To All:
We were riding along ITS 84 headed home on Sunday night when our group of 8 came across a busted up F7 in the middle of the trail. 20 yards futher along, we saw a matching orange helmet on the side of the trail. In the ditch off the trail we found the rider. Evidently, he and his friend had been repeatedly trying to see how far they could fly off of a rise in the trail straightaway. This time, when he landed, he was thrown from the machine, bounced off the snowbank, broke through several small saplings, caromed his hip off a large rock and came to rest in the ditch. His friend did the right thing and went for help so he was alone when we found him. Medical services arrived about 30 min. after we found him. There was not alot we could do for him other than cover him with a thermal blanket and our coats, give him water and tylenol, keep him talking/awake and keep him from moving.
For all of you speed demon hammerheads out there, you needed to hear this guy screaming in pain when the paramedics moved him, as we slid the backboard under him, to appreciate why everyone needs to slow down, stay right and THINK before you go blazing down the trail again.
He certainly had a broken hip and probably internal injuries according to the EMTs. They cut his expensive looking orange Firecat coat so they could give him something for the pain. His sled had at least $1500.00 damage to it and his season is done. In Maine they are now hanging ribbons on the trail where they have to haul out someone from an accident and there are already too many.

SLED SAFE.
Thanks For Listening.

I know the rise you are talking about, if you are screaming along and don't know it's there you are in for a surprise. A sign warning about that one would help. I suppose if he wasn't screwing around it would not of happened, but if you are not prepared for it the same result could of easily of happened.

Understood about this rise.
However, we ride a reasonable speed and I never even noticed this rise, just seemed like a hill to me.
I guess the point is that he was trying to fly off it and paid the price.
Sled rolled at least 3 times from what we could gather.

Sorry we missed you at Sarge's.

we have been over that rise many times if its near "crash corner" I know its there but always stay way right as others coming the other way like to launch......dipshits.

Is this rise in the trail the one past camp 14 when going out towards parmacheenee? I know there is nasty hump there and can catch you off gaurd.

what about putting some rollers on both sides of it to slow down the speed freaks? I realize it may not be the best idea though

well that sucks, i think i know the spot you are talking about. no offense to you, but honestly most of the time when we are riding it is the out of staters that are riding out of control and are on the wrong side of the trail....weekend warriors, they have no frigin clue what they are doing, i dont know how many times friends and i have turned around to go after these assholes, because they were riding way out of control and almost hit us coming around corners. There are obviously people that live in the state that do the same thing, but from what i know and hear its weekend warriors!!!

I try not to ride on Saturdays, it is crazy out there. I don't know what is worse, maniac riders or those on rental sleds that have no clue how to ride. I like to ride fast, I know my limits and my sleds limits, and am aware of where I am riding. You have to know when to turn it off. Being a former "weekend warrior", I know what it is like to want to get the most of your trip, that is why I don't mind posting updates. Problem is , there are too many idiots out there that should not be riding a snowmobile, let alone drive a car. When I do ride on Saturdays, I head out of town for that reason.

Hey Glock,
Thanks for making that phone call for me,
(someone in your group)
We were there helping to package up the guy & brought the f7 out to the intersection for the kid,
do you own the rs venture,
thanks again Steve

Is this rise in the trail the one past camp 14 when going out towards parmacheenee? I know there is nasty hump there and can catch you off gaurd.

NO IT WAS 2 MILES PAST THE TURN OUT, FOR BIG FALLS, HEADING TOWARDS CAMP 14

Bottom line is there are way too many riders on the trails that ride at different speeds, some way too fast and some way too slow. Others that seem to need a trail 20 feet wide just to stay on their own side. Reminds me of Rte 128 in MA. Have you ever been behind a group of riders that never ride on the right. Corner after corner they drift left never knowing if another sled is coming the other way. I used to say something but no matter how I said the words I got that "F" off look from them. I just keep to myself and pass them when it's safe and enjoy my day.

Glock30, You did a good thing there. I was in a similar situation 2 years ago in NH. Unfortunatly the kid (21) did not make it. We tried CPR for a while but he had a pretty bad head injury. Same type of situation, too fast for the conditions, hit a water bar, went head first into an ice dam. He had actually passed us a few mintues earlier and we just pulled over to let him go by, my wife had said at the time that the kid was going to kill himself. She never realized how true those words would ring as she attempted to breath life back into him later while I performed compressions on his chest.

last year me and ralph were riding on the canada trail, the one that heads out off stratton, we were coming back, and decided to take a break on the top of that mountain where you can see forever. these yuppy's come cranking by us with there pipes, and every other add on you can buy and all kinds of other crap. After they were gone we decided to get going. We soon came up on the rear sled, this guy was F@&#ing nuts, he was driving on inside of the corners that went to the left, you could not see around these corners at all. we could not believe what this guy was doing if someone came around that corner it would have been head on....he knew we were behind him, so as he came out of a corner he would pin it and ride in the middle of the trail. so we decied we would take him on the outside of the corner sense every single corner he was way on the inside, we did it on a corner that was safe enough that we could see there were no others coming. we just didint want to be behind this guy anymore. So we got by him and he didint seem to happy, but anyway we endid up seeing his friends up the trail a bit and we told them what he was doing, and they didint even really seem to care....shit like that is what pisses me off and i wish i put that guy in the woods, then maybe he would get the hint on how to ride. seriously we wonderd if this guy was from another country where they ride on the left side of roads....it was totally crazy!!!!

Sometimes people are too quick to pass judgment. I'm not going to stick up for the guy, but there are two sides to every story. Firstly, he was NOT an out of stater. Yes, the story is that he turned around to hit the rise again for a little more fun before the two of them loaded up for the trip home (somewhere else in Maine, not MA, CT, RI, etc.). It is not clear where he landed on the trail (left or right side) or that he was really even doing anything wrong (last I checked that trail is not one way). His track was locked up when the sled stopped, perhaps it locked up while he crested the rise and caused him to loose control, or perhaps it locked up after he left the seat. Fact is, nobody else was there except for him and his buddy and neither of them are on here to defend the Monday (Tuesday I guess) morning quarterbacking that always takes place after a reported incident (note that I did not call it an accident).

I think it is fair to say that we all do things that can result in an unpleasant outcome. Fortunately this incident did not involve anyone else on the trial that day. The rider is alive and only hurt himself. The sled damage in minimal, handle bars, one handgaurd, and a locked-up track (stabbed rail?, driver out of it's slot?). I know that I have turned around on a trial to redo something that put a big smile on my face (water crossing in April). Snowmobiling, like most sports (and most everything in life), comes with associated risks and we all assume those risks whenever we ride. Some of us choose to up our risk level based on the decisions that we make. I just hope that while people are making these decisions they take into consideration the other people out there that may potentially be effected by the outcome.

Glock, you and your group did the right thing by stopping and doing everything you could to help the guy out. My hats off to the Rangeley Fire Dept. and the first responders who take the time out of their day to help others in need. Anyone who rides in the Rangeley area (and many other areas I am sure) should feel fortunate that the Fire Department has resources in place to deal with emergency situations in remote, accessibly limited areas, whether it's due to a traumatic injury or a medical condition.

Ok, I am going to get off my soapbox now....

To be clear, my previous post was not a jab at they guy that got hurt. I was talking about riding up here in general. I have had my share of "hershey squirts" out there.

Crashing sucks - no two ways about it and no quicker way to put a damper on the fun factor. There is always that last grin before the "oh shit".....

i was not saying they were from out of state, it was a general point thats all. Shit i have gone back and done something a littl faster and tried to do it better, i wasnt shitting on the guy i was just trying to make a point.! I do hope he is ok!

I would agree. If I had a dollar for every time I got behind an out of state-er Driving on the wrong side of the trail: I wouldn't have to trailer my sleds to Rangeley, I would own it!

I Hope everyone knows that keeping right is going to be inforced treamendously this year! what do you think will happen when they find out that people can't stay right..............Enjoy your 45 MPH speed limit..............

Thread is transgressing but I just dont understand why people find it so difficult to stay right. Even riding a bit on the agressive side I have never found it to be a problem. Lack of fundamentals or just sheer beligerence I guess...

This is the one law Im ok with and hope that they enforce it diligently. A speed limit in Maine would suck royally.

Running someone into the woods solves nothing. :frech32:

Hey
crashing is a bummer But like I tell the guys that I ride with safety first slow!!!!! down in corners is what I always say because you never know what some jackass is going to due I don't care were your from ma/me/nh/conn. We all should drive with repect of each other.Hell I like to throttle up on the open trails but never in corners.

Well put. Battling bad riding with even worse riding and decision making solves nothing. Passing someone on the inside of a corner makes it even more dangerous if someone is coming the other way. If we get behind an idiot or group of idiots we stop and take a break instead of risking the lives of more people by passing carelessly.

couldnt have said it better myself - i think we all have done crazy stuff or tried a jump or something that excited us -- as long as nobody else is endangered its fine - like it was aid -- there are 2 sides to every story

i cant believe you even told this story at the same time youre trying to bash the "weekend warriors" you need a if youre passing people on the right there is no way you re anywhere close to being as safe a rider as you think...

its amazing the excuses people can come up with when they just dont want to be stuck behind a slower rider or group and amazingly its always how unsafe the people they were following were being :frech32:

well maybe if he had hit a familt head on or something to that matter, i could have stopped it...trust me you were not there!!!!!!! I am not about to do something that would hurt anyone, im not that type of person, but after watching this guy ride these corners the way he did and every time me praying there wasnt some one coming it got scary, and if i could have prevented a head on i would have taken any step to do that, obviously didint want the guy to get hurt or anything, just make him think a little.....
well if you all read it corectly you would see that we passed when we knew it was safe, we could see around and no one was coming, i am not a stupid rider, i am a very good rider and have very good judgment, it wasnt the fact he was slow, it was the fact i didint want to see a head on and i wanted to be in front to warm someone if they were coming. I was not stupid about it, sorry it i wanted to prevent something worse. but like i said you had to be there and ride behind this guy to understand my way of thinking at the time, again i did not danger anyone, and pasing him i was only doing about 25, it wasnt like a high speed thing. sorry i mentioned it, just fealt the need to explain how some people ride and do not have a clue!

I understand where your coming from, but you need to understand the way your writing is interprited. The odds of someone coming around a corner at the exact same time as he is, is less likely to occure and injure someone then he being blatenly driven into the woods. Trees are always there to do harm. Your assuming you can actually drive him off the trail and he will be able to avoid those trees. While your intentions are honerable, your solution is not. If you saw a drunk driver on the road, would you try and call the law or be the law?

Also, if you were passing him on a corner at 25 mph, then I doubt he was going fast enough to cause any serious injury.

I'm not defending him. He sounds like a complete moron. I'm with kennebagoboy "If we get behind an idiot or group of idiots we stop and take a break instead of risking the lives of more people by passing carelessly."

I dunno about you but going 25 and hitting another sled at 25 is just like hitting a concrete wall at 50. How is that not going to cause any serious injury. When you dead stop in a crash you body and everything not attached is still going to be traveling 50. Going 50 into a tree probably doesn't feel to good I have never had it happen to me but pretty much the best way (also the least manly is to chase them down until a safe point preferably a lake pass them or out ride them and then wait for them to stop or pull them over by blocking them. This way you can ask for some ID and get their name and numbers on their sled and report them. As simple as that. I highly doubt the wardens will do anything as usually they are only interested in getting people for not being registered. But hell its alot better than doing nothing. If someone is indangering someone else I would sure as hell hoped someone would attempt to do something. Not like run them off into a tree but make sure they know you are willing to sacrifice a sled for someones life they are risking. Sleds can be replaced I know if anyone saved my life but trashed thier sled my dad would definitly help them pay for a new sled. We don't have the money to buy you a new sled but I think my dad would help because well you saved my life what parent or family member wouldn't want to do something nice.

Hey Glock,
Thanks for making that phone call for me,
(someone in your group)
We were there helping to package up the guy & brought the f7 out to the intersection for the kid,
do you own the rs venture,
thanks again Steve

Hey Steve,
It was my Brother who made the call.....got the ans. machine and left a message.
Yes it is I with the Venture.
I am just glad that our group could do something....anything to make the guy more comfortable untill medical help arrived.

Best Regards
Matt

Passing someone at 25 mph means they most likely were going about 15 mph. You assume running someone off the trail will ultimately save someone else from being hurt, but you really do not know. Running someone off the trail certianly incerases those odds rather it's an innocent rider or the idiot himself. I've been riding for over 30 years now and can honestly say that I have actually only met someone dead on in a corner less than a dozen times total.

If I saw someone actually heading directly at someone and I had time to do something, then yes, I too would try and run them off. Too many assumptions are being made to make that decision.

well obviously you dont ride in very busy areas or dont ride to often, i have been riding up in stratton/eustis area for 4 years now, every weekend when there is enough snow to ride on. I personally have meet people in corners at least 25-35 times, maybe more, this was a busy weekend so i did what i did, no one got hurt, i did not run him in the woods although i was pissedhe was riding the way he was. i have good judgment and i did what i did without any issues.....the whole point to this thing was some morons dont know how to frigin ride!!! plain and simple some people are stupid!!!!!!!!!!

bba - I'm thinking that you may have the right idea... turning around, chasing those down that are out of control... hell of an idea. Yeah, cause that's what I would setting them straight. I sure would love it if someone turned around to chase me down. Yup... that makes everything alright.

Have fun man; hope you and your friends catch up to a group of grumpy fellas deep in the Maine woods to set them straight.

I think you'd be better of just being more cautious than the other guy...

:div20:

listen asshole......if a bunch of stupid fuckers come around a corner way out of control and almost fucking hit the next 5 of us that are coming, fucking right we are going to turn around, there is no need to ride beyond your ability and thats what all these weekend warriors do......if you dont come around the corner with all your buddies riding way beyond your ability and almost killng people,,,then dont fucking worry about it!!!!!!!!! personaly i dont give a sweet fuck what you think! grumpy fellas? dude what are they going to do...we ride in a groupe of ten or more most of the time!!!!! its all about knowing your ability, warriors dont know there abilty and when they need to be reminded of it then so be it...see you on the traiL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and next time you say anything to me please make some sense out of it so i dont have to read it 40 times to try to figure out your english! :div20:

relax man your starting a argument over a hypothetical situation. the swearing isn't helping.........

Well it's official, another post intending to make people ride a little safer and think has now been hijacked into a shouting match. :banghead:

Thanks for nothing.

it amazes me on a daily basis how we cant just all get along - including my own reaction to some other peoples comments. i am beggining to realize most of the time it would be better to move on to the next thread without even posting a response. i myself have had my share of useless arguements on here -- it does nothing but make my typing finger tired !!!! i am turning over a new leaf -- i wont be involved in any arguments anymore -- (see how long my new leaf lasts!!!)

:no_bashing:

Me thinks mother nature has left us all a bit edgy this season.

It looks like we all agree that no one likes to share a trail with bad riders. The good riders far outweigh the bad as far as I have seen. We are in a bit of a "self policing" sport, in that there are not a lot of fish cops for the vast areas we ride.

I'll leave you with this picture. I don't like to post it because it may reach family members of the victim. But I think now and then people have to see it. The kid in the picture is dead. He made one little mistake one day and he'll never ride again. That's all it takes. I hope that if any family member of this boy sees this they understand I only show it to prevent it from happening again.

moving on to next topic ........... i cant hold it back :banghead: -- i wouldnt have posted that pic for friend and family sake - pic isnt going to change the way anybody rides -- imo :cn:

sorry guys, i just get pissed off when people shit on me when there is no need to do it.!

I propose a truce on this matter... it was all hypothetical and was not directed to an individual, just the actions themselves which I never understood. Thank you for the kinds words in your reply. Done, over, moving on...

Back to the focus of the thread: general safety of the snowmobiling public. I wish you all a safe season. the season is short enough, lets all make the best of it.

We came across something similar on 87 heading out of the forks going towards Pittstown farms... We passed 3 or 4 sleds heading the opposite way with 1 sled carrying double, we went up about a mile and there was a Mach Z 1,000 on the side of the trail all busted up, I looked around and found where he missed a turn and launched about 70 feet and hit a stump...obviously going a little too fast...I heard the rider only busted his wrist but it was a bad break with his bone out...Hope hes o.k. Slow down its not worth it.

I was thinking the same thing... :div20:

I think the term, "Rider Rage" is fitting. We all have been pissed off when we see someone doing something stupid like blasting by you and shooting up snow, or riding your ass, etc... I remember the first time I took my wife riding; she was nervous to begin with. She was on her Jag 440 staying to the right, I was behind her on my SRX, we were in NH so we were going the speed limit. All of a sudden a couple of faster sleds come up on my right, I move over to let them by, they then goosed it going by my wife shooting snow and ice in her face. She went off the trail as she was nervous. I initially nailed it to catch the bastards, but I thought better and stopped to help my wife. She almost gave it up. I told her that not everyne was like that, and glady she stuck with it and loves it. We only ride in Maine now. It's easy to lose control, but we just have to keep our emotions in check. Just like idiots on the road, they are on the trail as well.

We have to lead by example, and that's all we can do. I don't even ride at night anymore because of the drunken clowns. Riding has certainly changed. I'm not ancient, but I can remember riding all day and night long w/o incident. The sleds today are so much faster and people are riding beyond their capabilities; speed, immaturity, and alcohol is not a good combination.

Be safe everyone, and keep those emotions in check; you never know when your going to run into the wrong person!!

George

Good post!!! You have to be on your A game everytime you ride.

RIDE 246
WE DONT RIDE FAST......WERE F....... CRAZY!!!



:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Easy boys, we've already hijacked this thread. No need to keep it going, though it is entertaining :cn:

easy there bud... we dont even ride the trails that much anymore... and when we do, we ride right and ride safe....all we ride is backcountry and there you can be crazy if you want and your only endangering yourself.....the whole quote thing is playing with other buds of ours that say they dont ride fast they fly low, so if you dont know whats up then dont post....done...

I know whats up but thanks for the tip........ :beerchug: