we were surprised at what little it did. It got some water in the gas because it ran rough a little while, but no water in the oil, which surprised me. We continued on up the stream with no more severe trouble to a low spot in trail 41, which the stream crossed, and eventually back on to camp. The stream riding had worn us out too much to ride anymore for that day, besides we had a party to get ready for that night at our campsite.

Friday
    Our last full day in W.V. was kind of a lackadaisical one. Eric and I were scheduled to meet the guys on the Cannondale quads at 12:00 at the coal quarry. So we set out to check out the quarry before hand and get some more footage of the area and the hills climbs. Jaco was unable to accompany us that morning because he wasn't feeling to well. We think it was his S. African suasage. As we came up to the quarry we ran into some guys from Detriot who rode 2 CR 250's a YZ 250 and KTM 300exc who were also checking the place out. We talked for a awhile then all tried to tackle this one hill. I was the only one to make it up, the very first time I tried Eric got it on tape because he thought I wouldn't make it. I tried again probably 10 more times and could never get up it again, Eric tried numerous times to no avail, all the guys from Detroit tried, but no one had the power to dig all the way up the hill. We spent all morning there riding the mountains and the quarry. But we eventually came back to camp to run into Jaco as he was heading out to meet us. All of us worn out from the entire week we just laid around for an hour or so then decided we should get one last ride in before we load up. We decided to finally ride the 7.5 mile single track on the other end of the rec. area. Topped off with fuel we headed out to ride some of the best trail I have ever ridden. A true single track on the side of the mountain, this trail is one I recommend as a must ride when in W.V. The trail switches back and forth up and down the side of the mountain with some very steep hills. At one point you have to lay your bike over to go under a tree lying across the trail. I would have to say the best part of the trail is when you ride along next to a perfectly clear mountain stream. We even stopped and drank from it, soft mountain water is so much nicer that hard Florida water. As is turns out just last month the single track trail was shortened and replaced with multiple most difficult trails. Us not having a new trail map just followed what was in front of us. We continued on what appeared to be freshly cut fire trail or drainage paths that ended on a paved road. That paved road turned out to be Rt. 17 the same road that we were camped on. Since Jaco was running pretty low on gas and none of us figured we could make the long trek back the way we came before dark, we took the easy road home. Like all roads in W.V. cars on them are few and far between, so Jaco being Jaco all ready running in 5th gear pulls the front end up and wheelies the whole way back to camp, about a mile and a half down the road. I know the camp owner was happy seeing a bike go screaming by his shop window on one wheel. But he never did mention anything about it.

Saturday
    Time to head on back home, from week full of fun and riding. I knew we had a long drive ahead but decided to let everybody sleep in a little, for we were tired. They finally woke, so Eric and I finished packing up the tent while Jaco dropped some stuff off. Fully loaded we drove over to the Market, told the owner goodbye, and set out for home. Now the trip home was a long and interesting, almost another story in itself. All I know is I 95 has way too much traffic and too many accidents. Almost home, we hit the Dade City Waffle House just as the Saturday night races were finishing up, to get the racers discount and have a last meal, signifying the end of our trip. We got home that night around 11:30 left everything in the trailer and immediately went our separate ways home to get some much needed sleep. That concludes our trip to a place other to ride other than Croom. It is one I will never forget and plan to go on again.