Free DVD is the Key to Trail-Building Success
April 5, 2010, 2:50pm
It was easy building a motorcycle trail in Minnesota 40 years ago. Just ask Barney Larson. He started working in his dad’s motorcycle shop in Cambridge, Minnesota, in the mid-1960s. “Back then, a club or group of individuals would lay out an Enduro, and it would develop into a trail over the years,” said Larson.
Today, building a new single-track is a long, complex and sometimes frustrating process. Getting to know how the government works is just the beginning. But there is help. It’s a new DVD designed to shorten the learning curve and put you and your club on the off-road to success. It’s available free of charge from the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC).
First, a little more about Barney. If you ride Enduros or Hare Scrambles in Minnesota, you probably know him. Barney has been involved in off-road riding most of his 73 years. When his dad retired in 1974, Barney took over the dealership, Larsons Cycle, and ran it until 2001. Today, his son Mike owns the store, which sponsors many of the region’s top riders. Barney also helped start the Norsemen Motorcycle Club in 1961, and was its president from 1969-1970. He and other club members established the Amateur Riders Motorcycle Association (ARMCA) which now operates as AMA District 23. They also built many of its Enduros and Hare Scrambles.
Now, about that free DVD. It’s titled the “Public Land Advocacy Workshops Series DVD.” It was created by NOHVCC with help from the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA), and the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA) and is being distributed with help from the Yamaha OHV Access Initiative.
The DVD covers a wide range of topics, including: understanding the agency designation process, how to get involved and save trails, and how to plan, design, manage and maintain trail systems. It also highlights success stories. The content is based on NOHVCC’s successful onsite workshops and webinars, and was developed in cooperation with the American Motorcyclist Association, BlueRibbon Coalition, MIC, Off-Road Business Association, SVIA, and United Four Wheel Drive Associations.
If you stop by Larsons Cycle, or ride the Akeley West Enduro, Mora Enduro or Trollhaugen Hare Scrambles, and you see Barney Larson, shake his hand and thank him for all he’s done. Then get the DVD and work to help keep the trails he built open. It will sure make Barney happy. As he put it, “People are coming into the store for trail maps. Without trails, there won’t be any maps.”
To order copies of the new DVD for yourself, your club or agency trail planners in your area, send an email to trailhead@nohvcc.org or call 800-348-6487. NOHVCC is also able to do webinars on trail building that are customized for individual off-road clubs. For information and more trail-building tools, go to www.nohvcc.org.
Today, building a new single-track is a long, complex and sometimes frustrating process. Getting to know how the government works is just the beginning. But there is help. It’s a new DVD designed to shorten the learning curve and put you and your club on the off-road to success. It’s available free of charge from the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC).
First, a little more about Barney. If you ride Enduros or Hare Scrambles in Minnesota, you probably know him. Barney has been involved in off-road riding most of his 73 years. When his dad retired in 1974, Barney took over the dealership, Larsons Cycle, and ran it until 2001. Today, his son Mike owns the store, which sponsors many of the region’s top riders. Barney also helped start the Norsemen Motorcycle Club in 1961, and was its president from 1969-1970. He and other club members established the Amateur Riders Motorcycle Association (ARMCA) which now operates as AMA District 23. They also built many of its Enduros and Hare Scrambles.
Now, about that free DVD. It’s titled the “Public Land Advocacy Workshops Series DVD.” It was created by NOHVCC with help from the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA), and the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA) and is being distributed with help from the Yamaha OHV Access Initiative.
The DVD covers a wide range of topics, including: understanding the agency designation process, how to get involved and save trails, and how to plan, design, manage and maintain trail systems. It also highlights success stories. The content is based on NOHVCC’s successful onsite workshops and webinars, and was developed in cooperation with the American Motorcyclist Association, BlueRibbon Coalition, MIC, Off-Road Business Association, SVIA, and United Four Wheel Drive Associations.
If you stop by Larsons Cycle, or ride the Akeley West Enduro, Mora Enduro or Trollhaugen Hare Scrambles, and you see Barney Larson, shake his hand and thank him for all he’s done. Then get the DVD and work to help keep the trails he built open. It will sure make Barney happy. As he put it, “People are coming into the store for trail maps. Without trails, there won’t be any maps.”
To order copies of the new DVD for yourself, your club or agency trail planners in your area, send an email to trailhead@nohvcc.org or call 800-348-6487. NOHVCC is also able to do webinars on trail building that are customized for individual off-road clubs. For information and more trail-building tools, go to www.nohvcc.org.
