[WINTERFREAK]

This is just a little vent session for me.

    Were are all these inconsiderate snowmobilers coming from?

    I live in a small town in Wisconsin. I’m VERY happy the trail runs right through town.  Seems like the new snow we got brought a new bread of snowmobilers around.  The trail is marked and signs say...stay on trail.  With a ton of snowmobiles in the last couple days, the trail seems to have moved into everyone’s front, and even back yards.  I don't know if im getting older or people just don’t care anymore.  It's a privilege to use the trail not a right! I’m a LIFETIME snowmobiler and disagree with what I am seeing.  
   
    There was all kinds of ruckus at the end of last season with homeowners in my area.  The people let is slide and said don't ever let it happen again.  Well guess what.  I would not be surprised if next season it is routed around our town.  I’m not saying EVERY snowmobile is at fault.

This is what really T's me off!!

    Snowmobilers park in home owners yards, and think it is ok.  I know if I showed up in there front or back yard to park they would be a little mad at me….right? They are in town to use the small shops and there is plenty of signs that say "Snowmobile parking here" but they press on because they are afraid to walk or something.  There is even a few bars in town….how fun, now we have drunk snowmobilers that don’t care at ALL hours of the night.

The season is small enough the way it is....were is the respect??

Disappointed in WI

 

[paul yarek]

winterfreak,
 you are right on, like the riders cutting from corner to corner in fields instead of staying along the edge. no hand signals. passing a group from behind in corners. have too at every crossing leave a 7 foot mound of snow. coming out of a bush trail or corner and grind the base down to dirt.

 i like to ride also and not look at scenery, i have come up behind goof balls riding along with their noses facing the sky looking at a great red breasted who gives a damn. i will always stay at the back of our pack far enough behind the person ahead of me so that the snow dust settles {150 yards}. i stay on the kids butts about road crossings and where to be when someone is ahead of them crossing the road. just the small things and i think if i am teaching the kids others like grown ups in our group might listen.

 anyways you are getting old i checked your profile. LOL.

 

[Mr Siv]

i totaly agree with you winterfreak.

we ride in wisconscon all the time, and respect the trail systems.  the trails are there to drive on, not around.  i hope you can find a solution to your problem (impound snowmobiles that are parked/driving illeagly?). also you may want to make a trail that goes around, as well as through your town, so that unless the people want to stop, they can go around.

- Jason

 

[paul yarek]

mr siv,
 good idea about the trail around town.

 

[the imp]

i know exactly what yall are talking about..the main trail through cannaan maine runs right past my house. it follows a river that never freezes and there is a little bit of swamp that freezes over and thats where they have the trail. I went out on my wheeler today with a garbage bag and picked up empty beer cans and empty oil quart bottles. i want to find out where these #%[email protected] live so i can dump it on their lawn. probably some massastupids(massachusetts for you non easterners) drunk and tearing #### up as usual
ride safe and clean dammit!!!! like they said in the corps... if it didnt grow it has to go))
the imp

 

[paul yarek]

the imp,
 leaving garbage is the lowest, what are they teaching our children. the booze cans are they teaching children it is okay to do that also ?

 

[800eficce]

Hey imp, maybe they should "GET ON LINE AND DO A POLICE CALL!!"  I'm sure you rember that if you were in the corps.

 

[Rick M]

Not all of us from MA. are stupid Mr. IMP I'm sure if you look hard enough you could find a few from your own state to fit that description.

 

[OTTOCONTROL]

WinterF  I't's everywhere !! I live and belong to a club in north western IL [de-kane snow trackers] south of lake geneva WI.We have signs that say STAY ON TRAILS OR STAY HOME! . And the trail seems to be 100ft on both sides of sign.The farmers are so kind to let us ride in their fields and have their own signs  WINTER WHEAT but alot don't care. At this point I wouldn't blame the farmers to say NO MORE. there is always a bunch of bad apple

 

 

 

[Darryn Duncan]

I was out riding today and couldn't believe the amount of crap on the trails, oil cans, cardboard boxes, beer bottles and cans, plastic pop bottles. It was brutal. There wasn't much evidence of riders leaving the trails but have noticed in it in the past. I know in one small town that they have rerouted the trail to go around town instead of thru it because of the few that think they are above everyone else and don't have to obey the signs. It's those few that make it worse for the rest of us. At one point in my life I was probably one of them, but have grown up a little bit and at least respect others property. Just being honest.

 

[xmurray]

Its the same old story with anything fun.  A few bad apples ruin it for everyone.  Where I ride upstate NY it is getting harder and harder to route a trail because so many land-owners have closed off their property, although this is also largely due to "city" people buying up all the farms and their "I dont want to be sued" mentality.  We have the same problem with Jetskiiers on Long Island.  The jetskiis themselves are really no louder than boat but some idiots are determined to race back and forth right in front of peoples houses near the boat ramp all day long.  Then the ramp gets closed to Jetskiiers.  What happened to common sense?  
Wow, when did I get so cynical?

 

[paul yarek]

one thing i can say about ontario; our riders do not seem to leave garbage on the trails. something i can't believe is the ignorance of the hand signals, we here should implement a no knowledge no trail permit policy. i just thought it was appalling when i had my arm up to signal that riders were behind me and the riders coming toward me were waving back like little kids.

 

[z800rotax]

I hear ya on that one paul.I didn't think it was possible for people to be that clueless but i guess it is

Also it seems that everyone is trying to do there best impersination of johnny snocross on the trails this year too

SLOW DOWN guys.I dread going around blind corners or up blind hills cause 9 times outa 10 some dink is on my side of the trail going way to fast

 

[Downriver Thunder]

You know I have the same problem in Michigan.  I have 10 acres in Lewiston and have been going there for 32 years and still get treated like an outsider.  The trail going into town runs across the front of alot of properties and the homeowners still put things in the snow to damage the snowmobiles going by.  They used to use thin, but not too thin, wire until there was an injury.  It is a shame when we,(the snowmobilers) bring alot of money to this town and the economy isn't the best there.

 

[crk133]

i hear alot of talk about people not using all the correct hand signal........so here is what i think.  someone should post the signals and their proper use because not everyone has been exposed to them.  i know it will not solve alot, but im sure a FEW people at least will learn something.

 

[thundercatzr]

crk - as you wish.  here is a link to the hand signals used in Ontario (or SHOULD be used).  When this was previously discussed, it was discovered that there are some minor differences between these and the US signals.  Perhaps some of my US friends will chime in and let you know what is different.

http://www.ofsc.on.ca/Safety/HandSignals.asp

 

[enduringexplorer]

I don't know what has happened this year. I just got back from the Munising, MI area and a lot of riders were blasting down the trails so fast they wouldn't use hand signals. A group of red Skidoo's threw rocks and ice up at us as they went by when we slowed to use hand signals. It wasn't that they didn't know signals, they didn't want to slow down and be inconvenienced. The 4th rider gave the signal for last rider, but the others ignored us.
    I also have to find a new group to ride with. I usually go with my younger brother, but he has become such an a$$. This year he rode on the left side of roads, wandered off the trails, and blasted through slow speed areas. His excuse for riding on the left side of roads and going off the trails is he didn't want to wear down his carbides any more than he had to. Anyone interested in riding with a fat old man next year?

 

[paul yarek]

enduringexplorer,
 me, then there will be two of us and another policy we should have is that no one can ride with us that has romanced with his wife in the last 60 days. no other woman for that matter.  

  lol

 

[z800rotax]

Scary mental images,now i am scared for life thank you very much.

 

 

 

[paul yarek]

z800rtx,
 you young bucks don't know married life has in store for you. rest assured i can tell you what it is going to be like because it'll be the same as mine.