Almost Perfect

At the end of each riding day, I think about what I could of done differently and what skills I could improve. The Sunday before last was an almost perfect riding day for me. The light barely peering through the darkness ending the night, I hear a few short beeps from my alarm clock and I abruptly awake. Running to my closet to throw on my many layers of riding gear, and tightly twisting my hair into braided pig tails ,we then load up the quads and head out to ride the trails of Walker Valley. This day for me I knew was going to be different, for Nick and invited several if his experienced friends along and I knew I had to ride more aggressively then I had been. The drive was a little less then an hour, but it gave me plenty of time to think of strategies. I thought to myself that "I am going to ride as hard as I can and if I tip over, Oh well." Tipping my quad over or crashing has so far been my biggest fear and has affected my riding abilities. My heart began to beat a little faster as we entered the parking lot and Nick started to unload my quad. Reaching down flipping the gas switch, turning the key and pushing in the start button, my quad was warmed up and ready to go. With my helmet strapped extra tight I set out behind five quads and three dirt bikes all Nicks friends. The first trail came up that leads to the others, it's not a difficult one, but it has a lot of twists and turns. As I make my way up to the top, I notice I am starting to lag behind as usual. I quickly began aggressively flying over tree ruts and rocks, while remaining constant speed. "Wow" I thought to myself, everyone is cheering for me and Nick was looking so impressed, so I kept it up all day even though I was scared inside. I was doing awesome, with keeping up with everyone then all of the sudden out of no where my right tire caught a rock, causing my quad to jerk to the left, rip the handle bars out of my hands and smacking me right into a tree stump. A near by voice shouted " Are you OK ?" Without hesitation I yelled back " Yeah I am OK," then I thought to myself " Am I OK?" It happened so fast I wasn't sure. I looked down and saw that the handle bars had jammed me in the ribs and my arm was momentarily stuck between my handle bars and the tree stump. Pausing for a few seconds I realized that I was going to be fine and decided to keep going. I was startled from the minor crash, but I was also relieved, for it helped me get over my fear of crashing, by reassuring me that crashing was not that bad. Soon after that my awesome day of riding continued, I even made it through a mud pit that know else did. At the end of the day everyone was complementing me on my riding and it was all I could talk about over the next week.

Random Things you may want to know about me and my ATV

It all started when my boyfriend and I decided that we need a new hobby that we could both enjoy. He suggested buying ATVs aka Quads, I had never done anything like that before and didn't really know what to expect. After learning more about ATV riding I decided to give it a shot, so November 06 I purchased my first ATV. I bought a Honda 250ex, which means I got a bike my size, with just enough power for me to handle. My ATV is good for beginners or for an advanced rider, because it has the option of shifting with out a clutch or if you prefer you can use the clutch. We chose the auto clutch, so that I could concentrate on the basics of riding without worrying about stalling it. I have gone riding several times now and I am rapidly improving every time. So far I have only ridden at Walker Valley and Reeder Pit, both great places to go. This summer I will be trying out the Oregon dunes and I am very excited to ride in the sun not the rain. I ended up loving ATV riding and I am now also interested in trying a dirt bike. This is why I chose to make a blog dedicated to ATV riding because I am a girly girl, who was more exited about picking out a cute riding outfit versus even riding the quad and now things have changed drastically and it has become a big part of my life.

A Place to Ride

A pit of rocky dirt and mucky puddles serves as a parking lot and a place to practice your riding skills. Branching off of the pit are several long trenchous trails leading through the woods and back again. Each trail containing different twists and turns no two alike. The trails even change from day to day bringing forth new challenges due to whatever the weather has been. Wind causing fallen trees and heavy debris, rain causing deep puddles to sink into and snow coating the paths. Riding on an ATV through theses trails can be fun and challenging no matter your skill level. An ATV consists of four wheels and five gears to go through. You can test your speed out on the open dirt roads known as fire roads. Fireroads are fun to go fast becasue they are much wider then the trails and don't have as many obstacles. They can either lead you to trails or you can ride them up to the mountain top. Going though the tails on an ATV you ride slower then when you are on the fireroads and you ride on a much narrower trail. Usually on both sides of you your surrounded by tall trees, that shelter you from the rain on rainy days. In some cases the challenge of the trails is to keep all four wheels on the ground, you can get into spots that make you feel like your going to tip over. That only happens when you climb over a large rock and a wrong angle or you get stuck an old tree root. For the most part if you use good jugement and choose the right path for yourslef you can began to master trail riding.