From the Vice President

From the MnUSA Vice President Let the Fun Begin!

Tim Heinen

The support and comments I received at the Fall Workshop almost brought tears to my eyes. There is a lot of care and support that members have, and with that I decided to stay on as V.P. for MnUSA. I really want to see what I have purposed has an outcome.

Enough said on that subject. Let’s talk about SNOWMOBILING, ya man! Where I live doesn’t matter, where it snows does matter. I am praying for heavy snowfall this season throughout the State of Minnesota. We all want a good winter of snow, and my bones are telling me that it is going to happen. (It’s tough getting old, right Mark?)

Ooh, random thought here, when someone mentions that the data shows this or states that, so it must be accurate, right? So, let’s think of meteorologists who rely directly on computer data. Well, they are wrong 50-75% of the time. Think about that. Back when Bud Kraehling or Barry ZeVan the weatherman gave the reports (dating myself here), they were more or less going off their gut instinct and their accuracy was higher than today. Even farmers had a better prediction, but because we have less farmers in the world who watch and learn from nature as the seasons change (aka: Farmers’ Almanac), we have a harder time predicting the outcome of the weather.

Sorry, I went off track there for a moment. Back to the sport of snowmobiling. It is December, and by now your trails should be marked very well to cut down on trespassing. Thanksgiving is over and it will cost you an arm and a leg to get through Christmas, but hopefully you have hidden extra cash in the spare tire compartment of your car so the spouse couldn’t find it, just so you can make those snowmobiling adventures you have been dreaming about. That’s right honey, by the time you read this, the money has been used to book trips... Let’s get back to what really matters—riding, that’s right, riding. The first time I ever rode a snowmobile was at my mom’s cousin’s, dad’s, grandfather’s farm (are you following this?). My uncle had owned two Rupps at the time. I don’t remember the years (late ‘60s) or model, other than it was a fricking blast riding them. I must have been 10 years old at the time. I still remember my jacket being full of sprayback from the carb. Boy, you think Polaris has a problem with burning, just don’t smoke after riding one of these old babies. Back to riding. Riding in a farm field was, in a way, boring, just doing circles. So, you have to thank the clubs who thought to get together and develop a trail system, and with that, MnUSA was formed to combat at state level into protecting our trails. Without MnUSA we wouldn’t have trails the way we do today.

Whoa, Nelly! Stop, Tim, stop. Let’s keep it simple. Join a club today, join MnUSA today, and we can keep fighting to keep our trails going. It’s that simple. (Sounds like a political ad I just saw.)

To all the men, women, children, and clubs out there, thank you for all your support, commitment, and the love for the sport. Hopefully I will see you out there with a big smile on the trail of life.

Find official trail reports at www.OcontoCounty.org

www.OcontoCounty.org Wisconsin's Favorite

Snowmobile Destination

Snowmobiling is a beloved winter pastime in Oconto County, thanks to 480 miles of groomed trails, which are maintained throughout the season by local clubs. A snowmobiling adventure here will take riders from open farmland in the south to deep secluded forestland in the north.

Order a free visitor guide and map today at www.OcontoCounty.org