Snowmobiling trip verses bar hopping

[boatssleds]

My husband and I were invited to go with a group of 14 to the Cable Wi area for a 4 day ride. We normally go to the UP and ride with 2 other guys in there 50's. We generally ride 200 miles a day at an easy pace. We stop a few times and might have a total of 3 cocktails in a 10 hour period. We were excited to go with a different group and have some fun. What we got was very disturbing. The groups ages varied as follows,

2 under 21
3 in there 20's
2 in there 30's
3 in there 40's
2 early 50's Me and my husband
2 in there late 50's

After arriving early afternoon and getting settled in the cabin and getting all the sleds ready we headed out around 2PM. We ran 1/8 of a mile to the resort bar to catch up with a few others in the group. Most of the group had several cocktails before we hit the trails. Between 2PM and 7PM we had been to 5 bars and had rode 17 miles. Only 2 of the bars carded any of the younger rides and wouldn't serve the 2 that were under age. After arriving back at the resort bar around 7PM, most of the younger crowd proceded to get wasted. I asked my hushand around 9PM if he wanted to go out and do a little trail riding on our own, but several people in the group said we shouldn't ride after dark because of all the drunks out on the trails. We were stunned and very disappointed. This group has been riding this area for many years, so we assume they knew first hand that drinking and riding in this area is the norm. At this resort bar there was a group of about 5 guys that were so drunk they couldn't even stand. I watched them go out to there sleds and take off over the lake at a high rate of speed. Scary!!! We went back to the cabin around 10:30 PM that night. We heard the next morning all about how this kids in our group ran around the lake that night totally drunk.
First full day ride, we all eat and gased up. Hit the trail and 1/2 hour later are stopping at the first bar. My husband made the comment " Are we here to ride, I can drink at home". Several in the group were pissed at that comment.
Moral of the story is we will never ride in Wisconsin again. We saw the same people at every bar we stopped at. It's bar hopping, not riding. In all the years we have rode in the UP, I have never seen a snowmobiler in a bar that is stumbling drunk and get on their sled. I'm sure it does happen, but I have never seen it. I saw this at just about every place we stopped in at on this trip.
I'm sure when people in this group read this we will be ousted from the group and bad mouthed. That's fine with us, because we would never ride with this group again. But these are the people that are teaching these younger riders that drinking and riding sleds is ok. Shame on them!!!!

Wisconsin Trail stickers have been removed from our sleds.

Thank God for the beautiful UP, and to all the riders that park their sleds before they hit the bottle.

Shame on the bar owners that just keep serving up the drinks to people under age and already drunk.

 

[thunderstruck88]

makes you wonder where the young people of this country are going. all i see is they want to party and heck with work show up either drunk or high on drugs makes me sick just wonder how they was brought up . Where was there parents and did they teach them to be responsible? Also why did the people at the bar get away with this? All bars that serve to under age drinkers should have there liquor permits removed and never get them back again . I am sick of innocent people getting hurt or even killed by these jerks .

 

[xcr440]

Pretty difficult to categorize ALL WI snowmobilers in that story, but you did.

I'll just say, that is not what everyone in WI does, and I would be pretty upset if that was my snowmobiling weekend as well.

 

[rsvectordude]

Well I hate to break the news to you but it's pretty common in the UP also....

 

[Snowdee]

I really don't think her intention was to paint ALL WI riders with the same brush. She just hadn't encountered that type of behavior in the UP. I really don't like riding with my 22 yo nephew and his buddies. I'm in my 40s and don't like to go like my pants are on fire just to stop again in 15 miles for a dring or cigarette break. I prefer trail riding at a good pace and I'm attempting to teach my kids the same.

 

[Snowdee]

Sorry....drink

 

[fastercat]

drunks

i have been everywhere in mn,wisc, and mich and you can find the drunks everywhere, i stopped drinking and riding back in the early 90's when my buudy was decapitated from a guide wire, it really makes you think about drinking after you witness something like that, i have lots 5 other friends in the years, all from drinking and speeding, the last one was last year in wisconsin where a good friend by himself had a few before x-mas left the bar and at a high rate of speed went off the road and airborne and was 30' in the air hung up in a tree, they dont know if he died on contact cause he was frozen and they didnt find him for 12 hrs. after he left the local pub

 

[upsledder]

Also be sure to always travel through lower Michigan on your way to the U.P., we have lots of drunks on the highway too. Maybe you should be more careful of the people you are hanging around with instead of blaming the entire state of Wisconsin.

 

[scott_l]

I understand how you feel and why you feel this way and I completely agree that drinking the amount that it sounds like some of the group drank was unacceptable. But there are many great areas of WI to ride in and the majority of people do NOT bar hop just too drink. I personally believe you saw/spent the weekend with the minority of the sport.
Give WI. a second try but with a different group.
This could have happened in any state or city……….let’s not give Cable a bad name because of one (or a few groups).
No I do not live in WI.

 

[Banjo Man]

It seems like the longer you've been sledding, the more particular you get with the groups you go with.
We use to go with a group that liked to ride but also liked to drink and later
turn in to arguments and finger pointing. Needless to say we don't invite them anymore. Now we keep the group small and all newcomers learn to
respect the sport and all that goes with it. And we seem to have just as much fun.

 

[beakjones]

I love that half my riding is on trails with no bars for 50+ miles and the other half is off-trail... I did help a drunk unwad his machine from a tree between Negaunee and Ishpeming one night... he lived in Negaunee so I told him to go home and stay there, lucky not many riding near midnight that night.

 

[icantsee]

Why I Boondock!!!!!!!

And that is why I dont ride trails as much anymore. Nothing like riding with someone who drinks all day and rides trails with beer balls with trees that dont move on either side. Stretching the ride back to the cabin so they can have more beer. Sorry thats not for me . Since I bought my longtracks all I care about is riding powder, and leave the rest for when you get home. The only problem I have now is finding people to boondock with. Instead of driving 6hrs to get to the bars now I drive 7hrs to get to the snow. I went with a big group before to Calumet , awesome snow maybe almost 40" , I couldnt stand watching everyone drink at the motel so I grabbed my buddy and 1 more guy and we had the best day of boondocking, almost got lost so now I got GPS, and when we got back we never heard the end from the remorseful drunks. Leave it !

 

[famousguy]

That sounds like a bad experience. But that is not limited to WI. Just sit outside a bar in the UP and watch what happens.

Drunks are all over, and they give us responsible riders a bad name.

 

[bouncer]

If you were not happy with the actions of the group why did you continue to ride with them?

Me and the wife have no problem splitting from a group if we feel the need.

 

[98panther]

My riding is pretty evenly split between MN/WI/MI.
My experience is for many/most (not all) that is the norm.
The only difference is bars are farther apart in the UP.

 

[special_k]

Agree with 98panther. no difference.

 

[polarfreek]

You're not the only one.
My "EX" father in law did the same thing to me, his step son and a buddy of mine in the Hayward area. My brother in law's sled broke down and the whole group just kept on going. After we fixed that, we never found them all day. They were bar hopping the whole time. Then when they came back to the motel, they never rounded up my buddy, the brother in law and myself to go out to eat. Needless to say, the ex-father in law is a complete freak up to this day. Not saying it doesn't happen in the UP but be careful who you ride with. I will NEVER go with a different group unless i know what their intentions are. It's just not worth the bs.

 

[anonomoose]

Bouncer brings up a good point. NEVER leave with a group that is drunk. Never ride in a car with someone who has been drinking. Just get out.

Sad fact is that so many people feel that they need to drink to have fun. Actually they are subtracting from the fun. And like the beginning of this thread says, you can stay home and get drunk faster and cheaper.

Ride 15 miles and then stop for drinks...are you kidding me?? We like to ride and we don't stop to drink. If anybody does, they don't come with me...gauranteed.

No place on the trail for people who think they need to drink to have enjoyment. And I know that there are lots who drive the trails drunk, and more often than not, it happens after a dinner that meanders on to more drinks and then off in the night they go. I don't ride ANY trails at night, and that is a shame because nite riding is fun, but who wants to die being run over or run off the trail by a drunk?

Personally had I been invited along and found these guys drinking and riding, I would have headed right to the phone and called the cops, and tipped them off. It is NOT alright to drink and ride. WE all need to help keep the sport from suffering these mindless brainless accidents that were frankly NOT really accidents. Would you climb a ladder and shingle a roof in the winter when you are drunk...expect an accident, and expect another blackeye for the industry.

If WE don't stand up for our own sport, we will get regulated right out of existance.

Think about that the next time you belly up to a bar and have a cold one, while riding. Make it a coke, save the sport and wait til the keys are put up before doing your thing.

 

[xcr440]

To chime in again, these are the primary reason's I like to go out at 8am:

1. Its COLDer, sleds run better
2. Better trails, usually this is when the freshest grooming has been done
3. Bars are CLOSED! Usually until noon or so
4. I much prefer daylight RIDING, not sitting in a bar.
5. Usually Done riding by drinking time (3-4pm), and I'm TIRED by then, with 150+ miles and a good day behind me, THEN I (we) can drink
6. If you were out drinking the night before, its less likely you will be on MY trail at 8am.

 

[boatssleds]

I think because we spend so little time in the bars in the UP, is why I don't see it up there as much. Maybe because we spent all are trip in bars is why I saw so many drunk people. I guess if we spent all our riding days in the bars we would see this everywhere you can sled. My big point was that the adults we were with, thought seeing these kids get drunk was fun, and that it is ok to do this. Someone needs to set an example for the younger sledders or this sport will continue to get the bad rap it already has.

Snowdee--Thank you for showing your kids what a fun sport this can be. I hope they have many miles of safe riding.

Fastercar--Sorry to hear of your lose of so many friends to their careless ways. Be Safe

And Yes, we will never ride with this group again.