Fort William Country Club: Beautiful Setting For Golf
Thompson Okanagan Offers World Class Golf Spring bear hunt could generate millions of dollars annually, new report finds
Fall ATV Ride
Brett Shewchuk Win Thunder Bay District Amateur Golf
Thompson Okanagan Offers World Class Golf Part 1 BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
NW Ontario Golfing News My last visit to the Kelowna/Vernon/Kamloops area of British Columbia was in the summer of 2004. It was great to see the area and play some excellent golf on their exceptional courses. I was particularly excited about playing and visiting the new courses that had come on stream since my last time here. The quality and world class nature of these new courses have only helped in making the Thompson Okanagan area a must golf visit for every golfer! Chris Currie Sales and Marketing Manager with Golf BC Okanagan My first golf course play was the Gallagers Canyon course located in Kelowna. I?had played this course before and remembered it as an outstanding day. “Gallagers has a fantastic design and is well known. It is a great golf course and we have an amazing team of people here to serve you. It was designed in 1980 by Bill Robinson and this season is our 30th anniversary,” said Chris Currie Sales and Marketing Manager with Golf BC Okanagan, representing The Okanagan Golf Club, the Bear and Quail and Gallagers Canyon along with the 9 hole Pinnacle course. “Normally we shut down near the end of October and start in the spring. This year we opened early April while last year we opened in Mid May. We had a mild winter.” The weather was 80 degrees on April 19th for our first day of golf and I really enjoyed the great views from Gallagers Canyon! After the golf it was off to our hotel The Coast Capri Hotel for a nights rest before our next day
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of golf at the Okanagan Golf Club- the Bear course. Another bright sunny warm day awaited us as we arrived at the Bear course located on a ridge overlooking the
Kelowna Airport. The Bear is a Nicklaus design and the Quail, its sister course a Furber design and they compliment each other well. “The Bear at Okanagan suits all levels of golfers with 5 tee boxes. The fairways are wide and I like the wider tee shot landing areas. The greens are very challenging,” said Chris Currie who is originally from PEI and just spent three years working at Quail Lodge in Carmel California. “The Okanagan itself is a fantastic golf destination. We offer a great variety of high quality courses to play.” I have always been a fan of Jack Nicklaus designed golf courses. It was exciting to play the Bear, especially after having just met Jack Nicklaus for the first time in January at the Wendy’s Champion’s Skin Game at Maui!
Brian Reilly, General Manager of The Club at Tower Ranch Our next course would be The Club at Tower Ranch located in Kelowna and offering some spectacular views of the city
from its perch on the mountains surrounding the urban downtown. This would be my first time playing this new course. “We are in our second full season after opening halfway through 2008. The Club at Tower Ranch was designed by Tom McBroom and our owner Aberdeen Construction does a lot of work with Tom. Aberdeen Golf
“The course has weathered really well over the winter. We are expecting 25,000 to 27,000 rounds this season. The green fee is $70 including cart now and after April 30, $85 with booking outside 7 days $110. I?feel we have good value here, “said Reilly. “ I have found on Tom McBroom courses that if your shots leak the course they will help bring your ball back. It is player friendly if you keep it relatively straight. Tower Ranch is a challenging course but I found it to be fair. We have worked hard to chase the word fair and strive for return guests. It has been very well received. This year we opened March 25th with fine weather. The weather has now turned. After watching the Masters, people typically want to play the game.” Kelowna in the summer is hot, with the least amount of rain days of any city in Canada and typically 36 to 39 degrees Celsius temperatures. If you want to play a great conditioned golf course with exceptional views then the Club at Tower Ranch is for you. I especially enjoyed the course and am a great fan of Tom McBroom designs. The clubhouse includes a fitness club and is very well done. Houses there are available from $550,000 to $1.2 mil-
Construction liked the design so much they decided to keep the property. We are partners with Intrawest for the housing development and when complete there will be 800 doors here. They are selling the lots off to builders,” said Brian Reilly, General Manager of The Club at Tower Ranch.
lion. After our day of golf it was off for a tour and wine tasting at Gray Monk Vineyards located at Okanogan Centre. They have been crafting fine wines since 1982 in a 50 acre spectacular setting overlooking Okanagan Lake. The facility
The Club at Tower Ranch is a semi private golf course with 68 members that paid a $10,000 life time initiation fee. Annual dues are $2400 including cart and there is no food requirement. The course has won three major awards including one of the top ten new courses in the world by Travel & Leisure magazine and last year a top 3 new Canadian golf course by both Score and Golf Digest magazines. The Club at Tower Ranch is called a mountain course as it off the side of a mountain where trees come into play on the 11th hole only. The elevation changes to 650 feet but here is really only 1 uphill hole. The course is 7200 yards from the back tee and has bent grass on the fairways.
includes a 5 star restaurant with a deck overlooking the ideal setting. “Mom and Dad started growing grapes here as we are on the same latitude as northern France and southern Germany. The grapes do well because we have the big lake so we don’t get the high swings in temperatures. The soil that the glaciers left behind is what allows great draining. Grapes don’t like to be wet all the time. The grapes will bud out in few weeks and then we can harvest them from the end of September to the end of October.” said Bob Heiss of Gray Monk Estae Winery & Vineyards.
September 2015
www.golfingnews.ca Brett Shewchuk Win Thunder Bay District Amateur Golf For The Second Time! BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
NW Ontario Golfing News It was an exciting finish to the Thunder Bay District Amateur with some stellar play on the final holes by winner Brett Shewchuk and runner up Evan Littlefield. The traditional three round event was shortened to two days when the second round at Strathcona Golf Club was cancelled.
I was very happy with the way I came down the stretch today sinking a few putts when I needed to. I was 5 back coming into today but there is a lot of trouble out there at Whitewater and I felt something around even par would get me close and I was able to shoot the number I wanted to.” said Brett Shewchuk. Evan Littlefield birdied 3 of the last 4 holes to put the pressure on Shewchuk. “I was leading Evan by four going into
Top: Brett Shewchuk and Side The correct yardage is important “It feels really good to win this two times.
those holes and he made the 20 footer right before I had to step up and make
mine on 18 so I wouldn’t have to go to a playoff with him. It was a little nervy on the back nine but it didn’t feel like it affected too many of the shots. I was nervous.” said Shewchuk. “ It is unbelievable to win two of them this year ( majorsalso Strathcona Invitational) a huge honour. I am driving it well and putting it better than ever before. I practice all the time and get out most days early spending a lot of time at golf.” Brett is currently working at Northern Lights Golf Course and will go back to Lakehead University in January.
Evan Littlefield came second. “ Brett earned it . He made a good putt on 18 to get me by one. I played well coming down the stretch so it eases the pain a bit.” Evan came up from Markham to visit my family. He currently works at Angus Glen Golf Club and takes the golf management program at Niagara College with one more year togo. He is on the golf team then and thinking of turning professional when he finishes.
The Miura MG is the Peoples’ Hybrid. BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
NW Ontario Golfing News Golf clubs serve people, not the other way around. That is the philosophy of Muira Golf. They listened carefully to golfers to determine their true intent in using
hybrids. What they were told harkens back to the true meaning of the word: a useful blend of the characteristics of two or more good things.
makes the MG look more compact, which focuses player concentration at address. And the sole relief in the toe and heel is calculated to optimize that turf travel.
What was discovered first and foremost is that golfers use hybrids to aim at pinpoint targets, just as they do with irons. So it made sense to adopts a blade-like face design, to extend to the hybrids the same sense of security golfers feel with Miura irons. Now, the more advanced player can work a hybrid into his bag confidently and hit the shot he intends, instead of wondering whether the flight will flare off line.
Ideal balance of height With the MG Hybrid, it’s not all about the volume of the head. Rather, we suggest golfers focus on the height of the face. At address, the height of the face is almost the same as the height of the ball: 43mm. Because of this, players can think of the MG as an iron at address, and hit the ball the same way as an iron.
The Circle Cut Sole method
Miranda Bolt Graphic Designer
Sonia Rutter @ 807-631-4244
A number of design features combine to achieve this liberating effect. The MG moves smoothly and strongly through the turf, thanks to experiments we did with the sole. Muira developed a method called Circle Cut, in which they cut a line through the sole in a strategic spot. This creates a second tier; a step, if you will. And of course, this moves the center of gravity -but not to its lowest point, as we thought it might. Instead, the Circle Cut Sole puts the CG in the best place -- low, to be sure, but not bottomed out. Now, the center of gravity contributes to a forceful flight that stays on line, even as it gains enough height to hold the green on landing. Other features are more subtle, but no less important. The I.P. black finish
September 2015
Just be sure to hold your finish. You’re going to enjoy what you see. It was my pleasure to add the MG Hybrid3 to my bag. It has worked extremely well for me especially out of rough where I can find myself often!
Miura's broad forged iron line has choices for all players, including the Tournament Blade and Small Blades (muscleback models), MB001 Blade and the Passing Point 9003 and CB-501 (cavity backs). Forged wedges include the Wedge Series (in silver nickel chrome and black) and the Series 1957 By Miura Custom Grind Wedges. There are also three models of putters, and the SIT-460 driver and fairway woods, plus Miura MG Hybrids. Miura golfers buy more than clubs. All Miura clubs are custom fitted by authorized Miura dealer/fitters with each individual golfer getting not only properly fitted clubs, but a partner in his or her game. Miura dealers are famous for service after the sale and continuing relationships with players they fit, from informal discussions about equipment, practice, and technique to hands-on monitoring of loft, lie, weight and all the crucial golf club metrics. Miura golfers don't just play Miuras - they entrust their games to the clubs, and to the company. It's an honor and an obligation Miura never forgets. Miura Golf Inc. markets Miura brand products exclusively around the world (except for Japan) from its headquarters in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. For more information, visit www.MiuraGolf.com. Follow Miura on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MiuraGolf and on Twitter at @MiuraGolfInc.
About Miura Golf
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Fort William Country Club: Beautiful Setting For Golf BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
NW Ontario Golfing News The Fort William Country Club in Thunder Bay continues to be one of the most popular golf courses in the region. In the past 5 seasons there have been many changes made at the course. It was fun to play the FWCC again with Greg Hollins, Master Superintendent at Fort William Country Club and Bruce Tait, President of the Board of Directors of FWCC, after having been a member there for so many years. The course continues to impress me, especially with the spectacular mountain back drop. Greg Hollins has been the Master Superintendent at Fort William Country Club for the past 5 seasons. “ My dad was
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a CPGA professional for 42 years and I pretty much grew up on a golf course starting in Winnipeg at Breezy Bend, Glendale next and then Pine Falls, Manitoba. That is where I started to golf every day and work on the golf course.” said Greg who loved the equipment which lead him to an assistant position at Pine
everyday.” FWCC began when famed architect Stanley Thompson first came through in 1923. In 1961 it was redeveloped by Norman Woods. The layout today is sort of the layout then. It was originally 9 holes and then 18. There are a few holes that were original that are still here. The
Falls. After college at Fairview in Western Canada Greg worked at the John Bloomburg course for 15 years. “ I saw this job at FWCC posted, drove out here with my brother, and just fell in love with the place automatically. A month later I had the job and just love it here. This is the best location in Canada. You don’t see mountains like this anywhere in Canada in my opinion.” said Greg. Greg Hollins played lots of golf growing up and at college and has placed third place in the national championship for superintendents three times. “ When you are a golfer you know the conditions you want and therefore the conditions the players at your course would want. I am probably the hardest on myself and always strive to make the course the best it can be with the conditions you are presented with each day. There are lots of factors that go into getting your course into good shape
course is now 92 years old. Bruce Tait is the President of the Board of Directors of FWCC. He loves to golf and will play between 60 and 80 games each season. “ We have tried to modernize. Greg has been here for 5 years now and the course has definitely taken on a golfers flavour, which has been good. We have made some organizational changes that have already paid dividends for us. The golf industry is a tough one to be in right now and we have made some changes that have worked out well,” said Bruce. “ We hope to do some more to get more members and specifically get more youth involved to help Thunder Bay grow the game. That is our focus. We want more members and younger members and to make it more friendly for new players to come here.” Continued
September 2015
Fort William Country Club Beautiful Setting For Golf Continued At the FWCC they want their members to compete more because they feel when you compete more you take the game
moving away, having family commitments or passing away. The hard work of Kelly Foglia here on our staff, who is a golfer as well, means today we have 350 members. With our fall promotion now
Greg “ The best part of the golf course for me is the undulation, with topography changes. I came from Winnipeg and it was flat there- you can see Regina from Winnipeg that is how flat the places are! Here every day you show up to work, you are in awe- it is a special place.” Bruce “ I like the friendly environment, the friends you golf with, the view and the course itself. It is a golf course first and in the past years the greens have been better than ever. We have had good weather this season and have been getting nothing but compliments.”
more seriously and it makes you want to come back according to Bruce Tait. There is always that one shot you make that makes you want to come back again. To help accomplish this the FWCC have inhouse tournaments on the weekends. For example they had a little par 3 event
we are hoping to get a dozen more.” “ In the past all the greens here were replaced with a bent grass which started at 100 % and we are now trying to hold the line at 80 /20 today. We have good products and staff so can consistently put out good conditions which is what every golf
where you shoot from different tee boxes from 100 yards and up so it is a different course. There is the Fort William Invitational, Ice bergs and other events. “ There is always someone you can play with here, always someone who would love to have you. We now have corporate memberships and are always tinkering to make our membership more attractive,” said Bruce. “ We started this year in April with 300 members as members were
course strives for, not ups and downs,” said Greg. “ There has always been drainage issues here which we have been banging away at. I think I have a number of 3500 feet of drainage has been put in in the last 4 years and we should put in another 1000 feet this year which is a lot of drainage. After a big rain it clears off pretty well now.” I asked Greg and Bruce what they enjoy the most about the FWCC?
“ If you join the FWCC now you will be offered different payment plans and can play to the end of October for FREE! With everyone back at school there is plenty of opportunity to play almost anytime. There are details on the website or contact Keli by phone and she can customize a plan for you. We would love to have anybody.” said Bruce Tait. In recent years I have got to play some of the very best golf courses in the world. One of my most important features of a course is the setting. The FWCC is a great place to play and it’s members should be very proud of their course.
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Thompson Okanagan Offers World Class Golf Part 2 BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
NW Ontario Golfing News After some great golf in the Kelowna area, it was off to nearby Vernon, BC home to the famous Predator Ridge community. Predator Ridge was started in 1991 by Herb and Dave Paterson and sold in 2007 to West Build, owned by the founder of the Future Shop, Mr. Khoshrawshi. He sold out to Best Buy and has previously built and developed the Westwood Plateau golf course development in Vancouver. Since the take over by West Build there has since been a lot of capital investment at Predator Ridge including $3 million added into the clubhouse, expanded lodge
see more interest from the European market.” Overlooking Predator Ridge is the almost completely constructed $150 million dollar Sparking Hills, which is a 150 room luxury spa hotel owned by the Swarozski Crystal family. “The hotel will be very unique with a high quality of service. It will open up the nature of the cliental and guests we hope to serve.” said Goubault. Staying at Predator Ridge lodge was almost as much fun as playing the golf course. It was especially interesting to tour the new 18 whole Ridge course which will open in July. It is just a spectacular setting and one I hope to play on a return visit. fortunate to able to build here.” said Renton. The Rise has 5 sets of tees and is semi public with a limited membership at ($25,000) and you have to be a home owner. Green fees are $115 with the cart which has a GPS. The setting and views from the Rise are just amazing. This is a must course to play for all golfers and one I will have to come back to for sure. Rhett Bokitch, Head Golf Professional at Talking Rock
operations, infrastructure improvements including roads and an increase in the volume of homes being built. The real estate sales were internalized and the new Ridge course was constructed using a Doug Carrick design. The original plan for Predator Ridge was 36 holes but it required further financial backing to get to the next level. The new 18 hole course including a redesigned 9 holes unlocked the rest of the land for home building. “We are in the home development business and to date only about 25%?of the homes scheduled to be built here have been completed. The economy has guided us to offer new products like the Osprey Green townhouses that range from $349,000 and up and homes in the high 4’s,” said Doug Goubault, Director of Golf, and Predator Ridge. “We only offer golf memberships to home owners and membership is $25,000 at this point. You have full access to both courses with annual fees of $2250 which is comparatively very reasonable. Daily green fees are $140 or $160 for Predator and the new Ridge course.” “ We built the Peregrine 9 holes and added 9 more. We stripped them off, re shaped them, blasting and created new routings on the Peregrine. The new landing areas are enormous, well designed and offer spacious greens. The whole project was completed at a cost of $11 million. This year we also resurfaced 15 greens with new bent grass and last year did 5, so all are new. We will have 36 of the best greens in the valley,” smiles Goubault. “For years to come we will have less of a concern for our greens. Last year we did 34,000 rounds as a 18 hole layout and this year as 36 holes we will try to offer more options and a less congested look at 45,000 to 47,000 rounds between the two courses, providing more space. In July we will have 10 minute tee time intervals. The home owners play here and we have a ton of visitors. We have many repeat visitors from Calgary, BCwith more and more golfers arriving from Toronto. We also
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Ian Renton, President of the golf course at the Rise Our next stop in Vernon was a tour of the recently built The Rise, a signature Resort Community offering lots from a low of $200,000 to $800,000 with an average cost of about $250,000. To date the development has sold 150 lots with houses ranging from $600,000 to $ 3million. “People come here from Calgary or Vancouver. The 750 acres of land overlooking Vernon was owned by a local family. My vision started with the golf course. I was in the heavy construction business most of my life with my family and worked out of Calgary. I?got into the golf course business in 1980 and only did golf construction after 1990. I have built golf courses in China, Beruit Lebanon, Mexico City and Anchorage, Alaska. I have worked with many big name architects,” said Ian Renton, President of the golf course at the Rise designed by Fred Couples. “We do design build and fit the course into the land and water. The golf course here sits on 220 acres of the 750 acre parcel. We also have 100 acres of grapes for our winery and some natural pasture land. Construction was started in 2003 and we opened in fall of 2007. The process started with environmental challenges to get the approvals in place. In 2008, the residential component stopped and the travel industry was down in 2008. Since then things have looked up. People are less nervous now. I feel people didn’t lose their desire to have a second home but lost their money which is coming back.” Twelve of the holes at The Rise have lake views and 8 of the holes have no houses. The developers are trying to do market ready homes in the $450,000 range. They worked with Fred Couples of Couples Bates design, their sixth course and second in Canada, the other being in Mt Tremblant. “Freddie had good ideas without blowing the budget. I like the course as it feels natural, not manufactured. We tried to use the features of the land and have some great views. We were
Our next course would be Talking Rock Resort and Quail Lodge in Chase BC, located some 45 minutes east of Kamloops. The golf course is entering its third full season and is a Cooke Carlton International design. It was first cut out by Les Furber in the late 90’s and never opened but the owners; The Shuswap Indian Band came back 7 years later. Also on the property is a 70 room newly renovated resort with conference centre seating for up to 500 people. “I love this course in the semi arid area of Kamloops. We have tree lined fairways on the 330 acre property, so you never feel you are near another group. You feel at one with nature.” smiled Rhett Bokitch, Head Golf Professional at Talking Rock, a semi private course. The population of Chase in the summer goes from 2,500 to 12,000 people which provide a good golf audience. Green fees are $72 plus cart fee of $17. I really enjoyed the natural feel of Talking Rock, which really reminded me of home. It was a great layout and a superb course to play. Our last course in the Okanagan would be the much awarded Tobiano Golf Resort, Kamloops BC. The course opened in 2007 with a soft opening after the current owner took over the property in 1998 with a full opening in 2008. Tobiano has been received extremely well. It has won plenty of awards including the best new course in Canada in 2008 and in 2009 and the best conditioned course in BC as well
as the best public course in BC by Score Golf and Golf Digest magazines. Thomas McBroom is the designer of Tobiano which has a links style feel. “I love the views and the condition of the course. We have bent and bluegrass and our superintendent Terry Smith is unbelievable. Our club house opened in 2008 and is very unique, “said Adam Tobin, Golf Shop Supervisor and Assistant Professional Tobiano. “ There are plenty of ways to get a good green rate. Our peak rate is $130 and you can get it down
to $80 as a walk on. Our rate structure is very unique. We have many members and are growing. There are many houses and lots on the course that people have purchased. Lots range from $345,000 with some higher priced further up on the bluffs. The houses will range in price up to the multi- million dollar range. It was really a treat for me to play Tobiano. I really like Tom McBroom designs, even living on one at home, and Tobiano is just spectacular and well deserving of its awards. The conditioning was superb. Greens were like smooth carpets. The setting is also tremendous and at times on the back nine reminded of Northern Ireland with the water views and heights. Tobiano alone is worth the trip to Kamloops. When you play this course you will want to come back. My time in the Thompson Okanagan had come to end and it was off to the Kamloops airport to catch the red eye flight back home. I will have plenty of fond memories of this trip. Special thanks to Colin Yorath of Golf The World Vacations, Vancouver, Monica Leeck of Tourism British Columbia, Gary Aldus of Thompson Okanagan Tourism, Michelle Jefferson of Vernon Tourism and Lee Morris of Tourism Kamloops for their organization of this outstanding week. In Memory of Colin Yorath Rest in Peace
September 2015
Spring bear hunt could generate millions of dollars annually, new report finds A new report released by Northern Policy Institute recommends that the provincial government reintroduce the spring bear hunt with a non-resident component on a trial basis. The report, Does the Spring Bear Hunt Make ‘Cents?’ was researched and written by Dr. Mike Commito, policy analyst with Northern Policy Institute.
data from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has placed the number of resident and non-resident hunters in 2012 at 16,378 and 4,843 respectively. Based on the cost of licenses
could be too high in certain parts of Ontario’s Boreal Forest region, so it is important to keep stock of these local variances in terms of acceptable harvest rates,” Commito writes. “[. . .] Going back
Does the Spring Bear Hunt Make ‘Cents?’ can be found on our website at www.northernpolicy.ca.
The report recommends reintroducing the spring bear hunt because it will be a boon to many Northern Ontario communities with strong outfitting industries, the current black bear population can sustain additional harvesting, and other provinces such as British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador all offer spring bear hunting opportunities. According to Commito, reintroducing the spring bear hunt could generate millions of dollars annually for the province. In 1997, a provincial mail survey found that nonresident hunters spent $25.2-million on spring and fall black bear hunting. “History has demonstrated that non-resident bear hunting, primarily individuals from the United States, has been big business for outfitters and guides in Northern Ontario, particularly during the spring season (1937-1998),” Commito writes. “In the wake of the moratorium in 1999, resident and non-resident hunters have participated in extended fall seasons. The most recent
September 2015
75,754 black bears. This gives an expected annual average of 5,411 and therefore places Ontario in an acceptable harvest range of 5-6 percent of the total population.”
About Northern Policy Institute: Northern Policy Institute is Northern Ontario’s independent think tank. We perform research, collect and disseminate evidence, and identify policy opportunities to support the growth of sustainable Northern Communities. Our Operations are located in Thunder Bay and Sudbury. We seek to enhance Northern Ontario’s capacity to take the lead position on socio-economic policy that impacts Northern Ontario, Ontario, and Canada as a whole. for the 2012 season, this amounts to an estimated $1,825,693 in license sales alone.”
through the last fourteen seasons from 1999 to 2012, the estimated combined legal harvest for trappers and hunters is
Commito adds that according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry the current black bear population in Ontario, estimated to be between 85,000 and 105,000, can sustain additional hunting in the spring. The MNRF estimates that the current black bear population can withstand a 10 percent harvest threshold. “While the 10 percent harvest rate is generally applicable across the province, it
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Beautiful Fall ATV Ride by Scott A. Sumner The leaves were changing colours, the temperature was warm and the scenery pretty for a group ATV ride early October in Thunder Bay. Our trip began at the Silver Mountain Station with a drivers meeting with Adrienne, organizer of the event. The enthusiastic ATV riders met on the deck to go over the plan for the day. Our ride would be about 100 kilometers over varying terrain that would vary from roads to old snowmobile trails with some power line running with rocks and of course the obligatory mud holes with which to test your skills. My experience with ATV’s has been minimal with only a few year as a rider. My total miles ridden are about 3,000 compared to snowmobiling, which are probably over 100,000 at this point. Of course I started riding snowmobiles at age 12 and have had many years on the trails since then. Also I think you put many more miles on a snowmobile each season compared to ATVs. One dealer salesperson told me an average season for many ATV riders is about 600 miles and I think snowmobilers would be between 1000 to 3000 miles, maybe because of the speeds involved and just the nature of the riding.
on an ATV it seems. It was fun to pull over for a break with about 50 riders pulling out their lunch from the many storage areas on an ATV. This is when
On this trip there were ATVs made by Bombardier, Arctic Cat, Polaris, Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki and probably others I didn’t recognize. The ATVs can
me and it was fun to meet the ATV riders and hear about their experiences. After lunch it was off to the last part of the trip. One of my fellow riders on a side by side had the bad fortune of blowing a large hole in a tire, which effectively ended his day. We rode our ATV’s back the quickest route to the trucks to drive them back to the closest place on the Adrian Lake Road to load up. The side by side was nursed out to this location and we were on way home. It was a great ride anyway and the ATVexperience is one I am starting to enjoy. I still like snowmobiling the best with the speed and the smoothness of the ride but there is no doubt a day ATVing is a great adventure!
the stories begin including the comparisons between ATVs, bikes as some call them.
be traditional 4 wheel types or the new side-by-side units, as they are called, where you actually sit in the unit like a car almost. They all look pretty cool to
The season to ride ATV’s is much longer as well and the dealer salesperson also told me the number of ATVs sold each year is higher than snowmobiles. I think the audience for each sport is a little different as well. The ride began in cool weather with the sun shining. We began with some dirt road riding to get to the ATV trail where the machines really shine. It is amazing to me how rugged a terrain the ATV can handle with their 4 wheel drive, large tires and trail clearance. These machines are fun to drive and seem to be very reliable to operate. The sun continued to rise and soon the temperature was in the mid 20’s Celsius that caused the riders to start to remove layers of their clothing. I noticed many wore large rubber boots, which was a good idea. It didn’t take long for my running shoes to get wet on the trail. You always end up going through some water
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September 2015