Hey, Everyone! I’m Bill, a.k.a. SailorGriz. I used to sail a lot on my 37 foot cruising sailboat (I sold it awhile back); then I got a 2004 Yamaha Grizzly. Hence, the handle. Of course, the Griz is busted and replaced with a 2006 Kawasaki Brute Force 750i, but I kept the handle.

I REALLY enjoy riding ATVs. It reminds me of four wheeling with my dad back when I was a kid and we each had a Jeep Wagoneer: riding all the little tracks and trails through the mountains and deserts of Idaho. Man, those were the days! ATVing is a lot like that

I’ve done very little customizing on the Brute. I have 26 inch MudLites on Series C rims. I have a Warn 2.5 winch on the front. And I have a variety of luggage configurations so I can match the haul capability to my needs.

A Brute is a powerful machine. Since I own one, you might think I ride like a Crazy Man or that I like to go into the deep, gooy, mud and stuff.

You’d be wrong. I tend to ride like a little ol’ lady and generally avoid the mud unless I’m specifically looking for mud

Instead, I like to tour by quad. My favorite is to explore new areas, preferably areas that haven’t been ridden by a gadzillion other people on quads. I don’t find much of that in Wisconsin (or anywhere else in the Midwest). So, I tend to travel a fair amount.

I’ve ridden in Missouri, Mississippi, West Virginia, and South Dakota. My favorite is South Dakota, in the Black Hills. I’ve known there were a lot of old logging and mining roads out there for a long time. I recently found out they estimate 5000 miles of "primitive" roads in the Hills. That’s more than I can ride in a weekend! My friends and I like to head down a "major"

road (often a two track with grass growing in the middle) and turn off on every side road or trail we come to. Most times they go a few hundred yards to a couple miles then dead end. Sometimes they make a loop back on themselves. Sometimes they lead to Who Knows Where

You just never know what you’ll find when you come around the bend!

We can’t ride like that around here. That’s OK. It’s still great fun to get out on the trails and just, well, ride! Not so fast, lots of stops to enjoy the view, the weather, the wildlife, whatever. Yeah, it’s fun!

Ride well, my friends! Be safe, responsible, legal, and ethical; when you have those covered, HAVE FUN! It’s what ATVing is all about!