Alto Pit W/ Desert Pro Riders 04-29-06
I went to Alto Pit OHV area N.W. of Prescott for a try at sport quad riding. I met up with Jeff, Scoob, Rob and Kevin, the 4 of them are Desert Pro Racers. I now have a new found respect for those guys. Not that I didn't think these guys are tough, but I am the 1st one to say I can't even hold any of those guys jock strap when it comes to racing. It is such a different type of riding, it's hard to describe. I used to ride a single track motocross bike 30+ years ago so I thought I would ride ok. Not!!! It was difficult to get used to having to use the clutch with your left hand, front brake with your right hand, shift gears with your left foot, and use the rear brake with your right foot. Plus with a stab of the throttle the quad would launch forward. The power difference was unbelievable from my plush Polaris Sportsman 500 4x4 to the New Polaris Outlaw 500 or the Honda TRX 450R.
The Alto OHV area has several well marked challenging trails to ride. It's not that the trails are overly challenging if you were to ride them slowly but they are made to go fast. The trick is to miss the trees as they are inches from your handgrips, plus there are jumps it seems like every 5 or 10 feet with quick turns and uphill and downhill areas. Jeff called the jumps water catches to divert the rain so it would not wash away the trail. My legs and arms took a pounding because you had to stand up all the time going over the jumps. The arms werent to bad but my legs were very sore the next day. I guess I'm just used to my cushy lazy boy Polaris.
Watching the Pro riders was an absolute thrill for me. They make it look so easy. There was an area in the pit that had about a 15 foot almost straight up wall that Scoob was launching off on the Polaris Outlaw 500. It was a chance to see how the IRS worked as he was landing. We then headed to another area where Scoob was jumping off a 20 foot ledge with ease. Right next to this spot Kevin had his try with the Polaris Outlaw doing high speed turns between 2 walls. He was sending massive roosts behind him as he rode up the walls. He did say it did not turn as well as his quad because of the IRS.
Read MoreThe Alto OHV area has several well marked challenging trails to ride. It's not that the trails are overly challenging if you were to ride them slowly but they are made to go fast. The trick is to miss the trees as they are inches from your handgrips, plus there are jumps it seems like every 5 or 10 feet with quick turns and uphill and downhill areas. Jeff called the jumps water catches to divert the rain so it would not wash away the trail. My legs and arms took a pounding because you had to stand up all the time going over the jumps. The arms werent to bad but my legs were very sore the next day. I guess I'm just used to my cushy lazy boy Polaris.
Watching the Pro riders was an absolute thrill for me. They make it look so easy. There was an area in the pit that had about a 15 foot almost straight up wall that Scoob was launching off on the Polaris Outlaw 500. It was a chance to see how the IRS worked as he was landing. We then headed to another area where Scoob was jumping off a 20 foot ledge with ease. Right next to this spot Kevin had his try with the Polaris Outlaw doing high speed turns between 2 walls. He was sending massive roosts behind him as he rode up the walls. He did say it did not turn as well as his quad because of the IRS.
