Snowmobile Digest

Extensive Maine trail now ready for sleds

A trail that stretches two counties in Maine has now opened.
The trail, the longest in the state at 87 miles, is on an area that was once a rail bed trail, according to a report in the Portland Press Herald.
The trail, according to the report, offers east-west riding along coastal areas, including some scenic loop trails. The completed trail may be used by snowmobilers, ATV riders and others.
Quite a bit of work had to be done on the former rail bed to make it usable, the Press Herald reported. “An assessment in 2007 revealed that 28 bridges needed to be repaired or replaced, and there were 57 washouts occurring because of failing culverts,” the report said.
The online report also noted the trail “passes some of most beautiful scenery in Hancock and Washington counties, including saltwater marshes, mountains and coastal inlets.”

Maine dealer sees early success with new sled line

The decision to add snowmobiles is paying off for a Maine dealer, according to a published report.
Lincoln Power Sports added Ski-Doo to its lineup and has already sold 40 of the 52 Ski-Doo snowmobiles it ordered, according to a Dec. 30 report in the Bangor Daily News.
The dealership owner, Bill Noonan, told the newspaper he added two sled technicians to his 11-member staff as part of the expansion.
Lincoln Power Sports, the report said, is one of the few snowmobile dealers in the area, with most grouped around Houlton and Bangor.

Dispute in Quebec over farmers, trails ends

A dispute between farmers and the government put Quebec’s $1 billion snowmobile industry at risk in late December.
The two sides, however, came to an agreement, allowing snowmobilers to cross the farmers’ land this winter, according to the Montreal Gazette.
Quebec’s network of snowmobile trails depends on thousands of farmers agreeing to allow snowmobilers to use their land. However, a snowmobile group said farmers were threatening to not allow that to happen this year because of a feud the farmers were having with the government over a new program.
The two sides, however, worked out an arrangement on the new program where farmers will get some kind of compensation for their losses, the Gazette reported.

Dealer wins 61-sled contract with mounted police

Spectra Power Sports of Williams Lake, British Columbia, has won a contract to provide 61 snowmobiles to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, according to a published report.
The dealership will send the Polaris 550 LXTs to Regina, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary by mid-January. Owner Heino Seibert told the Williams Lake Tribune that the tender was released for bid to any supplier in Canada in early November. The dealership was notified of the win on Dec. 16. The snowmobiles were originally scheduled for delivery by Jan. 7, but because of the delayed notification of the contract, the dealership has been given a deadline of the middle of the month.

Special Snowmobiling week slated for February

The snowmobile community is excited to announce the Take a Friend Snowmobiling Week, which will be held Feb. 12-21.
This elongated week celebrates friends and family snowmobiling. This week compliments the Take a Friend Snowmobiling campaign, encouraging the industry to take its non-snowmobiling friends out riding.
Clubs and their members are encouraged to participate and to hold a special day or weekend encouraging members to bring non-snowmobiling friends to the clubhouse to go for a short ride and discover what snowmobilers do during the winter.
As a special incentive to take non-snowmobilers riding, manufacturers will give away a gift certificate to a lucky individual who registers online and participates in the Take a Friend Snowmobiling Week event. Beginning in January, the Take a Friend Snowmobiling Week Registration Form will be prominently displayed on the Go Snowmobiling website: www.gosnowmobiling.org.
Non-snowmobilers and their snowmobiling friends need to fill out the registration form to be entered in the drawing. If a club is interested in organizing an event, their club members who participate get to register to win, and their guests get to register to win as well. The registration form is easy to fill out.
Plan on participating if you are going to be snowmobiling from Feb. 12-21 and make sure to register on the Go Snowmobiling website: www.gosnowmobiling.org. PSB