We have beat the HELMET / NO HELMET thing to death. But let me share my experience from this weekend with you. We were with the FLATLANDERS this weekend at TAYLOR PARK. We rode NAPOLEON PASS, at FREDERICKS PEAK. There is a rather steep stair steped section that begs OLD DUMB ARSES like myself to climb it. I heard it calling my name COB-B-B "OVER HERE". What am I to do it was calling me by name and I had to go I had no choice. Besides that ATVER said nothing but a BOMB could make it. OK I know it looks steep I know it looks nasty, but what is a guy to do? I start out for the hill and as I approach it it is even more intimidating than it looks from back aways. So I in the interest of safety "MINE!", (I am wearing my HELMET) I stand with one leg on the seat, if this rascal gets a mind of it's own I can get away fast. Little did I know how wise a decision this was later in the climb.

OK I make the first step up, that was piece of cake. I am now setting on a plateau that we couldn't see from the bottom. Taking a look at the second although shorter but a might bit steeper second leg, I think what the HELL went this far might as well show this MTN who the real boss is, besides that the trail is pretty wore so has been done before by IDIOTS like me before me. If you recall it was calling my name and I wanted to kick some MTN BUTT. It won't be calling me and tauting me again, YEAH RIGHT, now this is where the story gets interesting.

Me in all my wisdom and sitting astride an awesome BUTT KICKING 800 EFI, I have no fear, well I had enough that once again I raise and put my leg on the seat as before, (I maybe DUMB but not stupid) sure makes dismounting far easier. OK all is going well, well that is till about half way up, this is the part I said would get interesting. The front is getting light as the hill is getting STEEP! No turning back now WAAAAAY to late for that, I in my wisdom lean far forward and add more weight to the front of the quad, what a good boy am I. Well even with my fat arse forward the hill is so steep that front is still light, right front tire hits a rock that shifts quad sideways and on to the edge of the trail. Since the trail has been wore into the MTN side the edge is about a foot or so higher than the rest of the trail and on a sharp right angle . With tire against the trail edge I know I'm in DEEP DO DO, I know if I try to move any farther up the quad will tip for sure sideways. A thought comes to mind, MOM always said wear clean under ware in case you have to go to EMERGENCY ROOM, I had put on clean ones that morning but just now I spoiled that, what am I going to tell MOM? If the HILL don't KILL ME MOM WILL ! I am on the down hill side and know that isn't going to be good, I need be on the uphill side and all would be well. But that isn't in the books so have to play the hand I have and DAM QUICK! I think maybe only option is try back off the edge regain control and head on up. Well turns out that with the trail being so steep that this wasn't a good idea either. NO way the brakes will hold and by now quad is getting sideways in the trail! OH POOP! For the second time.

All I can do now is bail as the quad rolling is just a matter of time, at least I had time to POOP MY PANTS and make the decision to bail off. I know that if I do a front belly flop that I am going to be in a world of hurt as that will put me and my delicate head right in the path of the QUAD that wants to smash me for making it come up here. Wasn't my fault FREDERICKS PEAK was calling my name and I had to go. Well that and ATVER was daring me, said he had done it before and it was a piece of cake. OK back to the dismount, I want this to be the path of least pain, so I do back flip that you would have been proud to see my OLD FAT ARSE do. It had to look like the PILLSBURY DOUGH BOY with a camo coat on rolling across the bakers table.That left me with my head pointed toward the edge of the trail and hopefully away from most of the quad that was bearing down on me from 10ft in the air that it gained on the first 3 flips. It did pass over me but as luck would have it, it was in the middle of a full in the air flip as it passed over me. Myself I had rolled at least 3 times and not sure maybe 4, recall me telling you how steep the hill was 240# pounds on a steep hill gains alot of momentum in a fast down hill roll. I can count at least 3 that I know of as each time my head hit so dam hard I was sure the HELMET would be split for sure. This is serious had I not had the HELMET on there is no doubt in my mind that after the first hit I would not have known about the rest and wouldn't be typing this now. It would have caved my head in I hit that hard not once but 3 times. Each time I recall thanking myself for wearing my helmet.

I will have to buy a new helmet as this one has lost alot of the protection that it gave me I am sure. Was it a stupid thing to do? Thats pretty well a NO BRAINER, but thats all part of being a man. Thats my story and I am sticking to it. "STUPID HURTS " and 3 days later it still hurts. The quad is a mess I would imagine that the INSURANCE (yes I have and do always insure my quads) Total it out. It after trying to roll over ATVER not once but twice jumped up on it's feet still running after what we think was at least 6 rolls maybe more. It was rolling hard and fast toward ATVER so he went left QUAD went left, he turned right quad rolled back to right just before lands on the wheels and started to roll away. I figured that it was headed for the bottom but EBS brought it to a gentle stop. We picked up parts and pieces plus all the stuff from the front box, back box stayed intact and closed. With all the rolling the quad done, the force had ripped my GONADS off, ATVER being the friend he is retrieved my GONADS for me. What a friend that is! We pulled the handle bars up as much as we could, turned the key and it fired up, one tire had broke the bead. I rode it to the bottom, we fixed the tire readjusted the handle bars. Strapped the front box and back box on what was left to strap to and rode that RASCAL for rest of that day and two more days. I knew right away that any night rides I would have to pass on and any place with a speed limit someone else would have to lead, but other than that all was well. Gives you some extra confidence to tackle the hard stuff when you have nothing to lose after all that.

I want to take a few minutes to THANK ATVER and the rest of the gang to many to name all, that came up to help me and GOMER and LORI and DON JEANNIE DOUG DEBBIE and the rest that supported POOPSIE till she could see that I was alright. I would say the HILL and the accident were close to a 1/4 miles distance from where they stood so was hard to see what was going on up there from where they stood.

Holy crap! You ol brute you need to be more careful than that. You know OLD BONES break easier than young ones. I'm aweful glad you made it out ok though. And good on ya for trying to take out that potty mouth ATVer with your mighty Polaris. Next time buddy, next time.

quote:

Originally posted by Cob:
Me in all my wisdom and sitting astride an awesome BUTT KICKING 800 EFI

Yep, that's an "awesome butt kicking quad" alright, kicked your butt all the way down the hill from what I just read!! I don't think I would be bragging on my quad if it treated me like that. I know that hill, how did your front end get light with you leaning forward, the weight of the gas tank, winch, storage box, etc. Do you think this was a situation where 27" Bighorns hurt you,...literally?

Again, glad your oK and here to type about it.

Wow.. Glad you are ok Cob...

A testiment to helmets.. Ill put my 2 cents in.. I have had my quad ofr over a year now.. Rode over 1400 miles. Of those 1400 miles less than 5 have been without a helmet. Running around the lake ect..

Last week we went to the AtvNation national ride in Wallace Idaho.. Well on my first day there we had about 18 quads on the trail run..

There was a King Quad in front of me going up a steep rocky incline. I was aways back from him. Well at the top of the crest he went over and the force of the tires dislodged a rock. The size of this said rock was the size of 2 fists put together. Right when he crested I saw the said rock coming straight at me. Keep in mind I was going up the cliff. Cant turn nothing. All i had time to do was duck my head.. Well the rock hit the top of my helmet and glazed off. Just left a little nick on the top of it. WHen it hit it sounded like a hammer hitting my head.

That made me more of a believer than ever. No doubt it would have hurt me really really bad.

So.. Wheres the pics???

I get dibs on the Heelclicker!

How did the front end get light? The HILL is steep.
27's had little to do with any thing since they are on ALUM RIMS that are 8 inches wide and the tires only measure 26 inches in height.

Dang Cob glad you ok

Heck evne reading about that put the fear in to me them quads flipping on there tops aint no fun at all

Could have been worse, could have been me, but that is just my point of view.

Seriously, glad you are ok. My wife said I can't play with you guys anymore

Glad to hear you are alright you old bull.

Quads can be replaced...you can't.

I'd like to add a couple things,

I said I couldn't remember if it was a piece of cake or high high pucker factor....it was the latter. I have been up it a couple times before, last time it was foggy and snowing, so I couldn't see what I was doing till it was too late.

I didn't see the front end come up, when I looked up you were stopped about 3/4 of the way up and a bit cock eyed. I guess that's where the rock stopped you. We've all been thrown of course by a big rock, just not on that steep of a hill (hill ???)Then you rolled backwards a foot and stopped and I started gritting my teeth, I was hoping like heck you would turn the power on and proceed up the hill, but you rolled back another foot and all heck broke loose, you forgot a couple rolls, that baby launched you over the front fender ( yes, you flipped with a 1/2 gainer) and you rolled 6 or 7 times at least as fast as anyone I had ever seen. You were going downhill a lot faster then the quad. I thought you were going to get away from it when you headed left, but it followed you and like ya said, it bounced over you, some how! Thank God!!! Your gourd would have been mush with no helmet, but if you noticed, the guys with no helmets didn't want to try it. Whatever that means.....

You can talk about the quad being tuff, but man, I think you're tuffer then that ol Polaris! You certainly took a pounding! At the end of the day, you were walking fine, and I was the one limping!

When the quad came at me (twice) the second time I decided to wait till it got closer before making a move to get out of the way. A Polaris 800 spinning wildly and bouncing 6-8 feet in the air is a bit un-nerving. I didn't have a lot of room to get out of the way. Good thing the Bomb is fast.

Every time that baby would bounce parts were flying EVERYWHERE! It landed on it's wheels with the engine STILL RUNNING pointed down hill and rolling slowly towards the next drop off. I wasn't sure whether to go to Cob or the quad, but Cob was up and seemed not to be seriously hurt, so I ran to the quad, shut it off and locked the brakes. Obviously it wasn't moving too fast if I caught it, so the EBS did save it from having to be carted out in pieces. Big heavy pieces.

And I especially want to be sure everyone knows that it was Stringbean that picked your nuts up off the trail and put them in the storage compartment. Not me!

I just want to throw this out for discussion, there's lot's of times I should be on a knee, but am not, and I paid for it once in Moab. But I would never be on one knee in that situation. I can see if you were concerned about flipping over backwards, that would be the thing to do. On steep hills, I like to have total control and be low as possible out on that front end. Were you on a knee when you started up, or after you were stopped by the rock? Just wondering more then anything, not trying to be critical in any way. It may not have made any difference in that situation....what do others do on steep climbs?

Bottom line is I hated watching it, am glad we can talk about it, and am VERY happy you are only sore from the experience. I'll get you some Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda and Kymco brochures on the way so you can pick out your new quad. That's what friends are for!

Glad you're OK

Cob, glad you are ok.... We all have fears of that at some point or another. I know you guys are much more experience than I am and I guess that why I am really overly cautious anywhere we ride.... Lots of time the wife is wanting to go ahead when I say no, I would rather being safe than sorry... And yes age plays a big part in it... Our minds tell our body we can do it, we can do it, in reality our body is the smart one.. Anyway, hate to see you trash out your ATV but it can be replaced... Take care of yourself as well. Glad you had so many friends with you.. That is our greatest fear riding just me and the wife....

You are OK... That is the only thing you should worry about... Now you can get a brand new quad... and doll it up...

Where was the camera man? Just think cob if you would of had a helmet cam on.. with "live audio".You would of been a HOLY man that day...holy ship.. holy crap..I could just hear you talking to your self..The audio would of been ALL bleeped out. Glad you didn't get hurt.Im going back to my fishing hole.. Try to stay out of trouble !@#$%

Note to self: If you ever get to CO and ATVer says it's a piece of cake... back out.

Cob, I'm sorry you lost your quad. Glad you're okay. I would love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation with the insurance company.

Glad to hear you're Ok Cob. Bet it seemed to take hours to finally get stopped. As long as the insurance ante's up, worst thing is the 08's haven't hit the sales floor yet.

Great story COB! Glad you're okay.

Note to self: find some very timid people to ride with so the peer pressure will be NOT to do what COB did.

Actually, I'm glad that I'm pretty hard of hearing, I don't hear those extreme places calling my name.

Hope you like your new quad!

I made light of this but it was serious and could have had a far worse ending, I hope ppl read it and maybe take a lesson from it. Just had to spice it up a little, far more interesting than OLD FAT GUY rolls down hill.

ATVER I was thinking that I rolled many more times but all I could recall was 3 real loud sounds of head or HELMET hitting the rocks. I knew my body was out of control for sure. I think one thing that helped was the camelback I was wearing it had a good supply of water in it and helped protect my back. I knew that when I finially stopped rolling and looked back the quad was far behind me and I was ready for it. I wasn't going to let it take me out without a fight.

The knee on the seat comes from my SNOWMOBILING DAYS and all the high marking we did. Easier to shift weight and also easier to bail. Had I of been setting on the seat with both feet planted I would have not been able to get away from it as I did. I was on one knee even on the first milder part as it looked bad from the bottom.

DON thought you had gotten my NUTS, hard to find all the parts and stuff that was in the front rack. I know he had the plastic bag full of stuff.

I give ATVER a bad time in this and try make him look like the bad guy. It wasn't his fault and the decision to climb was mine alone and had nothing to do wth him, but just felt better blaming him. He was what a friend is all about he was there to help and worry about my safety and made sure that I was ok. I just hope that all of you have some great friends that I was lucky enough to have with me that day.

DON JEANNIE DOUG DEBBIE the MEGAN & the BOYS that rushed to the rescue on foot. GOMER and LORI that helped support POOPSIE and make her feel better and reasure that all was ok. 1-800-ATVBUM Thank you also,I just feel bad about what I put POOPSIE thru.

I had thought before going up about giving someone the cam corder. That by the way worked great even after all that. I have some still pics of the hill I am sure and will post them.

Guess better think about the friends that I am lucky to have and what my stupidity could have caused them. At time didn't seem like a bad call.

Cob, somehow I firmly believe there isn't a soul born that can make you do what you don't want.

Glad you're OK.....

I'm just wondering... Accident

OR

Freudian SLIP because of desire for ADC???

glad you are ok. i know that "we" tried to kill you when you were down here but really,,,,"we" didn't mean it. i am glad that i live on flat land. an old one legged man can't ride like that. you didn't happen to get this on video did you?

WoW Glad to hear you are ok! I bet the dealer in cheyenne is ready for you!

quote:

I give ATVER a bad time in this and try make him look like the bad guy.

You wouldn't be the first this year....

I didn't take it that way at all....

I know none of the people on this forum other than reading their posts. Cob you are a lucky guy! I am very happy hear you are OK.

12 weeks ago I rolled my quad on a side hill, not even a scratch to the quad.[just rolled once] My rt. hand was not OK. Pulled rt thumb out of socket and split the bone length wise. They operated on my thumb and now I'm doing therapy. Still can't work the throttle on a quad. Helmet did its job.

Earlier that day we were stopped at the foot of a big hill and I was the only one dumb enough to think I could make it. Just as I was about to go 4 guys pulled up and 1 of them shot up the hill, almost made it to the top before his rear wheel, got a little sideways, hit a rock about football size and the quad threw him off and rolled end over end at least 10 times. He had bad road rash but was OK his quad was sort of ridable. Turns out he had borrowed it from his friends brother.

I want to thank you for your post, because people like me need to know that things can happen. The reason I say people like me is because my whole life I wasn't able to learn by other peoples mistakes or misfortunes until maybe the last 5 years. Now not everything has to happen to me.

Once again I am pleased that you are OK

Glad to see that COB lives to see another day! I'd hate to see you go when I haven't even joined you in Moab yet.

One more time COB! Wheels down, seat up, body on top! Really glad to see you are ok, that could have been a real bad one. We just had a guy killed in Arkansas going up a hill and hit tree. Machine came over on top of him. Never saw details as to if it was head injuries and if he was wearing a helmet. Glad you had yours on.