Official Moab UTV Rally Comments Thread...

[ravencr]

Hey folks,

Unfortunately, because of my stupidity(maybe lack of sleep), I left my surveys at home.

So, I plan to email each of you with the surveys soon, but in between now and then, what did everyone think: good or bad?

I want to hear what you liked, what you disliked, what you'd change, what you'd get rid of, who you'd fire(just kidding...it might be me ), etc. Please be as descriptive as possible, because I will use these comments and suggestions to make our Black Hills UTV Rally even better.

Thanks again for everything, and I look forward to hearing your constructive criticism.

Chris

[ravencr]

Okay, I'll start with what I heard:

Areas for Improvement

1) We need to start events/rides on time, not late...essentially if people miss it they won't the next day most likely.
2) I need to do a better job of delegating certain aspects of the events, such as the Raffle, and other setup type stuff prior to those arriving.
3) The idea of doing the dinner on Friday night instead of Saturday night to make sure everything experiences it before those who leave early head out.
4) Need to some how speed up the Raffles
5) Need GPS'd trail maps, regardless if the trail rides are guided or not
6) Need to create more traffic for the vendors somehow

That's all I can think of right off, but I'm sure there's more.

Chris

[oldtrucks]

I could see the problem with the routes coming, just a very difficult aspect to sort out from 500-1000 miles away. Overall I think it very well for a first event and all the logistics involved.

Someone smarter than I suggested having colors for the groups, example would be the easy group is yellow (I mean nothing by that choice I assure you). Have a large yellow flag so that group would know where top line up.

[ravencr]

Yep, I forget that one...I was told the same thing...either a flag or a big sign with either the event or even just a number to tell people where to go.

Chris

[smokem]

Hey there…

First of all I really appreciate the help received from the trail guides and others at the Moab UTV rally. What a fantastic time!!! Before arrival I realized that I really couldn’t be of much use to the trail guides because of my very limited experience and knowledge involved with UTV’s. Even if I had arrived 4-5 days prior to the event, it wouldn’t really be enough (IMHO) preparation for this. I arrived with 8 hours on my Ranger…half of which was used hauling Utah top soil (hard pan) half a mile up the street. A lot of the experienced folks had the added benefit of riding ATV’s prior to owning a side by side.

With the exception of the weather, I was doing fine until I saw that “off camber” section on the Seven Mile Rim trail on Wednesday. Gordy, Michael and Phil saved the day for me on that!!! Everything else on that trail I was able to get past. Later in the evening, a bunch of us in Rangers along with a RZR ran the trails behind Archview which just happened to involve an off camber that was as bad as the one earlier but I wouldn’t have rolled so far down. You’ve heard the expression; “Love at first sight”…? Well, that’s what I felt when we entered the sand dunes on Thursday’s e-z run! They’re tricky and need to be scouted prior to crossing them. I often found vertical drop off’s exceeding ten feet in height.

Poker run? Taking the rim trail was a challenge because heights bother me a great deal. I liked the small challenges that we encountered in order to reach # 4 ammo box.

The last day (Metal Masher) was the most challenging run of all! (Of course it meant taking that *** rim trail again.) The last couple hundred of feet climbing before getting to the Moab rim was a bit overwhelming for this novice. Watching a woman stand her ranger up on end and helping pull it back down didn’t boost my confidence any. I was beginning to wonder what the heck am I doing here! Another Ranger driver (John) from Ogden, Utah literally saved me from “throwing in the towel” when it comes to “intermediate riding.” Earlier, Michael had mentioned learning to use the gas/brake but hadn’t gotten into detail about it. John gave me a riding lesson with my Ranger (him driving) and taught me how to use the pedals simultaneously when rock crawling. What a difference that 10-minute lesson made in my operating a UTV. Prior to this, I’d been lurching up, down, and over rocks and ledges. Combined with the fact that every new sight/obstacle around the bend seemed to get worse then the last one…really stressed out some of us newbie’s. For me, it was like climbing a ladder of terror. Every step up that ridge became worse. When we stopped up on top and took a long break, it helped tremendously! I needed a chance (time) to settle down. When we headed down that ridge I was applying the knowledge learned from John’s 10-minute lesson and began gaining confidence in the capabilities of my machine in rock crawling. Next year, I will return to Metal Masher and will do the entire run again and conquer it!

When all is said and done, I think it went great!!! Sometimes we found our groups to be separated and lost but it wasn’t the trail guides/leader’s fault. On one ride, the person in front of me never checked behind to see where I was because they were barreling down the road to keep the person in front of them in sight. On another ride, this same rider kept an eye out for me. We were learning!

My wife looked at my few pics and I know she regretted being unable to attend this event. She WANTS to come to the next one in Moab!!!! Until then, we are planning to hook up with some new friends made recently (very!) and do the Alpine Loop in Colorado. She’s going to check her schedule and find a time slot for August that we could do it.

The sponsors were also terrific!!! I’d be willing to bet that for the next raffle, others will jump in and buy more tickets for the raffle. A few that purchased a hundred dollars of tickets got their money back in a big hurry!!!

On the other hand, I appreciate the magazine sponsor’s even more so. The prizes given away were terrific yet had it not been for the magazines, their coverage and free advertisements it wouldn’t have gotten off at such a great start. I’ve always hated bumper stickers and even dislike having an oil change sticker on my windshield. They can make a nice car look “a bit tacky” or a nice truck look “redneck.” However, I told Charlene Bower and SXS that if they wanted to…I will donate my new 07 Ranger XP, dual axle trailer, and my brand new Ford Expedition to them for free advertising. I will drive to their location and they can decorate/paint/decal their slogans on all! I don’t want anything in return for it, either. I believe it could be done “tastefully” …if you will. These magazines give me more knowledge/pleasure in the long run. They were the first to step up to the plate for us and they’re giving us (everyone) a real….home run! Prior to our rally, I never heard of “Sand Addiction” but it’s easy to understand how it could happen. My wife loved the pics of the dunes too and wants to go see/ride them.

As for the other little quirks that accompany 1st’s blah-blah-blah, there was a lot of confusion which group was which (e-Z, moderate, and difficult) I know some thought they were going on an easy ride but the intermediate ride hadn’t taken off! SURPRISE! “Empty your britches.” All groups were using the same departure area (by Yamaha trailer) On one ride, I had a young Rhino driver (of course everybody looks young to me) right on my bumper. I let him go by and give Bob & Karen a taste of his poor performance. Soon he’d passed all of the “mature riders” and for all I know he’s probably the one that sparked the flat out ride (race) back to Archview. A few tempers were flaring from time to time, but overall I’ve heard a lot of positive and happy comments. In all likelihood, my wife and I will be riding the trails together in Moab before the end of the year. When it cools down a bit… And finally…..it would have been terrific to have a Polaris tractor trailer there. I think they dropped the ball on this one… Oh well, like Nelson says, “the beat goes on….

[oldtrucks]

I have a few other suggestions for you on routes and ideas that I'll email when I get them together

[ravencr]

Awesome comments Bud...I really appreciate it.

Chris

[oldtrucks]

Originally Posted by smokem

… And finally…..it would have been terrific to have a Polaris tractor trailer there. I think they dropped the ball on this one… Oh well, like Nelson says, “the beat goes on….

I couldn't agree more, Polaris dropped the ball. I think the presence of Yamaha and there participation in the event as well as doing the rides was a huge plus for them. Their entire crew needs a huge THANKS for all they did. We're looking for a second machine and I think that may have been the push I needed

[oldtrucks]

......and Bud.....you know there was no way I was going to let you fall of that little off chamber section

[BillyBob66]

Sure wish we could have gone but we are in the middle of moving down south. Close my Automotive shop after 19 years in business. That was hard for me. Going to work on base at China lake by Ridgecrest CA Repairing HummV and Cougars.
ravencr to get ppl to go to all vendors, in the Automotive traid shows you get a punch card that each vendor marks when you gone to all vender you drop it in for a raffle prize.