Lyme Nh picture 1999

1999 season

Ride report 3/17/99 continued from below:

As You all know # 4 has the bragging right for the summer. The evening started with the great temptation to take the lead in our point race. The yamaha was running strong, The transfer rods were adjusted to max transfer. But this would not be enough to go against the black magic tuned clutched and studded zr580 of #4. Looks like I will have to wait until next year to redeem myself. also, note i have learned allot about # 3 and # 4 feeling twords fair competion. You can bet my stock Yamaha ( #4 you will need to prove otherwise) will be more than prepared come the first snow fall of the 1999/2000 season.

The evening was quite enjoyable minus above but, I was out doing what I love. In attendance was # 3, # 4, # 2, # 25 . # 4 decided to take # 25 wildcat 700 cc monster for a spin. # 4 was quiet surprised on the other end of the feild to have discovered this machine was lacking brakes. After many  more laps we decided to venture out to the second feild for some water crossing.

# 3 and # 4 the night before found a interesting challenge while crossing water there was a 45 degree turn required to prevent your sled from hitting land. After 4 attempt i was able to make the turn and continue across the full length of the run. # 3 the pro made it every time he tried. # 4 like me was also able to make it after several practice runs.

Now we were off to blueberry hill for few laps and a well deserved brake. # 25 snowcross track was the most fun of the night. All four of us running wide open for approx 15 laps the 2 jumps on the from stretch were wide enough for two sleds @ once. This made for great passing along with those 180 degree corners. I would like to commend # 3 in allowing the guy on the outside be on the inside for the next straight away (or visa versa) this made for great racing,  # 4 would always take the inside of every corner. Looks like next time i am out there with # 4 i will need to bring  some orange cones for those corners so the corner doesn't change every time.

The evening would end with a few more watercrossings a few more laps in the first feild and then a couple of beers i would rate the night a 6 only because of the amount of snow that wasn't left. Till next time seeya  # 2

Snowmobiling in Maine kicks ass

A few days before leaving we learning that Caribou had very little snow so we ended up going to Fort Kent ME where there was on average 1-4 feet on the trail and over 5' off the trail when you got out of town. #25, his friend "Sal" and I drove up on Wednesday night March 3rd and returned on Sunday the 7th. It took 9 hours to get there, but was well worth it. We started out our 1st day by watching the rain melt away 3" of fresh snow we had received the night before. It cleared around noon and we headed out around 3 after purchasing a new oil cap for the Indy Trail. I think the cap was used to it's previous owners gentle, female like grip and the top popped right off when I tightened it. The $2 repair was easy to take.

I quickly found that you don't go off the packed trail when it is warm. My sled sank in 4'-5' of soft wet snow. After digging myself out we continued on and got to Long Lake around 6. Stopped for some chow and a beer. By now it was in the teens, the snow was rock solid and the sled ran much better in the cold. We got back around 10:00 pm with a total mile count of about 120 miles for the day.

Friday was sweet. It was cold and we headed out around 10:00. We made it to Long Lake where #25 decided he would have his Highfax (however it's spelled) at a Polaris dealer located just off the lake. After the maintenance we took off across the lake which was glare ice. I saw a top speed of 82 while #23 hit 120 or so. We parked at the end of the lake where we ate lunch. While we ate, the newly melted highfax bonded to the track. We had to put the sled on it's side and it took a good 10 hard kicks to free it up.

The rest of the day was great. A few bumpy segments and it got a little thin at the gas stations. We returned about 9:00 p.m. with a total mile count of about 150 miles.

Friday was the best and we started out about 9:00 am. It was even colder and just about all the trail we hit was recently groomed, some just the night before. We made it over to Van Buron via some groomed rail road beds at top speed (for me at least). #23 took out a pheasant who was slow to get off the trail at the top of a small hill. I crested the hill just second after he hit it to find feathers slowly falling to the ground and #23 a couple hundred feet ahead, turning around to see what the hell he just hit. The rest of the day was uneventful with a lot of good riding and periodic stops to snack and take it all in. We returned around 9:00 p.m., loaded up the sleds for a early departure the following morning. Friday was about 180 miles so I guess the total miles for the trip was 450 miles.

I should also note that Sal's sled is for sale. It's a 97 Ski Doo 583cc purple with very low milage and very well cared for. I will get more detail on the sled if anyone is interested. He is asking $4k.

#23

3/17    killing fields #4 beat #2, #3 was a witness 25 miles

3/7 report is done thanks # 12, # 2 is having technical difficulty's with it finnaly here it is

3/10/99

Off to Lyme, NH at 5:45 am in order to beat the rush. It had snowed two days before and the reports from the north side 8 to 10" of snow ontop of the bear ground. Lyme was chosen because we knew it had a base from previous ride reports on this page.

5: 40 the Pres. pulls in to the driveway to meet a ready and waiting #3. Sled was already loaded and covered. We just had to connect the trailer to the able toyota and load #5 when he arrived. 6:00 no sign of him. #3 is worried.

6:10 waiting... #3 starting to loose it. "Hey Pres., how long do you want to wait? He replies, "6:15" nervously. The pres. knows my anger. This is my day off too. Waiting is not my idea of a good time. 6:15 "I have waited long enough. Let's go", #3. "No yet, I'll call." #2

6:22 Call was made. #5 left two minutes ago...

7:01 #5 pulls in.

#3 vows not to wait for #5 He has worn out that courtesy. #2 still has not learned. My philosophy is; the more you wait the more you have to. If one leaves, a lesson is learned. We won't wait! Due to the late departure, The Pres. wouldn't stop for the free coffee at D&D's. Sadly missed by #3. Thanks again #5.

Arrived in Lyme and on the trail by 9:30. Lyme is a great place to ride Plenty of snow. Groomed trails. 100 miles in a day is an easy goal if you can stay on your sled.

The Pres. was launched in the first 3 minutes of riding. #5 lost it at the same spot, 4 minutes before the end of the day. Tricky spot for most of the Wyman Pond Racers. It looked and felt like a simple hill climb to me. But what do I know? Worried the Pres. was done for the day we traveled 40 or so miles trying to reach Wentworth mountain. He was fine. The valleys just off the map proved thin and we decided to turn back and head for Pickerel Pond. If the Lyme area has two faults, They are difficulties getting fuel for both the machines and drivers and a crazy trail marking system. The post numbers are random making distance traveling difficult without consulting a map. Which we did constantly. The variety of terrain was good. Fair elevation changes, fair hill climbs, nothing too dangerous and lots of smooth trails with plenty of snow. Wheelie King may have redeemed himself passing the title to Dave J. The original Wheelie King may be called Wheelie Prince. This Wheelie title is a tough one to get rid of. Wheelie Prince had a 60 foot jump nice and flat with lots of speed. The spectators where impressed. #5 wasn't far off the mark. He certainly had the courage. The 500 just didn't have the speed. All in all nice job. The 440 was quite honestly weak here. Apparently, she doesn't like to fly over long patches of real estate. This became quite evident here. Throttle taped, 65 mph, a dismal 13 feet. She made up for it off of the rocks and sand banks. It's a good thing too. She my have been left up there.

Lunch at the Alden Inn was fair. We choose this spot because they provided us with a trail map. A blind choice really. The Culinary Advisor didn't provide us with any suggestions before we left. The Pres. did enjoy the escargot. Refueled the next 40 miles was easy. We encountered minimal bare spots and ice throughout the day. Most of which were on the way to and from lunch. Signage continued to slow our pace.

We ended the day with a long stint in a minor sand pit. Jumping off of everything there. Good photos to follow. Tired we made for the tow vehicle. It is at this point #5 was claimed by the same jump that The Pres. took notice of earlier in the day. He got up slower than the Pres did. Overall rating; excluding delays, the day rates as a 8.5. 117 miles registered.

#3

On an iterseting note. Ken went to southern VT the next day. He reported conditions as "terrible."

3/7 report   35 miles ashby state forest/pearl hill/killing feilds

this report is for the night of 2/27 at Wyman Pond attended by members #5 & #18. we dropped at the pres' residence and rode onto very inconsistent lake surface conditions. there were many soggy areas but the "raceline" of each of the narrows and the bays was hard packed and in great shape. once we decided to check out what the "park" trails looked like, we went to access them in Big Bay near the church camp in the cove. #5 was leading and as I approached the beach I noticed absolutely no snow on the grass, I was going to turn around figuring there was no snow in the trails but getting even closer my headlamp shined on open water for about 15 feet to the shore. I decided that if tried to turn back I would lose to much speed and I didn't know if the remaining ice would support me - so I punched it. the 500 with Camoplast track was like a steamboat ferry on the Mississippi on a dinner cruise, but I landed on the grass with a thud. looking back to my fellow racer slowing, I jumped in front of my headlamp and waved him on. his shoreline jump landing left our sleds about 6" apart.

well, it looked like we were headed into the park after all. the trails were bare and the hill climb to the fields after the river crossing was sheer ice making it impassible. of course we would try though, the previous tracks showed sleds being turned around at various heights. the 500 made it furthest going about 1 foot farther than the highest trail, but all that did was give me more speed going backwards as I slid uncontrolled down the hill and into the waiting #18 at the bottom. no damage. we headed back to the lake to sum up the situation. I decided that we would make it back onto the ice if we jumped from the shoreline embankment diagonally away from the "main line" where there was still broken ice chucks floating. we both made it. at this point in the report I would like to scold #12 for giving the lake a "good" rating without an additional word of warning of open water and soggy spots all over. bad #12.

we then rode into the trails from the "connector" cove near Breezy Point. here the trails sucked also as did the sand pit. back to the lake. we met up with a Mach Z 800 triple and did speed runs and played in the 4 or so inches of puff on the lake. we logged 19 miles and I rate the night at a 3 overall.

most importantly, I believe #18 has found and fixed his stalling problem with a new fuel pump and all new lines. the Exciter started on the first pull and had a nice high end whine at speed and didn't cough once all night. nice job #18 (even though it took two seasons to get it done) your ready for next year. I will say that I believe it was mostly traction, but when we lined up, the 500 jumped out front and never looked back. #18 reported that he felt I was pulling away on the top end. I saw 92-93 mph twice.

thanks to #2 for making the drop area available and I have penciled in 3/10 for another trip north (and a little west). also, a hearty thanks to #2 for all the homework done to land us in Lyme, NH for truly a great day of snowmobiling that blew away my highest expectations. if we don't ride again, I don't think I will go crazy this summer now. well done pres.

I would also like to post that #23 & #26 are going to Caribou, ME on the night of 3/3 and riding 3/4 & 3/5 and returning 3/6. any members are invited and should contact myself or #23 ASAP. there is a 1996 ZRT available for appx. $3,500 in reportedly great shape/low miles. if anyone is interested let me know and I will put you in touch.

ONE MORE NOR'EASTER IN MARCH ! ! !

#5

Lyme N.H.trip 2/25/99 Attending members # 2, # 5

The day started off spectacular, it was snowing and # 5 was on time (only 15 minutes late). The trip north was slow starting out because of the weather, one gas/ coffee stop and the fact I was driving. We landed in Lyme center around 9:30 a.m. conditions didn't look very good # 5 wasn't saying too much. After a brief scenic tour of the area we found the hidden right hand turn and were back on course, the Lyme police department and Yahoo supply the direction to us. As we got closer to the drop zone snow condition were actually looking better and better. We parked @ a place called the triangle after our 3-½ hour ride. The trail was perfectly groomed and well covered with snow. I was quite relieved and would like to thank all of our supporters who helped out with this trip. They are ssadler@ziplink.net, William.Ashlock@boc.edwards.com, ricerocket@webtv.net, http://www.trailcondition.com, member # 8, Lyme police department, Alden Country Inn (603) 795-2222, and http://www.Yahoo.com.

The trail conditions today were as good as I have ever seen them. Very well groomed plenty of snow, even enough snow to go off the trail and play. There were many sandpits scattered through out the day's ride. We made an effort to play in all of them. Most were fairly boring and not too challenging. However, there were two pits' that did seem to be quite fun. The Best sandpit run was when # 5 took an unfamiliar jump and left his machine with great drama. Both #5 and machine were fine. The other pit was at the end of the day approximately 100 yards away from the truck. This was a virgin snow covered sandpit. The size of this pit was small but hand the steepest hills and in my opinion the best jump of the day.

Getting back to the trails. We mostly traveled on corridor # 5 & # 8. Throughout the day we saw the groomer several time. The driver gave us some tips of where and where not to ride. He also sold us well-needed trail map. Soon after we found a long straight up hill trail with many rises. # 5 and myself enjoyed this trail so much we did it three times. You could go as fast as you wanted without any worries. # 5 stellar Indy 500 seemed to jump higher and further over each of the rises as compared to the Yama-dog.

As we reached the 70-mile mark the decision was made to get gas. The guy in the groomer warned us about the lack of snow but we choose to make the trip regardless. # 5 and myself planned the trip based on the trail map this took us almost 10 minutes to agree on the direction and route. Once we finally agreed we both started our sled and headed in different directions. There was another group eating lunch which must of had a good laugh listening to the two rookies and then seeing us drive away from each other. After about 5 mile's away from the higher elevations is when I started to really wonder if it was worth getting gas and eating. We saw the trail get real bad (all dirt), too marginal cover, too real bad again. At the last stop # 5 and myself decided to give the trail another mile or two then we found the gas station/variety store Thank god.

Lunch was meatball sandwich's and chili nacho's (this place will not be recommended by wpr). Our trip back to higher elevation wasn't nearly as long as the trip down. Soon we were back in the ideal snow condition and decided to look for the truck. Unfortunately the trail map we bought didn't show any trails in Lyme so we were on our own. We actually found the truck quiet easy. Since we only had 84 miles @ this point we headed back out on the local trails in Lyme. The trip tallied 106-wpr mile for # 2 and # 5.

The ride home was about 3 hrs, but we could have done better. # 5 was a big hit with the locals. He had more information on the residence of Lyme than I could have possibly believed. He just couldn't figure out what they did for pleasure out in the woods. Other than snowmobiling of course.

Pictures soon to come.

# 2

Hey pres!

I posted a new ride report and made some links to the old reports.

The old reports have IMAGES NOW...take a look....

The NEW REPORT is posted here http://www.sublime-audacity.com/snow/. If anyone has visited this link lately, they'll need to click the "reload" button on the browser.

The OLD REPORTS with NEW IMAGES are posted at http://www.sublime-audacity.com/snow/old.html, but you can get to them from the main report page above.

We logged <bold>238 miles</bold> on our last trip!! That's a <bold>grand total of 558 miles </bold>for #10 and myself. We're getting  there, hopefully we'll have 1000 miles by mid March.

You and #5 have fun on your trip!!

#11

Brian, or #23's brother in law as know by the club, returned from Caribou this past Monday. He said it is some of the best snowmobiling he has ever done. The trails were 100% covered and groomed with not a single bump. They were able to do over 600 miles in 3 full days

#23 for # 26

#2

Sounds like you're playing hardball here. Guess that's your job. Anyway, in cooperation with the mileage rules that you have imposed, I have posted ALL of our rides this year. Our total (#10 & #11) for the year is actually 320 miles. But feel free to check out our New Old Reports published at this address: http://www.sublime-audacity.com/snow/#oldreports.

Later Pres,

#11

Mr.President, (Jackman trip continued)

Ride Report continued: My good friend went for x-rays on his back in Jackman and there was no real damage to him other than a very sore back. We but him under observation in the Northlander (#4 favorite Jackman establishment) and watched the Bruins game. The next day he was to sore to try again so the accident sent him backing as well as his brother. So then there was three. Things settled down and Tommy, Kenny and me went up towards Pittsons Farm then proceeded north from there. Condtions were good and the weather was great. 130 miles later we found ourselves back at the Northlander for a refreshment then back to the cabin for some food and then back to the Northlander for some more refreshments. I decided that it was time for kenny & Tom to see some Moose ( This is no joke) so I dubbed myself the Tour Guy; I set a few rules and regulations and headed south towards Eustis. They were both wondering how I could produce Moose after riding 130 miles and not see a thing all day? Eleven miles towards Eustis I started to smell something. I signaled to turn the sleds around and head North proceed at 30 mph. They shook their heads in disbelief and disgust. Up a hill down a hill a left hand turn then a hard right. Boom three moose standing in the trail. My clients were high fiving. I said, "Gentlemen this tour is over you will be billed accordingly for the Moose sighting. Thankyou for coming." We headed back to Moose Swallow only to be greeted by the Swedish Massage Team. This was a good day of riding and helped to make it all worth while. I did forget to mention that Sunday night after the long commute we turned into Cedar Ridge forgetting we were towing an enclosed 4 place and buried it into a slush bank. I had to get old man Blood and his 4-drive truck to pull us out. All the time I was thinking about where the hell is my President? Final note is to please let me know when the next WPR pretend trip will be. Total miles 237. #4

#2  I posted my half of the ride report for now. I'm waiting to coordinate a bit more with my pal #10. If you want to post a link to my report feel free. I've posted it with some of the images from the ride. You can find it

at http://www.sublime-audacity.com/snow/.

More later,

#11

 (great job # 11 This almost gets you off the hook for that girly comment # 2)

Ride report: 1/24-1/27 Jackman Maine

We loaded up the Echo Knoll Performance four place and headed north to Jackman around 1:00pm. 7&1/2 hours later we arrived in Jackman. The day was so warm that fog had cut the visibility down to almost nothing. Driving was Horrible. All the way up there I was thinking the President and his racers better be coming. The three of us unloaded and went for a ride to check on the conditions that night. They were really bad.  Lots of water everywhere with little snow around town. We came back to the deer check cabin and met two friends who were going to rent at Danas the following day. That night we moved ourselves into Moose Swallow for a little extra leg room. I called my brother and suggested that if I were home I wouldn't travel for these conditions. The next day the water had tightened up a bit after a cold front came through. Dana said head north for the snow. 25 miles out of town and the conditions improved. My friend on the rental rolled it. He flew 25 feet through the air and his helmet saved his life. His day was done, as was mine, as I limped his sled home to Jackman. Dana was pissed. I have a costumer so I will finish this report on another day

#4

Ride report 1/25:

got under way with members 5, 22, 10, & 11 at 11:30am from Leominster, MA. the destination was Pittsburgh, NH and was reportedly a 3.5 hour drive by #10 - yeah right! try 5.5 hours with normal stops. 1 pee (10 min.), 1 fuel (10 min.), 1 regis. (25 min.). MAYBE a 5 hour ride with minimal stops but that's not realistic with this club. anyway, driving north was pretty depressing, it seemed the farther north we got the less snow there was. we arrived at Timberland Lodges at appx. 5pm. these were beautiful lodges right on the shore of First Connecticut Lake and I highly recommend them for any future trips to this area. they should be entered as officially approved lodging of WPR. we gobbled down delicious fresh sandwiches brought by #10 & 11 (a big thank you goes out to these members for their OUTSTANDING food preparation) and got suited up for an evening loop. we were told to "mind our elevation" and avoid low lying areas due flooding and freezing from the rain storm. conditions were generally fair with a frozen base and just a little loose granular on top. the trails were groomed before the rain so they were flat and had good coverage. we put 38 miles under our belts and found one nice pit with a decent amount of snow to play in. at one point #5 got stuck in a drift up to his naval. actually, there was a lot of snow up there (2+ feet right off the trail) but it was just frozen on the trail. warmth, drinks and good stories back at the lodge.

1/26

woke up to a perfect sunrise over the lake and frigid temps and raisin bagels and hot coffee. topped off our tanks and headed for Canada. once again trail conditions were frozen with a little granular on top. #'s 22, 10, & 11 were picked and had no problems. #5 got loose at times. we hit the Canadian border a little after noontime. we tried to go into Chartsieville (sp?) but the trails were closed in Canada. so we turned back and made our way towards Rangely, ME to get something to eat and fuel up. as soon as we hit the ME border on ITS 84 the trail conditions improved dramatically! it was wide and smooth and there actually seemed to be more snow I'm sure due to great grooming. we got about 9 miles of that until we hit the lakes near Rangely where the conditions deteriorated quickly to continuous icy bumps. we gave it about 4-5 miles to improve but it did not and my back couldn't take 20 more miles of the same for a hot sandwich so we turned around. it was the right decision because #22 ran out of gas about 8 miles outside of Pittsburgh. #10 whipped out his amazing "siphon blow hose" which transferred a gallon fuel in about 45 seconds (every member of WPR should have this technology in his tool pack for appx. $6 - I know I will!) and we were back underway. we made the lodge by 4pm. we racked up 98 miles (of course #5 logged 102 because of track spin and I played the hardest in the pits).

HIGH POINTS: 8 mile stretch in ME; weather; the lodge; sleds ran flawlessly; and must say that #11 did an absolutely outstanding job riding for her 3rd time out - congratulations #11, I would not hesitate to make any ride in your company - my official WELCOME to WPR - great job!

LOW POINTS: ice; 11 hours of driving for 140 miles of riding; Canada was closed; many trails are closed in Pittsburgh this year for logging, there are no loops, only one ways, as well as no food or gas anywhere on the trails we were on.

I (#5) want to say to WPR that I hope the independent trips made to NH & ME by various members during this week are not considered to replace our only club trip for this year. I realize that vacation time and $$$ were spent which were allocated to the trip but I think it would be a shame if we don't get a good group of WPR members together for a "two night" trip in Feb. I think it will be a long summer and will hurt spirits if we don't. I know I will miss the group camaraderie and stories - especially since conditions on these trips were fair at best. I suggest Feb. 22-24 to reschedule. I would not mind at all going back to Pittsburgh, NH since we are all registered in NH for the season and some of us only bought 3-day passes in ME which are no longer valid. PLEASE EMAIL THE PRES WITH YOUR SUGGESTIONS FOR A TRIP ! LET'S GO MEMBERS ! !

P.S. I look forward to #'s 10 &11 ride report for 1/27. I understand it was a great riding day.

P.P.S. I can't wait to read the report for 1/30 - regarding the "river crossing".

# 5

Ride report....1/29

#2 and #3 set out onto the "Killing Fields" last evening. Conditions were thin consisting of 3.5" of light snow and still falling onto a base which was primarily just ice. We were joined by new member #25?. Trip miliage record by #3 was approx. 132 miles*. (*Not a misprint. It was very icey.) #2 broke out new tech. A shield connected to electricity claims not to fog. (Those of us who invested in the wedge have not encountered this problem. That's the nice thing about the wedge style helmet. You are not required to buy addons in order to see.) Numerous speed runs including the jump at the end was followed by a dodge and chase game around a loop of good variation in elevation. #2 Showed some minor interest in the stone wall construction and tree lined limits, which allowed #3 to enjoy better visiblity. Multiple laps proved tiring. 10:30 load up and a beverage to follow. Good spirts, good friends......

# 3   (note # 2 logged 25 mile's and is prepareing his helmet/visor for the worst possible condition's mainly freezing rain, seems like lateley there is always a dig )

17Jan99

This was the first gathering of WPR's on the lake this year. Members' 2, 3, 5, 6, 12, 23,and brother in law ?, showed. #5 was late, from what I gathered from the other members this is a common occurrence. When he did finally show, he was ready to melt snow with his revamped Indy 500!

Conditions on the lake were fair, I think a few members may be adding a few pounds of steel to their tracks after this ride. After a few speed runs, we decided to hit the mountain. The base trail was fair, with rocks and a few mud pies showing, it looked like it was going to be a rough night. But, once we got onto the access roads the conditions greatly improved. With good conditions ahead, it was a free- for- all to the top of the mountain. Everyone hit the roads hard and fast, with seven sleds cranking up the mountain, all went well. Once at the summit, the view was fantastic! With a cool breeze blowing and clear skies above, you couldn't have asked for a better view. The visibility was the best I've seen in a long time.

After relaxing for a while we were back on our sleds and soon racing hard down the mountain toward the windmills. Once at the wind mills we again stopped. Unfortunately the mills weren't running, so we couldn't hear the "whoo-whoo sound" that the Pres#2 tried to imitate. Damn! What we did hear was #5 explain how the town of Princeton receives 10% of its power from these wind mills. We also learned that he had received some new NASA approved magical mittens with some kind of space aged PVC coating on them. (#5 could you please e-mail me so I can get a pair). Well, after our discovery channel break, we hopped on our sleds and decided to head back up the mountain to the Princeton cliffs parking area. After a full throttle ride, we were there in a blink of an eye. # 6's sled started to have a lighting problem. It was soon fixed by the WPR mechanics and all was well, so we thought!

Heading back down the mountain toward the lake, I must admit I was tired, my forearms were pumped and I was glad to see the single track trail leading to the lake. Winding through the narrow trail the Pres' and his eagle eye noticed #6's heat exchanger hanging from his right side floor board. We stopped and the WPR mechanics shined to the occasion. With all the tools and zip ties we could have built a sled. Once again #6's sled was back in business. Within a hundred yards disaster struck the Indy 400, the zip ties broke and the heat exchanger was ripped off, dumping all of #6's coolant in the snow.

The Pres nominated #? Indy trail to tow #6's sled back to the lake. Once on the lake, we departed with #6, and proceeded to conduct some more speed runs. # 23 brother in law XC700 was begging for more lake to open up his beast. Nice sled!

Finally we lined up for a little competition. #3 provided us with a starting light(a high/low beam). After taking a minute to find the switch and getting everyone on the starting line a little itchy, the race was on!

#23 brother in law Xc700 didn't need to waste his gas for this drag for obvious reasons. My EXT 550 ran ok, but not as I expected, #2's sled got caught spinning his track, but once he hooked up he sucked the headlights out of our sleds, #23 Indy trail was fast. He was with me the entire time. Finally #5's Indy 500 was, in my opinion, very quick, his hard work had paid off, he pulled away from the pack, until #2's sled finally got hooked up. I have to wonder what #5's sled would have done if it was picked?

This was the end of our ride, all in all it was a good run. This was my first ride in awhile and it felt good to get out. My EXT550 was fun to ride, but I doubt if you'll see me on it next year, you may see a different shade of green.

Craig #12

(The Pres logged 28 miles)  

Ride report from 1/7/99:.

Numbers 2,3 & 6 left for Twin Mountains in the early morning. The Pres. provided the pulling power with his king cab Toyota complete with overdue inspection sticker and a rear bumper from Toys R Us. The decision to push an hour further North to Grovertown was made in Lincoln. We had some extra time to kill due to the fact that The Pres. and #6 needed to register. So we spoke to Norm who suggested the extra time in the rig would be well worth our time. Riding conditions in the Twin Mountain area was pretty thin and we would risk damage to our machines. The extra hour in travel time resulted in a temperature drop of 10-15 degrees compared to the Lincoln area. There we also noticed that the ball on the trailer hitch had dropped 4" due to a bend in the bumper.  It became a concern. But why worry about it now. We had what resulted in 102 miles of trail riding on a mixture of conditions. We were the first ones out after the groomer had past. (I love that. Mid week riding is the best.) The first 20 miles were fantastic. Greg vowed not to sell his sled and to continue to drive his van. Great distance and speed were in front of you. All you had to do was chase after it. The game plan changed and Colebrook became a destination for lunch. As a result, trail riding became more the norm. Lots of changes in elevation, trail width and smoothness were to follow. Colebrook should be a destination for gas only. Lunch was mediocre and parking the sleds was not convenient. They had to be across the street an d behind a building. One could just see the windshields. The food was nothing special at Henry's? and it was smoky. It look liked the nicest place on the strip. An improvement in this department can certainly be made.

We might consider a restaurant advising title for the club. Someone who could provide culinary decisions. Just a thought...Fueled up we headed back. At the cross roads #6 made the decision to take an alternate route back to the pulling rig. With 3 hour till darkness and his machine without a head light we thought we would have plenty of time. This trail proved to be difficult. Snow conditions were never poor with exception of one 1/2 mile stretch on the windward side of one the mountains. The problem was trail markings. This resulted in a number of missed turns. This resulted in riding trails that looked like animal paths. We persevered and made it back with 5 minutes to spare before darkness.

It is not often members of "Wyman Pond Racing" can claim a clean run. This is particularly true in groups. We didn't have a single breakdown and only one minor off the trail incident. Two of us ran across a road that wasn't marked or posted with a stop sign. That could have been real messy.

At the drop site. A decision needed to be made regarding the transport home. In order to give the bumper a rest, we loaded the Pres.'s machine in the bed of the truck. Leaving just to machines on the trailer. This greatly improved the ride. Highway speeds of 55 were not uncommon.

I would recommend this as a good day trip starting point.

Yes, it was well worth the trip. #3

Ride report from 12/31/98:. This would be our last possible ride of 1998. There was a acceptable turn out, 5 wpr members # 2,3,4,5,23. With the extra durable 6" of beautiful white gold I was able to log 31 mile's out in the killing feild (i would like to hear what they look like now). The good new for me (# 2) was how well the vmax preformed against # 4 zr580. It was a long spring, summer and fall waiting for that rematch. The Bad new's was when # 23 and I switched sleds and I effectively ruined his night by pulling the indy trail's pull start to it's limits (# 5 should have tied a better knot).  Speaking of #5 he did a outstanding job completing his sled just in the nick of time (see indy 500 diary) . Other than a radiator cap failure and a shit load of steam, his sled preformed flawlessly and appears to be quite fast and responsive. I was very proud  of # 3 decision to bring out his xcr and newly studded track. I thought for sure his philosophy of snowmobiling  was changing, boy am i glad i was wrong. Those studs were pretty impressive lifting ski's @ will right out of the hole. Could it be time for me to stud ??

 seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeya      #2

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