Throttle Junkie35
New member
Holy Crap!! I did a couple hundred miles near the Kewaskum area yesterday. NEVER AGAIN. At least on the weekend. The 3' high wash board corners are just a start!!! I have never seen so many sleds on the trails in this area. That was pretty cool, but that was about the only cool thing besides the scenery around the kettle moraine forest.
Im sure the trails can be very nice in that area, but the sled traffic was rediculous. The biggest problem I have is the overall ediquette of the snowmobilers I encountered. Three times I saw a blurr of yellow comming at me, in my lane on the inside corner. Just abosolutely haul'n a**!!!
Several times we stopped on the trail to shoot the breeze. We would pull well off the trail so we were'nt in the way. Seems most riders would see us, slow down a bit, then resume full throttle before they would even pass us. One particular instance was at a ''T". A group of riders were making a turn and ended up showering me and my sled with snow, rocks and ice. WTF!!??
I love riding hard and fast, however when there is that much traffic you simply cant. It is just plain dangerous and need to asume that someone else is on the other side of that corner. I am fine with adjusting to the conditions, a little more respect and courtesy from other riders would be appreciated though. Im sure most of you would agree. Think about the next time you round a corner and giver hell. Not only are you leaving a huge pile of snow behind you for the next guy to hit, But the guy on the other side of the corner may be going as fast as you are.
I am not a "model snowmobiler" by any means. Its easy to get carried away with throttle at times, but what I saw yesterday was a total eye opener. I actually started laughing at one point because it reminded me of the Ice Road Trucker series when they were filming in India. Total chaos!!
I feel fortunate to be able to ride my sled from my door step. I live in the same area I was rasied and ride what is left of the trails I grew up on. Some of the trails have been here since 1968, I believe the same year the club I belong to was founded.
Which brings me to another point. The guys riding off trail, cutting corners, high marking the burms near peoples houses needs to stop!! The tracks I saw off trail this weekend is totally unacceptable!! They are everywhere. There is more signage from clubs and land owners this year stating that staying on the trail is a must. And it IS a must. Land owners are nice enough to let the snowmobile clubs (not the DNR as most people think) put in a trail on their property and then riders go off trail and damage crops, lawn, trees and other property. Then everyone complains that the trail got closed down. Dane county almost got shut down for this reason. Yes, an entire county!!
I now understand why a growing number of people dislike snowmobilers and why STAY ON TRAIL and posted speed limits are nescasary. We as sledder's have a responsibility to respect other sledders, trails we ride, land owners, and the people who year after year bend over backwards to make the trail system happen. It only makes ity harder for them when they have to apoligize for damage to the land owners property then BEG for permission to put the trail on their land. They can say no. There is no law stating the trail has to be on their property.
This is not only at a local level. The more we annoy the non sledder, the more laws and less trails we will create.
Sorry for the rant but it needs to be said. Enjoy the last few days of the season.
Im sure the trails can be very nice in that area, but the sled traffic was rediculous. The biggest problem I have is the overall ediquette of the snowmobilers I encountered. Three times I saw a blurr of yellow comming at me, in my lane on the inside corner. Just abosolutely haul'n a**!!!
Several times we stopped on the trail to shoot the breeze. We would pull well off the trail so we were'nt in the way. Seems most riders would see us, slow down a bit, then resume full throttle before they would even pass us. One particular instance was at a ''T". A group of riders were making a turn and ended up showering me and my sled with snow, rocks and ice. WTF!!??
I love riding hard and fast, however when there is that much traffic you simply cant. It is just plain dangerous and need to asume that someone else is on the other side of that corner. I am fine with adjusting to the conditions, a little more respect and courtesy from other riders would be appreciated though. Im sure most of you would agree. Think about the next time you round a corner and giver hell. Not only are you leaving a huge pile of snow behind you for the next guy to hit, But the guy on the other side of the corner may be going as fast as you are.
I am not a "model snowmobiler" by any means. Its easy to get carried away with throttle at times, but what I saw yesterday was a total eye opener. I actually started laughing at one point because it reminded me of the Ice Road Trucker series when they were filming in India. Total chaos!!
I feel fortunate to be able to ride my sled from my door step. I live in the same area I was rasied and ride what is left of the trails I grew up on. Some of the trails have been here since 1968, I believe the same year the club I belong to was founded.
Which brings me to another point. The guys riding off trail, cutting corners, high marking the burms near peoples houses needs to stop!! The tracks I saw off trail this weekend is totally unacceptable!! They are everywhere. There is more signage from clubs and land owners this year stating that staying on the trail is a must. And it IS a must. Land owners are nice enough to let the snowmobile clubs (not the DNR as most people think) put in a trail on their property and then riders go off trail and damage crops, lawn, trees and other property. Then everyone complains that the trail got closed down. Dane county almost got shut down for this reason. Yes, an entire county!!
I now understand why a growing number of people dislike snowmobilers and why STAY ON TRAIL and posted speed limits are nescasary. We as sledder's have a responsibility to respect other sledders, trails we ride, land owners, and the people who year after year bend over backwards to make the trail system happen. It only makes ity harder for them when they have to apoligize for damage to the land owners property then BEG for permission to put the trail on their land. They can say no. There is no law stating the trail has to be on their property.
This is not only at a local level. The more we annoy the non sledder, the more laws and less trails we will create.
Sorry for the rant but it needs to be said. Enjoy the last few days of the season.