September 2, 2011

"ATVs and (off-road) motorcycles have a pretty bad name in terms of the relationship with environmentalists and things like that."

"They don't really care for ATVers ... but it seems like they're the only ones really saving anybody right now."

19 comments:

ndspinelli said...

ATV's are very functional. They're the modern horse. They're also quite hazardous, although not as much as they were 10 years ago.

traditionalguy said...

Another Green cultist getting mugged by reality report.

What Greens hate the very most are full size Humvees. But Humvees are what is needed the most when they are needed.

I bet they couldn't they get Mayor Bloomberg to come protect them?

Keystone said...

It's just snobbery on the part of enviro nuts. Rural people use ATV's for all sorts of practical purposes. Lefties get great pleasure looking down on people.

Anonymous said...

sort of like this?

O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

kjbe said...

I get that these things have practical uses, but I really just don't get the whole rec-angle on them. I've ridden them (for fun), and to me, they're loud, smelly and hot (and have a reputation for being dangerous). It's not snobbery, it's just not for me. Thanks.

edutcher said...

If The Blonde had her way, they'd be outlawed. She's treated people who've tried riding them up a hill or slope and they've fallen backward.

Not pretty.

tmitsss said...
sort of like this?

O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.


Even more to the point:

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:

We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.

Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face

The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.

For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"

But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;

An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;

An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!

rhhardin said...

Bearing life is shortened a lot from water over the hub.

rhhardin said...

You can practice short field takeoff and landings on a mostly but not all flooded airport runway. There's no competing traffic and it's interesting.

That has no public service narrative though.

Triangle Man said...

I don't think it's the ATVs that are the problem it's the kids and the childish adults riding them at unsafe speeds on trails and logging roads...like we did with dirt bikes when I was a kid. The noise is also a nuisance for anyone trying to enjoy the quiet of the "wilderness". Because I was sometimes an inconsiderate jackass as a kid I feel fully qualified to put that label on people doing the same thing now.

Shouting Thomas said...

I know you don't care for my help, Althouse, but isn't the environmental story of the day Solyndra?

Green energy = political corruption and payoffs.

Triangle Man said...

I get that these things have practical uses, but I really just don't get the whole rec-angle on them.

It's just the thrill of going fast.

bagoh20 said...

They work, they're effective, they use oil = evil.

Michael said...

60% of Vermonters are the real thing, real environmentalists. The other 40% are from NY and Mass and love the environment but don't much like the outdoors.

bagoh20 said...

"You can practice short field takeoff and landings on a mostly but not all flooded airport runway."

You better be good - if you reach the water in either case you may need a new prop.

Be said...

I think Noel Perrin covered this a while back in one of his "... Person Rural" collections.

Ann Althouse said...

"Trapped Under a Quad Bike."

An episode of one of my favorite TV shows: "I Shouldn't Be Alive."

Tyrone Slothrop said...

As a sailor, I confess a hatred for jet skis, the ATV's of the water. They just don't seem to give a flying fuck about speed limits or rules of the road (sailboats have the right of way, dipwads!).

Rube said...

I think ATV's are fantastic if used properly. I had one when I lived in Upstate New York with a snow plow on it and I used it to plow up to 6" of light snow. When I lived in Idaho they were used for everything. Hunting, fishing, trail riding, law enforcement, forest service, ranching, cattle and sheep herding herding, Search and rescue,etc. Of coarse the environmentalist would ban them as well as snowmobiles but it will never happen just like they will never get our guns, those lobby's combined will win out. The dem's lose elections over these issue's.

Toad Trend said...

The pansy left is never at a loss of things to dictate to the rest of us that just want to be 'left alone'.

ATV's, SUV's, lawnmowers, chain saws, pretty much anything with an internal combustion engine on it.

Of course, if we let them, they would bankrupt the oil companies too. A part of me would like to see their reaction when the left was forced to make their own fuel for their own personal transportation.

Renewable energy? Doesn't exist. No such thing. Just like 'fairness'.

Why is it the left believes in so many things that are fantasy?