The Trail Talk Podcast

We feature John Bates on this week's Trail Talk Podcast. John has been a critical part of the Ohio Ridge Riders, a key snowmobile club connecting major trails between the Adirondacks, the Tug Hill and the foothills north of the Mohawk Valley. We talk about Snow Bash, the lack thereof this past fall, fundraising challenges, major bridge repairs that continue, why he loves to groom, and we share our hopes for the upcoming season.

Rory Nortz, Trail and Maintenance Coordinator for the Valley Snow Travelers in Lewis County, NY has late breaking news on windmill work going on in the Flat Rock area and near Rector Road in the coming weeks as the season starts. Rory joins us for his first Trail Talk Podcast not just to update us about that, but for his lifelong love of snowmobiling as a Lewis County native, the pleasure of helping his local snowmobile club and the giving spirit of many community members and businesses that are things many people don't see.

Chris Skipper joins us for a very well done presentation on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to snowmobiling in Lewis County, NY, the Tug Hill Region. There is so much more than meets the eye to the economy and quality of life in the North Country. Snowmobiling is a big part of it. And Chris has amazing analysis and ideas going forward!

We had the honor of having Roseanne Warner, President of the New York State Snowmobile Association (NYSSA) on this week’s Trail Talk Podcast! We discuss the implications of COVID on the upcoming season, great things NYSSA is looking forward to and what makes the sport great! Special thanks to Chris Rinck from Southern Tug Hill for joining again as co-host this week!

This is a great interview with a great snowmobile club! Jason and Stephanie Larson and their family lead the Hamburg Snowmobile Club in Hamburg, NY (Southern Erie County… near Buffalo).

They have a robust youth snowmobile club which will inspire you and your club about the future of the sport. Their approach to bringing in more volunteers and new members is working. And we discuss the infamous “wing trail”… did you think we’d not talk about that with a Buffalo area snowmobile club?

We had a great conversation with Kyle, son of Frank, owner of KDK Sports in Rome, NY along with Rocco, the mastermind in service that makes their sleds run great season after season! Joining in this podcast was Chris Rinck, president of STH and co-host of the Guide to Your Ride podcast.

We talk about the history of KDK, what “KDK” actually means, we share great riding memories, why we all got into the sport, our thoughts on riding in Old Forge and the Tug Hill, I share early thoughts on the winter weather outlook and why you need to get your sleds in for pre season service (or buy another one) RIGHT NOW!

We are honored to have Deb from www.sledfreak.com as our first Trail Talk Podcast guest for the 2020-2021 season! If you ever wanted to know the history of Sledfreak, the wide appeal, how a layoff turned into the best blessing of her life, and how we can invest into the sport going forward, take a listen to this Trail Talk Podcast on this #trailtalktuesday

This is a special interview with Meteorologist Chris Cawley, long time friend of Rich Lupia, whom did the weather on Upstate Snow from the end of 2014 until this past March. He has an interesting snowmobile story and we chat about a few other things.

Great podcast with Chris Rinck, President of Southern Tug Hill Sno-Riders. You’ll want to listen to the whole thing. Great discussion on riding the hill, issues you’ve always wondered about, and what you can do to make your Tug Hill experience the best…

This edition of the Trail Talk Podcast we go into why it’s important to have the best equipment for your sled, especially skis! If you have thought about aftermarket skis or don’t really think it will be worth the investment, listen to the podcast as Cody Schuster makes some great points as to why you