AmSnow.com is now SnoWest.com
Organizers of the Great Northern Ride have created a successful mix of fun and fundraising during the past 10 years.
The GNR snowmobiling group travels all over Canada, leaving nothing but fond memories, while raising money for handicapped children to the tune of more than $1 million in that period. And the riders raise the funds while doing something they all love, snowmobiling.
To commemorate its 10th annual ride, last year’s group headed to Ottawa, specifically Parliament Hill. The ride started Feb. 15 in the small town of Bancroft Ont., which is nestled in the York River Valley on the southern edge of the Canadian Shield. Great country, and the area’s scenery is outstanding.
Our launch pad this year was the Best Western with close to 80 riders joining in the evening’s kickoff. Many were from the Brantford, Ont., area and the Brantford Rotary Club also is involved with GNR.
These were good times with all the riders reuniting and anticipating another great ride. A decade of success was in the air, and we were loaded with enthusiasm.
Snowmobiling to Ottawa
While the next morning got off to a slow start due to our large number, we were thrilled to get moving. With such a large group of riders, we wisely broke into smaller riding groups. Our team headed south from Bancroft riding on the old rail line, this trail was straight, flat and fast, an exciting ride.
We put the speed portion behind us as we meet up with the TOP Trail E taking us east toward Ottawa. The TOP Trail E features a mixture of everything, long straights, and tight and twisties with hills that make for a great scenic ride. For touring riders there also are a lot of services along the way, with several food and fuel stops available.
We noticed as we got closer to Ottawa though that the snow was becoming very scarce and when we reached our destination the ground was bare. Strange, Ottawa is known as the snowiest capital in the world, but last year
Washington D.C. had more snow. Ottawa had nothing, so a last minute trail ride revision was put in place, meaning our ride was cut short.
The furthest we could make it on our sleds was White Lake, which is just south of Arnprior, Ont. So we met up at White Lake Marina, where our group was put on a bus that took us to Arnprior to stay the night.
Next morning we all hopped onto two buses and drove into Canada’s capital city, pulling up to the Fairmont Chateau Laurier for the night’s stay. This place oozes with history and it’s huge. We had our special GNR meeting in one of the many conference rooms later that day and this proved the highlight of our trip with our afternoon meeting recapping a decade of fund-raising success for the GNR.
Government officials recognizing the $1 million raised by this group was a great accomplishment, as that had been the original goal set by the GNR organizer, Bob Cassie.
The Return Ride
The next morning the GNR riders took buses back to White Lake Marina where we again got back on the snow. The day’s ride included several trail options, so many in fact, that it was easy to get lost.
Some groups went northwest and some went southwest, but everyone ended up at the Best Western Pembroke, by evening. This place was big enough to look after our entire group and then some. That evening the entire group attended a banquet with closing ceremonies to celebrate another successful GNR.
Our last day was a ride back to Bancroft, and again there were several trail options. Every GNR riding group did a different trail loop, so we didn’t see too many of our riders on the trails that day. All the trails were perfectly groomed.
This area in OFSC District No. 6 is particularly scenic, there are a lot of trees and varied terrain to provide a lot of eye candy, which always makes for an interesting ride. Our group headed south on the TOP Trail B and then to the B101, then the B102 into Killaloe before heading on into Barry’s Bay. From this point, it was short ride down to Bancroft.
Most of the riders left from the Bancroft staging area, so we bid everyone goodbye and decided to extend our sled trip another day. We tried to take some new trails going further west, something that none of our group had ever experienced.
Trails heading west into OFSC District No. 7 are outstanding and this is an area all serious snowmobilers should try to experience. Trails in this part of Ontario are exceptionally tight and offer a lot of variety of terrain. The only time you find a long straightaway is on the lakes and there are several of those.
We were spoiled all week with little to no trail traffic, but this was a Saturday morning and the trails were noticeably busier.
Yet overall this was another Great Northern Ride and that name says it all. This year’s trip into Ottawa made it an exceptionally memorable experience for all, plus it continues to benefit a children’s charity. Perfect!
More info: www.thegreatnorthernride.com