I'm upset! My wife keeps telling me that I get upset to easily, but in this case I think I'm justified. She was with me twice, in a week and one-half, to experience this. I now know that she's upset also.
The reason for this upsetting situation in my life at this time is our trail experience with incoming rounds, oh, excuse me, incoming ATV's. I know I'm getting up in age, but I know I can handle my own with just about anyone on an ATV, or I thought so....
Just about two weeks ago, I'm coming into Madawaska by the "cross", on the hill, when I'm just about ready to take a corner that I meet up with two ATVs roaring around at a high rate of speed. Panic sets in between myself (my wife included - I have the bruise marks to prove it!) and the other incoming units. We stop within a few feet of each other and I realize that the drivers of the two units are kids under the age of 16. Now, I'm not a good judge of age, but on this one, I'm sure. No one had started shaving yet but me that day and I couldn't see a whisker, that how close we were. After a hearty discussion between the parties involved, we continued. (Maybe I should have taken the registration numbers and reported them, but I'm a softie).
Yesterday, again, my wife and I are on our way home on the Madawaska trails and as I'm really movin' along (top speed of 25 mph) and coming to a hill in the road, there's this airborne thing in the air that just came over that hill (still in the trail) and after it lands, I realized it's an ATV!!! *#!#@**!!! And as I turn my head around to the front, there are 6 more units of ATVs and trail bikes jumping over that hill and making my 25 mph speed like a crawl!! (I still have bruise marks on top of the ones that happened a week before!) I wondered if we had a speed run contest sponsored by our club and I wasn't aware of it.
In all seriousness, I spend a lot of money, as others do, to enjoy our outdoors and wildlife. I am not advocating that everyone should crawl on the trails, but I am advocating that everyone should use common sense. On the first incidence with two underage kids roaring around a corner, who would get badly hurt should we have collided. My wife and I, being part of this, gives me the right to speak out against the lack of responsibility by owners of these units, whoever they are. I use to be a kid myself, believe me I understand, but we have laws to protect these kids and my wife and I from these kids. Common sense again was really lacking when seven ATVs and trail bikes come at me airborne at a high rate of speed. I shudder to think what would have happened at a corner rather than a straight away with a hill to jump? What would have happened to us should I have been on the wrong side of the trail? These extreme thrill seekers sure were not the sharpest knives in the drawers when common sense was handed out.
Now, how was your day?
(These comments are from Roger and are not the responsibility of the Madawaska ATV Club)
