Where do you go for motivation?

The last month and a half or so things have slowed to a crawl in our region. Trail rides, communication, volunteering; they’ve all been shelved for one reason or another. Unfortunately, my motivation tanked recently and I couldn't find the ladder to get out of that hole. I have a general feeling that it's a wider issue than me, too.

I know the price of gas has many of us shaking our heads as we re-schedule rides in favor of closer ones or just cancel them altogether. It’s going to create a shake-up in our activities and sooner or later a shake-up in our membership. I'm hoping to brainstorm soon with some of you on ways to help us all out and continue our current trend of growth and communication.
Keep an eye out for those wonderful tidbits of info on the web concerning saving gas. They pop up quite often, but I’ll hit on a few here;

• Fill up in the morning before fuel vapors and condensation develop. Not sure what effect it’ll actually have, but I read it somewhere so it must be true.
• Slow down! On the convoy to the trailhead, keep it below 70mph (or whatever the limit is of course). Start slow, speed up gradually, and slow down well before your stop.
• Keep your tires inflated on the road. It’ll make a HUGE difference when dealing with over-sized tires that have more rolling resistance to begin with.
• Get your gas in Vermont. Wow, it’s like 20 cents difference. What the hell?

I’m no fuel expert obviously, but if something seems like it’ll save you a few bucks a week, give it a shot. I started carpooling to work and I’m saving around $20 a week now. Not too shabby. Plus I can brag my carbon footprint can fit up a…nevermind.

Getting members “politicized”? Most of you just want to wheel, but there are a few that want to wheel and make a difference to the community at the same time. There’s nothing wrong with either position and we all cross the line in both directions. Last year I wheeled my tail off without much input in the club I’m in. This year it’s the opposite. Yeah, having a Jeep in the driveway down to the frame makes it easy to change focus, too. The point being is that, like not being able to please everyone all the time, you can’t be expected to “spearhead the cause” all the time either. Motivation ebbs and sways, changing as personal or club politics create unfavorable feelings or difficult circumstances. In some cases, all it takes is one person to create the issue; fellow member, other club member, wife, kids, boss. Then one morning you realize (or someone helps you realize) your priorities. I learned long ago that life is like trying to keep plates spinning on a stick; there are only so many you can keep spinning at the same time. The more you focus on the few, the more you’ll risk losing others. And the wobbly ones can really tick ya off, too. Let those ones fall.

I haven’t been as active in the past 6 weeks or so. Lots of plates spinning and not all OHV related. Some of those plates were motivation killers, too, so I understand when someone says they can’t make a meeting or trail cut. Being a member of a club shouldn’t make you feel obligated to volunteer for every event, position, or opportunity that gets brought up. If each member could commit to one or two a year though…imagine the things we could accomplish!
And if one of your club’s elected officials can’t make an event or isn’t around as much, give ‘em a break if you could. Better yet, give ‘em a hand. We all need one sooner or later. I babble...

The next Region meeting is in July, which means our quarterly newsletter will be getting put together soon. We have one sponsor on board already but if you know of one that would be interested, please pass along the information and a copy of our April issue. Check the Region website for the link. We still need a full-time editor, so contact me if you’re interested.

We’re still working on the 2008 goals we set out months ago; Trailfest, the Economic Assessment, by-law updates, advertising, member packets, Region publications, etc. Our July agenda looks to be quite busy as the people involved with these items report on the updates.

A brighter outlook, a relaxed attitude, and priorities reset, I look forward to relaxing on the trail soon. Hope to see you all out there eventually!

Let's all try to find the ladder out of this damn hole! (If you aren't having that problem, grab someone who is and pull 'em up!)

Ups, downs, and in betweens

Next Region meeting is scheduled for June 22nd. Agenda will be done by the end of May. If you have something you’d like to add to it, email me so we can schedule the time to include it. One item of concern is the private trail network and our POC’s, as well as by-law issues.

Remember to plan your trip to Trailfest soon and book your rooms. More information can be found by emailing Bruce at organizeordie24@snet.net Subject: TRAILFEST.

We’re already working on the July issue of our newsletter. However, I just want to remind everyone I had no intention of doing it full-time. We’re still looking for a Region Newsletter Editor so please, if you’re interested in helping or contributing to it, please let me know.

Also, if anyone has interest in working on the new 4x4 What’s the Score book or helping on the Economic Assessment, email me or call. We've got things on tap, we just need more resources to pull from and volunteers are the key to our growth and the growth of our sport.