Sledding Pictures 2019

[firefighterjake]

So far this riding season is mostly a bust . . . at least in terms of local riding.

Here are a few pics from our weekend get-away.

224 miles, Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. Left out of Presque Isle and did a local loop south on Friday. On Saturday we headed towards the border trail, but decided to take club trails to avoid the traffic. Ended up riding through the old Loring Air Force Base and then up to St. Agatha for a late lunch at Lakeview (where I ran into a co-worker of mine who was also up for the weekend snowmobiling to my surprise).

I also was able to finally really ride my new-old sled . . . I upgraded to a 2014 1200 Renegade Adrenaline . . . a bit of a change going from a light-weight, carbureated 2 stroke to a much heavier, fuel injected 4 stroke. I really like the power and gas mileage though . . . I was always the one taking the least amount of gas at every fill up.

Photo: Photo of me checking the map and GPSr after we lost sight of the leaders.

Photo: Posing in front of Fort Fairfield's blockhouse and potato barrel Christmas "tree."

Photo: Parked in front of Lakeview . . . when we came in there were a lot more sleds parked here.

 

[Bad LP]

The Lakeview. If those walls could talk we would be in jail.
Not a good season for sleds at all. I'm hoping that the weather pattern changes because we could still get dumped on but with longer days and the sun higher in the sky plus having such a limited base spring riding might be a lost cause knowing the lack of good ice on the lakes.

 

[thewoodlands]

We took the old Indy Trail snowmobiles out the last couple of days, not much snow on the trails through the woods but the groomers are doing a great job. The attached picture is from the State Park today.

 

[firefighterjake]

I haven't got out as much as I typically do . . . of course the snow came in late this year. I've done a few short, local rides.

Unity Pond aka Lake Winnecook. February 6, 2022

 

[firefighterjake]

Short break near the Pittsfield Club House. Early February 2022

 

[Bad LP]

Quick ride to Kokadjo and back yesterday. Was thinking of running the short loop around Moosehead but the trail turned to crap there so I went back home on 85 following a couple who rides just like me!! Fast and staying on our own side of the trail. Felt good for sure.
I need to get rid of the ice ripper track with the stupid factory studs. I always knew it was useless but yesterday confirmed it.

 

[EODMSgt]

Doing a bit of scrounging last Friday with the snowmobile.

 

[thewoodlands]

Doing a bit of scrounging last Friday with the snowmobile.

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Nice work @EODMSgt , who makes the cargo sled?

 

[EODMSgt]

Nice work @EODMSgt , who makes the cargo sled?

It's an Otter Magnum sled. https://www.otteroutdoors.com/product/pro-sled-magnum/

It's all backcountry riding (no groomed trails) so I made several trails of my own earlier in the week to trees I had marked last fall in order to pack the snow down. Made pulling the loaded cargo sled a lot easier.

 

[firefighterjake]

125 miles last Friday as I took the day off and took advantage of the nice day.

I am most definitely getting old. Left at 9 a.m. to let the snow soften up (could have waited even longer.) At one time I would have been hitting the trail before 7 a.m. and ridden until early 9 or 10 at night. This time I was back home by 4 . . . in time to make macaroni and cheese . . . and more importantly get in the hot tub to soothe my aching shoulders.

A good ride . . . even though I did not end up where I was hoping. My intent was to ride up to the wind turbines above Kingbury Pond. Blame it on bad signage. Actually bad signage was more than a little problematic in a couple of places. A bit frustrating . . . but I figure I was still out riding and having a good time.

I had some overheating issues in the first hour or so of riding. Ended up having to stop four times or so. Tried adding an extended snowflap modification in the hope it would catch more snow. Did not seem to do much to help the overheating though. Eventually the ice-hard trail softened up some and overheating was no longer an issue. Made me realize I really need to install those ice scratchers I bought last Fall.

I did lose reverse . . . a common problem with my Renegade 1200. Fortunately I was able to minimize the number of times I had to back up.

Open water was a bit of an issue in some places. One did have to be careful in some areas as you would be riding along and then all of a sudden there would be a hole in the trail from a wash out. A normal "ice crossing" to go under the interstate in Clinton was quite sketchy looking with more water than ice . . . I decided to exercise some discretion and went another way. I did not have an alternative option (other than a very long backtrack) at one point when I came across 5-7 inches of running water in the trail. Underneath was an old, wooden bridge. I tested the bridge by foot and it seemed solid. More worrisome was an ice shelf on the edges which could catch the skis. .After some deliberation I decided to go for it and made sure to gun it to get some ski lift . . . and all ended well.

Feb. 11, 2022 - Google My Maps

Feb. 11, 2022

www.google.com

 

[Bad LP]

125 miles last Friday as I took the day off and took advantage of the nice day.

I am most definitely getting old. Left at 9 a.m. to let the snow soften up (could have waited even longer.) At one time I would have been hitting the trail before 7 a.m. and ridden until early 9 or 10 at night. This time I was back home by 4 . . . in time to make macaroni and cheese . . . and more importantly get in the hot tub to soothe my aching shoulders.

A good ride . . . even though I did not end up where I was hoping. My intent was to ride up to the wind turbines above Kingbury Pond. Blame it on bad signage. Actually bad signage was more than a little problematic in a couple of places. A bit frustrating . . . but I figure I was still out riding and having a good time.

I had some overheating issues in the first hour or so of riding. Ended up having to stop four times or so. Tried adding an extended snowflap modification in the hope it would catch more snow. Did not seem to do much to help the overheating though. Eventually the ice-hard trail softened up some and overheating was no longer an issue. Made me realize I really need to install those ice scratchers I bought last Fall.

I did lose reverse . . . a common problem with my Renegade 1200. Fortunately I was able to minimize the number of times I had to back up.

Open water was a bit of an issue in some places. One did have to be careful in some areas as you would be riding along and then all of a sudden there would be a hole in the trail from a wash out. A normal "ice crossing" to go under the interstate in Clinton was quite sketchy looking with more water than ice . . . I decided to exercise some discretion and went another way. I did not have an alternative option (other than a very long backtrack) at one point when I came across 5-7 inches of running water in the trail. Underneath was an old, wooden bridge. I tested the bridge by foot and it seemed solid. More worrisome was an ice shelf on the edges which could catch the skis. .After some deliberation I decided to go for it and made sure to gun it to get some ski lift . . . and all ended well.

Feb. 11, 2022 - Google My Maps

Feb. 11, 2022

www.google.com

Those turbines make my blood boil.

 

[clancey]

That story has to do with judgement (LP) and he went for it--"after some deliberation I decided to go for it" big deal----use better discretion next time...clancey

 

[firefighterjake]

That story has to do with judgement (LP) and he went for it--"after some deliberation I decided to go for it" big deal----use better discretion next time...clancey

I trust my skill set.