Mountain Trails Off-Road Association - Virginia's Mountain Trails Off-Road Association - Club O' The Month

MTORA attracts an interesting cross-section of people. The Pennington Gap fire chief has ridden with the club, as has the pastor at Ewing Methodist Church, Norman Clark.

"The sheriff rode with us on our big ride. He had his deputy with him and blocked off the road and the whole nine yards," Bailey said. The strong community participation and support bodes well for the club's hope of starting a state-sponsored riding area. "That's one of the biggest reasons we're trying to get a new riding area going," he continued. "We have a ton of businesses that will sponsor us."

Rick Watson, a reporter and editor at the Powell Valley News who has covered the club's development, agrees that the community is behind the club's efforts.

"In the past, ATV clubs got a bad rap, but these guys are doing a good job," Watson said. "They've had rides to raise funds for different causes [and] they've been able to bring people into the community. At one of their largest events the weekend of the race at Bristol, people came in from four, five or six different states. They spent the night and went out to dinner-they spent money in our town."

The Appalachian Mountains host a wide variety of wildlife, as does much of southwestern Virginia. We saw deer and turkeys on a short ride on Stone Mountain. The area also has rattlesnakes, elk, skunk, possum, bobcats and beaver. In the St. Charles riding area, herds of wild horses can be spotted.

Talk abounds in Virginia and Georgia of black panthers, a creature alive and well in local folklore, if not on the local biologist's list of species. Russell claimed to have spotted one a few years back, and he's not alone. There is no doubt, however, about the existence of a friendlier creature who lived on the top of Stone Mountain.

"We had a white, large-horned billy goat up here, that was kind of like the mascot of the mountain," Ewing said. It lived near White Rocks, the overlook that is popular with local ATVers. The goat loved to hang around with anyone who was on the top of the lookout and would eat right out of your hand. Nicknamed "Billy," the white goat has not been seen for many months and is presumed dead.

The Virginia mountain weather occasionally offers riding challenges, but most of the club members ride year-round, rain or shine.

"The first time I ever went to Windrock, it was the first jamboree they had in October [Trailfest]," Russell said. "There was about 2000 of us camped in a field around a three-mile curve. The wind the first night blew so hard that I would wake up with the side of the tent pressed up against my nose. ... The highest it got was 35. We stayed there from Thursday to Sunday. The lowest it got was 15."

"When I got home, my wife asked, 'You didn't shower for four days?' I told her, 'I didn't sweat for four days!'"

One of the unique charity events MTORA holds is in memory of club member Joyce Heck, who passed away unexpectedly last year at 53. They collected money throughout the year to honor Heck. "For the fund, we keep a bucket at the meeting, and everybody throws in," Bailey said. The local social services helped them pick out a needy family, and the club bought them gifts and a meal with that money.

"Joyce lived at the foot of this mountain," Russell said. "In a good respect, she was a true mountain woman. She worked in the coal mines, she worked on farms. ... She would give you the shirt off her back."