Original Norsemen Member Floyd Martineau lost his battle with Prostate and Bone Cancer 12/17/2020
Floyd was a true Norsemen who did so very much for our club and he will be sorely missed. There will be a ceremony celebrating Floyd at the Stompin' Grounds August 15, 2021 after the Akeley Enduro so come join the celebration to remember Floyd while waiting for scores to be posted roughly 2:00 p.m. A commemorative plaque about Floyd will be unvailed at the Stompin' Grounds and will later be permanately installed on the trailhead sign shown above for everyone to view.
The following is a post by his niece Tammy:
"My uncle passed away today, he was 76. Floyd Martineau (aka Marty) was the baby of 7 children. After graduating from South high school (in Minneapolis) he went into the Navy. When I was in high school he taught me how to use a 35mm camera, leading me to a lifelong hobby. He liked to race motorcycles and when he took a tumble and broke his leg I was right there with my fluorescent paints to decorate his cast with flowers. Motorcycle racing was his passion. He built a motorcycle trail called the Martineau Recreational Trail in the Paul Bunyan State Forest."
The following are memories of Floyd and all the work he did to make the trailhead a reality:
In 1975 the Norsemen Motorcycle Club was approached by a local forester and off-road enthusiast to possibly put on a Off Highway Motorcycle (OHM) event in the Paul Bunyan Forest. With no trails, but with fire roads, snowmobile trails, the endeavor begun. With the help from the local community and the Minnesota DNR single track trails were built over the years. Motorcycle Enduros have been sanctioned with the Minnesota American Motorcycle Association District 23 ARMCA annually since. By 1997, the Norseman ran a national event with folks from all over the country participating.
The vibrant Norsemen Motorcycle Club worked with many volunteers to build and maintain this organized trail system.
Floyd Martineau became a mainstay and put in countless hours of effort and time in this forest for the sake of all of us motorcycle enthusiast to enjoy.
Off highway recreation grew, and sometime in the mid 1990's District 23 ARMCA along with the State of Minnesota DNR worked together to start the off-highway sticker program. The primary purpose was to solidify the relationship with all involved and have the where-with-all to help build and maintain safe, marked out legal riding areas. By 1996 the sticker program was implemented, and the money has been set aside since to build trail systems in Minnesota. On July 28, 1997 the first OHM recreational trailhead was dedicated.
Floyd Martineau was the glue that held this trail system together, and was a selfless volunteer dedicated to the sport of motorcycling. It was a given and honor to name this trail system after him, and well deserved!
The Paul Bunyan Forest Riders maintains the trail system now. Be involved, help where you can, and perhaps one of our growing number of new trail systems will be honored with your name!
Go with the Flo . . .
