Don’t Let Yesterday Steal Tomorrow’s Ride
Some people lose their love of recreation long before they stop riding.
Not because the trails disappear. Not because they can no longer enjoy the outdoors. But
because every conversation about their recreation becomes another retelling of an old
disappointment.
There is a kind of prison with no bars. It is built one memory at a time.
Every disappointment becomes another brick. Every conversation replayed over the years adds
another layer. Long after the people involved have retired, changed roles, or even passed away,
the wall remains.
I have watched this pattern develop within our recreation community. It rarely introduces itself
as bitterness. More often, it wears the mask of anger.
Perhaps someone felt ignored. Perhaps a decision years ago genuinely disappointed them.
Those feelings may have been completely justified. But when disappointment becomes the lens
through which every future event is viewed, something changes.
Every success is questioned.
Every volunteer effort is viewed with suspicion.
Every accomplishment is interpreted as manipulation or a money grab.
Eventually, history itself begins to change.
When the Michigan Snowmobile Association was first formed, many riders felt betrayed
because new regulations restricted where they could ride. Yet those same changes ultimately
produced tremendous gains in where snowmobilers could legally ride. What felt like a setback at
the time helped create one of the nation's premier trail systems.
Legitimate disappointment can slowly become lifelong resentment, even though the volunteers
serving today may have had nothing to do with decisions made decades ago. They simply
inherited the responsibility of protecting and improving the recreation we all enjoy.
There is an important difference between disagreement and a grudge.
A disagreement allows people to say, "We see this differently."
A grudge takes up permanent residence.
It requires constant maintenance. It must be fed with fresh interpretations of old events or it
begins to fade. Social media can make that maintenance easier, where opinions—both informed
and uninformed—circulate endlessly.
One season, the criticism is directed toward the ORV community. The next season it is
snowmobiling.
Sometimes one program appears to be receiving more attention than the other. The common
thread is often not examined because the focus remains on the latest grievance rather than the
larger picture.
Comparison fuels this cycle.
It creates the feeling that someone else received something we deserved, whether that is
actually true or not.
MISORVA works to represent all forms of motorized recreation. At times, one issue naturally
demands more attention than another, but protecting trail access, improving funding, and
strengthening recreation benefits everyone.
Motorized recreation contributes to the economic fabric of Michigan. Riders support small
businesses, restaurants, hotels, gas stations, and local communities from the southern border to
the Upper Peninsula. Every successful trail system strengthens communities across our state.
Most importantly, it gives families and friends the opportunity to discover those quiet places that
make every ride memorable.
Comparison will always find something to resent if that is what we are searching for. It does not
require injustice. It only requires attention pointed in the wrong direction.
Psychologists describe a process known as narrative reconstruction. Human memory is not a
perfect recording. Every time we revisit a memory, our current emotions influence how we
remember it.
Someone who is angry today may genuinely remember an event differently than they
remembered it twenty years ago. That is why two people can sincerely say, "That isn't what
happened." Sometimes one person is remembering the event itself. The other is remembering
the story that has been repeated over the years.
Many riders quietly carry the belief that our recreation would be better today if someone
decades ago had simply made different decisions. Perhaps some decisions truly could have
been better. But remaining anchored to those decisions gives yesterday's problems authority
over today's opportunities.
Volunteers who have spent years brushing trails, installing signs, attending meetings,
completing paperwork, raising funds, and advocating for riders sometimes find themselves
recast as villains in a story they spent their lives trying to improve. Acts of service are
interpreted as attempts at control. Good intentions become viewed through the filter of old
resentment. Meanwhile, the work continues.
Snowmobilers and ORV riders also face a choice. We can measure ourselves against one
another, or we can recognize that stronger motorized recreation benefits us all.
When one local club succeeds, that success should be celebrated—not viewed as proof that
another group somehow lost. Progress is not a limited resource.
Advocacy requires accountability, and accountability works in every direction. MISORVA strives
to provide that accountability by maintaining strong relationships with legislators, encouraging
transparency, and representing riders at key decision-making points. It is important to remember
that our elected legislators provide oversight of the agencies that manage our recreation
programs. When riders speak respectfully and constructively, those voices matter.
The most dangerous prison is the one built from old grievances. Its bars are made from
memories. Its locks are made from resentment. The key is personal responsibility.
That key has often been within reach all along. The question is not whether the door can be
unlocked. The question is whether we are willing to leave the familiar cell behind and help build
the future of the recreation we all love. Time to get on board with shaping the future!