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Atv Mud Bath Adventure for the Brave
My brother and his Grandson hit the back roads every afternoon they can sneak away for a little fun and recreation on their ATVs. In back of my brother's house is an old railway bed that runs for miles. Tracks are long gone and bed is pretty overgrown, but is still a viable riding road. My Brother says it is a great starting place for ATV Riders in the area.
The bed follows the winding valley and the hilly terrain. Only now can you start to see what the men working to lay these tracks back in the 1920's faced with picks and shovels. The earth is packed with hard red clay and iron ore. Bits and pieces of it fly up and hit you as you ride when the dry hot summers set in. In the spring the mud from rain runoff soaks the clay and you find yourself digging out your tires more than you are riding. It was one such afternoon when I ventured out with them.
My brother had been trying to coax me to go out with them for sometime. Now I am a dyed in the wool motorcycle, 2 wheeler .I like the long stretches of highway and the wind rippling through your shirt. I like the power of the machine as it glides in and out of traffic. I enjoy the companionship of my fellow riders, whether I am riding with them or just standing around and talking. I love the Poker Runs, the rallies, and most of all, the absolute joy of girl and machine against the world. I know a lot of guys and girls who love their ATV feel the same way I do about the motorcycle. A few of them also may truly believe that riding on the highways is pure sissy stuff! One of those people is my brother. So... I convinced myself I'd go and see what all the hoopla was all about.
Riding behind my brother, I thought I was doing great. After all he caught all the branches and swiped them out of my way. The bugs were just beginning to hatch out this late spring day and flew around us with a constant buzz. At least with helmets on they were not in our nose, eyes and hair. Of course that all changed when we hit the mud bath.
I want to go out on a limb here and make a statement for which I am probably going to get beat over the head for. Being a girl, I am squeamish about mud. You won't me catch me at a spa paying for the stuff to be rubbed in my skin or anywhere else. Mud makes me think of snakes, bugs and God knows what other creepy crawly thing that loves mud. No telling what has been there and is still in it.
The mud bath was a dip in the railway bed, which had at one time hosted a railway bridge for the train to go over. Old Cross ties still hovered around, and parts of the bridge structure were still visible. As a rule the dip was just a little fun jump on the ATV. This time it had filled with rainwater and looked like a small creek. We jumped right in the middle of the darn thing.
The machine sat there sinking. My brother raised his helmet to talk to me. I raised mine. Both of us got a mouth full of lovebugs that apparently love mud, In just minutes I felt like a bug. They were in my nostrils and felt like they were trying to climb in my brain. Lowering the helmet shield didn't help. I now had a head full of bugs inside with me. One thing we knew for sure was we had to get off to stop some of the sinking.
With both of us off the machine we could stand in the mud bath, which I guess is some consolation. It could have been deep. That would have been really bad, seeing as I can't swim. My new leather chaps and leather jacket were weighted down with mud and grime. I was so mad I would have kicked the tires if they hadn't been buried in about 12 inches of red mud. My brother, who is a much better sport than me, seemed to take all of this in stride with a grin which made me even madder. I was pretty sure he had planned the whole thing. Later I recounted that thought when I saw how hard he worked to dig us out.
My job was to haul in some rocks to fill in the mud holes he was making around each tire to keep the mud from oozing right back. After about an hour of this futile effort, he sent his grandson to get his wife and the truck to pull us out. I now had ruined gloves to go with my mud-caked chaps, jacket and jeans. Good thing is we sell leather riding gear on line www.agelessparlor.com and I was pretty sure I could talk Jerry, my husband into giving me a discount on on new pair.
.By that time help arrived it was dark. Night creatures had come out. I am and have always been afraid of the dark. Who knows what ghouls the dark covers. The woods had looked so pretty in the light of the day with their new blooms and leaves. Now they had become a place of deep shadows and sounds. My brother, who knows what a scaredy cat I am, I suspect, was thoroughly enjoying my discomfort. He kept up a constant chatter about the old grave yard we had passed about a mile back. He had all kinds of ghost sightings to share with me. I kept moving the mud around with my foot just to make sure it was still deep enough to hide me if needed. Hey,I watch TV, it worked in Terminator for Arnold.
Rescue arrived none too soon. Chains were brought out, hooked to the back of the ATV and the back of the truck. The trick was to get the thing out without pulling the truck in the slippery bed. Slowly and surely my brother worked the gears. After a good bit of grinding and swearing it began to move. The front of the ATV was buried up to its neck, so to say, and when it came out reminded me of a Swamp monster on one of those old black and white sci fic shows, It was covered in mud and smelled really bad.
Mud dripped and ooze from every inch. I wondered if it would ever crank again. If they were naming a movie from the looks of my brother and me, they would call it "Mar's Creatures of the Red Swamp" With our helmets still on, covered in red mud, sweat and blood, we looked pretty fearsome ourselves.
My brother loves to tell this story. Looking back, it looks and sounds like a fun adventure. Living it was something else. I am glad we had on good full face helmets. For His birthday I had sent him a new Full Face Modular from the helmet shop. www.helmetsforfun.com He normally wore a motocross helmet and while we sell them, I wanted him to have what I consider the best protection for his head.
Our Modular Full Face motorcycle helmets come ready to fit for microphones. If you have a regular back rider, mikes are nice. The face shield opens or the whole helmet raises up. Inside the padding is thick and can be removed and washed, which with regular mud riding needs to a priority. The helmets are DOT approved which is always a plus to me.
If you are not riding with a helmet on your ATV, rethink that. The next branch you do not dodge low enough, the next gravel hill you slide through and over, the next roadway you are riding on with cars, the next accident is just waiting. Be prepared.
You can view our MX or Full face helmets at http://www.helmetsforfun.com We have some great ones. As far as my ATV riding, I am going to leave it to you. To be honest if I want mud under my nails for a month I will just dig in the garden on the next rainy days. You guys and girls go on and have fun. I'll wait on the stories.
About the Author
Jerry and Judy Morgan owners of Ageless Parlor Leather Company. (APLC) Family owned and family operated. We sell on line at www.agelessparlor.com
www,agelessleather.com
www.helmetsforfun.com
We have been selling Motorcycle riding Gear including helmets, leather jackets, chaps, vests and accessories on the Web and eBay for 11 years. We like to think we have some experience to help our motorcycle riders clients find good fitting leather clothing at reasonable prices. We work hard to get to know you and your motorcycle gear needs.
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Crossover Value of a Motocross Racer
Motocross racers of today are valuable athletes. The physical strains on a motocross racer's body are unmatched. The value of a motocross or motorcycle racer has been evident in the last 5-10 years due to the amount of 2-wheeled racers that are recruited into the four wheel ranks. A professional 2 wheeled racer is rarely over the age of thirty. On the other hand, a 4 wheel racer can still be competitive into their mid- forties and even fifties. Pro motocross racers are attractive to large auto racing teams because they already have a large following of fans as well as loyal sponsors.
There is a long list of ex motorcycle professionals that are now competing in professional auto racing. Here are a few examples. Travis Pastrana; motocross and freestyle motocross champion now driving Rally Cars for team Subaru America. Rickey Carmichael; GOAT (Greatest of all Time) of motocross now driving full time in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Brian Deegan; freestyle motocross pioneer now a regular on the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series. Jeff Ward one of the first transplants from motocross to 4 wheels nearly won the Indy 500 in 1997. All great motocross athletes that have moved on to 4 wheel racing.
Travis Pastrana is now age 26, Carmichael 30, Deegan 34, and Ward 48. All these racers deemed old men by today's pro motocross standards but able to be competitive for years to come in auto racing. Not to say that these guys could not win a motocross competition today. For example, Jeff Ward in his 40s won the AMA supermoto championship. Pastrana and Carmichael still make appearances at the X-Games on motocross bikes. Take nothing away from these guys on a bike, but their ability to win and win often is much more likely in auto racing at this point in their life than on a motocross bike.
Auto racing teams are million dollar businesses that have layer after layer of management and employees. Many life time auto racers may find it confusing why a race team would select an ex-motocross racer with little to no 4 wheel racing experience instead of a veteran four wheel racer. It's about the money. Top motocross racers bring sponsors with them. Whether its motocross apparel, energy drinks, champion motocross racers bring money that a hot new auto racer cannot match. Stock Car racer Eric Holmes has won the NASCAR West Regional Championship twice won countless major west coast races including NASCARS Toyota All-Star Challenge. Eric has not competed in NASCAR's top 3 divisions like Ricky Carmichael has. Why? Ricky brings support of Monster Energy Drinks with him. Eric cannot boast the same support. Monster Energy bought Rickey time to learn to compete at a high level. Something few top regional racers can bring.
Popular motocross racers will always have a place in auto racing's top division because of their experience at marketing's top level, the money they can bring with them, and the fact that they have already demonstrated top level commitment to excellence. This does not mean that two wheel racers will make new young auto racers an endangered species. In tough economic times it is hard to find a company willing to spend millions on an unknown rookie. When a rookie already has, money, fans, and proven success, it's hard for a race team not to choose experience over potential.
About the Author
Joey Brasil is an experienced racer and coaches young racers just beginning their career. Joey has raced cars for 13 years and has been involved in 2 and 4 wheel motorsports for 16 years. Joey actively writes articles for http://www.probikehelmets.com/ and www.offroadaccessoryreview.com
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