Wrecking

Wrecks happen. I am sure that if any of you have spent considerable time on an off road vehicle you have wrecked. Most people who ride hope that it doesn't happen to them, but always know it is a possibility.  But we live and we learn.

When I was 18 I was riding my 4 wheeler at the Jericho sand dunes in Utah.  It had just rained the night before so the sand was set up pretty solid.  We could get going as fast as desired.  My buddies and I found a nice jump with a perfect take off and landing.
  As the day wore on the jump started getting pretty torn up with our endless repetitions of passes over it.  It was my last time to go on it for the day so I was going to make it count.  You see where this is going.  My tire got caught in a rut and launched me sideways in the air.  In my efforts to recover my foot got pulled down by the back tires paddle.  The 4 wheeler tire pulled me off the machine and it landed on my leg.  If I had been wearing riding boots I would have probably been fine.  Tennis shoes aren't the best protection. I spent several weeks on crutches for this one.  No fun at all.

My first time out snowmobiling a number of years ago was quite unpleasant.  I couldn't control the machine in the powder and I always felt it was going to tip over on me when on the hills. It wasn't my machine so I really didn't want to wreck it. To make things worse it was a white wash day and visibility was low. While playing in a valley my Brother hit a ditch that totaled his sled and shattered his knee cap.  It was bad, and he was pretty mangled. To make things worse the only way to get back to the truck to take him to the hospital was to ride back. I am sure his pain was unbearable.  After all was said and done I said to myself Snowmobiling is just no fun and not worth it.  A couple of years later however I decided to give it another shot.  Things went differently.  Visibility was up, and I was taught a couple of techniques for riding in the powder.  What a world of difference.  Now Snowmobiling is my favorite off road activity.

Get to the point already...

Ok ok,
My point is we can let experiences like this get the better of us, or we can learn and adapt.  I may not be jumping 40 to 50 ft anymore because of crashing, but I still have fun out riding.  I could have never given snowmobiling another shot and been fine, but man I am glad I did give it another shot.  I am extra careful on white wash days because of my brothers wreck though.

If you have had a bad experience get back out there.  Try again. A little training and practice can make all the difference of having fun or hating it.

Thanks for reading.
DPS