The MTORA group hosts informal trail rides nearly every weekend, as well as poker runs and a tractor pull. The events often benefit local groups. In May, it raised money for the Juvenile Diabetes Association, while the proceeds from another event were donated to the local VFW. The local community is generous and supportive of these efforts, and club members get good responses from a wide variety of businesses.
"We had tons of sponsors for the Veteran's Day event," club president Steve Bailey said.
"ATV shops, beauty shops, flower shops, everything," Hensley added. "Mitch won a free hair care kit."
His last comment brought a laugh, as Ewing had shaved off most of his hair.
One of club's favorite places to ride is an area it calls Stone Mountain, not farfrom the town of Rose Hill, Virginia, comprised of rugged, rocky trails. The trails are actually designated as state-maintained roads, but the club does the maintenance to keep these trails open. That work paid off this spring, when a wildfire came through the area. The roads provided a firebreak.
"You can see where the mountain was on fire. The forestry department said the road had a lot to do with stopping the fire. The fact we kept the road cleaned out helped, too," Russell said.
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 climb up to the White Rocks lookout.
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.