GETMETOCA
Can't Wait For Tuesdays
- Mar 17, 2002
- 4,765
- 0
Saturday at Forresthill, a family of four park near us and unload 2 YZ426Fs. Its a Dad, his teenage son, his college age daughter and her boyfriend.
The Dad and son pull in from a ride about the same time we do and he starts to inquire about which trails are the easiest. A few minutes later, the daughter and her boyfriend are hopping on the 426's. I notice they don't have on traditional gear, but at least they have helmets and gloves on.
Soon enough, we figure out the girl is just learning how to ride. I'm all impressed that she's riding a YZ426F and figure she's just going to put around the parking area or stay in the staging area across the way, but apparently they are going on a trail ride.
After they leave, we continue talking to the Dad, who is obviously a very proud dad as we learn about the girls exemplary college career and that she's a pitcher on the college softball team.
10 minutes later, two guys pull up fast to ask if we're the family of two kids on 426's. Apparently the girl is down and needs help bad. I offer the Dad my bike to get over there.
The girl needed to be airlifted out with really bad back injuries. The brother told me she could not stand up, I'm praying that this had nothing to do with any permanent damage.
According the milage on my odometer when the Dad brought my bike back, the girl had only gotten about .3 of a mile from the Sugar Pine staging area on Trail 1, a VERY straighforward, wide trail.
Not sure how this happened other than maybe the girl was way too inexperienced for a bike with that much power. I was thinking even before they took off for a ride that the new rider + YZ426 was bad news.
The whole ordeal was odd, here we were talking with these nice folks and a few minutes later, tragedy hits and the medivac is hovering overhead.
I feel awful for the family, the Dad was very shook up by the time they packed up to leave. I just keep feeling that it might have been avoided by not starting out a new rider on a bike as powerful as the 426. :ugg:
The Dad and son pull in from a ride about the same time we do and he starts to inquire about which trails are the easiest. A few minutes later, the daughter and her boyfriend are hopping on the 426's. I notice they don't have on traditional gear, but at least they have helmets and gloves on.
Soon enough, we figure out the girl is just learning how to ride. I'm all impressed that she's riding a YZ426F and figure she's just going to put around the parking area or stay in the staging area across the way, but apparently they are going on a trail ride.
After they leave, we continue talking to the Dad, who is obviously a very proud dad as we learn about the girls exemplary college career and that she's a pitcher on the college softball team.
10 minutes later, two guys pull up fast to ask if we're the family of two kids on 426's. Apparently the girl is down and needs help bad. I offer the Dad my bike to get over there.
The girl needed to be airlifted out with really bad back injuries. The brother told me she could not stand up, I'm praying that this had nothing to do with any permanent damage.
According the milage on my odometer when the Dad brought my bike back, the girl had only gotten about .3 of a mile from the Sugar Pine staging area on Trail 1, a VERY straighforward, wide trail.
Not sure how this happened other than maybe the girl was way too inexperienced for a bike with that much power. I was thinking even before they took off for a ride that the new rider + YZ426 was bad news.
The whole ordeal was odd, here we were talking with these nice folks and a few minutes later, tragedy hits and the medivac is hovering overhead.
I feel awful for the family, the Dad was very shook up by the time they packed up to leave. I just keep feeling that it might have been avoided by not starting out a new rider on a bike as powerful as the 426. :ugg: