mrycar

It has been a snowless winter this month. The sled trails are bare, and the snowmobilers are riled. Wisconsin is coping with this by opening up its sled trails to ATV’s this winter, as they need that outdoor power sports business. Luckily here in Michigan, most of the ATV trails are open this time of year. There may be some routes that may be closed, but predominantly most everything we can ride in the summer is open in the winter. The question that I ask, is how many people are riding their ATV’s in the winter?

Personally, winter is the best time of the year to ride. No bugs, dust, or messy mud. Most of the moguls are a different personality in the winter. Some are frozen, with ice spacing the peaks, others are hidden beneath the snow when we have some. Trails change because of this dynamic. Challenges exist where there was none before. A different type of fun materializes; sliding, tire spinning, and interesting braking enter the picture; much of it on ice or snow and able to be done in a tread lightly manner. Winter riding is fun; though it poses new issues. Keeping warm. Preventing snow buildup around CV joints. . Ice accumulation. Overheating. Getting stuck in the snow. Branches protruding into the trail due to snow or ice buildup. Yet, these issues add to the challenge that I seek. It feels good to overcome these obstacles and offering aid to others.How do we get the local business, the state and riders to understand the value and excitement of riding in the winter? How do we diversify the powersport users and businesses perspectives, so that there are plenty of people participating in one or more types of outdoor recreation, so that the weather is less relevant, and the remote communities have a prosperous season? Part of the solution in solving this dilemma is to unite the power sports and outdoor activities.

Today we are not an organized group body. We are fragmented into separate disjointed enthusiasts groups. The government treats as separate groups. The business see us as separate groups. Organization must occur. All of the outdoor activities are part of our enthusiast interest life cycle. Today I may be a an avid hunter and hiker, tomorrow mountain biker, then a dirt bike rider, snowmobile rider, Atv rider, or full sized vehicle rider. Throughout our life we are likely to change our interest, so why do we fragment and argue or pit our interests against ourselves? United, we can solve issues that permit or prevent us from helping our communities and provide year round enjoyment of our outdoor recreation areas. United we can present solutions that get businesses involved to help us drive change in the state, and improve import of recreational users from outside of state. This will drive awareness and year round entertainment.

A few years ago, a group of us were enjoying the snowy ride in St Helen. We were unaware that a camera crew was filming a piece about snowmobiling in Michigan. The crew had their gear mounted on a Side by side, and we're completely caught by surprise that people could enjoy ATV's in the winter. They later learned the joy by trying to catch up with us to film us. When we finally did meet, the grins on their face were wide, they had discovered the joys of winter riding.

Through coordinated efforts and publically sharing our experiences we can increase our winter riding in Michigan. Doing so will ensure that areas depending on seasonal powersport revenue will have a steady source of people regardless of the weather. Once we have a common voice and a documented impact of year round riding on communities, then we can work with the state on addressing issues such as side by side access and winter ohv's on track and really provide a unique Michigan riding experience that many will want to enjoy.