I had a vision...

[Andy the Digger]

Its the long weekend... Trips planned, ppl on the way, beer in the coolers, campers loaded, machines delicately tuned and ready to rip.. new 28 inch rippers and 60 hp to turn em...... It rains.. and rains... and rains... Nothing will stop us.. Waited all year for this weekend... Its wet out.. really wet.. tires spin, ruts created.. trees knocked over.. new trails made.. detours for detours, that are detours.... Wow.. what a weekend... Really chewed up that place hey? Next time we will go somewhere else.. They sure left a mess.. but hey.. someone will clean it up... Good thing theres lots of riding around here hey?
Everywhere I go lately it seems a little more used.. little more chewed up and a little more winching.... More FLUZ signs, more private property signs... I see 10 times the machines then 5 years ago in some areas...
My vision is this... soon there will be fewer and fewer places to enjoy the sport we all enjoy.. Who will take the initiative to protect our sport? I seen business's promote areas to sell a machine, yet rarely see a company name on a outhouse.. In Idaho.. You pay to get a sticker... some of that money goes towards staging areas with ramps, campsites.. You aren't allowed to use the staging area without a sticker... Theres no garbage left in heaps.. theres a dune buggy ambulance that attend to the hurt...
I would gladly pay a extra fee when I register my machines... to have go toward preserving and maintaining a endangered sport..

 

[medler]

:QUOTE=Andy the Digger;791847]Its the long weekend... Trips planned, ppl on the way, beer in the coolers, campers loaded, machines delicately tuned and ready to rip.. new 28 inch rippers and 60 hp to turn em...... It rains.. and rains... and rains... Nothing will stop us.. Waited all year for this weekend... Its wet out.. really wet.. tires spin, ruts created.. trees knocked over.. new trails made.. detours for detours, that are detours.... Wow.. what a weekend... Really chewed up that place hey? Next time we will go somewhere else.. They sure left a mess.. but hey.. someone will clean it up... Good thing theres lots of riding around here hey?
Everywhere I go lately it seems a little more used.. little more chewed up and a little more winching.... More FLUZ signs, more private property signs... I see 10 times the machines then 5 years ago in some areas...
My vision is this... soon there will be fewer and fewer places to enjoy the sport we all enjoy.. Who will take the initiative to protect our sport? I seen business's promote areas to sell a machine, yet rarely see a company name on a outhouse.. In Idaho.. You pay to get a sticker... some of that money goes towards staging areas with ramps, campsites.. You aren't allowed to use the staging area without a sticker... Theres no garbage left in heaps.. theres a dune buggy ambulance that attend to the hurt...
I would gladly pay a extra fee when I register my machines... to have go toward preserving and maintaining a endangered sport..[/QUOTE]



......i noted a good thing this weekend is that the police AND d.o.t.s working together to get the over weight pieces of junk off the road..

 

[Summiteer]

Its the long weekend... Trips planned, ppl on the way, beer in the coolers, campers loaded, machines delicately tuned and ready to rip.. new 28 inch rippers and 60 hp to turn em...... It rains.. and rains... and rains... Nothing will stop us.. Waited all year for this weekend... Its wet out.. really wet.. tires spin, ruts created.. trees knocked over.. new trails made.. detours for detours, that are detours.... Wow.. what a weekend... Really chewed up that place hey? Next time we will go somewhere else.. They sure left a mess.. but hey.. someone will clean it up... Good thing theres lots of riding around here hey?
Everywhere I go lately it seems a little more used.. little more chewed up and a little more winching.... More FLUZ signs, more private property signs... I see 10 times the machines then 5 years ago in some areas...
My vision is this... soon there will be fewer and fewer places to enjoy the sport we all enjoy.. Who will take the initiative to protect our sport? I seen business's promote areas to sell a machine, yet rarely see a company name on a outhouse.. In Idaho.. You pay to get a sticker... some of that money goes towards staging areas with ramps, campsites.. You aren't allowed to use the staging area without a sticker... Theres no garbage left in heaps.. theres a dune buggy ambulance that attend to the hurt...
I would gladly pay a extra fee when I register my machines... to have go toward preserving and maintaining a endangered sport..

You got a bad attitude buddy, here in Alberta we are allowed to do anything we want.....and like it that way. Someone has been cleaning up after us for years theres no reason to stop taking advantage of them. If people put up fences we'll just cut them and ride on through. There are no responsibilities in this province, just rights that the damn granola munchers and politicians keep trying to take away from us because they hate to see us have fun. You a Communist or somethin'?

 

[Wingwalker]

Its the long weekend... Trips planned, ppl on the way, beer in the coolers, campers loaded, machines delicately tuned and ready to rip.. new 28 inch rippers and 60 hp to turn em...... It rains.. and rains... and rains... Nothing will stop us.. Waited all year for this weekend... Its wet out.. really wet.. tires spin, ruts created.. trees knocked over.. new trails made.. detours for detours, that are detours.... Wow.. what a weekend... Really chewed up that place hey? Next time we will go somewhere else.. They sure left a mess.. but hey.. someone will clean it up... Good thing theres lots of riding around here hey?
Everywhere I go lately it seems a little more used.. little more chewed up and a little more winching.... More FLUZ signs, more private property signs... I see 10 times the machines then 5 years ago in some areas...
My vision is this... soon there will be fewer and fewer places to enjoy the sport we all enjoy.. Who will take the initiative to protect our sport? I seen business's promote areas to sell a machine, yet rarely see a company name on a outhouse.. In Idaho.. You pay to get a sticker... some of that money goes towards staging areas with ramps, campsites.. You aren't allowed to use the staging area without a sticker... Theres no garbage left in heaps.. theres a dune buggy ambulance that attend to the hurt...
I would gladly pay a extra fee when I register my machines... to have go toward preserving and maintaining a endangered sport..

CTV Calgary- Campers ruining wetlands? - CTV News

 

[Andy the Digger]

You got a bad attitude buddy, here in Alberta we are allowed to do anything we want.....and like it that way. Someone has been cleaning up after us for years theres no reason to stop taking advantage of them. If people put up fences we'll just cut them and ride on through. There are no responsibilities in this province, just rights that the damn granola munchers and politicians keep trying to take away from us because they hate to see us have fun. You a Communist or somethin'?

Na - not a commy.. Just tired of government funded berry pickers making everything a park...
All the units rolling down the highway... Many well over 100 grand total... Those ppl pay tax on income, tax on gas, tax on beer, tax on the unit, registration, insurance, gear...... tax tax tax... Yet a place like Timue/Vega... the park gets a nice sign, outhouse, gravel, day use, funded with government money.. for the rare occasion someone goes there...... across the road the quadder and biker gets SFA!!!!

 

[mudboy]

You got a bad attitude buddy, here in Alberta we are allowed to do anything we want.....and like it that way. Someone has been cleaning up after us for years theres no reason to stop taking advantage of them. If people put up fences we'll just cut them and ride on through. There are no responsibilities in this province, just rights that the damn granola munchers and politicians keep trying to take away from us because they hate to see us have fun. You a Communist or somethin'?

WOW I sure hope you are being sarcastic here ??? If this is your opinion and approach to the outdoors and what you suppport. I guess the whitcourtclub you belong to has their work cut out for them in trying to educate yourself

 

[Summiteer]

WOW I sure hope you are being sarcastic here ??? If this is your opinion and approach to the outdoors and what you suppport. I guess the whitcourtclub you belong to has their work cut out for them in trying to educate yourself

Sarcasm? Me? Never..........

 

[ferniesnow]

Its the long weekend... Trips planned, ppl on the way, beer in the coolers, campers loaded, machines delicately tuned and ready to rip.. new 28 inch rippers and 60 hp to turn em...... It rains.. and rains... and rains... Nothing will stop us.. Waited all year for this weekend... Its wet out.. really wet.. tires spin, ruts created.. trees knocked over.. new trails made.. detours for detours, that are detours.... Wow.. what a weekend... Really chewed up that place hey? Next time we will go somewhere else.. They sure left a mess.. but hey.. someone will clean it up... Good thing theres lots of riding around here hey?
Everywhere I go lately it seems a little more used.. little more chewed up and a little more winching.... More FLUZ signs, more private property signs... I see 10 times the machines then 5 years ago in some areas...
My vision is this... soon there will be fewer and fewer places to enjoy the sport we all enjoy.. Who will take the initiative to protect our sport? I seen business's promote areas to sell a machine, yet rarely see a company name on a outhouse.. In Idaho.. You pay to get a sticker... some of that money goes towards staging areas with ramps, campsites.. You aren't allowed to use the staging area without a sticker... Theres no garbage left in heaps.. theres a dune buggy ambulance that attend to the hurt...
I would gladly pay a extra fee when I register my machines... to have go toward preserving and maintaining a endangered sport..

Maybe join or start an ATV club! Get active and put up signs, register trails, doo like the snowmobile clubs and maintain riding areas and trails. That might be a start....

 

[ferniesnow]

You got a bad attitude buddy, here in Alberta we are allowed to do anything we want.....and like it that way. Someone has been cleaning up after us for years theres no reason to stop taking advantage of them. If people put up fences we'll just cut them and ride on through. There are no responsibilities in this province, just rights that the damn granola munchers and politicians keep trying to take away from us because they hate to see us have fun. You a Communist or somethin'?

This one deserves "no comment"....

 

[Pinner]

from CTV Cst. Miller sees quads in the Clearwater River, harming fish habitat, ATVs cutting new trails in wetlands, and makeshift camps being set up right beside sour gas wells.

With Clearwater County having some of the sourest gas in the province, it's probably not the best or safest place for them to be camping." Says Miller.

Police yourselves or be Policed, it's that simple.

Rules and regulations come about because a bunch of asshats destroy and wreck everything in there path having a "good" time!

Maybe before all the riding areas are closed and camping is banned everywhere except in policed campgrounds where alcohol is illegal, you might want to take care of what is left, and don't blame the "greenies" when it's gone...

 

[Bogger]

I bought my first quad 10 years ago.... we used to camp in bruderhiem most weekends. usually 6-8 families on a long weekend maybe 12-15 families. On any given day there were 30-50 machines running around, you could ride for a couple hours without running into anyone else.... and we always picked up after ourselves (and sometimes others) packed up and raked our site before leaving.

Fast forward to today..... the 30-50 machines is now 300-500... hells 1/2 acre used to be home to a few, now it is a playground for 100's....

I hate to say it but it's becoming harder and harder to dissagree and argue with the logic of the "tree huggers" "greenies" "granola crunchers"

A few machines used to cause minor upset to natural areas, now 1000's of machines with bigger motors, bigger tires, more hp, wider wheel bases ect... are causing irrepairable damage to many areas, deny it all you want but it's a fact... used to be that a 500cc was a big machine and 26" tires were an upgrade, now 500cc & 26" are childs play.... it's 800-1000cc and 28-30" rubber with 2-3" lugs... and we are EVERYWHERE, growing in #'s every year.

Mitch is being sarcastic, us regulars know that, unfortunately he is not far off the mark regarding the attitudes of many others... I used to push down a tree or two for chits and giggles, no biggy right???? well when there are 1000's of us doing it now it becomes a big deal.

It's unfortunate but true, and often the truth hurts. "Police ourselves or be policed"....easier said than done when "we" don't even know who "we" are, a small percentage of ATV users are members on here, and of that small precentage 3/4 give a fugg...ATV sales are up, random camping is growing in popularity and unfortunately the attitude Summiteer brings up is VERY COMMON........

 

[Modman]

Police yourselves or be Policed, it's that simple.

Rules and regulations come about because a bunch of asshats destroy and wreck everything in there path having a "good" time!

Maybe before all the riding areas are closed and camping is banned everywhere except in policed campgrounds where alcohol is illegal, you might want to take care of what is left, and don't blame the "greenies" when it's gone...

I gotta agree here. Everyone points the finger at everyone else, but the 10% of the bad apples out there wil ruin it for the rest of us unless people can learn to respect closure signs, etc. 90% of riders follow the letter of the law and do no harm, but you will never hear about them, only the few bad apples that spoil the bunch. The selfish attitudes of some need to change before things will start to improve.

I'm all for public land use but the motorized users will continue to lose favour with joe public and have tarnished perceptions until people can get it through their thick skulls that owning a quad, bike or a sled is a priviledge, not a god given right. And unless some self-control is administered by these groups, those priviledges will slowly be revoked.

 

[Andy the Digger]

Maybe join or start an ATV club! Get active and put up signs, register trails, doo like the snowmobile clubs and maintain riding areas and trails. That might be a start....

That is a good point.. but there is nothing mandatory in place..
I would like to see the same organization with ATVs as there is with sleds... The Snowmobile clubs got it right.. Unfortunately - A lot of it is donated money and volunteers... a minority doing a lot of work for the majority to enjoy.. I am grateful for all the volunteers and do what I can when I can.
A person living in Central Alberta may ride in Maclean Creek, Edson area, Nordegg, etc etc... so.. which club do they join if they CHOOSE to? There is the Alberta OHV association - They do a awesome job - I don't know where you would even donate to them - Do they even take donations? I would like to see a MANDATORY fee go directly to a association like that. If you don't want to pay it - stay on private land.. One day of riding costs me over 100 dollars.. I would gladly sacrifice one day a year to go toward the thought that my areas will be available in the future..
A few years ago.. The government decided to regulate and take away certain firearm rights.. I never heard of a gun club until this happened.. I am wondering that if there was as many gun club members back when the law was passed, as there is now... what amount of restrictions would there be instead?
Ba - I am rambling..

 

[HONDA310R]

maybe alberta should opened up ATV or OFFROAD parks like they do in the states and actually give use atvers a place to ride. i just cam back from riding the dunes in idaho and had no problem paying the $12.00 to ride them for a year. the parking lot there was even paved and had a shop selling parts!!! man was that ever nice to see!

 

[Sledderglen]

You got a bad attitude buddy, here in Alberta we are allowed to do anything we want.....and like it that way. Someone has been cleaning up after us for years theres no reason to stop taking advantage of them. If people put up fences we'll just cut them and ride on through. There are no responsibilities in this province, just rights that the damn granola munchers and politicians keep trying to take away from us because they hate to see us have fun. You a Communist or somethin'?

Just about fell off my chair reading your comments Mitch!!! Whitecourt would be knowhere with that attitude BUT I see it all the time looking at some of the peeps videos and pics submitted here.
Its time to start cleaning up the ATV experience. JMHO