From the MnUSA Vice President It’s February Already?

Tim Heinen

Christmas and New Year’s have come and gone. We are 2 ½ months into our riding season. The northern half of the state has seen much snow and are scrambling to get the trails ready. This season the southern part of our great state has seen sufficient snowfall and I am hearing great riding conditions for all. So maybe this season Michigan won’t see all our dollars spent there; hopefully the money stays here. Once again, storms across this great country of ours have made a mess everywhere. (I truly don’t feel that sorry for New Yorkers—we have it worse with the cold. They cry, “Woe always us. Look how bad we have it.”) Good thing we live in Minnesota, as snow usually doesn’t cause much damage if any.

News Story: There was a news story about a local snowmobile club in Buffalo, N.Y., that helped get hospital staff to work using their groomers. I know if the call came in, I wouldn’t hesitate to help. In fact, my club did get the call to help our local police officers. They responded to a call that a snowmobile was on fire about a mile off the road on our trail system. They thought that they could just take the groomed trail with the squad cars. One made it through but the other did not, and they both couldn’t make it out. Even a fire truck tried to drive off the road in the ditch to our trail, but they got stuck immediately. They did make it out of the ditch. Our club had to drag the squads back to the road. The sled ended up burning down to a molten mess. All that remained was the engine, part of cradle and control arms. Now, before you judge the brand of sled that you hear about in the recalls, it was hard to identify, but after scraping on the engine to identify it, it wasn’t the brand you would think. There are other brands that burn. End of story.

With the sufficient snow that we have had all over the state, hopefully you are able to get out and enjoy the great outdoors. Clubs have been busy with trail maintenance and grooming. Around here I have been out and enjoying the conditions we have. I am also happy and amazed that people who are riding, pretty much stay on the trails. Thank you for doing that. There are still a few—mind you it is getting less—who still need some education about trail etiquette.

The Veteran’s Ride came and went. It was an awesome and very successful event. Over 150 vets and family members got a chance to snowmobile, thanks to the efforts of MnUSA and MSEAF. Shout out to all the manufacturers and individuals who helped in providing sleds, giving the vets a chance to experience the joys and pleasures that we enjoy. Thank you!

The Winter Rendezvous is this month and we always have a great turnout. It is one of the biggest events that MnUSA and the local regions host. At this event we invite members of our state senate and House. This is a chance to show them what snowmobiling is all about, and a time to ask for their support. We take them out on a trail ride to see the scenery that you don’t see from a car, have lunch on the trail and continue riding. The event also showcases the awards that your Awards Committee selected from your nominations for Snowmobile Family of the Year, Club of the Year, etc.

January and February are the two months when a lot of the local clubs have big events. I did ride my sled to some of these events and I have to say, what a nice turnout of families, friends, and variety of sleds. Great job to all who host these events. These events also help gain membership for clubs. Another way to bring in membership is with meet and greets. With a meet and greet, you can direct riders to free food. Who would pass that up? Then promote your club. We have had great success with that. To see what events are happening, they are listed on MnUSA website under events. If you want to list your event or meet and greet, you as a club must sign into your account page and list the event.

I am going to jump off the trail here and mention that despite all the maintenance, and how meticulous I am with my sleds, I still end up with small problems. While riding to one of the events that I visited, I noticed that my electronic speedometer would jump from 5 mph to 20 mph while I was stopped. So, with the sled running, I was racking up miles just sitting there. After some diagnostics, I determined that the speed sensor was defective. I called around for a replacement and found one at Cannon Power Sports. I drove down there and was surprised by the store. It is under new management and has completely changed how they do business. I was able to get my sled back up and out on the trails that same day. Thanks!

I am hoping to get to more meetings with different clubs as the season progresses to see what is happening in your neck of the woods. In the meantime, enjoy the ride, keep it safe, and follow the rules (Yes, there are rules), so you can ride tomorrow.