In the business world, an afternoon of hanging out with the president of your organization might seem like a wasted afternoon. In the ATVing world, things are a little bit different.
Each year the District 1 Clubs of the OFATV get together and host a Presidents' Ride so all of the members of the district can enjoy a day on the trails together with the leaders of the sport. Sure, we discuss ATV strategies with the Club Presidents and executives in the district – but we don't consider that business, that's pleasure!
This year, the Presidents Ride piggy-backed on the Thousand Islands ATV Club’s Lunch by the Lake Ride.
The ride began at the TIATVC’s staging area on Kidd Road South, in Lansdowne, Ontario. There was a solid representation from all of the clubs in the region with members and executives from the ATV Club of Eastern Ontario, Johnstown ATV Club, Thousand Islands ATV Club, Ottawa Valley ATV Club, Nation Valley ATV Club, Glendalers Winter Sports Club, The Quad City Brawlers, Renfrew County ATV Club, and the newly formed Rideau Lakes ATV Club! Private, OFATV, and EOTA clubs alike were in attendance – any club in the region!
After a brief safety speech from Paul Foley, OFATV Chief Provincial Warden, followed by words of wisdom from TIATVC Vice-President Henry DeKroon, the ride departed on a leisurely trip through all of the trails TIATVC had to offer, through Bull-Frog Bay and out to Charleston Lake.
Those with a sense of adventure went through Bull-Frog Bay, which gets its name legitimately as the bull-frogs scurry out of your wake as you go down that trail. The rest of us backtracked and took the dry by-pass around.
In Charleston Lake, participants were welcome to have lunch in the park, or enjoy a hot meal from the Dockside Restaurant on the lake. The food was excellent, with the Dockside Restaurant more than happy to accommodate a boat-load of ATVers (pun intended). In my humble opinion the Dockside Restaurant’s true calling is the distribution of ginormous ice-cream cones.
Yours truly indulged in a three-scoop waffle cone of “Moose Tracks” ice-cream, which sent all the jealous types back into the restaurant for a cone of their own. What can I say, I’m a trendsetter!
When the bag lunch folks were done with theirs in the park and the rest of us finished up our giant ice-cream cones, we headed back a slightly different (much dryer) route to the Thousand Islands ATV Club’s staging area for more ATV talk and discussion before heading our separate ways.
It was a beautiful day, the trails were great, and it was fabulous to see such a diverse group of ATVers all out together enjoying the day!
Not all of the ATV issues of the world were solved that day; however, it is always a good experience to get together, learn how individual clubs deal with the same types of issues, and work together for the future of the sport.
We look forward to next year’s Presidents' Ride, and are anxious to find out which club will host us for 2016!
