Carol Potter, director of the bureau, has received more than 200 e-mails from people saying they're coming for the event. Potter declined to predict the actual turnout, though. The event started in 1997, as a way to gauge the effectiveness of Internet advertising, Potter said. She got the idea from a man in Dayton, Ohio, who suggested it on a snowmobile news group. A news group is like an ongoing computer bulletin board.
Users post comments that are then listed in chronological order.
In that first year, the NetRide attracted about 75 people from as far away as Kentucky and Tennessee. The next year, it was canceled because of a lack of snow. So this is only the second time in three seasons, but in that time, Potter said the idea has really grown. Aside from the NetRide, Potter said last week she ran into someone from Tampa, Fla., who had learned about snowmobiling in Cadillac on the Web. People from out of town also have recognized by name some of the local residents who maintain the trails - all because their pictures are posted on the Web page, Potter said.