Remembering a Friend

[Chance]

 

[BlueByYou2000]

wow chance, that is powerful. Thank you so much...BBY

 

[03RX1JIM]

Sad tragic story, I am sorry for your loss! wish well to those who need to heal.
We forget how quickly life can be taken from us and that we should live life to the fullest.

 

[VT_BluYamaha54]

Our thoughts and prayers are with Dean, his family, and friends. A sad and sobering accident for everyone.

I think we all need to remember something that I'm know sure we have all heard many times in one form or another. . . .

Automobiles are one of the most dangerous forms of travel even though they operate on roads that were engineered for the posted speeds they are on. Those roads have guardrails, specially graded surfaces, and are often illuminated. Occupants are protected by a steel enclosure, seat belts, and sometimes airbags as well.

:ORC Snowmobiles operate on trails laid out by volunteers through the woods. There are no guardrails or lighting. There is no protective shell, no seatbelts, no airbags. There was no engineer checking the sharpness of the turns. There is no Agency of Transportation inspecting the travelled surface for problems, the bridges for deficiencies.

So everyone, EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED. Snowmobiling is an almost uncontrolled environment!!

I strongly believe in the words I put in my signature since the day I joined this outstanding forum!

God Bless us all and make every ride a SAFE ROUNDTRIP.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I'm sorry to hear about your friend.

 

[Simons CPR]

matt sorry to hear about your friend, you never know when your time will come, but hopefully you made alot of friends and had some fun along the way. is there anything we can do to help out his family? jeff

 

[NOS-PRO]

We heard about this, while we were riding........

No words can say how sorry we were, to hear of this accident.

My sympathy goes to his family, and all of the people he knew and loved.

God Bless

 

[BlueByYou2000]

Thank you all for the kind words. I would like to start some kind of fund for the family to help with there childerns education. They have a 5 year old boy, Trevor and a 3 year old daughter, Alexa. Not sure how to go about it, but would definetely be willing to accept donations for the family. We are also going to put on a tribute ride annualy to help his wife...BBY

 

[Indy]

Matt, I'm very sorry for your loss. This hits me hard at this time, because on our ride this last weekend, there was an accident that ended up being minor, but could have easily been fatal. An idiot riding too fast on the wrong side of the curve. A little damage to the sled was the only thing hurt, but could have been much, much worse. There was much more concern about the sled, than the rider or the possibility of a fatality. It struck me very hard, I could have been coming home alone. This also brings up another point, we should never let anyone else ride our sleds, if the sled is not set up for them, it is unsafe. Never again will I let anyone ride my sled, or be apart of a group of riders with a rider riding some one elses sled. It is not safe. I could not imagine how the person who loaned out this sled would have felt, if the rider was injured or killed. It has been making me think very hard about giving up this sport. Its not just just the high speeds and the alcohol, it is also the lack of proper maintenance on the sleds. Like riding way to fast with worn out carbides. I will never understand this, if the sled is not kept up to proper safe operating condition, not only are you taking your life in your own hands, you are also jeopardizing other riders also. What gives you the right? The sled should never be ridden if it is not safe! I have met a lot of great people in this sport and on this site, but I looking very hard at it now, and I am not sure if I want to continue to be a part of this sport. I value my life and my friends lives to let some idiot end it for me. The last two weekends I have seen many idiots on the wrong side of the curve. I've seen people riding way too fast in the snow dust to be able to see upcoming curves or trail obstacles, I've seen people riding over 90 mph along the edge of a lake within a stump area. I've seen drunk riders. I've seen a group of ditch pickle riders parked on a blind curve, and were upset that they had to move to let other riders pass. To my surprise I've seen people riding under maintained, unsafe sleds. As far as I know, I've never seen Blair Morgan on the trail, just a lot of wanna-be's. You can be a great rider, but with unsafe conditions or equipment, your just stupid. These last two weekends have been a large learning experience for me. I want my two little girls to have their father for a long time to come. And I don't trust anyone on the trails any longer.

 

[Bob Miller]

Indy there are many circumstances that can bring fear into our hearts concerning our demise! But understand this! When it is our time to go, THAT IS IT! I ride motorcycles, ATV's, and snowmobiles and I've been doing it for years, and I enjoy it! I drive automobiles and trucks and I fly on planes.
Everyday people die in this world! Many from accidents! Last I heard the number was 150,000 a day!
So I say live life to the fullest! Enjoy every breath you take, and the activities that you love, smile for everyone! (People love JOY)
Because we don't know when our time will come!
And when you leave this Earth! Don't leave Earth without Jesus

 

[Tork]

So sorry Matt, very tragic. I wish I could help as I know how bad you are hurting.
Indy, you are right. Before we hooked up with you this was what I was up against this weekend.
Rode with a pushy Rev rider, more on that in a second.
Conditions in the UP (Houghton) Friday were blizzard with poor visibility (Most of Saturday too).
I have been reading about the deaths lately and decided I was going to dial my speed down a notch, and Bluedog was thinking the same thing.
We put the Rev guy in the back because of the stinky smell and he was on my tail pushing me the whole time. So we put him in front and stayed out of the stink and the snow cloud.
He kept saying "boy you Yamaha guys are slow". Actually we werent that much slower it was mostly staying back for visibility.

Be careful with comments like this. You never want to push guys into riding above their comfort level and skills.

 

[Blue Me]

Matt I have no doubt that your friend is riding the hills in heaven and is waiting for his friends to come and join him for the best ride of all. He'll wait for you so in the mean time stay safe and ride with us and your close friends. If he had been riding for so many years I am sure he'd be mad at himself for the accident. But hang in there my friend he'll be there in the end to lead you down the best trails ever. Groomed by God himself. Keep your chin up and if there is anyway of explaining it to such a young family and I wouldn't know how but somehow let them know just how much he loved the sport that took him away from them. I can't imagine they will understand but we all know just how much this dangerous sport means to us but it really means nothing when it comes to family and friends. Be safe my friends.

 

[Indy]

Indy there are many circumstances that can bring fear into our hearts concerning our demise! But understand this! When it is our time to go, THAT IS IT! I ride motorcycles, ATV's, and snowmobiles and I've been doing it for years, and I enjoy it! I drive automobiles and trucks and I fly on planes.
Everyday people die in this world! Many from accidents! Last I heard the number was 150,000 a day!
So I say live life to the fullest! Enjoy every breath you take, and the activities that you love, smile for everyone! (People love JOY)
Because we don't know when our time will come!
And when you leave this Earth! Don't leave Earth without Jesus

I completely agree, but there are things we can do to minimze our chances of getting hurt or killed on the trail, or minimize the chance of hurting or killing someone else.

 

[dfroster]

I am very sorry to hear about your friend.

I avoided yet another head on crash last weekend with an irresponsible rider and I was lucky. The rider behind me was not as lucky. Minor accident but had major potential for being much worse.

We know that our life is in our own hands. We know that riding safely and defensively is the right thing to do. But knowing and doing are two different things. Your post is a somber but important reminder that if we want to live...we need to "do".

Thank you for the post.

 

[Snowaddict]

Sorry for your loss

Thoughts and prayers go out to you and his family. I can only reiterate what others have said so far. Please everyone be safe.