SxS Training Part of Wildfire Recovery

ROV RBDC Graduating Class – September 19, 2018

Factory Pipe ROHVA Training Site – Ukiah, CA

QWR wants to congratulate the six BLM recreation leads and field staff who completed the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA) ROV Basic DriverCourse (RBDC) taught at the Factory Pipe Training Area located in Ukiah, California on September 19, 2018.

Developing Two-Feet Throttle/Brake Control

Exercise 4

This ROHVA class was offered in recognition of the long-standing partnership between OHV stakeholders and the BLM’s Ukiah Field Office which manages the Cow Mountain OHV Recreation Area.

Developing Two-Feet Throttle/Brake Control

Exercise 4

The River Fire damaged a significant number of popular OHV roads, trails, and related infrastructure on about 30,000 acres of BLM’s Cow Mountain Recreation Area.   Important wildfire recovery efforts are underway and the agency’s increased reliance on Side-by-Sides (SxSs) means there is also a growing need for ROHVA training opportunities since federal employees are required to get certification or recertification before operating a government SxS.

Practice Smooth Starting and Stopping 

Exercise 2

Don Amador, President of Quiet Warrior Racing/Consulting, states, “It is a privilege to help train agency staff about how to operate their SxS vehicles in a safe manner as they prepare to address post wildfire damage to OHV trails, campgrounds, and cultural resources.”

Cow Mountain OHV Recreation Area

Currently Closed by River Fire 

“The driving skills learned will help agency staff safely operate their vehicles while doing trail repairs and soil stabilization treatments,” Amador concludes.

QWR believes that non-federal partners will have an increasingly important role to play in helping provide access for agency staff to professional certified safety instruction for SxSs.

LINK TO ROHVA (Go ahead and take the free online ROHVA E-Course)

http://www.rohva.org/

*If you are interested in having Don teach a ROHVA ROV Basic DriverCourse, contact him at: damador@quietwarriorracing.com

ROHVA ROV Basic DriverCourse at Chappie-Shasta OHV Area - Skill Development, Safety, and Common Sense are Key Tenets

ROHVA RBDC Graduating Class 

BLM Chappie-Shasta OHV Area

QWR wants to congratulate the seven Forest Service and BLM recreation leads and field staff who completed the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA) ROV Basic DriverCourse (RBDC) taught at the Chappie-Shasta OHV Area near Redding, California on October 3, 2017.

Since Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles (ROVs) or Side-by-Sides (SxSs) are becoming increasingly popular and are the fastest growing segment of the powersports market and are seeing increased use by land agencies for recreation and resource management, QWR offered the RBDC course at the 2017 Interagency Ranger Ride and OHV workshop for agency staff who needed to get certified before operating a government SxS.

Student Path Selection and Stopping

The student’s pre-class off-road experiences included those with no OHV background to those agency staff that had driven 4WD trucks, motorcycles, ATVs, crew buggies, or fire engines in the backcountry.

Practice Turning

A lot of focus is placed on the proper use of personal protective gear or personal protective equipment (PPE) when sitting in or operating the SxS.  Just as it is important for certified chainsaw operators (both agency staff and trail volunteers) to use PPE, it is also critically important for SxS operators and passengers to wear an approved helmet, eye protection, gloves, boots, and long pants.

Precision Stop on 4 x 6

After becoming familiar with the operation of their vehicle and performing an inspection of various vehicle parts and controls including, but not limited to, the chassis, frame, wheels/tires, fenders, passenger seating and handholds, and the Rollover Protection Structure, they learned about proper hand positioning for steering, using both feet to control the gas and brake pedals, and many other aspects of safe vehicle operation.

The next five exercises are progressive in nature as they build the important skillsets needed for safe operation of the vehicle. 

Precision Stop on 4 x 6

Those exercises include starting out, stopping, driving a good path, experiencing low speed steering limits, backing-up/turning, driving a serpentine course both forward and in reverse, and practicing a quick stop and doing an evasive maneuver.

Don Amador, President of Quiet Warrior Racing/Consulting, states, “I am passionate about helping train both public and private sector SxS users about how to operate their vehicles in a safe and environmentally sound manner.”

Don Ready for RBDC Class

“I was proud to see the RBDC graduates use the skills they learned at class during the group trail ride the next day.  Several students told me the safe use of a SxS requires a healthy dose of common sense when out on the trail and to not be afraid to stop before attempting a challenging route segment that is beyond their comfort zone or ability,”  Amador concludes.

LINK TO ROHVA (Go ahead and take the free online ROHVA E-Course)

http://www.rohva.org/

*If you are interested in having Don teach a ROHVA ROV Basic DriverCourse, contact him at: damador@quietwarriorracing.com

SxS Training/Education Added to Trail Program

Chief Instructor Andrea Beach with DriverCoach Cadet

QWR wants to thank the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA), Chief Instructor – Andrea Beach, and American Honda for their respective roles in last week’s ROHVA DriverCoach Preparation Workshop.  The training was held over 4 days at Honda’s Rider Education Center located in Colton, CA.

Andrea Beach (C) with DriverCoach Graduates

According to the ROHVA website, the association was formed to promote the safe and responsible use of recreational off-highway vehicles (ROVs) manufactured or distributed in North America. ROHVA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop a standard for the equipment, configuration and performance requirements of ROVs. Based in Irvine, Calif., the not-for-profit trade association is sponsored by Arctic Cat, BRP, Honda, John Deere, Kawasaki, Polaris, Textron, and Yamaha.

Open Trail Experience - Driving on Rocky Terrain

Andrea Beach did a great job helping our class of six ROV DriverCoach candidates learn about  teaching the various closed range exercises and the open trail experience.  Her many years in off-road racing, driver/rider training, and general OHV recreation added a great deal of depth and richness to the course work.

QWR also appreciates that American Honda hosted the event at their popular training center and for loaning our class the use of three Pioneer 500 SxSs.

Open Trail Experience - Driving Near Trees

Don Amador, President of Quiet Warrior Racing/Consulting, states, “I feel the training received from Andrea at the Honda facility will enhance my ongoing efforts to champion responsible use of OHVs on public lands. SxS use is an important and growing recreational activity.  I think it is critical for trail-based recreation professionals to aid in the education of both the public and private sector communities.”

“I look forward to doing my part in helping train agency staff and other users in the safe operation of SxS.  Over the next few weeks, I will be busy working to site a number of strategically placed ROHVA-approved ranges,” Amador concludes.

LINK TO ROHVA (Go ahead and take the free online ROHVA E-Course)

http://www.rohva.org/

*If you are interested in having Don teach a ROHVA BasicDriver Course, contact him at: damador@quietwarriorracing.com

Young's Corral Bypass Project - New OHV Corridor Between Two FS Ranger Districts

FS LE and Volunteers Install New OHV Corridor Signs

QWR wants to commend volunteers from the Hayward Motorcycle Club and the Marin County Motorcycle Association for their participation and support at the recent Young’s Corral Bypass Signing Project.  Riders helped Forest Service staff upgrade the current signing prescription to reflect reestablishment of an official OHV corridor between the Grindstone and Upper Lake Ranger Districts on the Mendocino National Forest.

FS OHV Staff Give Project Instructions to Volunteers

This has been a 7 year endeavor which started when private property owners decided to not allow public use on a segment of the old OHV corridor that transected their property.  Once no trespassing signs and gates were installed on the corridor by the owners, it became obvious that another route should be found and designated so non-street legal OHVs could tour between the two units.

Private Property Posting on Old OHV Corridor

Another route was found but there was private property at an important intersection.  However, the solution was simple and that was for the Forest Service to utilize an existing road bed for a short bypass around the private property. 

The Young’s Corral Bypass Project was completed last year and the trail bed was allowed to rest and cure over the winter season.   The signing update project reflected official reestablishment of the 26 mile long OHV corridor which allows use by non-street legal dirt-bikes, SxSs, and jeep-type vehicles.

Sign Advising Riders that Private Property is Ahead

(i.e. Don't Go There)

QWR believes that long-term vision/commitment by volunteers and the agency to provide a sustainable, high quality, and common sense OHV route network is a key element to the future needs of the user community and the Forest.

View from Potential Dispersed Campsite Along New Route

QWR wants to again thank all of the public lands partners including individual users, clubs, agency staff, and OHMVR Division for their support of this and other joint efforts.

Sierra Trip Launches QWR Adventure Bike Module

QWR’s trip today to the Stanislaus National Forest marks the launch of its new “Adventure Bike” module that currently consists of a 2006 Triumph Tiger 955i.   Our discussions with agency staff centered on Subpart A of travel management and the impacts of the Rim Fire to the trail and road network.

Adventure bike and dual-sport based recreation is a growing segment of the OHV community.   Those interests deserve a seat at the table and we want to make sure that opportunities continue to exist for those forms of motorized recreation on public lands.

A March 29, 2012 letter from the Washington Office of the Forest Service to all Regional Foresters stated the agency expects to maintain an appropriately sized and environmentally sustainable road

system that is responsive to ecological, economic, and social concerns. The National Forest Road

System of the future must continue to provide needed access for recreation and resource

management, as well as support watershed restoration and resource protection to sustain healthy ecosystems.

QWR wants to encourage both street legal and non-street legal motorized trail and road users to be on the lookout for travel analysis reports which are to be published by the end of FY2015. Those reports are supposed to rank, identify, and/or map FS system roads (maintenance levels 1-5) according to their ability to meet a unit’s resource and recreation goals.

Catastrophic wildfires such as the Rim Fire can often cause the impacted area to be closed to all human activity (i.e. OHV, hunting, hiking, fishing, etc.) for periods of a year or more.  Also, those fire events can have a devastating impact on the developed OHV recreation infrastructure such as engineered trails and campgrounds.

QWR is excited about the addition of our adventure bike module which joins our other vehicle programs that advocate for responsible SxS, SUV, trail-bike, and dual-sport use on public roads, trails, and areas.

Link to March 29, 2012 FS Chief’s Subpart A Letter

http://www.lbl.org/pdf/2012ChiefsLetterTravelManagement.pdf

*Thanks to all our sponsors and supporters who help keep us on the road or trail!

SxS Trails and Training Serve Greater Sacramento Area and Delta Region

Located just 25 miles east of Sacramento California, Prairie City State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) offers a lot of diverse recreational opportunity for the OHV enthusiast.   There are a number of trails for dirt-bikes, ATVs, SxSs, and 4x4 vehicles. 

 

 

The unit also has several 4x4 obstacle courses for full-size vehicles, an environmental training center, kiddie tracks, and is home to the world-famous Hangtown MX.

 

QWR believes it offers the residents of the Greater Sacramento Area some great OHV recreation that is convenient, well-managed, and fun.

 

The park offers SxS training as well.  Last year, Prairie City SVRA, Hollister Hills SVRA, and a site in Irvine were designated as official training centers for the Basic DriverCourse created by the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA).

 

After taking the free 2 hour online ROV E-Course, students 16 years of age or older which have a valid driver’s license are eligible to take the 3 hour closed-range driving program taught by a licensed ROHVA DriverCoach.  The cost for the Basic DriverCourse is $150 per driver and a passenger can attend for free.    

 

At some locations, the DriverCourse offers additional Open Trail Experiences which allows the driver to put some of their new skills into practice on a variety of terrains. 

 

Link to ROHVA Main Website for info about all the Courses

http://rohva.org/

 

Link to ROHVA DriverCourse Video about the Training

http://rohva.org/Videos.aspx

 

Link to ROHVA Free ROV E-Course

http://cbt.rohva.org/

If you live in the Greater Sacramento or Delta Region of California and don’t have time to take a family OHV vacation into the mountains and are looking for a place where you or your family members can ride or drive their motorized vehicle,  Prairie City SVRA is certainly an alternative that is worthy of consideration.  It is also a great place to get trained up on that new SxS you just purchased.

  

Link to Prairie City SVRA

http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1221

 

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