NEWS photo Mike Wsietieid uple rides across B.C. Robert Galster News Reporter robert@nsnews.com .CLEMBING aboard a snowmobile and riding ‘it-across British Columbia is one way to focus attention on - snowmobiling. Riding one across Canada is another. ~ Both treks have recently been’ completed in «an “attempt by snowmobiling groups. across. Canada.. to pump ..up !awareness . of the activity.’ "SA North Vancouver hus- “band: ‘and Wife team, repre- sériting the B.C; Snowmobile ‘Federation, recently complet- “ed the shorter, though hardly easy. ‘1,400-kilometre ver- sion. ‘Mike. and Jennifer “Blomfield were two of 35 - B.C. riders to make the trip, ‘joining 14 others who tra- ‘versed >a much- ‘longer dis- probably benefitted. :-these : trekkers ‘as, they made ‘their “turned. out, El Nino. way across B.C, “It was long, but we were very fortunate with = the weather and Mike and I were very fortunate our equipment worked well,” said Jennifer. “Even Dawson Creek, which can be frighteningly cold, was only -12C." In face, the coldest tem- perature the group had to endure was a relatively balmy —I8C. The focal couple and their 700-horsepower Yamaha machines started their adven- tuce at che Alberta and B.C. border nacar Dawson Creek, ‘where they met riders enter- ing. the honiestretch of the much Jonger cross-Canada ride. Their path cut toward Prince George then veered to Quesnel and Kamloops and eventually Merritt. The snowmobiles got a bit of a rest in Merritt, where they were loaded onto trailers and driven to Squamish. “It’s just not passable by snowmobile — there's no snow in Chilliwack,” said ‘Jennifer, Good weather does not, however, make for an easy journey — just a warmer than Choosing New Lenses Made Easy Our new Optic vane Callus for System photographs your image... then the computer simulates different styles of eyewear or Be lenses on you face - without trying them on - narrowing down your choice quickly expected ane. The B.C. portion was scheduled for seven days, which translates to an ardu- ous schedule with few oppor- tunities for relaxation or even sightseeing en route. The riders’ day started at about 4:30 a.m. and the: set out for the open trail by 8 a.m. They would call it a day by the late afternoon, usually 3 or 6 p.m. “it was quite a long ride. We had to keep a pretty fase pace to make it,” said Mike. The fascination ~—s the Blomfields and other enthusi- asts have for the sport is nor easily expressed, though it does come through in their actions, “Gosh, explain that... freedom. It’s similar to. ski- ing. Its very invigorating,” said Jennifer. The trip across the province did not provide too many opportunities tor invig- oration, with a feeling akin to exhaustion more likely to rule the day. But for the Blomfields, the trek was more of a labor of love. Their pastime not only how do you the sense of needs the exposure to fight prohibitive gevernment mea- sures shutting access to cur- rent snowmobile areas, it can also use support to develop more trails. “Snowmobiling has been around for a long time, bur without an organization behind it, snowmobiling can run into a lot of legislative problems,” said Mike Blomfield. The closing off of areas to snowmobiles is the No. 1 concern of Blomfield and other snowmobilers. The trend makes snow- mobilers a little edgy and is one the Blomfields would like to see reversed. Their interest is under- standable, considering their livelihood depends on it. Every two years, the Blomfields publish a B.C. snowmobile directory com- plete with maps of tratis and a Yellow Pages-like compo- nent. They also put out Oregon and Colorado edi- tions with a new tri-state edi- tion covering Montana, Idaho and Wyoming due out soon. For the Blomfields snowmobiling is here to stay. ow open in West Vancouver Relax, unwind & enjey our spe- cial gift to you Aromatherapy back neck & shoulder massage Sunday, March 1, 1998 — North Shore News — 414 JENNIFER and Mike Blomfield rade their snow- mobiles across B.C. in an effort to raise the Sport's awareness. Surprisingly, the trip wasn’t as cold as they expected with temperatures dipping only to a relatively balmy minus-18°C. 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