The Wicked Wildcat Weekend is a bi-annual gathering of Wildcat owners, with the purpose of riding and having. Here’s a brief story of past events written by Josh Nave, along with his invitation to join future ones.
In the spring of 2013 I bought my Arctic Cat Wildcat and immediately joined an online UTV forum were I met other Arctic Cat Wildcat enthusiasts. There, I threw out an idea I had of trying to get all the Eastcoast guys together for a ride and everyone seemed interested. With the help of the folks on the forum, we came up with the name Wicked Wildcat Weekend (WWW) and in September 2014, we held our first at Windrock Park in Oliver Springs, TN.
Fifty one Wildcats showed up along with a few other makes and models. It was a great event with awesome sponsors and support but, like any first-time endeavor, we learned a lot! It wasn’t all that greatly organized; all of us tried to ride in one big group, which was too large and made for a very long weekend.
The following spring we had our second WWW at Burning Rock Offroad in Tams, WV. The turnout was not as good as the previous event, but we still had a great 3 day weekend of riding nonetheless.
The fall of 2015 we headed to Ride Royal Blue in Pioneer, TN, for the 3rd Annual WWW. Turnout for this ride improved dramatically, with 45 Wildcats. We split up into 2 groups: a hard-ride group and an easy/moderate group. This split up the large group and made the rides move a little smoother and faster.
Before we knew it, it was time for the next WWW ride! At this point, word was getting around about these big and free group events, and for the Spring of 2016 people voted for a return to Windrock Park in Oliver Springs, TN.
This was the largest turnout yet, with 73 Wildcats and a ton of hype around it!
In addition to all our great sponsors and vendors that participate each ride, MLS Powersports along and other great sponsors supported a contest called “Pimp My Cat.” The contest was for folks to enter online for a chance to win a “pimped out” Wildcat, but you had to be present to win.
Larry Carrier was the winner. At the time, he owned a bone stock 2014 Wildcat 1000X and couldn’t be happier to have won the contest.
MLS took his machine and did everything that you could possibly do to it. It was amazing! In the fall of 2016 we were on the road to Huntsville, TN, and Brimestone Rec. for another exciting 3-day weekend of WWW. We had a great turn out of 64 Cat’s and enjoyed all that Brimstone had to offer.
In the spring of 2017 we headed to Black Mountain Off-road park in Harlan, KY for the next WWW. It turned out to be a very wet weekend, with flash flooding all three days we were there! Regardless of the rain that prevented much riding, we still were able to hold our group dinner and giveaways the last night.
Flash forward to a few weeks ago, the Fall 2017 edition of Wicked Wildcat Weekend at Ride Royal Blue in Pioneer, TN. This event set a record for us with 87 Wildcats! It was a huge success and had tons of hype, partially because of the “Revive my Ride” contest hosted by MLS Powersports, who offered a fully customized and improved Wildcat to one lucky winner: Doc McCoy. Doc’s Wildcat is currently at MLS Powersports in Georgetown, KY, getting a ton of customized upgrades. Textron Offroad helped sponsor the event, and it was great to have them.
WWW has grown beyond “just” being an Eastcoast ride. People come from all over the US, with some driving more than 1,000 miles one way. When I see the excitement and people respond so positively, I know we have something incredible going on. I can’t wait to see what the Spring ride in 2018 has to offer. While the rides have grown in attendance and maintained the same format each time, the only thing that has changed is how we all communicate.
Originally, 3 years ago, all of the planning and ‘hype’ went through the UTV forum, as the years have gone on, the forum has slowed down, so we have switched over to Facebook and now use the group page of Wildcat Riders for all Wildcat communication. The group page has grown exponentially in the last nine months and now is one of the best and largest Wildcat groups on Facebook, featuring weekly give-aways, Tech info, as well as general discussion of Wildcat enthusiasts.
I want to think everyone who has helped plan and be part of all of the Wicked Wildcat Weekends. Without those who helped scout, lead, and tail-gun rides, these events would never happen. And of course, I can’t forget all of the great sponsors over the years and all the Parks for having us. These events could literally not be possible without so many great people all coming together.
Join the Facebook page to learn what’s in store for our next event.
Link to the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wildcatriders/
