Vintage snowmobiles tour Iron County for memorial ride

By RICHARD JENKINS

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GILE, Wis. - Vintage snowmobile enthusiasts came together for a good cause Saturday, taking part in the sixth annual Dan Tomlanovich Memorial Vintage Ride.

Organized by the North Country Relic Riders, the roughly 30-mile ride started in Gile and included stops at bars in Oma and Iron Belt before returning to Gile.

There was also a brief stop on the Gile Flowage near the County C boat landing where the group took a break from the ride to hold a short race around a series of cones set up on the ice. Adding a twist was the requirement the drivers stop their machines and spin around in a circle three times before entering the course's final straightaway.

The fastest time was worth a door prize at the end of the day.

The rides started after Tomlanovich died.

"Dan rode with us on our vintage rides for 20 years," said Joe Olson, one of the organizers. "He passed away in I believe 2012, and the idea came up for us to continue riding but have one of our rides dedicated to Dan to raise money as a memorial ride."

The money raised from the event goes to the Iron County Health Department, according to Olson.

"The money will be used for local people (to get) diabetes screenings ... and assistance," he said.

The ride is one of three vintage rides the group holds each of the last 20 years.

The sunny weather Saturday likely helped the turnout; with the 45 riders signed up to participate, almost doubling last year's 25 participants.

"Last year was a bad year because of the weather, we've got good conditions now," Olson said. "Our highest number of registered riders was three years ago and we had 62 registered."

Following the ride, the group returned to the starting point at Annie's Pub for raffles and a silent auction.