CTR Trailnotes Jan 2011.pub - The Colden Trail Riders Snowmobile

OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE CTR SNOWMOBILE CLUB
February/March 2011
First Annual Vintage Ride January 2011
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PAGE 2
TRAIL NOTES...
Thank You to the Long
island Sno-Seekers
Every year your club tries to improve
the over-all snowmobiling experience
and this summer we received a generous donation for another
New York State club called
the Long Island Snow Seekers for just that purpose.
The donation was earmarked to improve the east
side of the Irish Road Crossing on C4A.
the edge of the shoulder and had to
make sure no cars were coming.
Before
Up until this season heading west from the Colden
Lakes Restaurant on C4A ,
when approaching Irish
Road, you had to climb a
steep incline to get up to
the same elevation as the
road. Then you were on
It was a high anxiety crossing to say the
least.
With this donation we were able
to fill and grade this area. There is
now a pad about 2 sleds long to
sit on prior to approaching the
shoulder. Once safely up on the
pad there is room to stop and
then you can slowly/safely creep
out to look for traffic prior to
crossing.
It is also much safer/easier to navigate the groomer through this
crossing as well.
***********
Thank you Long Island SnoSeekers for making this trail
improvement possible.
Don’t forget
to patronize
our sponsors.
Looking for that perfect gift?
Valentines Day is right around the corner and if you are like most you haven’t
picked out that perfect gift yet.
The perfect gift isn’t necessarily
wrapped with ribbon’s and bows. If you
want to give the perfect gift think of a
way to create a memory that special
someone will never forget.
entine’s related, but given the timing it
fits. During the recent vintage ride I lost
track of how many times someone recalled riding a sled “just like that one”
when they were a kid. I could tell by the
smiles that those early days of riding
were fond memories.
Young or old, big or small we all cherish
our memories and there is nothing better than a walk down memory lane. We
spend a lot of time on this planet and
most of that time is not all that memorable. We receive a lot of gifts and again
many are not that memorable. Do you
remember what you got for your last
birthday? Some will. Think back another
year and most will not remember.
In today’s fast paced world it’s easy to
say “no time today, we’ll do something
tomorrow”. When we need a gift it’s
easy to grab something from the store.
Don’t get me wrong it’s always great to
unwrap a gift with the added anticipation of what may be inside, but next
time you are looking for that perfect gift
take a little time and think of a way to
give them a memorable experience.
Better yet include your friends, family or
both and make it a memory the whole
group will cherish.
This article was not intended to be val-
Even more important is to apply this to
Memories last a lifetime!
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the little ones...they’re sure to remember the time you did something special
while, snowmobiling, tubing, sledding,
bowling, (insert any other activity here)
long after that new play station game is
obsolete.
Take a minute or two right now to reminisce about one of your fondest memories then start working on plans for a
Valentine’s week-end ride you’ll not
soon forget.
If you need a hint on how to apply this
remember we are fortunate and have 3
great county parks where you can enjoy a picnic. There are plenty of cozy
outdoor pavilions and if the weather
isn’t cooperating all 3 parks have an
indoor heated option for that picnic
(that may require a short walk from
where snowmobiles are allowed).
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This year’s winter picnic will be hosted by
Marty Benzinger on Saturday February 26th.
It’s a ride-in!
The trail is just north of and on the same side
as the trail down to the Valley in Holland on
S49D.
www.sledderwear.com
RSVP to bphllc@verizon.net by February
18th
Q: What did the snowmobile helmet say to the warm winter scarf?
A: “You hang around while I go on ahead”
First Annual Vintage Ride
The 1st Vintage Ride & Display
was a great success in my opinion. We had about 80 vintage
sleds registered in the 20 mile
ride from Colden Lakes to the
Old Orchard Restaurant and
back. There were also other
sleds at the Lakes that were just
on display. It was a fantastic
collection of vintage machines
and some sleds I had never
even heard of or seen before.
Participants were mostly from
Dave Waples
sulted in what everyone involved
considered a Great Event. Many
others need to be thanked, but
none as much as Rick.
Nice job Rick - it was a blast!
To see many more photos or to share
yours from the ride click the link near
the top on our main page at
www.coldentrails.com
our area, with some traveling from Castile, Ellicottville,
Grand Island, Salamanca...
From the moment the club
decided not to host the
Sledfest event again, Rick
Tullar President of the
Colden Trailriders, has had
a vision to organize a vintage event. His perseverance and hard work re-
The Colden Trail Riders Call the Colden Lakes their home.....Thank You Judy!
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Once at the Old Orchard we
President ’s Corner
Rick Tullar
Well here we are into
February and all in all
its been a very good season for snowmobiling.
were treated to a nice fire
and some good vintage conversation while enjoying the
staffs hospitality. We then
headed back to the Colden
We have been blessed on
Lakes Restaurant to enjoy a
the hill, by the Snow
good dinner
Gods getting
and wrap up
a couple of
the festiviinches almost
“We have been blessed on
ties.
daily (or
the hill by the Snow Gods...”
every other
By the early
day) which
comments it
keeps the trails fresh
sounded like everyone had a
and allows us to keep
good time and wanted to do a
building our base.
vintage ride again next
Hey you never know maybe
we can still be riding
into March.
Well we just wrapped up
our first Vintage Ride,
and by all the conversation, a very successful
ride. We had about 80
riders that set out on a
20 mile ride leaving
Colden Lakes going down
to The Old Orchard Inn.
Membership
What’s in a name? The Colden Trail
Riders maintain trails in the Colden
area, but the members that make
up our club are from all ends of the
region and beyond.
Looking at the list of this year’s new
members I decided to write a report
that shows where they live. I’ve
been presenting this data at the
monthly meeting for 2 months now,
but figured I’d put it here as well.
The list is sorted by quantity with
highest on top. Looking at the list
TRAIL NOTES...
year, so we have set a tentative date of Jan. 28 2011
for Vintage II (more details
to follow).
On a final note nominations
for officers and directors
of your club will open at
our March meeting which is
only about 5 weeks away.
Elections/voting will take
place at April’s meeting. If
you want a say in how the
Jay Such
it’s no surprise that many are
fairly local, but looking down the
complete list shows that we have
a diverse membership.
Out of our current membership of
328 there are 110 on this new list
(were not a member last year).
One other piece of membership
info is that over 10% of our current membership is made up of
landowners that also ride snowmobiles.
Think Snow!!!
Work...
for people that don’t ride!
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club is being run this is your
chance. Please consider running
for a position and help shape the
future of this great organization
and the sport of snowmobiling. In
the least case come out and vote,
these are the people we are
electing to manage our club and
we need to feel confident in the
people making the decisions.
Thanks for your time and..
“Live to ride, ride safe to live”
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It’s a Family Sport
My husband Mike and I were both
exposed to the sport of snowmobiling
at an early stage in our lives. We were
kids no older than our children
McKayla & Ty are now. Mike's family
and my family would go out together
every week-end during the winter. It
was always a family activity.
Back at that time, and we are not that
old!, we didn't have the kind of trails
that we do now. No marked trails and
definitely no groomed trails.
Back at that time we had the
sleds with some of the best suspension! I wonder how we rode
double--no wonder so many of
us have back problems! I remember many of the sleds we
rode and the rides that we used
to go on.
I always think back to the story
of when my mom and I went
into a ditch and I lost my boot.
Every time we went out thereafter I would ask, "Mom are you
going to put me in a ditch today?". We
had great times every time we went
out. We would stay overnight places
and ride for hours. Mike's family and
mine used to meet at the shop and go
on long trips for an entire day.
The vintage ride brought back some
serious memories of some of the
snowmobiles we use to ride as kids.
(Mercury Lightening, Mercury Hurri-
Jamie Ruhland
cane, Kawasaki Drifter, Invaders).
I remember my brother used to get the
tools out to help my dad fix the sleds-Ty does that now! The minute he sees
Mike with tools he gets his out to help.
Now that we have our own family we
are always very eager to take our kids
out on the snowmobiles. When the
kids wake up every morning they ask
“when we are going riding?”. My son
looks at me and starts doing the
many memories for any family. Thank
God our parents exposed us such an
awesome sport at such an early age.
Being members of the Colden Club has
definitely made the sport even better
than it already was. My husband puts
his heart and sole into the marking and
checking of trails because he feels so
strongly of making sure that families
have the greatest experience when
they are out on the trail.
Each and every member of the
club involved in grooming, meetings, trail marking, the officers,
event chairpersons and helpers,
etc. make this sport what it is
today.
“broooom”, “broooom” sound the
minute he wakes up. If he goes in the
garage and doesn't see the snowmobiles he is very upset. We recently purchased a tow-behind snowcoach for
the kids. My daughter wants to be on
the snowmobile not in the snowcoach!
The constant question is, "when is
daddy going to take me out snowmobiling up the hill to breakfast?". This is
definitely one sport that can make
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It is so important for all snowmobilers to work together to
make sure if someone is stuck
on the trails, a sign is down, or if
something else is wrong, regardless of whether you are a member of that club or not, you make
sure that you help. I can only imagine
what this sport is going to be like in the
future. It only seems to get better and
better every year.
To all that volunteer, for any aspect of
this winter sport, our family would like
to say thank you for it’s you that
makes snowmobiling what it is....in our
case “a favorite family pastime”.
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Groomers
TRAIL NOTES...
Dave Waples
Vintage Groomers
Hopefully you had a chance to stop by
the Lakes for our Vintage Display and
Ride to see all the old iron. As
members of CTR you are likely
aware that our entire working
grooming fleet was eligible for
that event also. In fact our 1974
Thiokol Imp 1404 was on display.
This machine was purchased
from the Tug Hill region 15 or so
years ago and was the first major
piece that the club owned. Our
other groomers are a 1976
Thiokol Super Imp 1450 and
1977 Bombardier Ski-Dozer SV252.
While these machines are doing a fine
job for our trail system now, we are
looking to replace the ’74 Imp with a
newer machine. Now that we can
groom all the way to Reed Rd south of
Sprague Brook Park, this ‘Little Imp’ has
had to extend its grooming range to
include C4E West of Cole Rd all the way
to the Lakes on C4A on many occasions.
That route then includes 3 long hills that
are gas lines. The 57HP engine is really
struggling to climb those hills with the
ability to only make a light cut with the
drag going up.
So, as it goes with just about anything with an engine - more power
is better! We are looking for a
grooming Snowcat, preferably
matched with a drag, that will take
our grooming capability to the next
level. The group is considering the
attributes that make up a good
grooming arrangement and matching them to our needs and limitations. Engine type & size-gas/diesel/
turbo diesel & horsepower, width &
length of snowcat & drag, age & condition, ram steer or pintle hook arrangement… oh yeah, and cost.
A Precious Gift
This club has many special gifts, but one that needs to be mentioned is our landowners. There are currently 160 landowners that allow us to ride on their property. You are special to the Colden Trail Riders and we would like to send a special thank you to you. In the near future you will hear about the Landowner’s
Dinner Dance. Make sure you watch your mailbox in the coming month for your
(complimentary) invitation. We would love to see all of you there.
Members are encouraged to purchase tickets and attend this dinner in honor of our
landowners...more info soon
Mike & Jamie Ruhland
Landowner Coordinators
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Trail Maintenance
Ron Transki
Are we caught up yet? We’re actually
never caught up and there is always
more to do.
have earned it “Ice Chute” status. It’s not
impassable if you are aware and keep a
reasonable pace.
We did find that Sprague Brook Park
wasn’t marked by the county this year
and just recently finished marking that
section. Sorry if any early riders got
confused riding through the park,
As the reason for the re-route was on
the other side of Partridge we were
able to mark the old trail to Partridge
We always talk about how important our network of landowners is
and this year proves the point. A
new property owner unfamiliar
with snowmobiling didn’t grant
permission this year and so we now
have the Partridge re-route. We were
excited as it appeared to be an improvement, but as the season got underway
we quickly realized that a short hill climb
turned into a safety issue for the unsuspecting. The width of the trail in that
area and a possible fresh water spring
includes possibly widening and regrading that section.
I would also like to remind everyone that
a well marked trail is a safe trail and we
need your help. Any time you notice a
marking issue please try to make a repair
(even if it’s temporarily pushing a
broken stake into a snow pile) and
then call my home phone and leave
a message.
My home phone number is 6552728
and then run the road 1500 feet to
meet back up with the official re-route.
Both trail options are bi-directional and
there are signs at each end pointing
you in the direction of your different
options.
This is now on the top of the priority list
for off season maintenance. The plan
I don’t think I need to mention how
much grooming we’ve been doing...knock on wood...all is going well so
far.
Remember: Groomers have the right of
way. Use caution when approaching one
and watch for and obey any signals from
the groomer operators.
Q: If it’s zero degrees today and it’s going to be twice as cold tomorrow,
how cold is it going to be?
A: ????
Good On All Woody’s Products
(716) 941-5840
7804 Cole Road Colden, NY
www.benderracing.com
Woody’s Snowmobile Studs and Runners Increase the Performance and Safety Level of Your Snowmobile
Expiration Date: 3/31/2011
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s
rail Rider
Colden T
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P O B ox 1
14 0 3 3
ew York
Colden, N
Next General Meeting: Monday February 14th - Colden Lakes
We are a member of NYSSA.......visit us on the web at www.coldentrails.com
Schedule of Events
 February 14—General Membership Meeting
 February 26—Winter Picnic RSVP info inside on page 3
Plan a night
ride when
the moon
is at it’s
brightest
 March 14 —General Membership
Meeting
 April 9 —Landowner Dinner
Dance
 April 11—General Membership
Meeting
(Check the website for any new events)
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