During our trip to the East Coast (still here, typing from the Days Inn, Jellico, Tenn) we have gone through several great places and solidified our Eastern Nationals locations (which will be posted on Monday). The natural sites like Jellico and Attica are much more than we imagined and W.E.ROCK is very excited in holding our show in these great towns. The following that these two locations bring is fantastic as we were greeted with open arms to each site by the locals and the competitors alike. These sites have been up and running with a very profession manner for quite some time, almost bringing a legendary feeling when you walk into each venue. I was just thinking about how so much has happened at Jellico and Attica and what the future would hold for the event sites and W.E.ROCK.

Along with the great future that these two venues and W.E.ROCK will share, there is another future in the making. Columbus, Ohio. The event site is amazing as no-one will ever really get to feel the excitement until they drive through the front gate. Looking at pictures really doesn't justify the magnatude of the event site.

Some back ground on the event site: Used as an old storage and shipping container yard. The site now know as "The ROC" is a the first fully dedicated (used only for Rock Crawling) Rock Crawling Arena which contains a 10,000 square foot complex that will house a 5,000 square foot office, and 5,000 square foot shop with all the fab tools necessary to build anything you want. The shop will be open to all competitors during the event for vehicle recovery and maintenance. The office and shop is located at what will be recognized as the front gate. From there, people will drive down a four lane paved road to the spectator parking area that contains 6,400 vehicles with a seperate exit point for traffic control and congestion. Spectator will then walk from the parking lot down Vendor Row, an area about 40 yards wide and 100 yards deep. From there you can look to the left and see the childrens play yard or look a little further down and see the second comp arena, or you can look to the right and see the first comp arena. Each arena is has enough space to house 15 seperate obstacles.

The location: Located inside the 270 loop or outer belt, the facility is only 15 minutes from down town Columbus and ten minutes from Ohio's State Capital. A city that houses more than 711,470 people and an area that contains 2 million more in just a 20 mile diameter around and sitting only 20 minutes from one of the largest hub airports in the United States.

The Property is going to have $375,000 invested into various things before anyone will event set a tire on the courses. These funds will to towards lighting, obstacles, grand stands, play area for children, camping and more.

I, or anybody else for that matter, can talk the hell out of the facility but it doesn't really justify anything until you see it for yourself. But out of everything discussed, the best part about the property is that all you have to do is call the manager of the property and he will gladly give you the grand tour. And on top of that, open use days are under consideratation as the event date grows closer.

W.E.ROCK will hold the first Eastern National Event in Columbus, Ohio April 8-10 of 2005.

If you would like to know more about this site, info will be posted soon at www.we-rock.cc or you can call several people:

Big Rich 530 417-5333
Lil Rich 530 409-4548
Mark Rieser (manager) 614 477-5102

hope to see you all attend.

Outstanding!

April 8-10 is really coming up quick. :eek:

-tom

Cool, sorry I'll miss the grand opening!

Hopefully NEUROC will get there this year.

:bounce2: :bounce2: :bounce2:
Can't wait to see it!

Cool, sorry I'll miss the grand opening!

Well, I'm sure someone will post up photos of the event to rub a little salt in the wound :flipoff2:

I can't wait.

I hope you guys had a good time in Columbus!

We look forward to the first of many great events to come.

Any body have any questions feel free to conttace me..

Marc.

HOLY SHIT!!!!!!
That's right down the road from me.
I had no idea that something like this was in the works, but I love it.
I'd be more than willing to give a hand if needed.
April 8-10 HUH, That's coming about quick, I'll definately be there to watch.

Coool! :d

That is amazing news Lil Rich...I am SO bummed that UROC scheduled the Pro's on top of you as I would have been there for sure.

The Property is going to have $375,000 invested into various things before anyone will event set a tire on the courses. These funds will to towards lighting, obstacles, grand stands, play area for children, camping and more.



Put in a mud track & I'll get ya a deal on the lighting :p

TEX

I just might have to go check it out on 1 1/2 hr drive

thats great, i will be there in april spectating, if you guys need any volunteers just yell. I am 2 hours away.

awesome news!! I hope it goes great!! ill be there spectating and wishing we had run your series over urocc.. but wasnt my decision.. i just carry rocks.

During our trip to the East Coast (still here, typing from the Days Inn, Jellico, Tenn) we have gone through several great places and solidified our Eastern Nationals locations (which will be posted on Monday). The natural sites like Jellico and Attica are much more than we imagined and W.E.ROCK is very excited in holding our show in these great towns. The following that these two locations bring is fantastic as we were greeted with open arms to each site by the locals and the competitors alike. These sites have been up and running with a very profession manner for quite some time, almost bringing a legendary feeling when you walk into each venue. I was just thinking about how so much has happened at Jellico and Attica and what the future would hold for the event sites and W.E.ROCK.




It should feel legendary,Trailkeepers spent tens of thousands of dollars and thousands of man hours to develop the Jellico site. I am amazed that Rich didn't even have the courtesy to knock before he decided to spend the weekend at our house. I will never attend a Calrocks event and I will recommend the same to all my friends. Good luck finding volunteers to work the event.:mad3:

It should feel legendary,Trailkeepers spent tens of thousands of dollars and thousands of man hours to develop the Jellico site. I am amazed that Rich didn't even have the courtesy to knock before he decided to spend the weekend at our house. I will never attend a Calrocks event and I will recommend the same to all my friends. Good luck finding volunteers to work the event.:mad3:


Whoa, do the trailkeepers own the deed to this site? If not, what beef do you have with Rich for showing up there?

TEX

No, but it wouldn't be there if we hadn't built it.

No, but it wouldn't be there if we hadn't built it.

Well, that sounds to me like maybe it's just one of those PC things that didn't happen. If he's talking to the landowner, Rich probably has no idea who did the work there unless the landowner makes him aware of that. I'm not saying you're "wrong" to feel slighted, but you MIGHT be jumping the gun a bit ;)

TEX

Rich knows who set the place up.

No, but it wouldn't be there if we hadn't built it.

Sorry, but wrong attitude friend. Maybe you should feel proud about all the hardwork and effort put into building something. Maybe honored and excited that the facility is getting more recognition and use for the sport we all love. The teams are excited as are the fans- I don't get the sour disposition.

The Kleins have been good for the sport and are a pleasure to work with. They are working hard to bring more choices to the east and we should appreciate it. Anyone who blindly boycotts them is missing out and doing the sport, teams and fans a disservice. I hope you can give this some more thought and mello out. Feel free to contact me off line if you want to discuss further.

Sounds great, can't wait to see the place.

Rich knows who set the place up.

Still, you don't OWN the place & obviously any kind of contract he's going to have with the owner will exclude you. That's not meant to be offensive, it's just business.

Put it to ya this way. A couple years back, I sanctioned a mud race near Kansas City. I found the place, got the contact names, arranged for workers, recruited all the racers, and ram-rodded the race when it took place. When the local TV station came out, they talked to the promoter, not me. Why? He pays the bills.

You may have done the work, but it's still not your place. That's not to diminish what you've done, but it's just reality. And on a more personal note, I really doubt Rich had time to deal with a PR chat with an entire club on this trip. I met with the Rich's last Saturday & I can tell you that they did NOT have many holes in their schedule. They were just waking up after a 48 hour drive, toured a potential comp site for maybe 30 minutes, and hit the road for their next stop. For each comp they do, they probably lose at least 2 other weekends & who knows how much time DURING the week. I don't even find rock-crawling to be a particularly interesting spectator sport. But, I will try to give my support to Rich because I honestly feel he believes in what he's doing and puts his heart & soul into it.

TEX

I was there with Trailguide the first time we found the site. The landowner had given us permission to ride on his property and permission to open new trails through challenging terrain.

Our original intent was to find some really tough 'rockcrawling'/trailriding in northern TN. No one in our Trail Keepers group had any hint that this would be one of the premier rockcrawling event sites in the country.

When I first read Big Rich's post, I was proud of the description. I know the Trail Keepers and I are directly responsible for everything that the Jellico facility now is. I didn't feel slighted as does Trailguide, but I understand where he is coming from.

It is funny (strange) how things get away from you. I know that the original group of volunteers that worked so hard to open the first few trails never intended the specific outcome. We worked very hard to open a trail area available to the four wheelers of this region. We worked for an open trail system available to ride any time. Obviously that didn't happen.

Then rockcrawling overwhelmed us and the facility grew to what it is today. It didn't just happen by itself. Hundreds of people volunteered and worked hard to make it happen.

I'm very proud that the facility is what it is, today. I don't put in the time like I did 4 or 5 years ago. Not like the time that Trailguide still puts in to this day. But I still feel good when someone compliments the facility even when they don't thank me personally. Most people have no idea what it took to make this place happen.

I don't think Big Rich meant to insult the Trail Keepers, and I give him the benefit of the doubt. I know Trailguide is proud of the work done in Jellico. He also knows all the politics that have gone on to make it what it is. There is definitely a feeling of ownership by all Trail Keeper members. EVERYTHING you see at Jellico through 2003 was paid for by the Trail Keeper organization. The landowner provided the land, but had stringent requirements and off the wall requests that we always stood by. We built the obsticles, roads, parking and the landowners personal campsite.

I think Trailguide has a right to feel slighted. He is not the first and will not be the last. Many people work hard to keep areas open and have competions all over the country. It is just plain human nature that someone will experience hard feelings now and then. Real or imagined, intentional or unintentional.

...We built the obsticles, roads, parking and the landowners personal campsite....

Correction, everything EXCEPT the landowners personal campsite. He did pay for that himself.

Tim

Sorry, but wrong attitude friend. Maybe you should feel proud about all the hardwork and effort put into building something. Maybe honored and excited that the facility is getting more recognition and use for the sport we all love. The teams are excited as are the fans- I don't get the sour disposition.

Sorry, you can't tell someone how they should feel. As Jerry posted, not everyone at Trail Keepers feels the same way as TrailGuide does, but that is how TrailGuide feels and he is free to post it in this open forum.

Tim

It should feel legendary,Trailkeepers spent tens of thousands of dollars and thousands of man hours to develop the Jellico site. I am amazed that Rich didn't even have the courtesy to knock before he decided to spend the weekend at our house. I will never attend a Calrocks event and I will recommend the same to all my friends. Good luck finding volunteers to work the event.:mad3:

The natural sites like Jellico and Attica are much more than we imagined and W.E.ROCK is very excited in holding our show in these great towns. The following that these two locations bring is fantastic as we were greeted with open arms to each site by the locals and the competitors alike. These sites have been up and running with a very profession manner for quite some time, almost bringing a legendary feeling when you walk into each venue. I was just thinking about how so much has happened at Jellico and Attica and what the future would hold for the event sites and W.E.ROCK.


Obviously there must be more to it behind closed doors than we are reading in this post... Because from what I can read in Lil' Rich's post, there is NOTHING BUT PRAISE for the Jellico facility... I can't see/understand where the hate is coming from? :confused:

Interesting how everyone on the East coast was crying the blues 2 years ago about how there was no major comp scene over there, and the West coast had everything. Now there are venues and organizations showing up, you guys don't want them there anymore? :confused:

Interesting how everyone on the East coast was crying the blues 2 years ago about how there was no major comp scene over there, and the West coast had everything. Now there are venues and organizations showing up, you guys don't want them there anymore? :confused:

I don't think this is the reality. The competitors and fans, at least the ones I talk too, definitely welcome the new venues/organizations. I didn't read any slight in Rich's post.

Neuroc runs at Jellico too...or has in the past. How is this any different?

Neuroc is a UROC santioned series that supports UROC. Trailkeepers benefit from our relationship with UROC.

Neuroc is a UROC santioned series that supports UROC. Trailkeepers benefit from our relationship with UROC.

Do you not benefit from your relationship with WE-ROC, or do you ASSUME you will not benefit?

TEX

Rich has made no attempt to establish a relationship with Trailkeepers.

Rich has made no attempt to establish a relationship with Trailkeepers.

Have the trailkeepers made an attempt to establish a relationship with Rich? When I started planning my race in Kansas City, it was Springtime. I didn't contact the local host club until July. It's typically one of the last things I do.

TEX

Have the trailkeepers made an attempt to establish a relationship with Rich? When I started planning my race in Kansas City, it was Springtime. I didn't contact the local host club until July. It's typically one of the last things I do.

TEX


Seeing that we just heard about the event, I am not sure how we would have contacted him. I would guess that he's on the road today travelling home. Rich knows who we are and could have contacted us. He visits our forum all the time. All I was asking for was some courtesy to Trailkeepers. Maybe I should be talking to you Tex. You seem to be his spokesman today.

Maybe I should be talking to you Tex. You seem to be his spokesman today.


LOL, nope just trying to help out. :)

TEX

Well, my turn to "speak out of school".....

I fully understand Trailguides point of view. I didn't get the opinion he wasn't glad the area may get additional use or recognition. What I did get was a man very proud of the work he and his fellow Trailkeepers did, starting from an overgrown plot of unused land. I support his feeling of ownership in the history and accomplishments that "they" did turn into a reality. "If" the Rich's unintentionally circumvented the relationship the Trailkeepers have with that area, I believe they are men of integrity and will address this. On the other hand if it was intentional, I suspect there will be more of the same feelings, and that will create a hardship for them to pull off the class events they are anticipating.

It "IS" the pride and ownership felt by so many that made Jellico what it is today!

I believe in benefit of the doubt, perhaps there's been a shortage of it, I don't know for sure. It's also a bit awkward as many of the trailkeeper players are UROC players so I could see hesitation on each side to relate with the other, I wish it wasn't that way, but it seems to be the trend.

for the record, My club, and myself have been involved in developing private property for recreational use and comp use for yrs. It has been awkward and sometimes emotional to "share" someone else's property that "we" partnered with and had a lot of sweat equity in. Still, it's inevitable and in the best interest for all parties to communicate and work together. I'm approaching being an old fart- voice of experience:)

Can't wait for this to happen and have spread the word around. I will be there for both days and does anyone have the street and address of the place???

nice!!! :)

Seeing that we just heard about the event, I am not sure how we would have contacted him. I would guess that he's on the road today travelling home. Rich knows who we are and could have contacted us. He visits our forum all the time. All I was asking for was some courtesy to Trailkeepers. Maybe I should be talking to you Tex. You seem to be his spokesman today.

Maybe give him a phone call?

You could call his PR guy:
http://www.we-rock.cc/news.html

His number and email addy have been posted on the Calrocs site for at least the last 2 years:
http://www.calrocs.com/about.html

Or PM him on any one of a number of boards?

I've been to many Calrocs events, and Rich never fails to thank the people who made it happen. Donner, Beatty and Globe stand out in my mind of recent venues where he has made special mention of the exraordinary measures that those involved had to make in order for the comp to happen.

What exactly did you want the Rich's to do?

-tom

Back on Subject...

The Columbus is coming along fast. We are hoping to be done 2 weeks prior to the April 8th event. This facility is a private gated industrial park. Please keep in mind you can't just show up!

I have seen alot of people trying to figure out exactly where it is at and it worries me that "visitors" will just drop by! Please contact me with any questions or any intentions of dropping by. I usually can work something into my schedule.

Please call only if you have serious questions or intentions.
614-477-5102 or pm me.

i'd like a list of hotels close by,
so i can get reservations made.

Edit: just got your pm, thanks

http://marcrieser.imgbay.com/sitefromabove.jpg.BMP

From this BIG photo, take the left hand portion, where the big stack of container boxes are, you can see the courses just to the right and below those containers.
There is room for about 6500 cars to park
Rich

I apologize for my post about Big Rich.

I do feel like many other Trailkeeper's as an "owner" of the facility. We have a sizeable portion of our lives invested in the facility. I like many,want to safeguard it. It seems this all happened because Rich was misinformed by someone representing themselves as part of the Trailkeeper's when in fact they were not. Trailkeeper's will not be involved with the Werock series at Jellico due to our affiliation with UROC.

I wish him the best of luck with his event.

Not wanting to drive around the place now, just wanted to plan my rout for April.

Back on Subject...

The Columbus is coming along fast. We are hoping to be done 2 weeks prior to the April 8th event. This facility is a private gated industrial park. Please keep in mind you can't just show up!

I have seen alot of people trying to figure out exactly where it is at and it worries me that "visitors" will just drop by! Please contact me with any questions or any intentions of dropping by. I usually can work something into my schedule.

Please call only if you have serious questions or intentions.
614-477-5102 or pm me.

I hear Charlie is stopping by to see the place.

Yes Charlie Melchner will be in town Saturday.
He wants to check out "the roc"

so...any more pics?

Marc did you get a chance to finish those questions for me?

Thanks.

I have been so freaking busy!
I will get to them asap.

More pictures tomorrow.

No address yet, I have a group lined up to go???????? Is there a contractor doing this work or is it volunteers???? Yes I'm stoked, can't wait for April.

iTS off of Watkins RD, Columbus Ohio.
No adress can be released yet.
:D

iTS off of Watkins RD, Columbus Ohio.
No adress can be released yet.
:D
Thanks that will get us in the general area then we can follow the signs or line of rigs.

iTS off of Watkins RD, Columbus Ohio.
No adress can be released yet.
:D
Just curious how the work is coming. Just four weeks away.

Your right! Keep your fingers crossed.

Marc,

There's a rumor floating around. Is it true?

what rumor? The date change?

Yes the date change is true! We are looking at the best interest for everybody.

It was a hard choice to mkae but it's the best for all of us.

what rumor? The date change?

Yes the date change is true! We are looking at the best interest for everybody.

It was a hard choice to mkae but it's the best for all of us.

Pony up, maybe Chuck and I can make it!!

Pony up, maybe Chuck and I can make it!!

Ken I guess you missed this:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=336449

Rich

Rich,

Any idea on where tech. will be? By the way, I'll be the first to say I think it would be extremely unfair for Troy to compete! :flipoff2:

Rich,

Any idea on where tech. will be? By the way, I'll be the first to say I think it would be extremely unfair for Troy to compete! :flipoff2:

:laughing: :laughing:

Troy will not be setting the courses, LilRich thinks he be able to set somethings you all might have not seen out there before.

Rich