Winnipeg, Manitoba
Easy riding
From the back lane to the trails
by MICHELLE DOBROVOLNY
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SUPERB RIDING: Rural communities around Winnipeg are connected by an extensive system of snowmobile trails.
—Hugh Bonner photo |
For someone living in Manitoba—the province with the most snowmobilers per capita—Richard Liebrecht was introduced to the sport relatively late in life. He was already well into his teens when his parents brought home the first family sled, a classic 1978 Ski-Doo TNT.
“We bought this old thing that looked like an air conditioner,” he said, “leaf spring skis and four inches of suspension travel in the back—you could pile three people on it.”
Despite this late—and rather clunky—introduction into the world of sledding, Liebrecht’s devotion to the sport quickly took hold.
“For many years, it was the primary way to kill the winter in our family,” he said. “That’s the activity that makes the winter bearable.”
His enjoyment is no doubt also fuelled by the great riding to be had just minutes from his hometown of Oakbank, one of several bedroom communities that encircle Winnipeg. Many of these towns are connected by snowmobile trails, making a truly vast network.
“A nice thing about a lot of these rural Manitoba communities is that we can basically drive right out our backyard, down the back lane and out onto the trail to wherever we want,” said Liebrecht.
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