My Opinion  -  Club Membership

Here I am this afternoon, looking outside with snow on the ground and more falling and just thinking of the day when I can go out and ride my machine with my wife hanging-on in the back seat.  Don’t usually go roaring down the trail but “put-put” the ride just looking at the scenery and watching out for wildlife.  Sometime, my wife will jolt me from behind and remind me to “stay on the trail!”  Once in a while, we’ll see friends on the trail and most times, we’ll go riding with them, all of us planning a full day trip now and then.  Stopping at our restaurants here in the St. John Valley and having a meal together tops the day like chocolate fudge on an bowl of ice cream!  Life is good. 

But I had a nightmare last night.  I dreamt that war had been declared.  Not between East and West but between landowners and ATV clubs!!!  WOW.  We, as clubs, had lost!  You know why?  They own the lands we are riding on!  I woke up in a sweat.  Here I was, sitting on my ATV, with my wife behind me, riding in my driveway! (which, by the way is only 30 feet long.)

Seriously, this is a possibility in some areas of our State of Maine.  In our area, we are very fortunate to have very understanding landowners.  Once in a while, a situation will occur between a landowner and a/or some riders, but we have been fortunate.  This brings me up to the relationship between landowners and ATV clubs in general.  The only way the landowner can communicate his concerns about the usage of his land for ATV riders is with the club that has his authorization to use his land.  Without clubs, who does the landowner voice his concerns to and by what legal right does anyone have to ride the landowners land unless the landowner gives each and every rider the right to do so? 

What I’m getting at is the need for clubs so that the above problem can be addressed.  What is a club?  It certainly does not exist by name only, but by individual members that belong to the said club.  By extension, the landowner gives permission to the club, thereby giving permission to its members, thereby individual members having legal permission to ride trails on the landowner’s land which, by extension, the club members maintain, by extension thru membership fees paid to the club.  Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? Kind of makes me wonder when I ride and observe some units not being registered with any club and at times not even registered with the State of Maine.  You see, the State of Maine can fine these units for not being registered but not being a registered member of any club is not breaking the law.  Then the question that begs to be asked but never is, IS, what is that individual contributing to the maintenance and well-being of the club and club trail he/she is riding on.   True, no law is being broken here.  This is not a question of legalities but a moral issue.  I’m sorry for being very blunt in this article but if one can afford to own a unit, one can certainly afford to pay a nominal membership fee to belong to his/her local club to help maintain the trail that one has the enjoyment of riding on.

Oh, another issue – PLEASE STAY ON THE TRAIL – Your landowner is watching us.                  

These opinions are those of Roger and not the Madawaska ATVenture Club.