Because the old people that make the rules never had any fun. Why should you?
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Because the old people that make the rules never had any fun. Why should you?
It's an open item on the pond here, not banned but for some reason people are discussing a ban. Nobody has seen a single jet ski on the water here in over a decade yet they want them banned. Only reasoning offered so far is that once the "kids" find out it's legal, they'll take over the place. I'm not buying that.
edit to include - Thank you for the info you shared about jet skis. Anyone have a good link to facts I can use to help settle fears of the unknown for my older neighbors?
Dirt bikes and jet skis are only half the problem. Get rid of those fucking snowboarders!!!!
Or the smaller recreational toys are used by a lot of trouble makers.
I flat out disagree there is a money agenda and look more toward the folks who ruin it for the rest of us by causing trouble on the machines in question.
I think money has a little to do with it, from an economic impact perspective anyways. Snowmobiles are a huge revenue stream to northern NH, to the extent that some of the smaller towns live and die by snowmobile tourism. It's in the best interest of those regions to allow that type of activity, despite having the highest fatalities per year of any motorized recreational sport. SxS's and ATVs are also a hugely growing form of motorized recreation, and again northern NH is doing everything they can to keep trails open for those activities. They tear up the environment just as much as dirt bikes do, and have just as many idiot riders. I recall a pretty significant number of trail markings in Pittsburg that allowed ATVs but not dirt bikes. Both sports have a pretty high cost of entry...sleds, SxS's and ATVs aren't cheap like they used to be. They seem to be climbing up the socioeconomic ladder as primary users, and its those people that have louder voices because of their deeper pockets.
DEATH TO THE PIGS IN WACO!!!
In other words, any healthy person under 60 who doesn't ride dirt bikes is a pussy.
And if there were less pussies, we could all ride wherever we want. Like rail berms on the warning track at Fenway and ride the terrain park at Okemo with spikes and roost thru town with one arm while the other alternates between peace sign and the middle finger.
(Just kidding and no offense to anyone in this thread who doesn't ride dirt bikes!)
I understand your observation but I'm not sure I agree. NETRA and J Day events are attended by all types. The people I run into at Clough have spanned the employment gamut. The club I belong to (MVTR) has members that include the unemployed, laborers, plumbers, mechanics, pilots, carpenters, cops, engineers, bankers, scientists, teachers, lawyers, veterinarians, etc.
Blue collar doesn't have to mean low income, less book smarts, and a pickup truck just as white collar doesn't have to mean affluent, no common sense, and a BMW.
My observations is in part influenced by the groups in the NETRA and JDay parking lot. Not that I've attended many. But I think it definitely leans strongly in the trades. I didn't mean to tie this to income, but might have accidentally done that with my phrasing about the MTB bunch. By that, I was just trying to reference a stereotype of the current MTB demographic. Dirtbiking isn't a cheap hobby and many of the sample I've seen certainly weren't having trouble finding spare cash.
too much stereotyping in this thread, I am what most people would consider a "white collar professional" as licensed land surveyor and certified natural scientist and don't even own a white shirt unless your including t-shirts, and I am not above sticking my head into a septic tank
based on my expertise as a natural scientist, probably the most environmentally impacting activity is not even motorsports, look closer at the impact that equestrian activities have on the environment,(the design of the space shuttle can be traced back to the width of a horse's ass) of offroad motorsports, there is no doubt that dirtbikes have the most impact, that is not to say that someone acting squidly with a $30k turbo RZR can't have more impact (I've seen the 4 point rooster tails and dust cloud one can make), in general, average use, the dirtbike has more impact, anyone can point to extremes of any sport
keep the rooster tails down when your not in the appropriate venue
I can't help but come back to my experience at Clough area in Dunbarton. Four double track trails open to ATVs, SxSs and bikes. Two single track trails open only to bikes. The double tracks require frequent grading and repair to water bars and erosion controls almost every season. Meanwhile the single track trails get almost no attention and are, in most cases, in very good shape.
I roost going north, then I come back going south and roost the dirt back in place. You can call me a green collar rider.
I grew up riding illegal , mostly state land. The enjoyment factor goes away when you constantly have to look over your shoulder and worry about getting caught. The same enjoyment factor went away as I get older at the thought of 4 hours total driving just for a few hours of riding.
Join a club, make some friends, try and have a house with some land, offer up some time to help your friends with some trail work ... and you will likely never have to search for a place to ride again.
I'm hoping the recent aquasition of 150 acres of land, will help respark my itch to ride again.
On the land use damage topic, as a land owner with trails, and as a rider of both atv's and dirtbikes, I am 100% certain one causes more damage than the other!
I think that may have more to do with shear volume of ATV's/SxS usage compared to dirtbike usage. I can tell you as a landowner observing the effects on MY property that while dirtbikes tend to leave deeper longer lasting tracks, ATV's leave less deep tracks but there's two of 'em. To me, it's a wash. This one does this, but that one does that...
Of course, none of this 'them vs. us' will do ANYTHING to get more riding areas made available...
On a related note, the ratio of inspection stickers to motorcycle registrations in Maine is 1:3.