Winter fun on your ATV
30.01.10
As you ride, the snow covered ground always stays somewhat mysterious about its true nature. As you observe the trail up ahead, only differences in shading hint to its shape. The nature of the snow itself and what lies beneath are constantly changing, which can drastically affect your rides behavior with very little or no warning. This is one of the main reasons why winter riding should be practiced at much lower speeds, in general. Another and more obvious reason, is the much longer braking distance needed to stop and the fact that if you’re having to slam on the brakes to avoid collision, there’s a good chance you will have much less steering response than on warm and dry grounds, right?
Keep in mind that despite the fact that you are riding on what seems to be the same white stuff all the time, different kinds of snow may be encountered at a moment’s notice, or with no noticing at all! Ice is of course almost as frequent a thing to encounter when riding the cold but beautiful winter. Patches of ice might be encountered anywhere and you might not spot it if fresh snow lies over it. Freshly fallen snow can also accumulate just to one side of the trail. Be mindful of these small fresh snow banks, as hitting them with just one wheel, can send you spinning in no time at all if at that same time your other tires are lacking traction. Keep in mind that risk of mishap is greater in winter. Be well prepared and drive as smoothly as possible. If you’re carrying a passenger, the physical effects of the extra weight make every riding aspect exponentially more sensitive. It will, give you good traction, mind you good tires are also very important for that, but the ride can and more likely will, dig into the outside of curves more, which can cause tipping over. Your speed should be kept to a minimum and constant, with no unnecessary jerking of the throttle.
Source: PassionPerformance.ca
Responsibility is cold comfort
02.02.10
***
I don't drive and never have, so clearly, I'm a pedestrian.
Yet, as much as I would like to say drivers are more responsible for avoiding traffic accidents, my eyes tell me that is not the case.
From what I see, almost daily, the responsibility for pedestrian-vehicle collisions is pretty evenly distributed.
It's almost as if drivers and pedestrians are in different worlds, worlds that collide when there is an accident.
I see drivers and I can tell by their attitudes that in their world, only cars exist - nothing else.
With pedestrians, only walking people exist. It's as if they expect the world outside of themselves to simply stop and make way for them as they stroll along.
I'm constantly coming upon intersections where a car is waiting to turn right. I can see through the window that the driver is utterly focused on oncoming traffic. There isn't even a glance in my direction because that is where he or she is turning and there won't be any cars coming from there.
Source: Daily Gleaner
The Commander tracks, unsurprisingly crushed everything in their approach, but slowed the Crowned head down entirely a bit and made steering much harder. and more »
Single step was crushed in the cogs of a huge machine. The ground extensive for detach subject was more and more restricted. Foot-soldier effort, indeed and more »