My fellow members, BIG CHANGES are here for the ATV Ride Center!
If you heard that the Boise ATV Trail Rider’s (BATRC) ATV Ride Center was moving to another web application, it is true! Instead of being connected to the BATRC website, the new location will be on Meetup.com.
- Click here to join us on Meetup.com, then click JOIN US and fill out the on-line form. Be sure to state your full name, your primary ATV/UTV club which you are a paid member for 2017, include email, photo of yourself, etc.
- Watch for another post on this website on how to sign-up, training videos, etc.
What is Meetup.com?
Meetup was formed in 2002; it is an online social networking/calendar site. People from all over the world can share their common interest with others and meet offline through Meetup. All you have to do is enter your zip code or city and the topic you want to discuss with others or see what is going on.
- Short video: Basics of Meetup
What is an ATV Ride Center?
So, for those who are not members of any of the southwest area ATV/UTV clubs, the ATV Ride Center is basically a huge calendar of all our scheduled rides, clean-ups, camp-outs, and special events for the six area clubs. Each fall, the ride leaders and presidents from each of the clubs plan out the calendar for the next year. It has been housed on the BATRC website and needed to be a member of one of the clubs to open the calendar.
New Name for ATV Ride Center!
The BATRC ATV Ride Center is now going to be referred to as the Southwest Idaho ATV/UTV Ride Center or also referred to as Ride Center and will be now located on Meetup.com.
The six area clubs in Boise, Emmett, Mountain Home, Nampa/Caldwell and Kuna will be able to access it. Yes, you will have to be a PAID member of one the clubs in order to see all the details for the scheduled rides, clean-ups, camp-outs and special events. To join the Boise ATV Trail Riders, click on this link for an on-line Membership Application or click here for a printable 2017 Membership Application to mail in.
Why the change in web location?
Well there are several, but most importantly, with the six area clubs who participate in scheduling and leading rides each year, Meetup will provide each club’s representative the ability to personally give access to their own members. For the past seven years, Pauline Jones and Quinn Fisher, our BATRC web administrator and web developer/manager, were the only ones. This change should reduce their workload and spread it around to all the clubs. This should speed up the permission process.
Secondly, each club’s ride leaders will still have the ability to add or edit their rides; however, in the event of changes due to fire, weather, ride leader schedule, etc, each ride leader will have the sole responsibility to change their Meetup ride post to inform members of cancellations, postponements, etc. In years past, it was a partnership between the ride leader and web admin. This too, will reduce the workload of the BATRC web admin and speed up the communication.
What other benefits will the Southwest Idaho ATV/UTV Ride Center provide members?
- Provides a schedule of meetings, rides and events for the current year using a calendar or list view
- Provides details about each ride or event including ride leader, where to meet, destination, ride difficulty, etc.
- Allows members to print the details for each ride or event for quick reference
- Provides a Google Map on staging location
- Allows members to ask the ride leader questions before the ride
- Allows members to provide a comment after each ride or event
- Allows members to upload/share photos after each ride or event
- Allows members to upload the Ride Center calendar to their Outlook calendar
- Each club can post their name, when and where they meet, contacts, etc.
When will the location change take place?
After December 31, 2016, you will need to go to www.Meetup.com/ATVridecenter or click on this Meetup quick link to view all the rides and events.
Thanks!
Additionally, I’d like to thank our website admin, Pauline for her countless volunteer hours working on our previous site as well as our web master, Quinn. They have done a great job and we owe them a debt of thanks! By the way, I still encourage you to go to our main Boise website to stay up with our blog posts on current and future events.
Our BATRC website will be getting a face lift in the future, so don’t be surprised if it looks a little different. Until then, BATRC members are encouraged to continue to read the monthly meeting minutes under on the BATRC website under MEMBERS AREA, and access our Club Roster. Be sure to check out our Boise ATV Trail Riders Facebook page for general announcements, photos, etc. Members, please feel free to post your ride photos on our Facebook page so others can see how much fun you had.
Thanks too to all the club presidents, ride leaders and representatives for helping us make this transition. We have really been trying to work closely with the other clubs to post as many rides on this platform as possible to give all of us more choices as to where to go. We hope you find the new “Ride Center” a great experience and something you will want to tell your friends, or join one of the area clubs.
If you have questions, please contact your club president or look for follow-up post on this website on how to sign up on Meet.com. Members, remember your 2017 dues are coming due January 1, I am sure you will want to see all the rides coming up on our new Southwest Idaho ATV/UTV Ride Center on Meetup.com, so don’t delay!
Happy Holidays,
Patrick Sherman, BATRC President 2016 & 2017