8620-R1_MSA_February2024_Newsletter_Web

MSA Club News

snow. There is also blowdown that needs to be cleared on the Porter Rd. and beyond Bog Rd (which is not possible due to heavy logging on that particular trail). Even though we have our main trail open it’s no guarantee that you can connect to an abutting trail system. A huge thank you to trailmaster Alden Wat tles, Frank Duggan, Frank Forster and the club crew who have worked tirelessly to repair bridges, washouts and whatever other havoc Mother Nature decides to throw at us. Hoping to see you at our next meeting or on the trail! Greetings all, The season has started out on a frustrating note. We, as well of all clubs in Maine, have been dealing with flooded bridges, downed trees in the trails, as well as little snow. Our amazing club members have stepped up and we are now ready for the snowmo bile season as of mid-January. The guys have unwaveringly showed up every Sunday at 8 am to replace 9 bridges in town. Some of them were large, major bridges that were washed out by flooding or just getting unsafe. That included hauling loads of gravel and hauling metal beams and poles. We have one wife who baked delicious, warm peanut butter cookies for the crew. Adrienne Rollo Club Secretary STREAKED MOUNTAINEERS Buckfield, ME

school-who knew back then that this would be such a huge part of our everyday routine. Oh well, maybe Gail and I can take some classes to catch up. Back to business, Dale, Greg, and the trail crew has been hard at it to get the trail back into safe, rideable, condition. The stop ahead and stop signs are all in place, numerous trees have been cut, fields have been staked, and the 3 -piece bridge over the water crossing on OHIO STREET has been re-installed. Some of the trails have been re-routed a little bit this season, due the abundance of roller coaster weather that we have experienced. With that being said, as you will have no doubt been hearing about and seeing first hand as you ride this season - PLEASE-PLEASE -PLEASE -stay on the marked trails and respect the land owner’s property that clubs have worked so hard to secure the privilege again this year... Speaking with Dale a few days ago, the club has acquired 4 -8 ‘X 8’mats to be placed in a few problem wet holes. They will be in place on the Grant Trail off of the Cusman Road and on the Hudson Trail -please use cau tion as you approach these crossing. They will be well marked; pictures will be sent as they get put on location. Really don’t have much more to add. The KSRSC FEBRUARY MEETING will be on the 8th and MARCH MEETING will be on the 14th. at Dale and Joann’s house / AMES ROAD , KENDUSKEAG @7:00P.M. Again -THANK-YOU for opening up your home to us for our meetings. Please continue to check your messages, as Greg L. is still doing trail work on - SUNDAYS, 9:00A.M. / meet at the KENDUSKEAG FIRE STATION. Also, please check with Dale and Greg for grooming schedules (gonna be a shorter season, I think) ...KSRSC also has acquired a new drag (picture attached) to make the trails even smoother, YEAH... Let’s wrap this up and get some late-night snow dances in... BARRY E. RYAN CLUB REPORTER K.S.R.S.C. P.S. - DONT FORGET VALENTINES DAY / FEBRUARY 14 th ...... GLENBURN LAKE RIDERS sc Glenburn, ME Okay, here we go. No, you are not re-listen ing to DAK PRESCOTT - signal caller for the COWBOYS, that ship has sailed. Maybe they can win at least ONE playoff game next year (there’s always NEXT YEAR). Really let’s get back to matter at hand. As I am writing this on the 18th of JANUARY 2024 -it’s hard to believe that it has been 30 days since MOTHER NATURE unleashed her fury on DECEMBER 18 th , 2023. Certainly that STORM will go down in the books as one for the ages. By now all of you reading this has been affected in some way or another ..property damage, flooding issues. washed out roads, bridges sent downstream, trees EVERY WHERE, power outages, and the list goes on and on. This has been and will be a HUGE setback in getting our trails back to the standard that has been set and maintained by so many volunteers every season. With that being said, every club is diligently working as fast as they can to at least

Here is another of the MANY blow downs we have had to deal with on our trail system, with a club Skandic for scale!

We are so thankful for our group of volun teers who consistently keep working to main tain our trail system in Bangor. We can always use more help though, so feel free to reach out to us if you have time or resources that you may be able to help us with! Now that we’ve got a little snow on the ground, we have also been double checking our grooming sleds to make sure they are ready to tackle the task once we have enough snow on the ground to groom!

salvage what’s left of an already late start to this snowmobiling season. THANK-YOU to ALL... you are the backbone, heart, and soul of your local snowmobile club, you should be proud of your commitment to ALL of the HARD WORK, and MANY HOURS that you have logged in. Just don’t forget to get some riding in yourselves- before the season comes to end... Let me be brief with the article this time, still some more work ahead of us. I’ll wrap up by letting you know that our club meetings for FEBRUARY , will be on WEDNESDAY the7th , and on WEDNESDAY, the 21 st at 7:00P.M. / GLRSC clubhouse-corner of OHIO STREET and PHILLIPS ROAD ( physical address 2838 OHIO STREET) we also have a trail safety check scheduled for SUNDAY , MARCH 3 rd / VILLAGE VARIETY STORE in GLENBURN ( right on the trail ) from 10A.M. to 2:00P.M. stop by -get your sled checked over, and there will be something for everyone (it’s a surprise -you have to be there to get it)... Gasoline, beverages, snacks, and clean restrooms available at the store... please RIDE SMART TODAY and RIDE AGAIN TOMORROW....... BARRY E. RYAN VICE- PRESIDENT G.L.R.S.C. P.S. -THANKS again to the crew / volunteers at GLRSC for ALL that you doo.. Eddie, Tyler, Marion, Gail, Polly, Gene, Tommy, Jon, Scott, Bradley, Chris, Emmitt, Ste ven, -we couldn’t have done ALL of this without ALL of you -THANK-YOU P.S.S. -DONT FORGET -FEBRUARY 14 th . / VALENTINES DAY. PAUL BUNYAN sc Bangor, ME Our small group of volunteers has been working to get blow downs cleared from our trail system, as well as re-inspect the trail sys tem for wind and water damage after all the storms in December and January. As I write this, we have gotten a good majority of our trail system opened back up, but there is still lots more work to do! We are encouraged to have a few inches of snow on the ground now, but we definitely need a LOT more cold and snow to make trails truly rideable! This section of trail was so thick with downed trees it was impossible to tell there was even a trail there before we cleaned it up (with the amazing help of one of our mem ber’s mini-excavator!) Club members that showed up on a recent SUNDAY A.M. to do trail work. Pictured left to right; EDDIE P., BRADLEY A., CHRIS W. JR., EMMITT W., STEVEN T., and TYLER P. Along with crew -CHRIS W. JR brought along his side / side -which made the trek into and out of the woods a lot easier. THANK-YOU to ALL / GREAT TEAMWORK!! Picture submitted by BARRY R. (somebody has to take pictures for posterity)

Keep an eye on our Facebook page for any updates, and feel free to drop us an email at paulbunyanscbangor@hotmail.com with any questions! Volunteers are ALWAYS welcome and VERY MUCH appreciated, many hands make light work!! We generally hold our meetings on the second Wednesday of each month during the season, starting in September, and would love to have anyone who is interested join us! We usually post meeting information on our Facebook page ahead of time, but feel free to email or message us on Facebook with any questions! www.facebook.com/ PaulBunyanSnowmobileClub Sincerely, Paul Phillips – President EASTERN MAINE SNOWMOBILERS Holden, ME EasternMaineSnowmobilers.com Find us on Facebook Trail work continues! Since the December 18th storm - 237 man hours put in by approximately 9 of our regular trail crew volunteers. Aaron O, Brent S, Dave T, Don N, Larry L, Nate and Kyle P, Steve, Abigail and Kate S, Troy G. Thank you all! The system is clear of trees and most water damage and bridges have been repaired. Still some Club trails that are further from road crossings and away from the club have not been checked. We meet at the clubhouse every Sunday morning at 7:30.. the coffee will be on. For those that have other availability weekdays etc. just check with trailmaster Larry. Clubhouse We are standing at about 84 memberships for the season so far. We have four upcoming rentals on the books. Our clubhouse is avail able for weekday and weekend rentals. Check the website for details or contact information for rentals chairperson. Upcoming Events Feb 11 th Board of directors meeting 5:00 p.m. Club dinner (potluck). 6:00 p.m. Membership meeting. 7:00 p.m. Mar 17 th Board of directors meeting 5:00 p.m. Club dinner (potluck). 6:00 p.m. Membership meeting. 7:00 p.m. Everybody do your snow dance! We’ve got the cold weather so things are freezing up nicely! But we still need more snow! Hope to see you on the trails or at the club

The Tucker groomer has been out 3 times so far keeping the trail to Streaked Mountain smooth. We have three Tucker mechanics that have been working to keep the groomers in tiptop condition and ready for the job. We encourage all riders to get out there and enjoy the trails and the groomers will be there to smooth them out again. We enjoy seeing rid ers enjoying the trails and the season is getting shorter by the day. We continue to collect family and business memberships. They trickle in slowly. We appreciate our business membership chair for her work, all while being treated for cancer. The good news, she is now cancer free and done with treatments. A celebration party will be planned soon. We are happy for our young members as a west coast, east coast love affair has removed the distance between them. Lucky for us, she left sunny California to live in Maine. The old farts in the group will be celebrating their 50th anniversary later this year. I guess, those who snowmobile together, stay together. Our Christmas potluck meeting was cancelled due to lack of power for four days. We did a makeup supper at our January meeting. The food and mulled cider was delicious and so much of it. We have a lot to be thankful for and looking forward to the rest of the season. Leah Frechette, Club reporter EASTERN REGION

KENDUSKEAG STREAM RIDERS sc Kenduskeag, ME

Hello fellow snowmobilers, seems like it was just yesterday that I was tippity-tappit ing away on the tablet again. Looks like that I should have at least taken typing class in high

Still trying to get the trails open - but these darn trees seem to keep falling faster than the crew can get them out of the way. Trailwork done on this trail by EDDIE P., BRADLEY A. & BARRY R

Troy G, T rail Grunt

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