Safety Alert!
In the June 15th edition
of the Deseret Morning News it was reported that two ATVers
were injured over the weekend. One of the incidents is worthy of
comment. The person who was injured was attempting to climb a trail
that was too steep for their personal skill level. Their ATV flipped
over on them and seriously injured the operator. Need we say that
our community needs to give greater heed to their own good judgement?
I could be completely
wrong about this, but chances are better than not that the injured person
had no previous ATV training. Yes, they were an adult, but what exempts
adults from the laws of physics? What too many people seem to believe
is that a trail going up a hill is possible because it is obvious that
some one else made it up or there would be no track there, right?
Wrong! Tracks are made by people coming down the mountain too you
know. The center of gravity on a machine is changed significantly
when going up (or down) a hill and to compensate an operator must shift
his weight forward. Simply leaning forward does little, you must
stand up and lean as far out over your handle bars as you can get and still
maintain control of your machine.
In the final analysis,
it is best, absolutely the best, to stay on recommended routes and trails.
Land managers recognize when trails are too steep for general use. They
will mark these trails closed. Stay off the closed trails.
It is as simple as that.
There are some who will
say; "Awe, that takes all the fun out of it" Well, to you who have this
attitude, may I suggest that you take up golf or fishing as an outdoor
recreation sport. Those who exercise poor judgement are killing themselves
and the sport the rest of us know and love. The Consumer Product
Safety commission (CPSC) is taking comment now on the safety of ATV's.
This is the same commission that banned the manufacture of 3 Wheelers.
The WAGS would like to see the 4 wheelers banned not for safety, they couldn't
give a hoot for our safety, but they want ATV's out of the forest and off
public lands. Whenever you use poor judgement in any respect you
are giveing credibility to the argument of the public lands closure advocates.
(Sorry for preaching
to the choir, but there may be an outside chance that someone might read
this who might seriously reconsider some of their attitudes and actions) |
Utah ATV Trails Starts Subscriptions
The biggest enhancement to the web site in two
years is without a doubt the installation of the subscription features.
One of our readers observed that he couldn't see paying for something that
was previously free. Well, you see, the web site information has
never been free, nor ever will it be free. The question is one of
who pays for the information. The owner/publisher of Utah ATV Trails.com
and the few kind sponsors of the web site have been the ones carrying the
burden of the cost of the web site previously.
The subscription system now permits responsible
citizens in the OHV community to lend a hand and lighten the financial
burden to keep the information on safety trails and other useful information
available to the public. The lever in reminding people of that opportunity
is found in obtaining access to the trail information. Nevertheless,
more than 70 percent of the web site still remains open for all to access
without restriction. (See also "Subscriptions available"
and "FAQ about Subscriptions" below) |
Volunteer efforts begin in earnest
by Scott Jacobsen of the UTMA
In response to the signing of the San Rafael
Travel Plan, Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) clubs are hopeful the BLM will now
enter into cooperative management projects on the Swell. Efforts to implement
projects have been stymied in the past because of the lack of an official
Travel Plan. OHV enthusiasts from Utah, Colorado and New Mexico have pledged
over 1800 hours of volunteer time for adopt-a-trail, campsite cleanup,
education and enforcement, trail maintenance and other projects in the
Swell.
The BLM is expected to formalize these volunteer
efforts soon, but the busy Easter weekend brought an opportunity for some
impromptu volunteer efforts. Motorcyclists Scott Jacobsen, Tory Thone and
Bradley Zane decided “why wait?” and put in 5 hours maintaining routes
in the Sids Mountain., Wilderness Study Area.
“It’s a pleasure to be able to give back to
these trails that have provided a unique opportunity and experience”, Jacobson
said. His club, the Utah Trail Machine Association (UTMA) had petitioned
the BLM to do much more of this kind of volunteer work years ago. The BLM
felt they needed an official travel plan before they formalized a volunteer
program. “I’m glad the BLM wants to work together now. I’m
looking forward to working with other trail users on these projects” Jacobson
said.
Jacobson and Thone spent most of the day maintaining
several of the designated trails, distributing maps and tread lightly information,
and simply meeting and greeting other Easter Holiday trail users.
“We had several ask why we were volunteering
and what were our reasons for being out there were, they were surprised
that we weren’t on the BLM or someone else’s payroll”, Jacobson said. |
OHV Calendar on At your Leisure (KJZZ 14)
Chad Booth the producer of the popular out
door family recreation program "At Your Leisure" recently enhanced his
program by adding the announcement of the OHV community calendar.
The segment is produced and sponsored by Utah ATV Trails.com and USA-ALL.
If you haven't yet caught the segment, tune in on Sunday at 5:30 PM to
see the next installment.
We appreciate the opportunity to expose the
true popularity of family recreation on public lands. |
Subscriptions Available
For the past two years the Utah ATV Trails.com
web site has offered its premium content pages as a free public service
with very little compensation. This information has taken an enormous
investment of resources, physical, mental, and financial.
Now is your opportunity to offer your gratitude
for this resource in a more material way. Beginning June 2, 2003
access to the trail descriptions will be by subscription. A user
will be requested to complete a brief registration and pay via credit
card the subscription fee. |
Website update:
New pages:
Coal Wash
Ten Mile Wash
White Wash Dunes
Lake Mountain
Devil's Race Track
|
ATV JACK
Here's a tip from one of our readers from Houston Texas:
I saw at lunch today a Sears ad on TV for
a motorcycle-ATV jack. It looked like a good tool to have in the
garage. It looked like a good product to me for servicing or working
on either a m-bike or
an ATV.
The jack is designed specifically for a m-bike
or ATV. It has four wheels with a wide wheelbase for balance.
It has a safety strap for stability of the vehicle while it's up on the
jack. And because of the
four wheels on the jack the vehicle can be moved from place to place
(making side to side and 180 turns possilbe in a minimal amount of space)
across a garage floor easily. Anyway, I thought it looked like
a good tool to help make service and repairs on fun wheels easy.
Cost advertised here was $119 and change. |
Great Pic's
Chris Brimhall's picture of his early ride on the Paiute is this month's
favorite snap shot. Go ahead... send
yours in. If we like it we'll use it.
|
|
Product highlight - Hey Mister what's this?
Ever since I purchased my first ATV, I enjoyed
the quiet operation of the four stroke engine. Even so, had there
been any way to make it more quiet, I would go for it.
It took a hunter from Wyoming to come up with
one of the best ideas ever to hit the ATV industry. The ATV Stealth
Exhaust system is produced by Gary L. Petley, of Casper, Wyoming.
Finally a solution to the unavoidable noise from the exhaust on your four
cycle ATV. Testimonials report that these devices will reduce the
noise 50%-75% or more. It is worth the $200 (MSRP) for the extra
peace you will find on your ride.
The device comes with a kit to attach it to
your existing muffler. It is approved by the USDA for use and has an approved
spark arrestor.
You will notice that the environmentalists
will be surprised to see you. It will spoil their cry of "too noisy
to enjoy the solitude of the outdoors". Well, now they will have
to complain that you scare them because you are too quiet.
According to Gary, they will require about
an hour for the novice mechanic to install. Don't worry if you have
a tendency to swamp your ATV from time to time, they also have a drain
plug.
Visit Gary's web
site for more information. |
West Nile Mosquito Alert...
We've all heard about the West Nile Virus coming to Utah this year
via mosquitos. Well, one of our readers, Kenny Lone, forwarded a
bit of advise on how to avoid mosquito bites and thought you may
find it interesting. Some of these might even work for you, but we
make no promises.(use these suggestions at your own risk)
-
Use Bounce Fabric Softener Sheets....just wipe on & go...Great for
Babies
-
Bob, a fisherman, takes one vitamin B-1 tablet a day April through October
. Try it. Every one he has talked into trying it works on them. Vitamin
B-1( Thiamin Hydrochloride 100 mg.)
-
Stop eating bananas for the summer and the mosquitos will be much less
interested.
-
Vick's Vaporub™.
-
Marines say that the very best mosquito repellent you can use is Avon Skin-So-Soft
bath oil mixed about half and half with alcohol.
-
When all else fails--get a frog
Personally, since my high range hearing is pretty much history and my far
sighted eyes can't even see a mosquito up close, I have no problem with
mosquitos, but I have these inexplicable red marks on my feet and hands. |
FAQ about Subscriptions:
Why subscriptions? Aren't sponsors enough?
In a word, no. While our sponsors have been very gracious, and
we will continue to need the support of our sponsors, just like the newspaper,
we can not live on sponsor income alone. Our necessary expenses far
exceed the income from the source of sponsors.
Why the change now?
The subscription is a feature that should have been introduced with
the site back in June of 2001. However it has taken this long to
gather the resource to complete this important feature of the web site.
Perhaps the most important reason to complete this feature is the income
required to sustain the effort of preparing the information found on the
web site.
Is my credit card information safe?
Yes, we have elected to not retain your credit card information in
our files in order to minimize any risk of access to your card number.
Once the transition is complete we will have no ability to duplicate the
transaction. All transaction information is submitted via secure
transactions for your protection.
Why should I pay a subscription fee?
This is the best question of all. Here are a few of the appropriate
reasons to be a subscriber to this information service: 1.) Preparation
is a key to both safety and having a good time. The Utah ATV Trails
assists you in being a better prepared and safer ATV rider in Utah. 2.)
Just a single trip to a location, hauling your ATVs where you can not ride
them will cost you a tank of gas or a fine for illegal riding. The
Utah ATV Trials.com web site will help you avoid the trails that are closed
and save you money in misadventures of many varieties. This alone
can be priceless. 3.) We're not ashamed to say that the proceeds from the
web site will go to sustain a perfectly wonderful family. While not
a 501c3 Charity, this service sustains several members of our family who
have special medical needs requirements.
Is this a licensed business?
Yes Utah ATV Trails.com LLC is a business registered with the State
of Utah and licensed for business in the city of Murray, Utah. |
|
Please
Visit the Utah ATV Trails Sponsors
Please join us in our ever ongoing effort
to educate the public about the safety and trail information found on the
Utah ATV Trails web site. To make this easy we've created a page
that permits you to print
off cards you can cut up and share with your friends and neighbors
and people you meet on the trail. If you
have a web site we also invite you to share your traffic with us by posting
a link to our web site. In most cases, we are happy to reciprocate.
There are few who have a more extensive ATV link page than we do.
The Utah ATV Trails Newsletter is published as the opportunity
presents itself, sometimes as often as twice a month, if breaking news
occurs. If you would like to join the update list just send
a note and put "add me to the list" in the subject line and you're
in. Please feel free to add other comments about the web site as
you see fit. We always enjoy positive feedback from our readers.
See instructions below for opting out.
©Copyright 2002, 2003 by Utah ATV Trails.com LLC
all rights reserved. All pages on www.utahatvtrails.com are copyrighted.
Do not copy or use material from this site without the specific written
permission of the owner. However you may feel free to share links
to www.utahatvtrails.com at any time.
If, for any reason, you would prefer not to participate
in this distribution list, please send a reply with "remove" in the subject
and I'll drop you from the list, but rest assured, our friendship remains
in tact.
News
Letter Article Index and prior issues |
