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Posted by: Dragginbutt
OK, I am going to try and be civil about this, but in reality, I think you need a bit of an attitude adjustment. First off, the guy is right. You don't own the property, and in reality it is your reponsibility to get permission when riding an unknown area. The guy is probably citing past experience with other ATV riders when he states that they will cause damage. The fact is, he is right. Trucks etc can also cause damage, but typically you find the ATV rider uses a bit more throttle than the truck driver.
the bottom line here is the responsibilities fall on your shoulders to do the right thing. Just because you have spent the $ for your ride, does not give you a license to ride anywhere you feel like pointing it. You are lucky, in many parts of the country, your machine could have been confiscated and sold. A hard lesson that can be easily avoided if you take the time to do a little local research.
Just remember, you are probably number 6 thousand and 26 that he has had to deal with over time. And after a while even the best intentioned of us "OLD" guys lose patience. Especially when the offender runs.. and puts us at risk chasing you.
I find it interesting that instead of admiting that in reality, you were wrong, you place blame on the OLD guy with a little authority having a bad day... See our point?
Posted by: Dragginbutt
I agree, the comments were not directed to him in particular with regard to riding style etc. Purely statistical in nature. I mean let's face it, even the best intentioned of us have given in to urges to peg the throttle in a mud hole from time to time. I have, and I doubt there is anyone among us that hasn't. The damage that this momentary lapse in judgment causes can be a major concern. Especially if you are the one that has to clean up afterwards and make the road passable again.
I guess with age comes wisdom... we have all done what this kid did. I know I did. But my perception of right and wrong and my ability to accept the consequeces of my actions has been hard won over time. Ah the lessons of life.
Posted by: rpxr400
I agree with squeege. I'm willing to bet that if chrisrocks had gone to the truck instead of running - the encounter would have been much different.
Sure - as a kid - I think most of us ran - because we were afraid we'd get yelled at, impounded, etc. but when I got older, I stopped running, and talking - even to cops. I've never been impounded or arrested, but have been asked not to ride there any more.
I think a lot of the outcome depends on one's demeanor and attitude when stopped. If you're pleasant and respectful, you have a better chance of riding away instead of being impounded.
Kudos to chrisrocks for asking where he can ride legally !!
Head to the "where to ride" forum and ask where you can ride in your state. Even - find who the landowner(s) are in your area and talk to them - you may even get permission - you never know.
Posted by: squeege
Seems to me this kid is not out spinning tires and riding wheelies....I cannot defend him however because he did try to get away. Maybe the "OLD FART" would have a different tone if you would not have run. My 2 cents
Posted by: chrisrocks
I'm 18 years old, and I bought a honda 350 ES to keep at my family's lake house to help do some work around the house, but mostly just to have some fun. I came up here yesterday, and took it out, but had some problems keeping it running. After getting all of the kinks worked out, I decided to take it out today, and have some fun. I found this small little trail that went straight down to the lake, and then there were some fun spots at the end of the trail to take it off road and what not. I decided to take a break for lunch, and then I took it back out to the same place. Just as I was about to head back and call it a day, I saw a large white truck turning a curve. When the truck honked, I realized that I was probably in an illegal spot and the guy in that truck was pissed off about it, so I decided to jet up the trail, and try to outrun the truck. I wasn't able to lose the truck, but luckily by the time he caught up with me, I was off of the illegal property. It wasn't a real big deal, but the guy was just some old bastard that got put in charge of something, and took it a little too seriously, so why not bitch at someone when he has the opportunity. He told me that I was on property owned by the core of engineers, and that I could get a heavy fine for riding an ATV there. After that, he explained that the trail was not made for ATV's, and that an ATV would mess up the roads around it. After that, he accused me of causing a large A-frame shaped hole at the beginning of the trail that was definately already there when I discovered the trail. Okay...here's what I don't understand. Although you can say that it is illegal to ride on that property, how can it be explained that the ATV will mess up the roads when trucks can drive on those rodes, and how could a trail be off limits to ATVs when the only other mode of transportation that could make it through that trail would be on foot, which would not only be completely pointless, but it isn't near any houses or cabins that anyone could get to quickly by foot, and it is so bumpy that no old fatass trying to lose weight would leisurly walk down it to lose calories. So my question, is where is legal to ride (that's still fun), and why is this illegal???
