BIGCATDAVE

There is a newish ATV related parts and accesories search site. The guy that owns it was a moderator on Artic Chat and spent almost a year putting it together. It helps finds online dealers that ship to your part of the world. PowerShopCentral.com---Your online directory for all things ATV

We have a couple fundraisers coming up. There is a ride this coming weekend for a fellow ATVer that was killed in a car accident earlier this month. I have it posted here> PA Boys :: Ride Hard Ride Free I think that is an open form that you can read without joining. There is also a ride being planned for an 8 year old boy from the New York area, that was just diagnosed with Leukemia. His father was laid off just 2 weeks before he was diagnosed. I reached out to the guy planning it but I don't have any details yet. There are lots of rides like Samantha's and Jarreds that are held around the country, but word doesn't always get around. I am on about 30 different ATV forums and I try to spread the word when I can. We can all help each other by getting these rides posted around. Even if the ride is going to be in California, the story could touch someone in Maine, so get posting!

I'm slowly getting around to all the forums to thank everyone that came out to the ride. It was great to see everyone and finally meet some of you. I'm sorry I didn't get to meet everyone, I had a lot on my mind that morning. It was a last minute decision for me to go, but I'm glad I did. Talking with everyone and gettin my chops busted buy some of you, really helped cheer me up. The fact that you were willing to come out in the rain and ride for my daughter really showed that the ATV community has a big heart. Unfortunately, as some of you know, Samantha got sick the day before the ride and could not attend. She developed a blood infection that went from bad to worse frighteningly fast. She stated getting fluid in her lungs and had difficulty breathing. As is standard practice with that, she was sedated and a breathing tube put into her with a suction line to remove excess fluids. That Sunday afternoon, when her Oncologist felt she was out of immediate danger, he told us that we were probably only about 2 hours from loosing her. Things happen for a reason sometimes, and if she had gotten sick at the ride we may not have made it in time. The breathing tube was removed this past Friday and she was allowed to wake up. This morning she finally said a few words to her sister, and is starting to come around. Once she starts eating again they will let her come home. Here is a link to a news clip from the ride http://media.myfoxnepa.com/special/localshows/tgo/2008/100608/part2.html

I take my Arty Cats off big jumps all the time. My 500 just seems to be weighted perfectly. It always lands on the rear wheels or flat. Some of the fast trails I ride have whoops in them to prevent erosion. They are angled across the trail. I don't even slow down for them, hitting them sometimes at 35-40 mph. My friends on sports can't jump them right, they get thrown off to one side, or end up nose diving on the other side. I'm not saying my Cats jump better than sports, I can't get as much air or distance as a sport, but some sport riders are impressed seeing a 700 lb Cat fly.

What these guys are doing is really incredible. I initially turned down a couple offers of a fund raiser, I always figure there are people that need help more than me. When things started getting out of hand with the mortgage, I started to sell the quads. The kids got very upset with that, we don't have much, but the quads represent something special to them. That's when Dennis (Timberrider) stepped in and said we're gonna do this for your family, just accept it. I still haven't met him in person yet. I figured OK, I've been on a few fund raisers, 30 maybe 40 riders. What this is turning into is a huge event. I still feel like we don't deserve it all, but I can't wait for this ride. Not so much because it is supposed to benefit my family, but because I want to see all these clubs and individuals get together and show a positive side of the ATV community. I'm active on about 20 ATV and off-road forums, and lurk on several more. I am really looking forward to meeting some of the people that I wanted to ride with, but never got the opportunity to meet yet.

Wow! Very nice, Thank you!

Welp, I've been lurking around for a while. Figured I may as well stop in and say hello. Nice looking site.