The whole North Country of New Hampshire looks like a Mad Max movie right now. There’s a big ATV festival in Berlin, NH and the machines are everywhere.
One of the things that often surprises visitors is the fact that it’s legal to run ATVs on most city and town roads. There are locals who actually own ATVs and never take them in the woods. They use them as their city car.
Reviews from the locals are mixed. If you own a restaurant, bar, ATV rental, campground or an Air B&B you are happy. If want to have some peace and quiet -not so happy. Between the ATVs, trailers and tow vehicles parking is limited areas. Lines at gas stations are long.
I don’t own an ATV. Sure, they can be fun, but I probably ride one about once a year. That’s enough for me. For some people they are tools not toys. It’s pretty common around here to mount snow plows on the front and use them all winter to clear driveways. Put a small trailer on one and they are decent farm vehicles.
However, I know a farmer who replaced his ATVs with electric golf carts. The carts could do all the jobs the ATVs could do. They were also slower and kinda dorky so the hired hands got into less trouble with them.
So what am I going to do during the big festival? I’m visiting friends downstate. They have an nice quiet place in the country.
-Sixbears
Never driven one, don't have the need nor the drive. Two wheels and a nice piece of highway is more my speed. Mud flying everywhere and leaving clods on the face doesn't sound like a good time to me. Unless I have to go out I'll stay in and enjoy my own digs. I've been hearing many a siren this afternoon, so...
ReplyDeleteTo each their own. Maybe we are getting too old for that crap?
DeleteHaving the experience of getting injured folks off these trails, I'm also mixed on the whole idea of our area becoming THE atv destination for the northeast. Thankfully the rental companies have put speed dampeners on their machines a couple years ago. No real desire at this point to own a machine, but it has overall been good for the area...
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about the speed dampeners. That's a great idea, especially on rental machines that people aren't always familiar with.
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