ATV Florida welcomes glow in the dark bananas of all colors, ripeness, purpose and dancing ability.

"Florida Forever suffered a fatal blow Tuesday as presiding officers agreed not to fund the largest environmental land-buying program in the nation this year."

http://www.pnj.com/article/20090428/NEWS01/90428030

Not sure what's happened since this news. http://www.news-press.com/article/20090416/NEWS01/904160348/1075

Anyone heard what happened last Friday when/if they put the amendment up to a measure in committee?

Absolutely agree that we need to find a way to fairly accommodate all riding styles in a manner that promotes everyone's safety. If we start fighting amongst ourselves and segregating by riding style, we are weakened as a whole.

Thanks Paul - just joined. Should've sooner! 

Part of the biggest problem with our "sport" is too many riders feel a sense of entitlement for riding. The feeling of "I've been riding this way for years, I'm not changin' now." Or, "They're takin' all of my riding areas away, so screw 'em, I'm ridin' anyway. Let 'em catch me." "I'm gettin' mine now, to hell with ridnin' here 5 years from now." And, "I bought the bike, now give me a place to ride it." In other words too many people feel they are owed a right to ride - so much so that they ride areas that they aren't supposed to, ride in an unsafe manner despite the risk to others, leave trash on public land, run pipes loud enough to be heard across the county and ride bikes too big for their age. All of these things could be debated endlessly. But what is not up for debate is the harm it causes our sport when the effect of these things come into the public view and then are legisislated into further restrictions. The reasons I listed are why our sport becomes so hated in the public view.

Another problem is the attitude of defiance when it comes to riding laws. The upcoming rally is great for a show of strength, as long as it's not perceived in the public as a protest (you OWE us riding areas, give 'em to us now!) . It needs to be seen as us being a very large group willing to work with law enforcement and the public toward compromise to provide us more riding areas. We need to show we are a responsible group. The powers that be want to please as many people as possible and the general public will ALWAYS outnumber us. We can never have enough people at a rally to outnumber the public and their opinion. However, if we're seen as an organized group working to fix the problems some of our riders create, public opinion will soften and restrictions will ease.

The riding areas available now are pathetic. When I have to haul my ATV 6 hours to the ONF to be shoved onto a trail with a million other riders, all there because they also have no place to ride, that is pathetic. Something needs to give, and we need to find the most EFFECTIVE way to go about it.

Oh, and I've done some of the things I've listed, I don't think any of us haven't. So I know from experience the damage they can do in public opinion.

Please, come shove me off of my soapbox, but do it with rational arguments or helpful suggestions. 

Mad Mudder - the only finger pointing going on is at riders that won't slow down for blind coners and put other people's safety at risk. We encountered many different riders over the weekend, from jeeps to mx bikers to utes and utvs to sport quads. 99% of them were very courteous and tried to accommodate each other - either slowing down or pulling to the side and waving. However, it was the one rider that replaced common sense with a selfish need to ride carelessly that ruined the day. We were lucky in this incident - most times a head on at 30+ doesn't come out so good.

When you're old enough to drive, you'll learn that's what traffic laws are all about - being able to accommodate all drivers while keeping everyone safe.

That's why it would have to be closed-loop with its own trialhead/campground.

Agree - debate toward solution IS what we're after.

I think we're in agreeance that there are two basic uses for the trail system - track style riding (generally sport quads) and day cruising/forest access (utes and utvs). I think we can also agree that the two are not compatible when you compress them into a limited, two-way trail system, often only wide enough for one-way travel and many bermed blind curves - as is evidenced by the many accidents over the years, including ours last weekend.

The following points are my own, you may or may not agree with them. The trail system belongs to all users. No rider is good enough to take a blind corner and pretend that they can avoid another on-coming rider. No rider should have to assume a safety risk of riding the trail, beyond their own skill, to allow another rider to operate however they feel is fun (just like you can't go 150mph down the highway because it's fun or you're running late - because it endangers other drivers).

So generally the problem is one of safety - and secondarily keeping trails open by avoiding legislation arising from safety issues concerning ATVs.

It has been explained to me since I first posted that one-way trails are not the solution. That one-way trails create a false sense of security that nobody is coming the other way and speed can be increased without worry on blind corners. One way trails have many entry points and a risk of somebody turning around and heading the other way because they don't want to complete the loop - but now with riders coming even faster from the other way because it's a "one-way" trail.

Speed limits are another solution - and it may come to that. This is very controversial and hard to enforce, but may provide incentive to slow down. And it can happen - take a look to the south at Big Cypress Preserve that employs a trail wide 15mph speed limit.

How about a closed-loop mx-style trail with no speed limit, designated as one way and its own trailhead/campground? Other trails would be made safer for day-cruisers with a posted speed limit. This is not perfect, because it becomes a battle of distribution of trail miles for riding types, but a suggestion to start debate.

Any other suggestions?

From the ONF rules and regulations page:

"It is UNLAWFUL to operate under the influence of drugs or alcohol or in such a manner that endangers the safety of others."

"Riding fast is hazardous and not recommended."

http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/florida/recreation/oca-OHV/index_OHV_Rules.shtml

Calling it an accident does not mean that someone isn't responsible for that accident. You are right that ONF is for all riders, but that doesn't mean my son or anyone else for that matter should have to shoulder a risk by riding the trails there so someone else can fly around a blind corner at 30+ mph. I don't care if you go 60 and jump off into the woods to see how far you get before you hit a tree if that's what you're into, but don't do anything that puts other's (who are also have ther right to enjoy the forest) safety at risk.

And, this isn't a sport quad vs. ute quad vs. utv issue. It's a common sense, safety issue - so the trails can continue to be used by all riders.

My intention in posting this accident was hopefully to have as many people read about it as possible in hopes that the next time someone might be thinking about flying around a blind corner, they remember that someone's kid might be waiting on the other side enjoying a ride with their family.

There are no "official" rules about speed in the forest other than to suggest you keep the speed down for safety, and definitely nobody to enforce it if they did have rules. So it comes down to maturity and common sense. If you want to risk your safety, fine, but don't do it at the expense of mine or my family's.

As far as helping the guy, it was never a question. He made a stupid mistake and is paying for it, and I'll guess next time he thinks twice. Luckily nobody was "seriously" injured or killed, just equipment. Had my son been injured, I'm not sure my reaction would have been the same.

ONF is a great resource. I've been once, and would like to go again. But, much more of that kind of crap and they'll just flat shut it down to any OHV traffic. Some of the more mature riders should lead and teach the less mature by example. If we can police ourselves, we keep a place to ride.

Hopefully he didnt tear up your rhino too bad. Stupid hurts, maybe he will learn this time. I always lead our family in the woods for that reason. I's rather it be me than my wife or children. He is lucky you all were nice enough to help him out of the woods.

Bumper collapsed, hood buckled and cracked up the center, rim bent & flattened the tire & crunched a headlight. The atv had the frame bent, tie rods broke, bent handle bars, plastic everywhere, etc . .  If we go again, a Rhino will be leading the pack.

We saw the rescue going thru the forest Sat. afternoon . Was there another wreck ? Or was it for the wreck you all are talking about.

We pulled the guy out Sunday morning. Must've been another wreck you saw.

Posting this here instead of the ONFA section hoping it will reach more people. Rode the trails/camped the Ocala Nat. Forest for the first time this past weekend - 5 families, 4 UTVs and 4 ATVs. Great time, great trails (a few pretty whooped out, but not bad over all). Great family day riding and exploring.

A word of caution if you go - watch out for the blind corners and listen for other bikes/atvs if you can. The lead Rhino in our group was coming up to a blind corner with a berm when he thought he heard another ATV coming. He stopped and a sport atv rounded the corner doing 25-35 mph and slammed into the Rhino. The ATV rider flew off the bike and onto the hood of the rhino and then to the ground. He immediately tried to stand but fell back to the ground from leg injuries. Luckily we had an ER nurse in our group that attended to the rider, checked him for injuries and bandaged up some pretty bad gashes in his leg. The Rhino driver was thrown from the Rhino and his son hit the floorboard - they both had minor bruises. We loaded the ATV rider into the bed of a rhino and lifted the front of his bike onto the hitch of another rhino to tow it out (his bike was unusable it was damaged so badly). Took the trail back out to a main forest road where his buddy rode and retrieved their truck and trailer and headed off to the hospital.

Thank God we didn't have one of the kids on an atv leading the group - I can't imagine what would have happened. Most of the trails were fairly wide (we were only on the ones designated "multi-use") and you can see others coming. But some of the blind corners are nasty and if you're going to fly around them you're rolling the dice, not just with your safety but others. Not sure what the solution is - common sense first and foremost. Other than that, mabye one way trails.

Can anyone offer some clarification on this? Heading to ONF with a few Rhinos and ATVs and was checking out the rules: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/florida/local-resources/images/maps/oca/OCAOHV2pgBrochureOct2006.pdf

The OHV brochure for ONF states:

"What are the equipment, registration, and license requirements
on the OHV trails?
No vehicle can exceed an overall width of 50 inches. "

Yamaha's site specs on the Rhino:

"L x W x H   113.6” x 54.5” x 73.0”"

you can download on limewire(free) and transfer it to i tunes, i tunes is a rip off who pays when you can get it free

Probably because it's illegal. Is it a rip-off for a store to charge you for a coke if you could stick it in your pocket and walk out with it for free? Just because something is digital, doesn't mean it's free.

If enough people stole music, the artists wouldn't make any money, it wouldn't be worth their while, and we'd end up with some crappy music.

I almost didn't recognize it. Thought I was somewhere else. 

It's an Outlander in drag.

A bill supported by the National Rifle Association and Unified Sportsmen of Florida to allow possession of firearms for self-defense and other lawful purposes while in National Forests and State Parks in Florida passed the Florida Legislature today and is on its way to Governor Jeb Bush (R) for his signature.

HB-1029 Sponsored by Representative Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala) in the House and Senator Bill Posey  (R-Rockledge) in the Senate does the following:

1. Repeals the law that bans firearms in National Forests in Florida (s. 790.11, 790.12, 790.14)

2. Directs the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to repeal its rule that bans firearms in State Parks (rule 62D-2.014(10).

3. Requires that all other applicable firearms laws be followed.

4. Requires that a new rule be formulated by DEP that allows firearms in state parks and stipulates that firearms shall at all times be in the possession of a responsible party or properly secured within or to a vehicle or temporary housing, which shall include motor homes, travel trailers, recreational vehicles, campers, tents, or other enclosed structures, while in state parks.

The bill passed the House 90-27 and passed the Senate 31-6

MadMudder - sounds like you have a king quad. If you do, and you're happy with it, who cares what the magazine says. Doesn't affect you or your bike.

I find it funny, yet mildly offensive. Just the other day I sat and stared at it for over an hour. Sometimes I like it. But then I don't. Like right now I like it, but a few minutes ago it really pissed me off. I just feel sorry for the poor owl. Owls are good. They fly. Is that the same owl from Dumb and Dumber?

Dont  get  him  started  on  your  avatar !  jk !

Quad knows. 

I find it funny, yet mildly offensive. Just the other day I sat and stared at it for over an hour. Sometimes I like it. But then I don't. Like right now I like it, but a few minutes ago it really pissed me off. I just feel sorry for the poor owl. Owls are good. They fly. Is that the same owl from Dumb and Dumber?

just posted. "Naplestb" pissed me off and I had to do it.

Thanks for all of your hard work and effort so far lswjth2.

And Rancher Kid the Rincon can barely turn 28 inch outlaws with out bogging...Go with the Outlander you will not be disappointed.

not to mention it will embarrass most sport bikes in a drag!