Our first trip to the Snowmobile Show, sponsored by Snowmobile USA, was at the Rock Financial Showplace, in Novi, MI. It was a Friday night, and during that afternoon, the first snow flurries of the year started to fly, setting the mood perfectly to go check out the new 2011 sleds, and pick through jackets, bibs, helmets, boots and gloves.
Arriving at the expo center, the parking lots were pretty full, and we were surprised at the attendance for a Friday night, thinking Saturday and Sunday would draw the largest crowd. The show filled up the entire expo center space, and all the big names in snowmobiling were there, from Arctic Cat, Polaris, Yamaha, to smaller groups, antique and vintage snowmobile clubs. Not a Kawasaki to be found. We were also introduced to several new names in clothing retailers, such as Sled Divas and 509. Snowmobile Safety Classes were also offered by the Snomads Snofari Club.
Like similar shows that we attend, such as the motorcycle swap meets, our strategy is to sweep the entire show aisle by aisle, then do a second pass for a closer look at what we find. This is especially helpful at actual parts swap meets, getting there early and doing a full sweep, before whatever parts you may be looking for disappear. What I also love about these shows is that you also come across riding groups and events you may never have known about otherwise. One year at a motorcycle swap meet, we passed a table scattered with just a few flyers. They were for an indoor motorcycle ice race later that year in December, sponsored by the Flint Motorcycle Club. We went, had a blast, and plan to go again this year.
Packed with people, we made our way through the show and I was very happy to find the number of booths representing tourist locations in upper Michigan, and also Wisconsin and even Canada. Available at these booths were trail maps, brochures on hotels and restaurants, rentals, and full snowmobiling packages. Like a kid on Halloween, I went from booth to booth and trick or treated for information. I left with a huge bag of collateral, and later that night, dumped out the bag in front of our fireplace and combed through most of it.
The Farmer’s Almanac predicts the 2010 – 2011 season to be “cold and very snowy”. In my head, January and February weekends are booked with all the rides and events I learned of this weekend, and if all goes well, I’ll have so much to share with you here.