Who are we??

[Dave S]

I thought I would start a post so we could get a little better understanding who each user is.

As many of you have seen, I help moderate this forum along with Dave. My name is Dave, also. Not Dave Also. Just Dave.

All kidding aside, I obviously enjoy riding. I spent many summer days at the age of 8-9 years old, riding a bicycle a mile to our local Suzuki dealer to check out all of the bikes. I pestered my parents for a RM 80 daily to no avail. I then asked for the DS 80, which I knew, and told them was slower and less expensive, but again to no avail.

Eventually, my parents divorced and my dad remarried. It was then that I had my lifelong dream fullfilled when we went shopping for a couple recreatioal vehicles. We ended up coming home with an Arctic Cat Jag F/A 340 and a Suzuki LT125 4x6. This was beginning of my infatuation with ATV's.

From there, and after I was out on my own, I purchased another Suzuki. This time a 1988 LT230 Quadsport. I thought this was the greatest thing since.......well you know. I beat on this machine and did things that by any right should not have been done on this machine. I don't mean legal things, but within the machines capabilities.

Shortly after divorcing my first wife, I sold the Q-Sport and was without a machine for a couple years. After I remarried, a cousin had a LT500 Quadracer (Quadzilla) for sale. These machines were simply incredible. Although my new/used ride was in need of a major overhaul. I never had this done prior to selling it.

After another stint of being without a machine, I bought a Polaris SP500, then later a Suzuki Vinson, then a Bombardier DS 650, Kawasaki KFX 700, and now a Honda Rincon.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm currently on my second marriage, with 2 daughters age 22 and 20, and 2 sons aged 18 and 14.

Along with my ATV addiction, I enjoy hunting and fishing.

I am a MN DNR Advanced Hunter Ed. Instructor as well as a MN DNR ATV Safety Instructor.

I have had several occupations over the years that have helped fund my interests.

My first fulltime job was working for a company in Shakopee building the automatic carwashes. I was there for only 6 months and then moved on to servicing and installing carwashes out of a shop in St. Louis Park.

After this, I went to work for the foundry in Le Sueur as a Die Cast operator. The work at the time was unstable, not to mention miserable.

I left the foundry to go to work for a stainless steel fabrication shop in Winsted. Worst job I ever had. Conditions were awful and the people were far worse.

After being laid of from there, I went to work at ADC Telecom through a temp agency and was hired on full time. 18 years later, I'm still with them working in the sheet metal dept. in Shakopee.

Whew, sorry about the book everyone. Let's hear a little about your backgrounds.

[Iambjm]

My name is Barb and the "old grouch" (pet nickname) I am married to is Jim. He is kinda the silent partner when it comes to the computer. We have been married 37 years, no kids. Great Dane named Lola, and a rescued cat named Hanson. We love to fish, not hunt, we both love the outdoors. Jim is on disability retirement, and I am self-employed part time in the craft business. He first rode one of my brother-in-laws 4 wheelers in 2004 and he was hooked. He had an operation in 2003 that went bad, left him partially disabled and his job refused to let him come back. His health has gone downhill since then, that and an enormous weight gain have left him with walking difficulties. I love ice fishing and this last winter we had so much snow it was very difficult for me to get out onto the ice. A neighbor lent me his 4 wheeler to go fishing and after 2 trips I was hooked. We have an old Honda 3 wheeler that the old grouch insisted on buying, but it wouldn't run and we know absolutely nothing about these things. So in January I gave in and we started looking at new ones. Finally bought a 2007 Polaris Sportsman 500 X2. Spent the kids inheritance on it, oh yeah that's right we don't have any kids . We are having a blast with it, especially me because it gets the old grouch out of the house and I can get some peace and quiet. And when he is in the house I can take of on it into the woods for some quiet time. We are fortunate in the fact that we have some National Forest roads that we can ride on only a mile away. Not much of a ride, only 7 miles long but there is some great wildlife there. We have even seen a wolf and his tracks. I am hoping to be able to participate in some of the rides, but for now I am just getting used to this machine.

[Roofer]

My name is Dave too.

Nah just kidding!

Name is Joe and originally from Monticello. Moved to Elk River when I was about 12 (1991 or so), then moved up to Princeton when I was 22. Lived here since.

My only claim to fame is being a stunt double in the movie "The Mighty Ducks" haha. Did that when I was 12 also and it paid for my first atv, which was a Suzuki 230 quadrunner. I had that a few years and traded up to s snowmobile, which was a '94 400 Polaris. At that time my dad had a '94 400L Polaris atv. I ride both quite often, then grew tired of waiting for snow. I then bought another atv which was a 1996 Sportsman 400L. Drove that for a few years, then traded it on a 2001 Xplorer 400.So now I had a snowmobile and an atv. Again waiting for snow alot and liked the much better ride of the atv. I then sold the snowmobile and bought another atv. It was a 2002 Prairie 650 and the GF rode my Xplorer. Later traded the Xplorer in on my brute I have now, and then last year traded the P650 for a Polaris 500 HO EFI. Anyways, now with two atv's. The brute for me and the 500 for the wife....Which she got on our honeymoon trip.

In between all of this, I had a rather major accident when I was 24 ('bout 5 years ago now0. I fell from almost two stories up and broke my back in two places and one leg was in many pieces. I spent 19 days in the hospital, 7 of those in ICU. Later with 8 months of healing and no working. I finally was ready to work again. It took almost a year to get back into things. Now I feel almost better than before I fell. Too bad because I was in very good shape at age 24, not too far off from that now, but had a few slow years to try to catch back up.

All in all we are happy and healthy now. Hopefully will be starting a family soon.

Whoa this got too long.....that's enough