by Richard Kehoe

The past few months have been pretty busy to say the least. We have been here and there, but most importantly, we have all been out and about on our ATVs & UTVs, enjoying the fresh new season.

I make time to get out and ride quite a bit, not just because of the job, but mostly because I enjoy it so much. Sure, I’m able to ride and test machines a little more frequently because of what it says on my business card, but I also get out to our test track and log miles on with the guys from the office for fun after work. Almost every week I’m geared up and in the ARGO, messing around the camps road. It’s not a road really, our camp has a driveway about a quarter kilometer out and it’s cut trail fit for ATVs or an ARGO only. It’s more of an adventure this way, and hey, anyway we can use an ATV or ARGO a bit more, the better! 

This spring has turned out some great rides. Actually, I have had one of the best spring rides ever on ATVs. Early this spring, Virgil and I made our way to North Carolina to test ride the 2010 Can-Ams. It was grueling; we were able to ride every style of terrain in this riding compound for a few days. The NC red mud sucks, period! Don’t let anyone tell you different. Photo guy extraordinaire, Big Virg, asked me to ride in the red stuff for the photos and we ruined three jerseys. Rule of thumb; don’t wear anything white when riding in the red stuff. While we were out there, yours truly took in his first GNCC race, by far the craziest type of woods racing and fans that I have ever witnessed.

Our Technical Editor, Jeff Edwards and Warren Geer from our sales team, and myself  made our way to a ride in Bancroft, ON with the group that put on the huge mud run / poker ride. This trip had us venturing in all sorts of things like man made pits of mud that could swallow ATVs whole. Edwards showed everyone why he is the man behind the wheel of a side-by-side. The RZR S, triumphed every time through the disastrous area. At times the dust was so thick that Warren had difficulty with his contacts, and I think he broke a nail. The riding was second to none on this trip, and we even shot a real cannon. Yes, we were able to shoot a cannon! We used several ounces of gun powder to achieve the boom power to launch. Shortly after our cannon ball experience, a Canadian Armed Forces Hercules airplane flew over top and made a few laps around the area. Probably just looking at the group of 15 ATVs in the woods, but the timing was perfect. How big was the cannon? Big enough to make a boom, but our cannon balls were only golf balls. Trust me we were not a threat. (ATV World Magazine does not recommend, or want you to try this at home.)

In this issue, ATV World Summer ‘09, Pat Bourgeois has a new column named “Detonation,” get ready to be entertained with “SMART DONKEY!” ATV World Magazine has been riding upstate Minnesota on Arctic Cat ATVs, through the woods and downstate with the 2010 Polaris, which will be featured in the next issue of ATV World. Pat just received a new wardrobe of Shift Gear; he now needs more closet space than your wife or girlfriend to house it all. This is going to be interesting, being that Shift is ahead of the fashion police. Will Pat wear his plaid suit for the cameras? Hope he can back it up! No doubt though, we are going to be entertained, learn something, and we’ll be looking forward to the next installment of “Detonation”.

Another new column in ATV World is “In the Shop with Jeff Steenbakkers”. My last column mentioned that Jeff sleeps with ATVs, but at the time I was only kidding. I am now rescinding the joke, as he might just be sleeping with them. One thing is for sure; Jeff loves All Terrain Vehicles, a true passion of his. He’s even been busy making custom ATVs. A few of us, including both Edwards and Steenbakkers, made our way to the Mike Holmes Foundation ride, sponsored by Can-Am, just a couple weeks back. The ride was at the military base, Base Borden. This place was a blast to ride at, with the troops, tanks, and other weaponry, we had a great time. Because of the intense training facility, we had all types of riding to take advantage of. Sand dunes, water, mud, to any obstacles that the troops might encounter in the world was there, and we experienced it. We got stuck in mud holes that tanks struggled to get through while training. I had my Polaris Sportsman 550 XP stuck in the muddy tank trap, but surprisingly enough, Steenbakkers whittled a Yamaha Griz 7 to the other side. I felt a bit of shame, but tanks also got stuck in the line I took. Hey, Edwards got stuck as well.

Spring of 2009 was filled with fun and entertainment for us, and we can’t wait to get into full summer mode with more riding and more experiences. Get out there and enjoy it while you can, being an ATV enthusiast is who we are, it’s who you are, and it’s what we all enjoy doing. Send us your Ride Shots; we might just publish them in our next issue. Be sure to send them to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and show us how much fun you’re having this season! Until then, like you, we honestly can’t wait for our next ride!