All Terrain Vehicles Assume a New Role – ATVs offer opportunities for sport, work and play.
It is often customary to run a line through outdoor activities dividing them between motorized and non-motorized. Paddling/motor boats, cycling/motorcycles, walking, running, hiking, cross country skiing/snowmobiles and ATVs. But the line blurs.
Shared passion involves a love of the outdoors, that visceral need to be outside on water or on the trail; appreciation of the land and loyalty to Vermont.
The landscape is changing. As users grow in number and respect, boots, mountain bikes, snowmobiles and ATVs segue from foe to friend replacing damage with care. New generations are repeating the admonition to be “good stewards of the land.”
What is an ATV?
A Google search offers a formal definition: “An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a quad, quad bike, three-wheeler, or four-wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control.”
There are single rider models for, obviously, one person, and there are two-ups that accommodate an operator and one passenger. The latter seem to dominate the market today. There are ATVs for racing, touring and utility. As the price escalates, versatility broadens and the population of users grows exponentially.
To ride off-road, young and old alike are starting their engines on Arctic Cats, Kawasakis, Hondas, Yamahas, Rangers, Gators and even Slingshots. At this year’s Tunbridge World’s Fair two leaders in the field were represented: John Deere and Polaris.
Tom Trottier of South Royalton has known ATVs “my whole life,” currently working for the John Deere business his dad owns in Hartland.
“When we first started selling,” he said, “they were primarily work machines. Now they’re for recreation and hunting as well as work.”
People at the Fair who stop to look “come from all walks of life,” Trottier said. “Some have barely seen one before.”
Once a potential customer identifies the way in which he or she plans to use the ATV, there are decisions to be made and options to choose. “A customer needs the ATV to qualify for work, play or both,” Trottier said.
An ATV is an investment, starting about $8,000 and up to $18,000 or so. There’s more horsepower to be had, better shocks, maybe more speed. Safety features include seat belts, doors or nets. Gas or diesel, power steering, brush guards, winches ….
Mike Stone
Mike Stone, who lives in Orange and owns Stone’s Service Station in Barre, is passionate about both his sport and the state in which he lives. An energetic advocate of shared responsibility and community, he exudes enthusiasm for his ATV club, the maintenance of the roads and trails on which he rides, and the community in which he lives.
Stone has been involved with ATVs “for a lot of years,” he said. He began riding in the late 80s when there were no organized trail systems and he participated in what he calls “renegade riding.”
His interest began at around age 9 but quickly fanned into something more. Stone was that “kid that sat on the corner drooling,” watching Joey Laquerre on snow machines and bursting to get out there himself.
For Stone, an ATV offered a way to get out and see the backcountry. Today that means seeing the backcountry by means of a trail network designated for ATV use. Stone is a key player when it comes to trails. In fact, named as VASA “Trail Master of the Year,” Stone oversees and maintains trails, always with an eye on the future.
VASA, Vermont ATV Sportsman’s Association, initiated in 1998 by the West Rutland ATV Sportsman’s Club, operates similarly to VAST, the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers. Both organizations coordinate leadership, recreational use, trail design, education, events and community relationships in order to grow their sport safely and responsibly.
Old-school renegade riding is out. Today’s operators must know and obey clearly defined laws, register their ATVs and provide proof of insurance. As in other Vermont recreational activities, ATV users study, test and consequently earn certification of their successful completion safety education. (The safety education course is mandated for riders 12-18.)
Membership in one of the 18 clubs throughout the state offers further guidance regarding laws, safety and, of course, plenty of events to bring together like users to share the trails and have fun.
Stone, a member of the Central Vermont ATV club, moved to his 80 acres in Orange nine years ago. “How lovely, right in my back yard I can be legal,” he said of his easy access to a marked trail system.
Though to some the image of an ATV rider is young and reckless, like Stone, many contemporary users are mature. With a wide spectrum of ages represented, Stone estimates that the average age is 40, but with quite a few riders in their 60s-80s as touring and group rides increase in popularity.
What about the young and reckless? Of course, they’re still out there. Just the other day on one short drive home I watched a kid on an ATV speed along the shoreline of the Winooski, get tossed free when he rolled his machine, then jump back on and tear off.
On that same drive I was passed by more than one muddy ATV being transported on a trailer. Are these activities wrong? Wrong may be the wrong word. They are simply not the activities that I am discussing here. “Mud will ruin an ATV,” Stone said, and as a mechanic, he should know. “Brakes, bushings, bearings – gone in 3 years. Mud is for the greenhorns.” Responsible users would like to break that reputation.
Though certain designated Class 4 roads are appropriate for use, not all are. “To interconnect trails is do-able,” Stone said, but challenging and work-intensive. A legally integrated statewide trail system offers solutions and enticements to this growing sport.
Most often ATVs need to be trailered to a trailhead. A more extensive network with approved feeder trails would be helpful to a sport that encourages families and provides for young and old, fit and disabled.
Much relies on the cooperation of landowners. This is a common theme when it comes to building land or water trails of any kind and, as is always the case, those involved with the trails express their debt of gratitude to the landowners.
Stone has spent many hours talking with landowners, obtaining permission from most to use their land for trails. There are benefits to all parties. For example, building water bars makes a big difference as water is responsible for much damage. The landowner benefits; the user benefits.
“We’re all together,” Stone said, “snow machines, bikers, skiers, horseback riders. We all need to work together. It’s about us all taking pride, using our resources, all working together.” This is a recurring theme for Stone who is a compelling campaigner for the partnership of land and ATV use.
Is it a sense of ownership that encourages stewardship? Stone points to a recently built parking lot at a trailhead. “Everything was donated. It is a community trail. Anyone who wants to park there and support the trail is welcomed. Each user is expected to add to the upkeep.” Clean, functioning trails improve property. “It’s about people taking personal responsibility,” Stone said.
Vermont needs to play catch-up with neighboring states that are enjoying increased revenue from ATV tourist dollars. This year Stone rode 90 miles in Rangely, Maine, where he noted that the large trail system included access to towns, restaurants and stores. Woodsville and Gorham, New Hampshire, two other New England ATV destinations, offer long, well-groomed or surfaced trails that attract visitors.
Clubs run a full calendar of activities, some simply for fun but many for a purpose. Stone won this season’s big event, the Poker Run sponsored by VASA out of Danville. He also speaks proudly of the good being done by the Washington Club where the annual March spaghetti dinner and silent auction raise enough money to give to each fire department in W Topsham, Orange and Washington as well as send two kids a year to summer camp.
But it is that special time on the trail that Stone describes that intrigues and beckons. “It is a low-speed sport,” he said, “with an average of 15-20 mph. Over 20-25 mph and the machines don’t handle well. They’re not designed for it.”
Quieter than a snow machine and noisier than a car, what Stone likes to do is “stop and park and listen.” There are sights and sounds that can only be experienced away from traffic, in the woods, or on top of that distant, inaccessible hill. An ATV can take you there.
“My biggest thing,” Stone said, “is not what the state of Vermont can do for us. It’s what we can do for the state. It’s not all about money. We need to take responsibility for where we’re living. There’s a lot of good feeling out there.”
And Stone, a charismatic speaker for the ATV community, liberally shares “a lot of good feeling” about his sport and his state. He makes you want to get out there on the trails as much as you can; and then to take care of that privilege.
From the Rutland Herald & Times Argus Sunday Magazine section, ACTIVE VERMONT, by Linda Freeman, 10/4/2015.