Some of you may have caught my article on building a racing simulator with a computer and large-screen televisions, and how it has helped me gain strength and coordination for driving with hand controls. My friend and fellow quadriplegic, Landon, and I have been racing online, and scheming about real-life all-terrain vehicle fun for quite some time.

Landon drives a souped-up Yamaha Rhino with hand controls, and I drive a much tamer 250cc buggy with hand controls that was adapted by Landon and his friends. Both units have electric low-effort steering, and we can drive them easily once we’re behind the wheel.

During one of our chats over the summer Landon got us dreaming about how fun it would be if we held a mini-rally. “It would be epic to have two quads running ATVs around,” he said. “I bet that doesn’t happen often.”

“I’ll bet you’re right,” I responded. “In the fall, when the crop is off, we can run around the fields.”

Autumn rolled around, and warm weather allowed the crops to be harvested early, freeing up the fields for us. The mid-September forecast called for warm summertime temperatures — perfect for us — so we made a plan to get out riding.

Race Time

When the day arrived, my buggy was fueled and ready in the garage. Landon texted that he was all loaded and on his way to my place. Like two children, neither of us slept much the night before.

To get into the buggy, I have a rail attached to the ceiling of the garage. We use a Warn Pullzall portable battery-powered winch that works fine for lifting me. With 1,000-pound pulling power, it is especially versatile for applications like getting ATVs unstuck, lifting deer and more. Landon has an ATV trailer that he pulls behind his full-sized van, and it is equipped with its own self-contained lift to get him into the Rhino wherever he may be.

Upon arrival, Landon and his partner, Tonya, parked and unloaded the Rhino, while my wife, Terry, and my friend Dave loaded me into the buggy. I parked my wheelchair beside the buggy, under the rail. They slid the sling down my back and around my legs, and the winch lifted me out of my chair. Then they slid me over the buggy with the rail, and dropped me in. Seatbelts tightened, steering wheel popped on, and pilot finally installed, we were almost ready. I have rigged starter and kill switches on my hand controls. I started the engine and drove outside to meet Landon.

Our mission: to make a 2.5-mile trail around the edge of the field. Landon had an action camera running. Terry jumped in with me, and Dave jumped in another ATV with cameras.

Terry and I started by leading slowly around the field a couple of times, with Landon and Tonya following to get a sense of the terrain. A few laps later, tired of eating dust behind us, they zoomed ahead. I switched to high range in the buggy, and soon our “puttering around the field” had become “let’s see how fast we can do a lap.”

With Landon zooming around faster and faster, I cut corners to keep up. Landon spotted a row of round straw bales and voila, we had a slalom course. Our leisurely trail building mission became a no-holds-barred free-for-all with the ATVs burning doughnuts, slaloming bales, spraying dirt while doing figure-eights, racing and generally being irresponsible.

We had permission to go on the fields next door, and soon our track had expanded. With three cars tearing it up, it sounded like a racetrack. Our neighbor heard the commotion and came by in his ATV to see what was going on. Landon stopped for a chat with him and invited him over, but he declined to join us, thinking he wouldn’t keep up.

Landon, not surprisingly, took a shining to circling the bales. It was so much fun watching him that once my arms were too tired to drive anymore a couple of hours later, I got out of the buggy and Terry set me up with the drone.

Landon and Tonya took off across the field, and I followed them with the drone. I’ve never used the “follow-me” mode, but it was relatively easy to figure out and lock on to them. The drone followed them wherever they went, up and down hills, around bales, and zooming in a straight line. I could circle them and change the angle, even fly backward in front and it would still track them. I learned to fly a little farther away, since the close-in high-speed turns and doughnuts occasionally eluded the tracking system.

Landon and I ended up with sore muscles — a sure sign of a successful day. We capped the day off with homemade pizza on a Traeger grill and reminisced about the day and our favorite highlights. In the end, we had a great time, got some great footage and pictures, and came away with another story to tell. Isn’t that what life’s all about?