A couple of days ago I was politely told by my local field and recreation department that they were not going to allow buggying on their athletic fields around town, explaining that my oh-so-fun power slides might chew up the grass they maintain for various tournaments throughout the year. I had assumed this was going to be their stance which is why I had been taking a slightly gregarious "Ask for forgiveness, not permission" approach to my riding.

Well, that put me in a pickle as I really don't have time to drive long distances to buggy (balance, balance, balance; I'm on my second and final marriage). I'd been eyeing a couple of sketchy "off road" areas around town but knew that my PL Folding buggy was not going to cut it for adventures off sandy or grassy paths.

So... kicked off my grassy play spots... what's a buggier to do? eBay to the rescue! The wind Gods must have been shining down on me because I just got a used Bigfoot+ from somebody in Las Vegas at a GREAT price as the sole bidder. From the photos it looks to be in cherry condition. :-)

Once I get the Bigfoot in house I think I may be selling my Folding buggy, so if you are in the market let me know by U2U or keep your eyes peeled in the For Sale forum. The folding buggy is in good shape with extra wide tires.

Totally psyched! Can't wait to get this bad boy in my hands and start my off road adventures!!! Yes Mom, I've got a full motorcycle helmet, elbow, and knee pads.

I don't know if the parks people are open to discussion? Bigfoot tires are designed to be easy on turf. You would have to go out of your way to cause damage with that set up?

Weell, crap!
There are some fun haters in any town...
Good idea to have several venues to pick from for wind conditions, but also to avoid conflicts of interest with other groups..
Keep looking!
Congrats on a bigger bug too!

Bladerunner - I agree with you that the Bigfoot tires should be easier on turf. This wasn't a "ban"; rather, a groundskeeper of sorts nicely asking me to get off a particular soccer field. I intend to employ the tried and true method of "plausible deniability" at the other fields. :evil:

1oldkid - Thanks! I am sensitive to the greater good and other groups. I'm the only one I've ever seen in town in the summer months getting pulled around by a kite in or on anything. I'll occasionally see some smaller traction kites here and there, but really not very often at all. In the winter months there is a cadre of snowkiters in various locals around town (a clan I intend to join). The options for open space really opens up once there is a lot of snow on the ground. There is a ton of open acreage around but 90% of it is covered with fairly dense sagebrush making buggying impossible even assuming permission. Now with a base of 3-6 feet of snow, that's a horse of a completely different color!

this is one of the biggest discussions around. we have a few 6 to 12 field soccer areas here and they all have outlawed kites and such things.
one of the problems with these fields is the "type" of grass they use. we have a dozen or so sod farms here and they all use a different type of grass seed. some of the sod farms use grass that you cant walk on or it will hurt the grass to the other extreame that you can have monster truck races with out any damage.
Twin Firs Sod Farm where I promote the Quincy Kite Festival welcomes us with open arms. infact the owner Kent has his own buggy and kites. the type of grass he grows is more tolerant to drought and abuse than the oh la la grass you dont walk on.
as for the bigfoot tires, they can tear up the grass also. I could wear soccer cleats as I run across the field and tear it up, but thats OK

I tried at one time to educate the sod farms to the desire of kite/buggy use with very bad responses. the bottom line and last response from all the sod farms was to buy my own sod and cover my own field.
the soccer field owners told me somewhat the same thing but added a few #*!% with a very loud NO.

ours is a sport that is in need of some open space that is becoming harder to come by. one of the reasons why so much work went into getting the government to open up the beaches in Washington State. anything worth having is worth working for. whether it is to keep it or to gain use of it. if it is important to you, than fight for it. many of use are willing to help as much as possible but at the end of the day its the ones that want it the most will still be holding on to the bulls horns.

I know the people who worked to get the parks reopened in the Denver area to allow kite boarding, took a few years to accomplish.
good luck

bigkid - I really appreciate your comments! I know this is a sad song that plays out every day in so many beloved places. I do plan to work on things locally one step at a time, as I outright refuse to go quietly into the night. :smug:

I drove around town and scoped some potential locales for "off road" buggying once I get my Bigfoot. One place that looks promising is at the base of the mountain below the Utah Olympic Park less than a 10 minute drive from my house. This is the jumping and sliding park that was built for the 2002 SLC Winter Olympic Games. Here are a couple of photos:

That might be worth looking into!
With a walk through to check for big rocks or deep holes...:o
Is it open to public access?

@1oldkid - I most certainly plan to walk it first. Already did a bit of that scoping it out, but certainly not completely. As to it being open to public access I'm less than positive. There is a public bike path that goes along the side of it and it is adjacent to a block of acres that is the (hopeful) future home of a "tech center" of sorts. Not sure who owns the land (sort of afraid to find out!). There is another open spot next to some sports fields that also looks promising but it wasn't interesting to photograph so I didn't bother. Also will need some walking through but it would likely have pretty clean wind. We had one of the wettest Mays on record this year so the grass has grown long and lush everywhere. I figure the Bigfoot will plow through that but could be hiding some surprises! :o