'HAVE FUN AND GET DIRTY'

HARRISVILLE — Family, friends, adrenaline, competition.

Whatever reasons there are to ride all-terrain vehicles, fun is always at the top of a rider's list.

"Win or lose, you still have fun and get dirty," said Jena L. Soper, 12.

Jena, her father, Bradly L., and even her 2-year-old brother, Grayson J., all of Harrisville, were among the nearly 100 people who participated Saturday in the Adirondack ATV Riders Club Inc. drag race and mud bog competition on the club's land off Vrooman Road in the St. Lawrence County town of Pitcairn, near Harrisville.

"I like the mud bog because you just plain have fun," Jena said.

She said she has been riding since she was about 9.

"I always watched my dad do it, and I always wanted to do it," said Jena, who competed in both the drag races and mud bog competition.

Grayson participated in the kids' class, which was a 50-foot drag race on little electric machines.

Drag races — a sprint from the green light to the finish line — are done on a 300-foot sand straight-a-way. The event was separated into classes based on the power of the machines.

In the mud bog competition, riders maneuver their ATVs across a mud pond that is approximately 75 feet across and 3 feet deep, soaking the riders and sending mud and water flying behind them. The difficult part is not getting the machine stuck in the in the mud on the bottom.

"It takes a lot of skill to control the machine," said Darlene S. Gonyeau, Gouverneur, a club member, public relations officer and event volunteer.

To get un-stuck, riders often have to jerk the steering like they're pulling on the reins of a horse, or tilt the vehicle in one direction or the other, almost tipping it over.

"It's an event to let them blow off steam," said Robert W. Swanson, Pitcairn, who is a past president of the club and helps to maintain the tracks.

Raymond D. Sprague, Brownville, said mud bogging is about "who's got the best machine" and "who's the biggest and baddest."

"The mud's where it is," he said.

This summer the club is hosting events once a month leading up to the final event of the summer — the 12th annual ATV Rodeo — Aug. 9 and 10. At each monthly competition, riders earn points that will factor into their placing in the rodeo.

With many other trails in the area being closed down, these events give many ATV riders a time and place to ride.

"It gives the public something to get involved in as far as ATVs go," Mrs. Gonyeau said.

Although the events the club hosts are open to anybody, many people are returnees.

"It's usually the same people," said Shannon M. Moore, Harrisville.

Mrs. Moore and her husband, Victor P., often go riding with a group of 10 to 20 others, several of whom they met at events like this.

"It's like our hobby," said Mrs. Moore. "It's what we do."

Mrs. Moore and her husband were two of several riders who left for the day caked in mud. They don't participate in the drag racing, but continued to drive through the mud pit even after the competition was over.

"It's addicting," she said. "If you do it once, you'll do it again."

Kelly E. Baldwin, Waddington, had the same sentiments.

"As soon as I started doing it, I was hooked," he said.

Edward L. Lawton II, Watertown, was another rider who left covered in mud.

"It's something for us to do," he said. "It gives us a chance to get away."

According to Mr. Swanson, the sport is getting bigger every year.

"There's a lot of potential," said Mrs. Gonyeau. "This could be really big."

Participants received trophies for first place and medals for second place.