to ontario riders

[monte1214]

the OFSC chooses to lure buyers in with an early hope for snow rebate or we will stick to ya later attitude. Top it of with an excuse that there where some trails open elsewhere no refund and now the OFSC toilet is full and needs a flush. I hope they go bankrupt. Cheers Scott

So wrong. Where do you think the money will come from for pre & early season work? If everyone waited until there was enough snow to buy their pass, the OFSC would fail. They need that $$ early on to offset costs.

If you don't want to buy early, then don't. The OFSC isn't forcing you, they're simply offering a better deal to those if us that choose to have that sticker on our windshield ready to roll.

Plus...didn't I read on another post that you weren't going to buy a pass at all this year? If so, then why do you even care about this?

 

[SledFreak]

You sound like a typical OFSC person with the rose coloured glasses on.

Scott32 is obviously fed up like most are... I could see an early bird deal, but jacking it 50-70 bucks past Nov 2nd is redicoulous. They reel you in and if the winter sucks, poor you. Screw that. Other duristricitions are the same all year long...

His message is clear. He and other people would like top buy, but the current model sucks and the product is not very good.

Price of 1 week ones are a price...

 

[Timeline]

I'll be purchasing my passes before December 1st to receive the discount. One will be a historic pass which is discounted.

I'm lucky to be able to ride between 1500 and 3000 miles a year right from my driveway at the Cottage. I love the trails in this area and they are maintained well by all surrounding Clubs.

I consider the cost of the trail pass as the cost of doing business. This is just another purchase while buying parts during the off season teardown to replace wearable parts or upgrades.
Well worth the money to me.

Not sure where you would ride without a Trail Pass. May depend on how much you like to ride.
I don't have anyplace I can legally ride without a Pass.

For those that don't buy a pass, your choice - just stay off the Trails.

 

[Ultrafrozen]

Gym membership - $300 per year
Satellite HD TV - $1200 per year
High speed internet - $700 per year
Cell phone, no data - $480 per year
etc.

At $200 per year, I can ride a groomed trail system all over Ontario snow permitting.
I can find long straight stretches that chill me to the bone.
I can ride tight twisty roller coaster trails.
I can escape with friends on a quick lunch and back loop.
I can take the wife out on an overnight trip or plan a week's vacation ride.
I can volunteer to help my local club with a little trail maintenance.
I can support the club's next fundraiser.
I can put $0.55 away in a coin jar each day of the year to pay the pass fee.
I can complain about this small fee.
I can sell my sled and take ONE trip to Florida to play golf.

 

[thrasher]

Couldn't agree more. A small price for a ton of fun!

 

[Angus viper]

small price for great trails!

 

[new rob]

Cheaper would be better it might get some of my buddies with younger kids who would only use the trails 3-4 times a season to buy. But for me $200 really what can you get for $200 now a days ???

 

[scott32]

I have been riding since before the Ofsc.
I have been involved in the development of the Ofsc
I was involved as a member for years
I helped my local club with signage and tree cutting etc
Never ever been called a complaining pussy before, most would be afraid to say that to my face, thats for sure.
The lost revenue is the part time sledders not the hardcore 2000 mile plus riders. new rob has a grasp on it, most miss the little details in life because it only themselves thats important.
I have seen how money gets spent, watch the increases of life year after year. I am now done with it. The trails are not worth four times the price. The organization is out of control. What once seemed as a good idea has gone to hell, and so leads the paved road of intentions. The brainwashing is all in the marketing. Drink coke, settle for pepsi and nothing will change.

 

[Irv]

the OFSC chooses to lure buyers in with an early hope for snow rebate or we will stick to ya later attitude. Top it of with an excuse that there where some trails open elsewhere no refund and now the OFSC toilet is full and needs a flush. I hope they go bankrupt. Cheers Scott

So wrong. Where do you think the money will come from for pre & early season work? If everyone waited until there was enough snow to buy their pass, the OFSC would fail. They need that $$ early on to offset costs.

If you don't want to buy early, then don't. The OFSC isn't forcing you, they're simply offering a better deal to those if us that choose to have that sticker on our windshield ready to roll.

Plus...didn't I read on another post that you weren't going to buy a pass at all this year? If so, then why do you even care about this?

It's no sense John, these guys won't be happy until it's free.

Many things have been said in this post that justify the price but these guys have the tinted glasses on and can't see what's right in front of them. Sad really.

 

[SRXSRULE2]

So why arent people from quebec complaining at close to 300 a pass,and its not the tiny insurance coverage that comes with it that seals the deal,i guess i'm spoiled here with top notch trails and a long riding season so the 180 for me seems like a bargain

My insurrance for my sled is 280.00 a year, no collision for my 2011 ski-doo 1200 gade. So in Quebec, its 300 all included, insurance and trail pass, correct? I think you really need to think about this for a bit.

I buy an Ontario and a Quebec pass every year now. There are lots of differences between the clubs and organization is just one of them. Quebec may get more snow in areas than Ontario in areas but I can tell you this, you could ride most trails in Quebec with an enticer. I think out of the 5 or 6 years I've been riding there, I may have rode 50 km out of 10 000km+ that were bumpy. Trails are groomed 24/7 (actually, not like the signs say they do here in Ontario). Trail signage is much better in Quebec. As the prices go up here in Ontario, I see less signage and less grooming in areas. Every little small town or big city in Quebec welcomes snowmobilers, here in Ontario we have the yuppies in cottage country complaining about sleds riding on their property. Money spent in the past to make trails and bridges and all the other necessities are wasted because a trail has be re-routed because of some A**hole who thinks riders are damaging his property. I understand the issue for farmers and their crops, but riding on someone's grass isn't going to do any harm. Sledding is part of the Quebec heritage and the residents understand that during the winter months, we are their income to keep them going through the slow season. They offer cheaper rates for riders and usually incorporate a deal that includes your dinner, room and breakfast the next morning at sometimes as cheap as $80 a head. We have been caught in storms and have had local residents that don't speak a word of English (I can only understand some French) welcome a group of 6 of us in to their home/ cabin, fed us and had us stay the night. I've broke down in Ontario and knocked on residents doors just to use a phone and had people come to the door and not let me use a phone to get someone to pick me up. That's sad.

 

[Mooseman]

Just like any large organization or business, it can go where the founders never thought it would or could go. Take a look at the H3lls Ang3ls (avoiding search bots here!). They started out as a group of bored war vets that just wanted to be rebels and are now one of the world's biggest criminal organizations. Same as the government.

Scott32, you've seen this progression and it probably didn't go the way the founders probably wanted it to go. But just like the above examples, things go in different directions and we don't have much control over it, just like the government. We can complain about it, vote new people in but we still get taxed to death.

With the OFSC, you do have that choice and that's fine. Our sport is an expensive one, period. Just look at the money in the machine itself. I just spent nearly $800US in repair parts alone for our 3 machines. My older son wants to spend $700US to extend his Phazer. I'm helping my younger son rebuild a wrecked FX. I am a cheapskate at heart but I see this as entertainment money being spent as such. If you were to go to a movie by yourself every week, that's about $700/year not including food and drinks. And just like snowmobiling, you get good movies and bad movies, good snow, bad snow. There are no guarantees. All summer I spent a bunch of time and money to maintain a pool that got used maybe 3 times because of the cool summer we had. Am I mad? Yeah, but we did enjoy it those few times. You just never know.

I spent tons of time with my sons last season (my wife wasn't able to ride too much because she was taking care of her mom). To me that is worth every nickel and I'll keep riding even after my boys move out.

 

[Ultrafrozen]

Never ever been called a complaining pussy before, most would be afraid to say that to my face, thats for sure.

Sorry bud! Never meant to imply anyone else is a pussy for standing up for what they believe. I edited my post to make it less offensive as anyone that knows me would tell you that's the last thing on my mind.

It sure would be great to pay less for the privilege of riding these well groomed trails and I hope it does get less expensive. Unfortunately, the cost of everything else in my world seems to go up year after year. It may not be ideal but I have to trust the management of my $200 each year to the OFSC individuals who know a lot more about the organization than I ever care to know.

 

[Stubbs]

This is very interesting.
You have one set of users from an area that generally has lots of snow commending trail conditions, and others from areas of the province that have had crap snow fall for several years telling a totally different story. Regular snow fall amounts for clubs to work with is KEY!!! Without broad snowfall throoughout the province you have some clubs trying to groom snirt on a weekly basis, and others grooming decent snow amounts, but the traffic is heavy enough that it is never enough 'cause that's the area with snow that year so that's the area EVERYONE is riding. Northern parts of the province seem to be the exception.... never had a bad ride north of Tamagami. There is no way to make the system fair or equal for all year in and year out!!!! If you want to ride GROOMED trails in Ontario, regardless of the conditions that particular place, that particulr year, you must "pays yer money, and takes yer chances". I have encountered no other form of recreation that enables me the variety, complexity, socialization, or memories on par with sledding given the $200 member fee. The permit, expressed as a percentage of money spent on said activity in total, per year, is small. Organized snowmobiling gives the Ontario government the best ROI possible right now. All of us need to remember that a multi-million dollar a year industry is being floated on the backs of VOLUNTEERS that love the sport, for all it's good and bad, just like you. If you have a major beef, get involved with a club and use you energy to move the sport of organized snowmobiling forward for all of us. I for one, WILL appreciate your efforts every time I have the privledge of riding the trails you have provided me.

 

[Irv]

This is very interesting.
You have one set of users from an area that generally has lots of snow commending trail conditions, and others from areas of the province that have had crap snow fall for several years telling a totally different story. Regular snow fall amounts for clubs to work with is KEY!!! Without broad snowfall throoughout the province you have some clubs trying to groom snirt on a weekly basis, and others grooming decent snow amounts, but the traffic is heavy enough that it is never enough 'cause that's the area with snow that year so that's the area EVERYONE is riding. Northern parts of the province seem to be the exception.... never had a bad ride north of Tamagami. There is no way to make the system fair or equal for all year in and year out!!!! If you want to ride GROOMED trails in Ontario, regardless of the conditions that particular place, that particulr year, you must "pays yer money, and takes yer chances". I have encountered no other form of recreation that enables me the variety, complexity, socialization, or memories on par with sledding given the $200 member fee. The permit, expressed as a percentage of money spent on said activity in total, per year, is small. Organized snowmobiling gives the Ontario government the best ROI possible right now. All of us need to remember that a multi-million dollar a year industry is being floated on the backs of VOLUNTEERS that love the sport, for all it's good and bad, just like you. If you have a major beef, get involved with a club and use you energy to move the sport of organized snowmobiling forward for all of us. I for one, WILL appreciate your efforts every time I have the privledge of riding the trails you have provided me.

Well said Stubby.

 

[Stubbs]

Thanks Irv.
I have found that most who ride in Ontario have no clue regarding to the time, effort, and personal sacrifice made by the very few volunteers who burn themselves out season after season giving us whatever they can muster to ride on and enjoy.