New ATV Delivery, Masters Betting Wins, & Camera Tests

Posted by Pat Hathaway | April 23, 2026

My garage currently smells like fresh rubber, engine grease, and absolute victory. I’m sitting on a folding chair with my morning coffee, just admiring the new addition to the fleet.

The Delivery from Triplet

The truck from Triplet Powersports backed into my driveway yesterday afternoon. The new ATV is officially here, and it is a beast.

I went full out—independent suspension, front winch, and aggressive mud tires. Big Boy Dan came over to kick the tires and immediately suggested we take it up into the Sierras to see if we can get it stuck. That’s Dan for you. Always looking to test the limits of machinery.

For the record, I still haven’t lost those last three pounds. But I figure muscling this rig through the dirt trails this weekend is going to count as premium cardio.

Rust, Megapixels, and The Judge

Let’s address the elephant in the room. Or rather, the salt on the camera.

Ever since our windy shoot at Pigeon Point Lighthouse, Judge Roy Bacon has been emailing me daily, waiting for my Sony α1 II to short circuit. He’s been preaching the gospel of mechanical cameras, convinced that my “plastic computer” was going to rust from the inside out.

I spent an hour at the workbench yesterday with some isopropyl alcohol and a sensor swab. I wiped down every gasket and dial.

“To the Honorable Judge Roy: No rust. No shorts. The plastic computer lives to shoot another day.”

I’m taking the Sony out on the ATV this weekend. I want to test the AI autofocus on tracking fast-moving dust clouds. We’ll see if it survives the mud as well as it survived the Pacific Ocean.

Blades Brown and The Bankroll

The tech portfolio isn’t the only thing padding the toy fund right now. AMZN has continued its march upward, but my real victory lap this week belongs to the sportsbooks.

If you read my post before the Masters, you know I put some money down on a 19-year-old kid named Blades Brown. Dan thought I was crazy.

Well, Blades didn’t win the green jacket, but he played like a veteran, made the cut, and secured a top-20 finish. I had him heavily targeted on weekend prop bets over at my BetAnything account. The payout covered the ATV winch and a few nice bottles of bourbon to spare.

Between hitting the fairways at Spyglass, cashing tickets on the golf course, and watching the AI boom line my pockets, I have to admit—it’s a good time to be Pat.

Comments

BigBoyDan: Needs a lift kit. We ride Saturday.

JudgeRoy: Salt takes time, Pat. The corrosion is just hiding. Give it a month.

Video Recommendation

Dan sent me this footage last night to get me hyped for the weekend. This is exactly the kind of dirt and elevation we are looking to conquer with the new rig.

High Sierra ATV Trail Riding – The Ultimate Mud Run (YouTube)