The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Dirt Bikes
Fingernails across a chalk board, a baby crying, a dog barking incessantly – all are music to my ears compared to the whine of a dirt bike tearing through the forest.
Spring may be the most gloriously resurgent season, busting with new life and reopening its arms to all the furry, feathered and even slimy critters that have scurried south or burrowed underground to escape the ravages of winter. But it also brings back less welcome creatures: riders of dirt bikes, ATVs, four-wheelers and other motorized off-road vehicles that descend on our woodlands like a plague of locusts.
First the good news: Connecticut regulates where, when and by whom off-road vehicles may legally be driven.
Now the bad: These regulations are too lax, difficult to enforce and often ignored. What’s more, the state not only has designated extensive trails on public land for off-road riding, it also tacitly promotes the “sport” on government websites that list where ATVs are allowed.
I find such lists particularly helpful in choosing where to avoid hiking.
In my perfect, fantasy world only those on two or four feet would be allowed on forest trails, except for emergency vehicles – but in reality people will always find a way to rely on noisy, polluting, and destructive gas engines rather than human power for their recreational pursuits.
Therefore I’d have to grudgingly concede off-road aficionados the right to ride on their own property or in private parks operated by clubs or commercial interested. I just wouldn’t like to live within 10 miles of them.
It’s not just the noise. ATVs often rip up terrain, terrorize or flatten animals, and all-too-frequently kill or cripple riders, all in the name of “fun.”
OK, enough preaching. Here are a few things you should know about ATVs, whether you ride them or shake your fist at them.
First of all, ATVs must be registered with the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles except if they’re used only on the owner’s private property. In addition, all operators using their ATVs on public lands must possess a safety training certificate from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and all riders under age 18 must have completed a safety education course.
In addition, you have to be at least 12 years old to drive an ATV on state-owned land, and young drivers are not allow to operate ATVs after dark.
You also can’t drive ATVs on pavement – except when crossing the road, and then only at a 90-degree angle.
I see this law broken frequently – ATVs tear through one section of woods, then hop on a paved road and continue for some distance until a trail picks up on the other side.
Violators should be reported either to local police or to the DEEP, but scofflaws know the chances of ever getting caught are slim to none because by the time authorities show up they’re long gone.
Here in southeastern Connecticut there are miles of ATV trails in Voluntown’s Pachaug State Forest and Cockaponset State Forest in Haddam. Truth be told, I’ve hiked extensively in both areas and only encountered off-road riders a handful of times.
Did those experiences ruin my day? Hardly. Mostly, I find it disappointing that people can’t embrace the elegance and simplicity of a quiet walk in the woods.
The fact is, virtually all outdoor activities have responsible participants to balance out the yahoos. We’ve all run into backpackers who litter, illegally cut down trees for campfires and have loud parties while others are trying to sleep.
Conversely, there are some ATV riders who at least attempt to minimize their intrusiveness, and in my research I came across an organization called Tread Lightly! that promotes this concept.
Among the group’s advice:
• Travel only in areas open ATV use.
• Minimize wheel spin. On switchbacks, avoid roosting around the apex of the turn when climbing or brake-sliding during descent, both of which gouge the trail. Drive over, not around obstacles to avoid widening the trail.
• Slow down when sight lines are poor. Cross streams only at designated fording points, where the trail crosses the stream.
• Comply with all signs and respect barriers.
• Respect the rights of others, including private property owners, all recreational trail users, campers and others so they can enjoy their recreational activities undisturbed.
• Be considerate of others on the road or trail.
• Leave gates as you find them. If crossing private property, be sure to ask permission from the landowner(s).
• Yield the right of way to those passing you or traveling uphill. Yield to mountain bikers, hikers, and horses.
• Avoid sensitive areas such as meadows, lakeshores, wetlands and streams. Stay on designated routes.
• Carry a trash bag on your vehicle and pick up litter left by others.
• Pack out what you pack in. Practice minimum impact camping by using established sites, camping 200 feet from water resources and trails.
• Observe proper sanitary waste disposal or pack your waste out.
• Prevent unnecessary noise created by a poorly tuned vehicle or revving your engine without need. Use proper silencers that meet regulatory decibel levels on exhausts.
• Before and after a ride, wash your ATV and support vehicle to reduce the spread of invasive species.
It turns out that Tread Lightly! was founded by and is supported by ATV enthusiasts and manufacturers.
These are all reasonable suggestions, and I give Tread Lightly! credit for at least trying to get along with hikers.
But even when operated responsibly ATVs on the trail serve as a nettlesome reminder – sort of like a pebble in the shoe – that no matter how far into the woods you go you’re almost always within sight or sound of a gasoline engine.
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