Windrock Fall Fest ~ The Dust Bowl

Two days and great weather. Fall is peaked, and its dusty dry in the woods. The festival went great. Some good sponsors helped make a great raffle and party. I9, Cane Creek and Yazoo Brews to name a few. Many thanks to Doug Ferguson for all the work that went into making this event a yearly success.
I struggled with bike problems and the dust was bothering me. I never tied together a perfect run. None the less, the crowd was great and it was good to see this place blowing up.

Windrock Fall Festival

the rock

The big slab off Gravel Road #2 (Windmill trail.)
Rider: Sean Quigley - Moab, UT

flowing down the mountain

Had a great time with the Asheville folks today at the rock. Hope to see you back again soon. Got 3 runs in on the Windmill trails and a few from Startin $h*t, including my all-time favorite ~ Drop Out!

Windrock video ~ courtesy of Mark Billingsby

Windrock Downhill MTB 7D Test from Mark Billingsby on Vimeo.

Sunday

downhill

~sharpen your teeth

I believe that every genre of riding adds an element to making you a more well-rounded rider. I was telling someone at TVB the other day, if you come out to Windrock and ride until you "get it," you will be a quicker cross-country rider for doing so. If you are a fit rider, and have endurance, the next step would be to work on descending and technical skills. You have far more to gain, in terms of race times, by becoming a quick descender. Because fitness comes and goes, but bike handling skills will last a lifetime.
Where else can you descend 10,000 feet, then be home for lunch? Riding steep and technical trails ~ over and over ~ will change the way you ride a bike in any situation.
However, I have no interest in racing. I am just throwing this out there to anyone and everyone. Take it or leave it.

Velcro dirt!

The perfect dirt gripped the mountain. You couldn't ask for better conditions. Until the thunderstorms moved in.
We started our last run in the cracking thunder, and by mid-way it became a deluge. I felt like I was at Snowshoe, WV.
Thanks Eric, for coming out! Hope you are back on the bike soon.

windmills

Windrock Mtn. aka Buffalo Mtn.
If you look closely, you can see the windmills. Although this photo is from about 10 miles away; you can clearly see them on a clear day in Knoxville from at least 30 miles away.

Knoxville News Sentinal article

WR XC

Trail 1 -> Trail 2 -> Trail 24 -> Windmill trail.

Jonny Mags is a far better rider than myself, so I should have listened when he stopped before a gap jump, questioning the sensibility of going for it. I jumped in front and dropped into the jump-line with enough speed to clear the gap twice over.
So when I took off, that's exactly what I did. I launched beyond transition and into the rough. My derailleur snapped on impact, and my wheel is busted; but no wreck. We made an on the fly fix that allowed me to roll out of the woods without a chain. Humbled by the mountain again.

spring fling

Full throttle ride at Windrock; I am feeling good on a bike, both from a fitness and handling point of view. It has become apparent that I ride better on the DH trails when I am riding strong on the XC front. And lately I have ridden out some momentum on a fitness kick.
Spring is in full effect, and colors are popping. Which I attribute to abundant rain in the winter, followed by abundant sunshine. Perfect ingredients for a great spring.

Jon Magnusen


Tgaines


1speedBrian


The Train

WR fall fest = bike party

Day 2

Windrock Fall Festival

Day 1
Shredding through the forest like a wrecking ball.

trail work

I got a late start leaving for the woods on Sunday morning, and missed the group heading to Raccoon Mountain. I therefore headed to Windrock with some trail building tools and my Kona Dawg. I knew a few guys were scattered across the mountain, getting some trail work done before the fall festival. So I figured the best way to find them was to head out on a bike. My plan was to go up Trail 1-> to Trail 2->; Trail 24->; Startin $hit->down; but that route was far too muddy. I then opted for climbing Windrock Rd. I found Doug and Joey working on a Middle Finger re-route, so I finished my descent and drove back up to meet them. Here's some video of our work.


I later did a run from the Windmills on my XC bike, which was a fun change. I liked riding a lighter bike down, but the geometry was noticeably different than a DH bike.

view of Windrock over Melton Hill Lake:

WR Fall Festival

The trails are in great shape. We had a big crew working on the trails and getting them ready for a big party!

view from the bluffs of south-Knox

Decline

Terry Jeffers flows like water
Windrock

double down

Summer weekend all-time low: temps in the 70's, low 60's at the top.
I managed to pop-off back to back days at Windrock, running shuttles from the tippy-top. We had a great crowd both days, only the locals. Sunday was the big turn-out with about 10-12.

fun level is pegged.... red line

DH runs on Tuesday, all day.
Brought some new faces out to the 'rock. Had fun showing Jut and Jason around the DH trails at Windrock with Jeff and Matt.