The Fall rides just kept coming at us, they were back-to-back-to-back-to-back! Next up on the roster was Nation Valley ATV Club’s 8th Annual Fall Rally.
Hosted out of the Agricultural Hall at South Mountain Fair Grounds, participants gather from far and wide to join this great fund-raising event. This ride raises funds for a local charity group called the Winchester Heelers, who raise funds for the Winchester District Memorial Hospital and Breast Cancer Research. This year marks the final year that the Winchester Heelers will be in existence, so we were glad to have them on board one last time! In addition to the Winchester Heelers, this ride also raises funds for the club’s Winter Grooming Fund. The Winter Grooming Fund helps the club keep the trails open all Winter long for everyone to enjoy!
As participants roll into the fairgrounds, trail wardens direct them to parking along the race-track, so they can unload and make their way to the main parking lot with their ATV and go inside for club swag, hot coffee, register for the ride, and a sneak-peek at the prizes that will be doled out at the end of the day.
After getting registered up, everyone met outside for a brief driver’s speech. Yours truly, Dave Baker, gave his last speech as President of the Nation Valley ATV Club (as at the following club meeting he would be replaced by Sebastien Smith as President of Nation Valley ATV Club).
Everyone was geared up and ready to take on the day! After some words of wisdom, we hit the trails running (or driving as this would be!).
The first half of the day led us through some relatively tame trails, through overgrown fencelines, and along some road allowances and farmer fields, before we hit a bit of a touch-and-go area just before lunch.
The skills of the 2-wheel drive machine drivers were put to the test for a bit here, and even the 4x4 drivers were tested as well! The 2wd machines showed their skill and made it through like champs.
The lunch was sponsored by Winchester Service Centre, where volunteers had hamburgers and hotdogs ready as we all rolled in. A donation bucket was passed around for the Winter Grooming Fund. Everyone got a chance to warm up, and refuel before we took on the second half of the day.
Heavy rain-fall this year meant lots of muddy trails in the afternoon, but no-one was left behind, and everyone was given an opportunity to “prove” which make and model performed best. However, as usual, the results were inconclusive, *grin*. Even Fraser Adison, in his 4-seater Kawasaki “fun-bus” Teryx, ~might~ have gotten stuck, but we promised we would never tell.
Everyone made it back to the fairgrounds in one manner or another – there were a few machines that required a pick-up by the meat-wagon. Once everyone had their machines loaded up, they headed inside to claim their prizes and to have a wonderful roast pork dinner in support of the Winchester Heelers.
Gauging by the smiling faces and sleepy eyes, good times were had by everyone who participated this year, and everyone was asked to mark their calendar for the 2016 Ride for Dad, where we would hope to see everyone back again for another great ride for a great cause!
