Turkey Day Update 2014

Woodtick Wheelers ATV/OHM Club
       - 2014 Turkey Day Update -

Welcome to all the new members who joined the club this fall! And thanks to all our members for your support and participation this year!
Most of the ATV trails are closed in MN, but here are a few news items for November: 

Pop some popcorn! Here are two new ATV videos with great scenery.

1) “The Trail From Here To There” - 30 Minutes
The Western Slope ATV Association, a hard-working ATV club in Colorado, made a high-quality video about who they are and what they do. It has lots of scenic riding footage in the Rockies, and interviews with club members and folks they work with on trails. They paid for the video using a state trails grant, and hired an independent film maker who wrote, shot and produced it.

To see the 30-minute video, now posted on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBJc12daz5w

To see the 2 minute, 20 second trailer version on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShoXqumYIik&feature=player_embedded

2) “On The Right Trail” - 10 Minutes
NOHVCC created this video in partnership with the Montana Trail Vehicle Riders Association (MTVRA) and Montana State Parks. It’s used along with a curriculum to teach basic safety and ethics of OHV riding to Montana public school students. It was filmed on the Bull Run Ranch near Great Falls, MT, where 3 of our members rode during the NOHVCC fall conference in 2012. Some of you will recognize the motorcycle riders as Karen Umphress and Russ Ehnes with NOHVCC, and the narrator as our own Leland Owens with the MN DNR.   Here's the link to the new video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5ipD78o6OM

RZR 800 For Sale -- Club VP John Dickerman has his RZR 800 up for sale. It has 3600 miles, and $2800 in extras, including doors, roof, cargo box, and spare rim/tire. Asking price is $7500. John is original buyer and has all service records. Contact him at  507-317-7711.

Action Alert! In 2012 the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) considered having manufacturers add roll bars to all ATVs. The industry stopped this effort, showing how it would increase serious injuries, not prevent them. Now, the CPSC is proposing mandatory design standards for Side-by-Sides that the manufacturers and industry organizations say would negatively affect handling and performance. To learn more and oppose this proposal during the public comment period using an automatic letter, here is a link to the Polaris campaign to stop the CPSC from over-reaching: http://polarisvotes.com/cpsc-rov-rulemaking-take-action-in-opposition/.

Here is a link to similar information provided by ARRA (Americans For Responsible Recreational Access) -- a non-profit organization in Washington D.C. that fights for responsible access on public lands -- including an automatic letter you can send to MN Senators and Representatives:
https://secure3.convio.net/arra/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=591

Enter To Win A Polaris Youth RZR 170 EFI.
Here is a link to enter your name for this weekly drawing.
http://www.polaris.com/en-us/rzr-side-by-side/promos/rzr-170-giveaway

Ribbon Cutting For New ATV Trail. Ron Potter, recently retired from the MN DNR, a NOHVCC consultant, and a member of the Woodtick Wheelers, helped create a new trail in the Superior National Forest. The 27-mile Jackpot Loop was created by building a new trail that hooks up with the Stony Spur Trail. The ribbon cutting ceremony was earlier this month. Way to go Ron!

Club Publicity. Again this year, the Pilot-Independent has asked us for an article updating what the club is up to. The article and photos will be published in several tourism publications. Watch for them next spring. A number of members have joined the club after seeing these articles in the past.

Interested In Being A Youth ATV Safety Instructor or Trail Ambassador?
The MN DNR has scheduled instructor training classes for both, including two in Grand Rapids. Below is a link to the schedule. Our club has over a dozen instructors and TAs. It’s a lot of fun!   http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/instructors/training.html

Free ORV & Snow Trails Mobile Apps -- Heading south to ride your ATV this winter? Be sure to download the free Polaris RiderX ORV Trails mobile app on your smart phone. It shows your GPS location on any ATV trail in the country, plus weather radar, and locations for food, fuel and lodging.

Riding the snow trails this winter? Download the RiderX Snow Trails app. Find both apps on the app store for your phone. You can also view RiderX on your computer, at RiderX.com. 

 
Polaris Donates $9,000 To OHV Mapping Project
The Coalition of Recreational Trail Users (CRTU, made up of 3 directors from ATVAM, MNUSA, ARMCA and MN4WDA) is working on a project to create user-friendly maps (see right map in photo) to show all OHV trails in the Chippewa and Superior National Forests, supplementing the user-unfriendly federal maps (left map). Many meetings have been held so far with the Forests, DNR and Counties, and thanks to Polaris, this mapping project will now move forward. Dave Halsey is a director with CRTU and on the work group for this project. Thanks Polaris!