Fun with mechanical things

I've tried to be equal opportunity minded as for seasons.  I included a short little TR or story from last summer.   TR stands for Trip Report in case you were wondering.  Alright it turned out longer than I thought it would.  Read it anyway.

Last summer a coworker of mine went out on a ride with me. 

I had a plan. 

After visiting with some motorized trail riders one day a couple of weeks earlier while on my mountain bike.  I was to the point of pushing my bicycle up the trail as it was too steep and loose to pedal up when these nice fellows came riding up.  They told me about another fun ride on the other side of the mountain range that I thought sounded like a challenge we'd be up for.  So when we got the motorized bikes out two weeks later we headed for it immediately.  As we rode across the river on the narrow wooden bridge and started up the true single track trail, I thought, gee this will ride great on the mountain bike, I'll have to come back with it sometime.

                                   Narrow bridge.  It wasn't wet the day we rode.  Good thing.

Next 100 yards, small creek crossing, 400 yards up the trail 2nd creek crossing, narrow trail yep all the way, true single track.  The kind that the Boise crowd will kill for.  Another creek crossing, no sense in trying to keep the feet dry now, is what I'm thinking.  Next we climb up and along a sidehill with about 40 feet of straight drop off of our right side, still on this pristine, challenging, narrow, single track.  That makes me nervous, as in, crap if we fell off of this it will 1. Hurt.  2. Not get our motorcyles out of here and 3. Not be fun!  I couldn't help but think that this would be soooo much easier on my mtn. bike and what are we doing on this narrow, not for beginner or for that matter intermidiate trail bike riders trail?  I've ridden my trail bike maybe 2 times a year on average for the past two years?  And I'm on this!  My hope at this point was that Mr. D was having as big a challenge as I was.  Onward!

Down the hill across the marshy, mucky area around the log, over the big and I mean BIG tree roots, up the trail and to a more challenging, should we say largest to date creek crossing.  Frickin full on small river flowing.  Sure thing D, you're in the lead, I have no choice but to follow.  I'm giving space so as not to crowd.  I see him enter, get about half way across as I enter the deluge of water and then he makes a sudden right turn with the front wheel, except everything else goes straight, or tries to.  Down goes Frazier, oh wait wrong fight.  Down he goes, bike, man, and everything he has on.  All are instantly at 45 degrees farenheit.  You know, same tempature as the water.  I don't have much of a choice except to dodge to the left, put my feet down to keep the slimy, slippery rocks from throwing me in beside him, and ride on by to the far bank.  I did stop to see if I could offer assistance.  But none needed.  When asked what happened, the explanation is "I didn't want to put my feet down and get them wet."  Didn't work so well.

No photo of that.  Sorry, I wasn't packing a camera, plus I'd have probably been shot for taking a picture of him down in the creek.  Don't think I could do it anyway.
 Did we make it to the top where it gets really complicated, as in big rocks that you walk your motorcyle through?  Not a chance.  They told me the second and third time you get through the big rock section it's a piece of cake each time thereafter.  They being the motorized people I met on the trail.  Note I didn't see them on this challenging trail, but on one anyone can ride.  Did we turn around?  Yep, after another 1/4 mile I'd guess.  "What do you think about going back and riding a trail I know about that is less challenging, has some nice scenery and still fun?"  Says I, a short time after the "I didn't want to get my feet wet" scene.  Yep, that's what we did.   Nice to.  The ride and scenery.   See!  We rode the trail that I met the nice motorcycle guys on the day I was on my pedal bike. 

Thanks, MK for the photo.  Couldn't find the one of mine that I had in mind. 

No I haven't ridden the challenging trail with my pedal bike.  Maybe this coming summer.

Now we move on over to winter.  Snowmobiles when full of fluids weigh closer to 600 pounds, not 200 like a motorcycle.  And that, for those who haven't ridden one, the weight, combined with several feet of soft uncompacted snow can make for an added challenge.  Get in the wrong place on the flats, let alone on a slope, and it behaves like a rock in water.

For the most part I use my snowmobile as just another vehicle to gain access to areas or "zones" as some call it, that have fewer people, more snow or maybe just to see and ski someplace I've never been.  You know, explore.  And sometimes it is nice to just go out and ride.  As in be a gearhead so to speak.  I like vehicles that are mechanized, whether it be my pickup, motorcyle trail bike, leg powered mountain bike or of course, my snowmobile.  As with anything mechanized you have special challenges at times due to the fact that they can be a bit harder to control on the trail or side of the hill/mountain.  It starts when you try to manhandle 600 pounds of steel, liquids, plastic and rubber around. Then add to that timing the use of throttle and motor perfectly to make the 600 pounds feel like 30.  The fun begins.  So just to shed some light on the fun I've included some photos of the work that goes into mistiming throttle usage or just my pathetic attempts at being a sledder.

This is John, by the way. I couldn't find one of me on the sled. You'll see one of me later behind the sled.

That was a nice fluffy day of riding, silly guys turned around the day before at the point where it really gets fun and easy to ride.  But good for us.  We did the only reasonable thing, we tracked it all up.

Sleds plus snow make for fun until I screw up.  See photos below.

One stuck snowmobile.  Me behind the sled thinking this one out. As promised.  Snow was soft and deep.

2 stuck snowmobiles.  Twice the fun.  Even better is the fact we are trying to climb back up and we have to go up to get out so we can go home.  Or at least ski and then go home.

All this in the pursuit of winter fun.  Hey if you aren't getting stuck, then you aren't pushing yourself, now are you.

March and I'm still trying to find some fresh powder.  Weather isn't making it easy.  May have to go back to work on the project if this keeps up.  I may have to add a TR from a couple of years back that was entertaining, unless you were one of the party involved.  I know, I was there.

Steve