Basics Of Our Trail Runs

   All of our organized trail runs stick to a basic theme. This helps the day go smoothly.

The meeting spot:

• We will meet at a designated location near the trail. When everyone has arrived, we will travel to the trail. The trip to the trail should be calm and quiet; we have enough people against off road vehicles without giving them a reason to hate us.

• Once at the trail, pull into the trail before stopping. Land owners near trail entrances sometimes get upset at having a line of vehicles in front of their house, and some roads are heavily traveled, so it would be unsafe to stop on them anyway. Once the line has stopped, everyone can spend a little time locking hubs, taking off doors and tops, airing down tires, and checking over their vehicles.

On the trail:

• When we get to obstacles, the line will usually slow down or stop. Try to wait a safe distance back from the obstacle in case the driver in front of you has a problem. When you have made it over the obstacle, pull your vehicle far enough forward so everyone behind will have room to park without having to move vehicles again.

• We stop from time to time to check problems with vehicles, talk about the trail, or for other reasons. This gives everyone a chance to get drinks from a cooler or to check over their vehicle.

• We stop for lunch about halfway through the trail (on most trails).

• After lunch, we continue to the end of the trail.

Trail's end:

• At the end of the trail, we stop to air up tires, put tops and doors on, clean mud off windows and mirrors (the police really appreciate this), and talk about the trail. This is a good time to check over your vehicle for problems before hitting the street, and to ask for directions if you need them.

   If you have any problems, don't be afraid to ask for help. A benefit of running trails in a group is the help you can get if you need it. Just about any problem can be solved, and any broken part repaired, at least enough to get you home safely. One basic rule that we have is that we don't leave anyone behind. Nobody in our club will have the attitude "its not my problem" or else they won't be a member of the club. If you have a problem with someone, don't let that stop you from helping; the problem can be worked out at a better place than on the trail.