What a nice little windy trip. Thanks Sandbomber again and again and again....... I am still spitting sand out.. All i taste is salt. It was awesome seeing everyone. What a ride!!!!!!!!!!! That woops section along the fence will do anyone in. If you like woops, try the trail bye the parking lot and follow that. I don't think Bullet holes are going to work on the quads. There won't be anyroom to put anymore.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

It was my pleasure, It made all the WOOPS a little bit EASIER to ride through [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

What a great weekend of riding and no one got hurt (Way to go Puget Sound Area Riders)....[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

You all have a great work week and talk @ ya later.... OYEA the yfz 450 was awsome to ride, man that quad kicks A$$...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Don't forget the 101 octane!

 

EVERYBODY PLEASE READ,

I'm just writing this as an FYI and reminder to us ALL. It's only goal is to keep us all safe and able to help each other should something happen. We already have a ton of fun, so the goal is to keep it that way [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

I have a tendency to ramble on when I talk about something that I feel is important, or something I like to talk about. This is kinda both. I don't want to lose anybody, so I'll really try not to. These topics can be elaborated on way more than I will write here, but you will get the gist of it. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img].

This is the Readers Digest version. I am working on putting together a basic First-Aid class that applies to us and what we may come across. It will also include some basic self-survial and safety info. It will be fun with lots of pictures and a video. We will also do some hands on stuff. I hope[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] to have a trial version ready in the next couple months.

1) Before each ride, we need to make sure everybody is aware that we all need to keep an eye on, and keep track of, each other .
Whether it is just making sure everybody is still with the group or that the person riding behind us is still there. (an example would be doing a head count once in a while while at the dunes) or (while riding on trails and roads, make sure the person behind you is always there, frequently. <u>ALSO Always know who that person is, so when the group stops you are sure the person behind you is who it is suppose to be.</u>) Also know how many people there are in the group, because we do get mixed up and the person behind you may not necessarily be who you thought it was, but numbers never lie.

2) If there are new riders who haven't ridden with us yet, talk to them about some of these issues
Especially item #1 one. And any safety issues that may apply to that certain ride. If it's the dunes, things to look for and be careful of. If it's logging roads, how to ride safe on gravel roads, and to watch for vehicles.

3) When riding during the winter, please wear appropriate clothing.
Make every attempt to wear NO COTTON CLOTHING at all (I'm not checking your underwear though, so you can get away with that [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]). If it's cold and/or wet out, try to make your outer layer completely waterproof/windproof. Wear heavy duty/waterproof boots and NON COTTON socks. Wear waterproof gloves if appropriate. Keep something around your neck to keep it warm. Have a hat to put on if you have to take your helmet off.

4) Make sure at least one person has a decent First-Aid kit, a couple would be better.
You can make a decent First-Aid kit to fit in a small fanny pack that will easily attach to your quad. If the fanny pack is not waterproof, just put the item in a zip-lock bag adn place them in the pack. If anybody wants a list of things to put in it, let me know. I will also post a list on the PSAR site.

5) Never take off and ride alone
If something happens, it will be harder than hell to find you. If you get lost, you are all alone.

6) Get and ALWAYS wear SAFETY gear.
Because it can get spendy, do this as you can afford but don't put it off (which I am guilty of)[/b]
The minumum should be: Helmet, goggles, gloves, boots, chest protector. Full length pants and shirts.

7) Take a means of communication with you
Cell phones will not always work, but if everybody brings one somebody should be able to (hopefully of course) get to an area where they can call out. Remember to get to the highest area you can if you need to get out.

8) No matter how short you think the ride will be, do no take that for granted. Anything can happen at any time. We must always be prepared.

9) [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] If all else fails, invite me along, oh please [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] he he ( an excuse for me to go riding LOL). Since I seem to always be way over prepared [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] If we need something chances are I have it (maybe). If I don't, I'll probably have it the next time [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Pretty soon I may have to get me a little ol' trailer to tow along [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] LOL.

Thanks for reading and let's ALL take the initiative at EACH ride and look after each other.

When **** has happened on rides so far, this group has come together exceptionally well to take care of the situation. You should all be proud of that fact. This is a great group to ride and hang out with. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img].

WHEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. I'm done, for now [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Hey guys, collect the sand that you brought back in your ears, collect it in small baggies, and I'll have the kids analyze it under the microscopes. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I like to back up what I say with personal experiences. I'm sure we all have them. Having war stories gives credence to what we all say. War stories are for everybody to learn from, and make us realize how important things like the items in my post above are. Trust me, I am no exception. So here are some learning points just from this weekend.

1) Always bring toilet paper with you on rides [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]. he he. No this was not my personal experience, this time[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

2) If you take off and ride by yourself, something will happen. Something did happen, but by a stroke of luck nobody got hurt.

3) Even on a "short ride", **** will happen. We took off on a "short ride", and it did happen. Lessons learned:

&gt; Don't leave without a First-Aid kit.
&gt; Don't leave without a means of calling for help, i.e. cell phone.
<u>&gt; Ride safe on the logging roads
They are not a race track, they are dangerous to go fast on. We get mad at the vehicles for going fast, but I'll tell you what, the way we were riding both times I have been there on those roads is flat out asking for trouble. There is no doubt in my mind one of us could very easily be killed, or at the least critically injured. and that's reality. There is no way to see if someobody is coming around the corner at us, so we either take a vehicle head on at 40 mph +(conservitavely), or we lose control and go off the road and into a tree and/or down a cliff. I am just as guilty, riding that Raptor was a blast, but at what cost?</u> I should have know better, luckily I realize that now.
&gt; Keep an eye on the person behind you, <u>and know who it is.</u>
Luckily the person riding behind the guy that ran off the road saw him down the embankment. It would have been very easy to miss though. He was down about 8-10 feet and wasn't the easiest to see. Having a red quad certainly helped out. Had we rode right by him, and had the person in front of him realized he wasn't there and stopped, we would have been able to back track and look for him. As it turned out, had we not seen him, we could have rode along time before realizing he was not with us.
&gt; Always wear appropriate winter clothing and safety gear. Do not wear cotton.
The kid that ran off the road was wearing mostly cotton, including jeans. He landed right next to a creek. Had he rolled another foot, he would have been in the creek and got wet. There would have been know way to keep him warm except to take his wet clothes off (which no doubt we might have done) and used all we could from what we all were wearing to keep him warm. It would not have taken long for him to start becoming hypothermic. Even as it were, had we not been comfortable moving him and had to call for help, it would have been hard to keep him warm. Had he been wearing a chest protector, his injury would have been significantly less. The back portion of the protector would have taken the brunt of the force and dissipated it somewhat. Luckily he wasn't severley injured.
[b]&gt; Last but not least &gt; Don't ever let Sean take off on a ride without his Rincon and the harware store, kitchen, clothing store, winch, and whatever the heck else he packs on that thing. Cause if you do, something is sure to happen. Thus causing him to feel really bad because he can't take care of somebody should something happen. Or the fact that he may hurt himself having to much fun on the ol' Sportie he's riding [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img].

 

Oh my gosh,

I just looked and I'm sorry those post are so long are so long. So I had to write this short one.

 

welll
I soaked the rap in wd-40 and it will soon get a 'simple green' bath
i got the shop all set up for some raptor surgery today
and I plan to slap some bearing in, in the next few days,,,,and do a few jetting adjustments,,,,,,in hopes of riding next weekend

the Quiet core is really the least of my problems
(i will stuff a bunch of aluminum foil down the canister if I need to quiet it a little (hope im not too loud!!!)

the rap looks good and shiny soaked in wd-40

Quad4fun, good helpful safety minded info you got there,,,,,everyone really needs to consider every line item. Nice post!!

 

Thanks BING [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Im only gonna add one thing to what Quad4fun is saying. And it my be a bit blunt and to the point. But, in a bit over a year, we have brought a wonderful group of people together. There are families with little people in them that all of us adore. And then there is the other end of the spectrum. Old people like Laryy.....gotcha. I meant to say me. I personally am impressed with how this many people from so many different ages groups, walks of life, areas of Puget Sound, etc, etc seem to fit so well together.

The very last thing I want to ever ever see is someone getting very seriously hurt. I have a son who is now 23 who was a passanger in a car when he was 15 that was involved in a serious wreck. To this day, one of the passangers, who at the time was a wrestler at Hazen High School, is confined to a wheelchair. Completely paralyzed on his left side. Cant form complete words. And all because of an accident.

I dont want to ever see any of us hurt for a little bit of fun we have. Sure, I know, I too go faster than I need to. But I think Awareness is what is going to help us all become better and safer riders.

Thanks

Nick