Public Lands of the people by the people and for the people.
Okay, you've been riding your ATVs for about four years
now. You have found some places to ride you will remember till you
die. Cruising along at 9 to 14 miles an hour you may have noticed
a few granola wrappers and water bottles along the way, in some cases you
even did your good turn for the day and picked up a can or two and hauled
them out. However, never in your wildest dream did you ever think
to actually do a service project to clean up and protect our public lands.
Well, now my friend, is your big chance to change all that.
Did you know that you can contact our public lands
managers and actually volunteer to help out on planned volunteer projects,
or even do one of your own choosing. Maybe you know of a place that
was abused at some time in the past and could use a little attention.
Why wait to be told to do something good. You can make the world
a better place by just getting out there and making yourself useful.
The Kamas Ranger District which covers the scenic Mirror Lake Highway and
the scenic Weber Canyon may be one area where you've noticed some help
may be needed. If you get out there now before the snow flies you will
make the spring look more like the return to vernal perfection it should
be.
For more information, please check with Jen Colby
Volunteer Coordinator, Kamas Ranger District 435-783-4338, jenncolby@fs.fed.us.
If you wish, you can also contact the Salt Lake Field Office of the BLM.
Pam Christensen Outdoor Recreation Planner in the SLFO is the one coordinating
this type of volunteer effort. You may contact her at 801-977-4333
and email : Pam_Christensen@blm.gov. |
SAFETY FIRST
By a raise of
hands, may I please see the number of readers who have actually read the
owners manual of your ATV.... Those of you who only read the parts on how
to change the oil can put your hands down... (counting) I see one.....
One! is that all! One? Surely there is more than one who have picked up
the book and read it cover to cover.
It is time to stop justifying your stupidity
and open the book and read it. Much to your surprise you will find
some very interesting things about your ATV, and how to ride it.
A fellow came to my door the other day with
a sling on his arm and an ATV on the trailer. It only took a moment
to put two and two together. I asked how badly his helmet was damaged.
His pals informed me that it remained unscathed in the car. He didn't
have it on. He had done an "endo" (front end roll over) while going
down a dune. The machine was not damaged at all. Too bad about
the operator's collar bone.
Lets get real shall we folks? The
sport of ATV is dangerous, no matter what your flavor, dunes, trails or
racing. We just have to be prepared physically and mentally for the opportunity
to enjoy our sport safely. |
LIGHTENING!
This
year has been unusually cruel in the number of lightening deaths here in
Utah. Since it is not at all uncommon for our fellow riders to be
out in the rain, It was suggested by Kenny Lone that a note or two on how
to stay safe in a lightening storm would be a good idea.
As tempting
as it may seem, the last place you want to find shelter is under a tree.
If you have prepared well, you have your rain poncho with you and your
helmet and goggles will keep you mostly dry. The rubber wheels of
your ATV actually help to insulate you and keep you from being a good target
for lightening. Don't park your wheeler under a large tree.
If you have to seek shelter under the trees, try to find one that is uniform
height with many of its neighbors.
Granite, yes
that gray speckled rock, and its first cousin, Iron the orange looking
rocks, are a perfect target for lightening. If you are on a hill
or mountain that consists of either of those two types of rock, get out
of there.
According to
the experts the safest place to be during a lightening storm is in Bermuda
and the least safe place to be is in the Rocky Mountains. The Rocky
Mountains have many times more lightening strikes than any where else in
the country.
Lightening
usually comes before the rain, so don't think you are safe just because
it is still dry where you are.
As shelters
go, the preferred shelter during a lightening storm is in an automobile
with the windows rolled up. If you can get there and wait out the
storm, you'd better do it. The last thing you want is an argument
between your relatives over the custody of your children. |
| Web site update:
Updates:
-
Bulletin Board
-
Tibble Fork Trails - Trail Menu
-
Closed Lands - Trail Menu
-
Kind Words - Bulletin Board
-
Petty Mountain Trail - Trail Menu
-
Women's Center - Knowledge Mtn.
-
Pole Canyon Trail - Trail Menu
New Pages:
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Sevier Canyon Trail - Trail Menu
-
Joe Lott Trail - Trail Menu
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Burbank Hills Trails - Trail Menu
-
Beaver Creek - Trail Menu
|
Suzuki Tops 'em all!
Just looking' at the new 04 line of Suzuki's
and discovered a new high end model in their line. They call it the
Twin Peaks. This 697 cc V twin ATV liquid cooled four stroke comes
in blue and yellow. (Two of my favorite colors) It also has a switchable
front end for 2x4 and 4x4 operation, adding fuel economy. It is a
bit heavy at 602 pounds striped naked and out of gas. Its brakes
are hydraulic disk, but only the rear are sealed. It carries 4.5
gallons of gas and has McPherson struts on the front end. It comes
with an automatic transmission making life a lot less complicated out on
the trail.
It's a beauty. Suzuki has done
a good thing.... again.
For more information please visit Suzukicycles.com
|
Winterize...
Before you know it your ATV will have been
sitting out there in the garage (taking up the place you used to park your
car) for a month or so. If there were a it would be blinking right now. It sure doesn't take long
for old gas sitting in your carb to turn into molasses and give all those
fragile moving parts a coating of varnish that won't soon come off.
Next time you start it, you may discover that there was something you wish
you'd done before. Okay, no excuses. Here's how to do it:
-
Start up your wheeler and then turn off the fuel cock and
let the engine use up all the gas in the carb. Keep trying to start
it to be sure you got it all out of the fuel bowl. If it fires at
all, there's still fuel in there.
-
Fill up the gas tank with gas, then top it off with "Sta-Bil"
fuel stabilizer. This will keep the gas in the tank from going bad
over the winter. (By the way, the reason you do this is to keep the tank
from rusting and to reduce the presence of exploitable gas fumes.)
-
Change the oil and filter and clean the air filter so that
it will not allow all the crud in there to sink to the bottom of your crank
case and create a layer of gunk that could loosen in the spring and give
you grief later.
|
Another Bear in the Woods
Hey listen, I was out at Steadman's in Tooele just the other
day and what did my wondering eyes behold? A new Yamaha ATV called
a Bruin. It looks to be the younger brother of the Kodiak with very
similar styling. A closer inspection revealed the 2x4/4x4 switch
on the handle bar and a 350 cc engine. This is obviously Yamaha's
answer to the Honda's popular Rancher line. It is not really a fancy
model with all the bells and whistles, (no speedo, or auto transmission)
but I'll just bet that these little Bruins are packed with enough punch
to do just about everything you would want to do with an ATV that was legal
and humanly possible, just short of launching into a low orbit.
Check it out. I think Yamaha had come up with a real winner in their
new Bruin ATV. For more information check out www.steadmans.net.
(click on the yamaha cyber showroom.) |
|
Supreme Court to decide who holds the keys to public lands.
Brian Hawthorne the Executive Director
of the Utah Shared Access Alliance reported recently that the decision
of the 10th Circuit Court of appeals has been considered appropriate for
review by the US Supreme court. To put a complicated matter in a
nutshell the question is one of vital importance to public lands users
in all States, not just Utah.
The government has rules by which
it allows people or organizations to sue the government. Basically
you can sue if the government is not doing what they should be doing, or
they are doing something wrong. The SUWA law suit that was
appealed to the 10th Circuit Court of appeals in Denver, qualifies under
neither of the rules governing such actions. They simply don't like
the way the government is managing public lands and are trying to gain
their way through the use of constant legal action against them.
Among other things, the SUWA law suit
requests that off highway vehicles be banned from over 10 million acres
of land in Utah, and specifically most of the popular riding venues in
the San Rafael Swell. This ten million acre closure would affect
only about 50% of the public lands in Utah, but 98% of the OHV recreational
opportunity, effectively killing any OHV recreation on public lands in
Utah.
If the Supreme court permits the 10th
Circuit court decision to stand, then they will open a flood gate of nuisance
law suits against all levels of government. It would be good for
the legal profession, but not so good for the tax payers. It would
mean that courts would be deciding whose management plans and strategies
are better, rather than a more clearly defined present standard of legal
requirements. For more information on this situation, please refer
to the USA-ALL web page. |
Honda Announces a new 450 Sport
Friends who attended the recent Honda Conference in
Las Vegas tell me that the latest thing out of the show was the announcement
that Honda will soon have a EX450 to compete on the top end at the dunes
and on the racing circuit. While body armor and helmet are generally
considered appropriate attire while riding the EX series machines, this
one may suggest a flight suit and 02 container for low orbit capabilities.
I wouldn't recommend this machine for those who have carpal tunnel syndrome,
you'll never be able to hang on to the handle bar once you punch the accelerator. |
Honda Fires Foreman
Recon, Rancher, Rubicon and Rincon will soon be the full
line up on the Honda Utility ATV side. When the new Rancher AT came
out with a 400 cc power plant, the need for the Foreman of the same size
seems to have set with the sun. It is not necessarily all bad news.
The few Foreman ATVs that remain on the showroom floor will have a lower
price tag and still have the traditional Honda reliability and of course,
parts availability. If you can get your hands on one of these puppies
you have got yourself a terrific machine at a terrific bargain. No
kidding. Steadman's in Tooele still have a boat load of these, with
more coming and they know how to deal to the bottom dollar. |
Mechanic's Corner becomes InGearUSA Motorsports.
Many of our readers have enjoyed the sage wisdom offered
in the Mechanic's Corner segment of the Newsletter and Web site.
The folks in Utah County can now be heard cheering to learn that Will Harding
and his dad, Gary Harding, have now opened a shop in Orem to keep ATVs
and motorcycles in top condition. Click here
for
a flyer on the services and great deals that they are offering presently.
This would be the place to go if your machine is ready for some work, no
kidding.
We're especially grateful that InGear
USA has elected to be one of our fine sponsors. |
A word to the gents...
All right, I knew it, as sure as I'd
put a note to my over the hill peers, everyone else would make it top priority,
especially our, well, you guessed it, our wives. That being the case
you wives can listen in too. I really wanted to chat with you, but
you wouldn't have paid any attention if I'd directed this to you.
I've been told, by good authority,
that there are some of my frequent reader pals who get a "howler" (You've
read Harry Potter) from their wives when they are caught reading the Utah
ATV Trails web site. It is always something about the weeds in the
garden or the doors that need painting. Why can't you leave that
web site alone?
Its time to defend the merits of the
web site: 1. It is good clean fun. There isn't one naked lady anywhere
in the web site, nor will there ever be. 2. You can so something
you would never do anywhere else in the world.... get directions.
3. There's loads of pretty interesting stuff and only when I rant on about
service projects, does it get a bit boring; and 4. If I did the dishes
you'd never find anything I put in the cupboards anyway.
I'd have come up with ten reasons,
but I couldn't find that many good reasons to lighten up about reading
the web site. So, anyway. Give us a break now. Lighten up.
Have a bit of fun. The world won't come to an end.. As for
the door frame.... well we'll cover it with duct tape and call it good
till we can figure out how to replace a piece of it without replacing the
whole frame.
We're all in this together. |
Your opinion counts
If there is one thing that our adversaries
do well, it is communicate their message to the rule makers and legislators.
They would have you believe that every square inch of our public lands
should be managed as wilderness, or as close thereto as possible.
We don't dispute that there is need for areas to be set aside as untainted
from development, but we don't see the need for a great deal more of it.
After all, the public should be able to access public lands. There
are several areas that are presently seeking public comment on the areas
they manage. Please take the opportunity to attend the meetings,
or to write them a letter or email with your opinion on how important it
is to keep specific areas open to motorized vehicle use. It is the
absence of such comments that close some of our favorite areas and then
we ask why.
You don't have to be Thomas Jefferson
to notify your land mangers about the things you think are important.
Just do it and your response will be received with respect and gratitude
to know the things that are important to their local citizenry. They
will receive hundreds of letters from folks who will never step foot or
machine on the land they are writing about. If we don't speak up,
those voices from other places will have their way in our own back yard.
You could also write letters to the
editors of your local newspapers in support of ATVs in our public lands.
There is currently a very overt attempt to vilify ATVs by publishing every
accident and death related to their use. We need to get these media
sources to take a more responsible position of publishing ways to avoid
accidents and death by training and educating youth and adults on the safety
principles required for the use of ATVs. |
Utah ATV Trails.com Receives AWARD
It is always nice to receive a bit of recognition.
On the 11th of October, our second anniversary of ".comhood" we received
the "Golden Web Award". And for only fifty dollars I can receive
the trophy and certificate ("suitable for framing") that go along with
the recognition. Don't look for the trophy or certificate any time
soon. This is kind of like winning the free trip to Disneyland for only
$99.00 per person. Thanks, but no thanks. I'm just not that vain. |
|
| ATVs accused falsely of “compacting”
soil.
In a recent article in the Deseret News written by Dennis
Romboy, Dennis reports Forest Service claims that problems with a skink
hole at Dock Flats, (actually) 2.6 miles south of Mantua, are the result
of soil compacting causing excess runoff to come to the center of a valley
in the area.
Compacting soil is kind of a new allegation against the
ATV. In most cases, ATVs are accused of soil and plant disruption.
Well, lets look at a few facts to see if this claim is
valid, shall we? It is really just a matter of simple math.
Lets compare the “footprint” of four different modes of transportation:
human foot, bicycle, ATV, and an SUV passenger car.
|
Human
Foot |
Mountain
Bike |
ATV |
SUV |
| Vehicle Weight |
0
|
30
|
420
|
4400
|
Operator Weight
Passenger Weight |
180
0
|
180
0
|
200
0
|
200
180
|
| Equipment Weight |
40
|
40
|
80
|
300
|
| Total Weight |
220
|
250
|
700
|
5080
|
| Footprint size |
3x8
|
1.4x1.4
|
5x5 front
8x8 rear
|
4x8
|
| Simultaneous footprint |
1
|
2
|
2 each
|
4
|
| Weight bearing area |
24
|
4
|
178
|
96
|
| Weight per square inch |
5.5
|
62.5
|
3.9
|
52.9
|
You can see the numbers for your self. The weight
bearing load under an ATV is at least 20% less than under a human foot.
That pretty much puts the compacting argument to bed.
The popularity of the ATV is only a symptom of the fact
that our society's demographics don't support the notion that all citizens
are in perfect physical shape and stamina, yet they still have the desire
to enjoy public lands through alternate means. We hear studies in
the news all the time that indicate that our nation suffers from a widely
growing challenge of obesity. Does this condition automatically prohibit
a citizen from participating on public lands? I should hope not.
If these studies are accurate, 60 percent of the US population, including
youth, are overweight. Should there be no consideration for a majority
of our population?
The the physical evidence at the scene points to a more
serious issue. Doc Flats has been used by families who chose to let
the ATV do the baby-sitting. The children obviously stayed right
in the area around the camper/trailer and placed tracks over and around
every tree in the valley. This is not good OHV sportsmanship.
The perpetrators of the crime will most likely return to do it again next
year. If you happen to see them, why not stop and offer a few suggestions
on how they may make life easier for all the rest of us by staying
on approved roads and trails.
Please, let us manage our public lands for all forms of
public enjoyment. We need no inflated claims that would serve to
exclude such opportunities from the real owners of public lands, the citizens
of our nation. |
Private Land - Stay Out -
Moab Area
The recent sale of school trust lands has resulted in the closure of
the upper and lower "Helerado" Trails. For more information on this
loss, please click on this link to the
cruiseroutfitters.com web site.
What a shame that the RS2477 law doesn't apply to former School Trust
Lands. |
Private Land - Stay Out - Tibble Fork Area
The area known as "Major Evans Gulch" on the north side of American
Fork Canyon, above Sliver Lake Flats Reservoir has been closed by the property
owner. The mere threat of a law suit has ruined the opportunity
to see the top of the world for the rest of us. To the sky pilot
who threatened the law suit rather than take responsibility for your own
stupidity: Gee Thanks. |
Please
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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.
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