Can a club be far behind?

Tumbler Ridge is just a town tucked in the mountains of Northern B.C. that, consequently, happens to have a lot of great riding. Chris Homister has lived in the area for 12 years and, despite avidly riding quads, Razors and, previously, sleds, said he still has trails left to discover.

“I like it up here due to the fact that we have the rolling hills and trails that range from beginner all the way up to trails where a good experienced rider needs to know what they’re doing,” said Homister. “We have muskeg and if you want to go riding on sandy trails there are those around here too. In two seconds we can be out on a trail and away from everybody else. The trails aren’t full of people—if you want to just sit up there for a couple hours you can.”

Over the winter, snowmobiling is the pastime of choice in Tumbler Ridge, with spring conditions sometimes offering high-elevation sledding all the way into June. This time of year gives off-roaders an abundance of options, as the off-road riding generally begins by April.

Certainly, the options are diverse. A day out can mean more than just riding, although there is plenty of that to be done as well. Homister thoroughly enjoys quadding, but some of the best rides, he claimed, lead to great places to stop and enjoy the outdoors.

"A lot of my favourite riding areas are right along the highway and they take us out to some of the local lakes," he said. "Quality Lake is one ride I like. We leave from the ball diamond and we’re there within 20 minutes. It’s a good beginner trail as it’s well distinguished. Still, there are a couple spots that can challenge a skilled rider. The Razors can go a little bit farther than the quads can, and there are a couple good river trails that we can take to go fishing. Just throw the rods in the back and in 10 minutes you’re out to a good fishing hole while the kids can go play on the sand banks."

Although there is no ATV club in the area at the moment, there is a group that gets together to enjoy the outdoors whenever they can. Homister is hoping to get a club started over the 2013 season. The goal is to promote the sport and establish a community that simply likes to get out and ride together. Trails are currently maintained by conscientious users, although a club would be able to utilize more organized management. As always, responsible and safe use is a very key part of participating in motorsports in Tumbler Ridge.

“Right now we’re looking at feasibility and finding out who wants to join,” said Homister. “There’s a core bunch of guys here and we’ll all go Razor riding out to the windmills, or we’ll pick a destination and go do that. Normally we take off from town, head out to a lake or river and then we go fishing. We do quite a bit of hunting with the ATVs, stuff like that, up here. I guess it’s going to be a pretty easy world to break into and get a club going.”

The riders of Tumbler Ridge already enjoy amazing outdoor recreation and a fantastic community. Hopefully those involved in OHV sports can move forward in creating a club to help bring it all together.