Can-Am Headquarters ...Aurora Wheelers ATV Forum > General Discussions > General Chit Chat > riding alone |
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| riding alone - General Chit Chat - General Discussions - Can-Am Headquarters ...Aurora Wheelers ATV Forum | ||||||||||||||||
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PILOT GUY Member 
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My wife gets nervous whenever I take off to ride on my own. Even if its just locally. Do any of you head out solo and if so what precautions do you take?
____________________ 08 Grizzly 700 EPS 07 Grizzly 450 W/pink flames |
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trailrider2
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Not me. I always ride with someone.
____________________ Pain is weakness leaving the body. |
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getouttytheway 
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I "ll ride alone when I'm cruising our 120 ares of hunting land, otherwise I always ride with someone.
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MtnOuty Deputy Fyfe...In for Life 
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If you ride on trails that have very little traffic, you're asking for trouble.
____________________ Wear a patch like my avatar to hospital emergency room, clears it out fast. |
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outlandish AWF Admin 
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I ride alone probably 70% of the time around here. Always have my cell phone and tell someone my approximate flight plan
____________________  ***AWF Now Makes Custom Decals *** |
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QUADAHOLIC "BLUE CREW" 
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MtnOuty wrote: If you ride on trails that have very little traffic, you're asking for trouble. Ya, you could be in for a very long walk/hike. It obviously depends on where and when you go, I'll atleast have someone to talk to on my walk, since it's usually just me and the wifester out for the day. (probably why I carry way to much baggage/tools/spares, not into long, lonely walks with the wife)
____________________ 07-650 Outy Max XT Ricochete ~ Crutchfield 2+1 PRP Stabilizer ~ 25" Bighorn's Kewltek brakes ~ Alumatech Guards Fasst bars ~ Rox risers ~ TC Duel Gasser plus a whole lot of little extra "custom touches" This site is worth a million Please Donate!! |
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Northwoodsdon Member 
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From the Las Vegas Dunes & Trails ATV Club Newsletter of 12/3/07 A Ride to Disaster by Dave Krueger : Some of you may remember a ride that Gary & Sallie led a while back where they had the participants go through a mock injury exercise. I had to put some of those lessons to use recently and would like to share what I learned. Never ride alone – I was off by myself finding new trails in the Gold Butte area. I was about 8 miles from my camper and at least half that far from any well-traveled dirt road. I got thrown from my ATV and it rolled over me before landing upside-down at the bottom of a 60 foot deep ravine. I found myself with a badly injured right knee and a dislocated and broken right arm. Worst of all, no one knew where I was. If I ever do that again, I'll have a PELT (Personal Location Device) or SAT phone with me. Always wear a helmet – I don’t (make that “didn’t”) always wear one, but after seeing the story in our last newsletter, I happened to be wearing one this time. I don’t know if it saved my life or not, but my head is the only place on my body that doesn’t have a mark of some kind. Know how to use your winch – Everything I needed was in my cargo box, but it had a 700 pound ATV sitting on top of it! The first thing I needed to do was turn my machine over. I wouldn’t have had the strength even with two good arms; fortunately I had a winch to do the job. As an interesting aside, I have my winch mounted on the rear of my ATV. In this particular case, I couldn’t have gotten to it as easily if it was mounted on the front. Carry the right equipment and supplies – When I finally got to my first aid kit I found that my cold pack was no good. There were several tubes of “stuff” in my kit but I couldn’t see what they were because my glasses had come off in the rocks somewhere. Put an old pair of glasses in your kit. The gauze pads were easy to find so I washed my knee and other wounds but found that the tape was all dried out. I had to bandage what I could using the tape like string (not an easy job with one arm). I could see that I was going to be there a long time, so I relocated and set the bone myself and made a splint for my arm (I don’t recommend that process!). I found that the best thing to have in your first aid kit is gauze pads and a minimum of 10 Ace bandages. Put the gauze on the wound and wrap it with an Ace bandage; it can be done with one hand. You can also splint with them. After taking care of my injuries, I then had to winch my machine about 60 feet up to the trail. My winch has 25 feet of cable and I had an additional 30 feet of rope. Do you carry extra rope (or a tow strap)? I tied the rope around a large rock and start winching. The machine started moving but the rock kept breaking loose. This happened many times so I ended up digging around the (2’ to 3’ diameter) rock and putting the rope low so the earth would help hold the rock in place. Do you carry a shovel and/or pick? I finally got the machine almost to the top with only 2 feet to go. I was standing on level trail trying to figure out how to hold the ATV while I relocated the winch cable which was in all the way. Suddenly the rock I was tied to let loose and I watched in horror as my ATV tumbled down, again landing upside down and deeper into the ravine than the first time. On days like this it’s really hard to stay focused on the task at hand! Another life saver was knowing how to tie a BOWLINE knot. I had to re-hook the winch many times to get up the hill and no matter how much pressure you put on it, a Bowline knot can still be untied with one hand. I decided that I had one more chance before dark. I turned the machine back over and it started right up (it’s a Honda); so I now had light, heat, and power for the winch. I surveyed the area again and decide to go up the other side of the ravine. I winched it up and then back down into the next ravine. From there I was able to get out and ride down the mountain. As you can imagine, all of this stress and exertion required constant rehydration. I drank at least 8 bottles of water and used several more to clean my wounds. Luckily I had just put a new case of it in my box and had plenty available. Do you carry enough water? I had one flat tire but was able to ride back to my trailer where I had an old pair of glasses that enabled me to drive out in my truck. I got to the doctor about 9:30 PM. They left the arm where I set it and just put a cast on it. The knee will be OK and the bruises will heal, but the lessons learned will not be forgotten!
____________________ "I've always been KRAZY but thats what keeps me from going INSANE" Desert Hawk Adventures®#408999AZ |
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QUADAHOLIC "BLUE CREW"
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 Good grief, his winch saved his a$$/life!
____________________ 07-650 Outy Max XT Ricochete ~ Crutchfield 2+1 PRP Stabilizer ~ 25" Bighorn's Kewltek brakes ~ Alumatech Guards Fasst bars ~ Rox risers ~ TC Duel Gasser plus a whole lot of little extra "custom touches" This site is worth a million Please Donate!! |
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ericmax Member 
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I ride alone 90% of the time. I, like others here, always tell the wife where I am going. I ALWAYS ride with a helmet (after a nasty roll without one, concussion and 2 broken ribs, etc.), and when I am alone, I do not ride hard... mostly cruising trails/roads. When I want to ride hard, I always ride with someone. I always carry communication equip, first aid, tire fixes, etc, etc. Eric
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Russell
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I NEVER ride alone and highly recommend no one else to!
____________________ Don't ask for an easier life; ask to be a stronger person. |
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OSOKILL Admin Assist/ Enforcer 
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here is one of those personal location devices cabelas carries get the 460 w/gps and carry it on yer person. walking back to the truck is one thing but if you cant walk least someone knows within seconds you need help I plan on getting one of these cause I ride alone quite often during huntin season. buy the unit and the service is free LOL how often do you see that word associated with the word service eh 
____________________ Team Outty 800 Member #24 |
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QUADAHOLIC "BLUE CREW"
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There's also one called, SPOT (I think), but you have to buy time to go with it. Saw them for rent at a place when I was a the Piaute last time, now that's a good idea, renting them if your in a new area far from home, and the potential for getting lost is possible. 10 min later SPOT it is, cabelas have them, cabelas has everything.
____________________ 07-650 Outy Max XT Ricochete ~ Crutchfield 2+1 PRP Stabilizer ~ 25" Bighorn's Kewltek brakes ~ Alumatech Guards Fasst bars ~ Rox risers ~ TC Duel Gasser plus a whole lot of little extra "custom touches" This site is worth a million Please Donate!! |
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OSOKILL Admin Assist/ Enforcer
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the questions I had with spot is you have to choose who yer contacts are so if I am riding in another area/state how would I know who the local contacts would be and how much is the annual service fee. I know the terrafix contacts search and rescue and gives em yer lat/lon so they know right where you are. on the other hand if yer just broke down and need the wife to come rescue yer sorry behind then the spot might be a better choice
____________________ Team Outty 800 Member #24 |
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QUADAHOLIC "BLUE CREW"
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Cheaper anyway. I'd love to ride enough to actually have to have one of those. I Haven't done too much research on them but one thing I liked with the spot, was the tracking feature, but I have that in my gps.
____________________ 07-650 Outy Max XT Ricochete ~ Crutchfield 2+1 PRP Stabilizer ~ 25" Bighorn's Kewltek brakes ~ Alumatech Guards Fasst bars ~ Rox risers ~ TC Duel Gasser plus a whole lot of little extra "custom touches" This site is worth a million Please Donate!! |
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PILOT GUY Member
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I would never consider going out alone in unfamiliar territory or traveling far from home. I'm talking about going out around my house or at my father-in-laws 60 acres. I have had this brand new Grizzly 700 EPS for three weeks and cannot get a chance to get out and ride some. Either weather or all my riding friends just can't go. I just want to get her out on the trails some. I'm still in the break-in period so I would be somewhat gentle and someone will know where I am and when I should return. Plus I have cell coverage in these areas. When you haven't riddien in two months don't you just have to get out a little.
____________________ 08 Grizzly 700 EPS 07 Grizzly 450 W/pink flames |
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MtnOuty Deputy Fyfe...In for Life
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Agreed, sometimes the need to ride just comes over you! Do you carry some kind of locating device when flying?
____________________ Wear a patch like my avatar to hospital emergency room, clears it out fast. |
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MtnOuty Deputy Fyfe...In for Life
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oso, did you notice, $150 off on the terrafix?
____________________ Wear a patch like my avatar to hospital emergency room, clears it out fast. |
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OSOKILL Admin Assist/ Enforcer
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yes I did and of course they have a sale on it when I wassnt planning on spending that ammount LOLOL
____________________ Team Outty 800 Member #24 |
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PILOT GUY Member
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The locating device I use when flying is called a flight plan. I also make sure that someone knows what I plan on doing. I took the new Grizz out on my father-in-laws 60 acres alone on Dec 30. The agreement we worked out was I called wife every hour to check in. I had good cell reception and with only 60 acres I could easily walk(if able) from any part of it if I had a problem.
____________________ 08 Grizzly 700 EPS 07 Grizzly 450 W/pink flames |
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Braveheart
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Probably 90% of my riding is alone. As mentioned I wear a helmet, and carry gear with me for emergency. Such things as a first-aid kit, recovery items, tools, maps and a survival kit. Also on my person I always have a few small survival items too. Doesn't do you much good having a signal device locked in your storage box when your laying there with the wheeler pinned on top of you. When I do go out on the trail by my family knows where I'm going and I stick to that riding plan. My family also have copies of the maps of the area I ride in. Telling them that I'm going out to a certain trail doesn't do much good if they don't know where the trail is. Also as mentioned I'm cruising and will save the hard hiding for when I'm in a group. Finally I make sure my equipment is in good shape too. I wouldn't venture on a road trip in my truck or car with faulty brakes, bad tires, etc I'm surely not going to go deep into the woods with a quad that isn't up to par. I want something that I can trust mechanically. That's the main reason why I bought my Outty. My older Sportsman was low miles and in good shape. But being towed 60 miles home because of a bad head gasket gives a guy a lot of time to think. But I still have buddies that don't realize this. Going for rides with dry rotted tires that have plugs in them from a trail fix 3 years earlier. Another friend just got done rebuilding his quad and seems to be working out a few bugs. But the guy doesn't take anything with him. He doesn't even carry the basic factory tool kit. So on the trail he has to borrow my gear. It's not a bad thing because I am there. But he still goes riding by himself and there isn't anybody there for him. You would thin after a few long walks home he would have learned. Ridng alone isn't something that I would recommend. But sometimes you just don't have a choice in the matter if you want to have anytime on the trail.
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GOTTOYS 
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I never go riding alone. It's always more fun when you have someone else along. But most important, it could be a long walk for an old fat guy if something went wrong.....GOTT
____________________ 2005 Sportsman 700 with all the trimmings The problem with doing nothing is I'm never sure when I'm done. |
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OutlanderDan
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