Three years old! That’s how old I was when I started snowmobiling on my own sled, and that is how old my son is now as he gets started on his first Arctic Cat Kitty Cat snowmobile. Of course, my son’s been riding with me and watching snowmobile movies pretty much since birth, but that’s to be expected, right?
So, who got you into the sport of snowmobiling? Your parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, good friends? Everyone has a story about how they got hooked! My dad and grandpa got me addicted! My son’s Kitty Cat made me think of my first day riding my own 1978 Kitty Cat. The little track in the backyard of my grandpa’s farm got worn right to bare grass, and I hit the same tree at least five times … but it was glorious!
As we get into the heart of the season, it is important that all snowmobilers – from weekend warriors to diehard racers – introduce others to the sport. If we want trails and riding areas open, and manufacturers to engineer the most addicting vehicles on earth, then we need to get non-snowmobilers onto sleds.
I was talking to Larry Tiede of
Woody’s Traction about how many snowmobilers tend to be in cliques. This can have negative consequences on our body of riders. We need to be inclusive, not exclusive, from warmly welcoming new people at club meetings to just asking your neighbor if they would like to go on a ride. Don’t abandon your riding buddies of 20 years, but make room for one more in your group. The national Take a Friend Snowmobiling campaign is Feb. 5-15, 2016, and it’s as good a time as any to introduce someone new to snowmobiling fun. More info:
www.snowmobile.org.
Now, let’s have some fun! Use our
forums,
email us, or use
Facebook and
Instagram to tell us
your story on how and who got you started snowmobiling.
Mark Boncher, Editor