8306-R2_MSA_March2023

Polaris Ambass By: Mat

years past this would have all been planned on paper maps (which I still have and use), but many of the new sleds have on board GPS. We used the Polaris Ride Command App, planned the route as discussed with area experts & shared with it my 7s display on my snowmobile. This allowed us to monitor our track & progress along the way. Another great feature within Ride Command is the group ride, where you can create & join a group, this shares location of the machines in your group with the free app or snowmobile dis play. Others can join online and watch your journey as well. We made our way south on 71A, ITS85, Connector 114 back to ITS85 crossing Abol bridge towards Kokajo then Route 66 to Kineo. Along the way we paused just a few times, know ing we had a long ride ahead. Kineo to Rockwood, over across ITS88 and ITS87 into West Forks, ITS86 west to Eustis, ITS89 to 108, then hit ITS84 to get to the NH border.

Abol Falls 2/19/23

I hadn’t ridden in NH since I was a kid on the back of dad’s snowmobile. Polaris ambassa dors Lenn Johnson & Michael Hanley-McCarthy gave me good trail notes so I could plan the route to Pittsburg where Lenn would meet us to lead us to his cabin. The 7s displaying the planned route made it very simple at intersections to know we were pointed in the right direction. We arrived at the cabin at 6:30PM. 13 Hours and 376 miles later!

Grand Falls 2/16/23

Last February I had the opportunity to ride with fellow Polaris ambassadors and passionate snowmobilers in Northern Maine, show themwhat northern Penobscot & Aroostook County have to offer and host a Polaris Ambassador ride & event. From that came the plan for a 2023 ride and event. This year we chose Pittsburg NH as our event location, but the guys wanted to spend some more time in the County to explore more than last year’s few days. Throughout the summer of 2022 we discussed the event, made plans, solicited items to raffle & raise funds for a local club. The group of us have met at events and rides over the past few years, but this year we planned to spend time together enjoying the sport we love before, during & after the event! Our group now included folks fromMichigan, Pennsylva nia, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and both ends of Maine.

Kineo, Route 66 2/19/23

What amazed me through this journey was the amount of work it takes to make just 1 day of riding possible. Most folks cannot even understand how much effort goes into their day of riding. More than twelve clubs secured landowner permission, mapped re-routes to avoid active logging operations, placed signs, cut blowdowns, fixed water holes & groomed trails just so we could ride snowmobiles for a day. 1,000’s of volunteer hours. 1,000’s of landowners that said yes to allowing snowmobile trails on their property. These same volunteers go out throughout the snowmobile season and ensure trails are holding up, deal with changed landowners, issues from sledders not following the marked trail and working with the Maine Warden Service do deal with problem areas. Were the trails all perfect, no. It had been above freezing for 2 days leading up to our trip, so little had been groomed. Was the signage once we left familiar territory helpful, mostly. All the important safety signage was there. It was visible all clubs are working hard at it. Not everything will be perfect along the journey, most everyone volunteering their time also has a full-time job and family to look after. If you are involved at the club level, you know this. If you aren’t you likely have no idea. Friday morning was upper 30’s and drizzly, but off we went to register sleds so the local NH guys could show us around. We were joined by fellow Polaris ambassador Tim Wilder from NH and fellow riders Rob Cooper & Jonathan Luther from Connecticut. By lunch we were totally soaked and decided to call it a day. Back to the cabin to visit and tell stories as we prepared for the event Saturday. Friday night Dan Noeth from New York traveled up

Ambassador Ride Pittsburgh 2/18/23

Fast forward (past all the thousands of messages, pictures of maps, reservations, new gear purchases, etc) to February 16t h and the trip begins for the 1st group leaving from Ashland for Pittsburg, NH. Plans had been made to do it in one day which called for a 5:45AM departure for myself, my son Dylan & Travis Archer. What an adventure, leaving the area we know and ride daily to the “great unknown”. In

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