Month: January 2018

Eastman ATV Accountable to Maintain Trail

Gary GreenawayJanuary 30, 20180 commentsClub News Eastman ATV

Eastman ATV is the first ATV organization that has been held accountable for the maintenance and repairs to the trails in the Sandilands Provincial Forest. No other groups have been held accountable to this level. Maintenance and repairs take place in the spring, before and after an ATV event and in the fall.

Before ATV events, Sustainable Development (Manitoba Conservation) requests Eastman ATV carry out repairs to specific areas of the trail. Further, grading of certain intersections was also required immediately after the ride. All these repairs and upgrades of the trail were completed. In the last two Ride for Mom, (RFM), events, thousands of dollars has been spent for preparation and repairs of the trail system. Contractors, rental machines and supplies such as, a granular material, geo cell and geo tech were required. A bridge had to be built for the first RFM then widened the following year to accommodate the wider side-by-sides. Eastman ATV is committed to this pilot project of developing a sustainable trail system for all user groups to share and enjoy. This has been done with dedicated volunteers who have spent countless hours to ensure that all Government criteria are followed.

We have to follow all Provincial Forestry and Crown Land permit requirements. This includes Eastman ATV have environmental spill kits, fire extinguishers, safety training and wear appropriate PPE to carry out these repairs.

These items become very expensive to carry out with no sustainable funding in place. Please consider renewing your membership with Eastman ATV as your membership dollars are needed and used to help continue this project of developing a viable sustainable trail system in the Sandilands Provincial Forest.

Gary Greenaway
Trail Director

AGM Date Set – April 8, 2018

Greg GowrylukJanuary 19, 20180 commentsClub News Eastman ATV

Our Eastman Annual General Meeting, AGM, will be held on April 8, 2018, at Le Club Les Bles d’Or, 1254 Dawson Road in Lorette. More info will follow. This year we are looking for nominations for five positions on the Eastman Board. The positions are President, Vice President, Secretary, Trail Director and Director. Its important to get involved in our club and we appreciate all the work the volunteers do all year. Please consider being nominated for one of these positions and keep our club exciting and a leader in the ATVing in Manitoba. New Board members are important to continue the great work that has already been accomplished. If you are interested please contact Terry at tkaluzny@live.com.

We have a booth at the Manitoba Outdoor Show, Red River Exhibition Place on Feb 9 – 11, 2018. If you are in Winnipeg drop by for a visit. If you would like to volunteer some time at the booth and promote our club contact Gary at garydg@mymts.net. We would love to see you there!

ATVMB are having their AGM on March 17 in Ile des Chenes. This is an important meeting as this is where we vote for the ATVMB Board members who represent ATVing in Manitoba and are our liaison with the Manitoba Government. As ATVing in Manitoba is growing it is extremely important to get involved and let your voice be heard on where the future of your sport is heading.

Last year we were considering not having a Ride for Mom this year. We heard from our riders that they wanted to have a ride this year so we are doing our preparations for the 2018. We decided to try a different format so we hope you like it. The Ride for Mom will be held on June 9th. See more information coming in February.

This is just the beginning of the year. We would like to continue our monthly rides in the summer and would appreciate ideas for rides and more importantly if you would like to lead a ride let us know. Also don’t forget to renew your membership!

So watch in February for information on the 2018 RFM and please give it some thought about the Board positions.

Thanks Jo

Vice President, Eastman ATV Association

Ride for Mom raises over $12,000 for CancerCare Manitoba

Dave LeeJanuary 14, 20180 commentsUncategorized

In June of 2017, 800 riders descended on the only trail in Manitoba on Crown land that is signed and maintained
by Karen Kornelsen |

Deborah Nicol’s special pink ATV.— Deborah Nicol photo

CancerCare Manitoba is working to change lives by raising funds for patient care, support and research. Deborah Nicol, former president of the Eastman ATV Association, knows first hand how important this is as a breast cancer survivor herself.

Nicol brought the idea of doing a Ride for Mom on ATVs to the Eastman ATV Association board, they loved the idea, and work began for the first annual ride in 2016. It was so successful, they decided to do it again. The 2nd Annual Ride for Mom, sponsored by Adventure Power Products, took place on June 3, 2017, and was a massive and overwhelming success with 800 participants and over $12,000 raised for CancerCare Manitoba.

Deborah Nicol (far left) with friends at the 2017 Ride for Mom.
Nicol is a breast cancer survivor and came up with the idea to do the Ride for Mom.
— Deborah Nicol photo

“For me, being a breast cancer survivor, the Ride for Mom meant a lot because it gave me an opportunity to deal with my own cancer as well as to give back to the great support and care I got,” she said. “Everyone was so gung-ho about it, it kind of went from there. We had an amazing, successful first year and decided to do it again.”

In 2016, for the first ride, the club was nearing completion of its new trail in Sandilands Provincial Forest, about an hour from Winnipeg. The club spent six years building the first-ever trail on Crown land that’s signed and maintained. It stretches nearly 90 kilometres. The club, along with the All Terrain Vehicle Association of Manitoba, opened the trail, and then the next day, held the first Ride for Mom. Fast forward to this year, the trail is now in season two and the response for this year’s Ride for Mom was even more overwhelming than the last.

Members of the Eastman ATV Association at the 2017 Ride for Mom.
— Deborah Nicol photo

“We actually had to put a cap on the number of riders because the trail is in the Sandilands Provincial Forest,” said Nicol. “The trail can only handle so many ATVs since it takes a huge toll on the trails. We also made it a ride, not a derby, since we really wanted this to be a family event and encourage women and children to come out and ride.”

On June 4, 2017, the ride started at the staging site for the trail at the end of Dawson Road, right at the beginning of the Sandilands Forest, east of Richer, Manitoba. The Ride for Mom involved doing an approximately 80-kilometre loop with a halfway point where “Awesome Dog” served enough hotdogs for 800 people. Extreme Medic also volunteered its time and had an ambulance on site.

Members of the Eastman ATV Association at the 2017 Ride for Mom.
— Deborah Nicol photo

The ride involved an incredible amount of community involvement, donations and volunteers. For instance, Maple Leaf donated 1,500 sausages for the pancake breakfast; Original Pancake House donated the pancake batter; tables, chairs and tents were donated at a reduced rate from Tentations; and McDonalds donated all the coffee. Ride for Mom also involved over $12,000 in silent auction prizes and a door prize of a GPS donated by Cabela’s.

There were over 60 volunteers including many Eastman club members and their families who helped in every way they could, in all aspects of the event. Most importantly, the trail needed a lot of work and club members gave up their weekends and holidays to do it.

Participants of the Ride for Mom stop for a photo.
— Deborah Nicol photo

“We are debating whether we can do a Ride for Mom next year as it’s a ton of work and really hard on our trails,” said Nicol. “We had to get some heavy equipment in because you don’t think a corner is going to take much of a beating but when you have 800 people going around a corner, it becomes a wall. It’s a huge commitment by our trail committee members who give up their holidays to do the work. We’re having a meeting next week to decide what to do next year. The response is overwhelming from people who want it to happen again but it’s just such a huge commitment.”

Stay tuned and keep checking the Eastman ATV Association website to find out if the event will go on for a third year.

“Ride for Mom really supports an amazing cause,” said Nicol. “CancerCare Manitoba was amazing to work with—they were right beside us through the whole thing. They came out and were an amazing crew to work with. We are so thankful we could support them and we are humbled by all the support from the Eastman club, from member, their families, members of CancerCare, the volunteers, our sponsors—it’s very humbling to have them give so much of their products and time and support.”