No doubt many of us will be out riding over the three-day weekend. It has already been a fatal one here in the Houston area with three kids loosing their lives in swimming or boating accidents just yesterday.

Be sure to ride safe and encourage others to do likewise. And remember that few people ever wake up thinking that today could be their last one.

 

For the most part every body knows you can get hurt on a atv. I get all sorts of peolple to tell me to stop racing because i'm "going to kill my self" . The funny part is that the chancesa of "killing myself" raceing or just riding my bike are a heck of a lot lees that getting killed in my truck of in my house. An other funny part is that I two months ago a guy ran a redlight and i nailed him. i was able to walk away from the acident but i was hurt more form that then i ever had been for wecking my quad or threewheeler. A week before that wreck i was racing in a HS in md at a place called cliffside and i had the worst wreck i ever had. i nailed a tree going about 30 and me and the bike flipped side ways and it pinned me up side down against another tree. as it as it started to happen cirten thoughts crossed my mind(you cand guess the words i was saying) but affter it all was over and i got the bike off me and continued to race i was fine except for a small scrape on my side. so ya i my one day "kill my self" but if i'm happy then who cares because it a risk i'm taking and when it your time its your time and the good man up stairs has better plans for me.

 

I think the point being made here is that some people ride beyond there skill level and in surroundings thatnot only put themselves at risk but other people and property at risk. If you think "the man upstairs" has a "now serving #..." sign and it doesn't matter how crazy you ride 'cause when your # is up it's up, then that's your business. The fact is, people who ride without exhibiting any concern for themselves and others set a bad example for the impressionable and when someone splits their head open doing something stupid it hurts us all. You wind up giving the entire sport a bad name when your "# gets called". If you're in the middle of nowhere and you want to do a backwards one wheel wheelie while you're sucking down a 40 o then go for it, but for the sake of the sport, don't ride like a jerk when people are around.

 

I'm not saying that i ride with no reguared to my own life. i ride as fast as i feel comfotable with an with in my limits. but when your racing things happen that perticular incident was because i miss judged a wash out and my rear skidplate hit right on the edge of it and sent the bike flying. Even the pros missjudge obsticals. i've seen the best make mistakes. but as far as when you die, no one has any control over that. if you a a nascar fan you have seen what i mean. look a G. Bodine he has on of the worst wrecks I have ever seen and he is still alive, yet Adam Petty was young and in great shape was in a wreck that wasn't that bad and die from it. In no way am I say act like an idiot and do stupid things. I wear justy about every protective article there is when i practice and race. but as i said there is a better chance that i'll get kill in an accident going to the race than beinng in the race.I try hard to promote atving in all forms from trail riding to racing and i don't want to bring any harm to it. but we all take chances every day wether you ride a atv or an even bigger risk by driving a car. that all I'm saying.

 

We had an ATV death here in Idaho over the three day weekend also. The Driver, in his 30's was driveing down a mountain road, with a beer in one hand and waving to campers with the other when a tree jumped in front of him. He wasn't wearing a helmet. Idaho has no helmet laws unless you are under 16. Police suspect that alcohol may have been a contributing factor. Duh..

 

Just got off the phone with a co-worker who did not have very nice weekend. Seems her two-year old niece lost two toes while riding an ATV with her nine-year-old brother. The fact that they were only riding one of the smaller, "kiddie sized" ATV's did not seem to matter.

Because of her age, the two-year-old should find it easier than an older person to learn how to walk again.

 

I have been wanting to post something like this for a week but didn't know where, I just came across this topic so here goes. On Thurs. the 9th, I took my Banshee out for a spin. It is set up for my wife so I seldom ride it. Long story short I went over the bars in 6th gear and the quad landed on me. I was able to make it home and I got a ride to the hospital. I have several broken ribs and my knee is a mess. I am getting an MRI on Friday to find out exactly what is wrong. My point is, there is not one scratch on my skin anywhere and my helmet is ready for the trashcan. It would have been worse if I had not had full riding gear on. Probably would have been dead. If you ride fast and aggressively, sooner or later you will crash. Dress accordingly. Good gear for a slow trail machine does not cut it for a faster pace. This is not my first trip to the hospital, but riding gear has saved me trips in the past, or allowed me to walk home afterware. Please spread the word.

 

You bring up a very good point, however its not just people who ride fast that crash! If you ride eventually you will crash.

One thing that is disturbing is many of the guys I ride with don't wear helmets, & they have been riding for a while.

A helmet will save your life, just wear it!

 

I admit that I am guilty of riding without a helmet (Dunes only), but when I got some pics back from the last trip to the dunes and saw the type of air I was getting, 8-10 feet up and not wearing a helmet. I felt like an idiot. Had i wrecked, it could have been disasterous. I started a web page and was waiting for the pics to get back before I published it, but now Im going to have to wait until the 4th when I can get some pics with my helmet ON. I didnt want to show my family the pics either, they would be pretty pissed, even though I am 30!

RoostKing...