Late Merry Christmas / Happy New Year

It has been an extremely busy two weeks...so I have not had much time to post. Between work, having family around, and the holidays...this guys has been pretty darn busy. BUT I did want to wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas...and since tomorrow probably will find me quite occupied I will wish you all a pre Happy New Year. :)

In other news...I wrecked the rick front of my sled on Christmas day...(another reason I have not written much) Fortunately it was only at about 6 or 7 mph and right near the house...but it still threw me for quite a loop. It was one of those moments where I took my eyes off a corner for a couple seconds to see where the followers were and next thing I new I was flipped off to the side and landing on my noggin. :P Good thing for helmets and thick skulls! It is not anything to joke about I suppose...it could have been much worse. It just goes to show that you do not have to be speeding down the trail at 80 mph to ruin everything. We had just gone for an 1 1/2 hour ride...and were getting ready to pull back into the yard. I have insurance coverage that should get me back out on the trail soon...but I want to remind everyone that we really need to be careful on the trails. If I can ruin my sled at less than 10 mph...imagine what you could do at 20...30...40...or 90 mph. You would probably be dead under the right circumstances. Grim notes are now over. ;)

We had seen some fairly cold temps and the snow was sticking around nicely...until yesterday. We saw temps in the mid-40s...and today again the 40s with some rain...heavy at times. I would guess the trails that were wearing a bit thing will be just about down to dirt by the end of this warm evil that is coming through. It is supposed to hit the road by the end of the weekend and bring some snow back into the mix...but it does not right now look like anything of excitement. Too bad since we are already a month through snowmobile season...with 2 or 3 months at best to go...unless we get some big snows coming up here in January and February. It could happen...right?

That about covers it for now...I hope you all had a great Christmas...and I hope everyone has a safe, fun, and prosperous new year! :)

Goodnight from Northern Michigan,

Derek

Grooming has begun!!!

I was just taking a look at the local club websites...it sounds like they are all grooming trails now! We have not had much snow over the last 24 hours...but it must have been enough to get them out and about grooming. That is good news! Sort anyway...chances are the drags are going to pull up a bunch of sticks and leaves...BUT I hope that I will be sadly mistaken come Wednesday when I am out riding! We have a phone conversion at work...I am hoping it will not interfere too much with some snowy fun!

It was 8 degrees this morning when I left for work...14 when I came home. So it has stayed incredibly chilly. The sun was out nearly all day though...with the fresh blanket of snow that fell Saturday night everything was very pretty. We might see a bit of snow tonight but it will not amount to much.

That about sums it up until I get out and do some riding of my own...I am really looking forward to getting out on the trails. :) I hope to see some of you out there!

-Derek

Go Ride!!!

Just a quick note. I ran to Alanson to check on the snow levels. What a big difference my my place! There is easily 1+ feet of new snow on the ground in areas. The trails seem to be getting a bit of use...so get out and ride!!!

-Derek

We got it!

We are not talking about the feet of snow that fell out in MN...but we got a little bit of what they were calling for! We received in my neck of the woods about 5 or 6 inches of snow. The wind decreased that amount a little bit...but in protected areas that seems to be the average.

I will probably try to make it out onto the trails a bit this morning...I am thinking they will still be a bit rough since we really have not had much snow at all. With the archery and muzzle loader season still plugging along...a lot of trucks are still traveling along the will be snowmobile trails. I am having my doubts about the rest of the storm we are supposed to see...TWC says 5-8 today and 4-6 tonight...and 4-6 tomorrow...but NWS says 2-4 today and 1-2 tonight...with a very small chance for snow tomorrow. Tough decision I suppose...two very different stories. I am opting to believe the NWS since it has already stopped snowing and it looks like the falling precipitation is not heading back our way. Maybe some LES could fall...but the flows are not favoring our area.

If I ride a bit I will certainly take some pictures and share them. I did take a few pictures this morning that I will post in my next post. :)

-Derek

Snow?

Yes! It is on the way. We have a few inches on the ground from the last week or so...but the bigger stuff should fall tonight through tomorrow. Currently we are under a Blizzard Warning with 5-8 to fall tonight, 4-6 tomorrow, and 4-6 tomorrow night. The warning lasts until 7AM on Monday. Maybe some people will have a snow day??? (Maybe even me? *laugh*) That is good news!

In other good news...my four wheeler is now fixed. I took it to Highland Trails in Conway to get it worked on. I dropped it off Wednesday...it was fixed Friday. Very quick! Now to the story. I hooked the battery up backwards. I do not know if that is what caused the issue...but the voltage regulator shorted out and was causing the whole shebang to not work. With that replaced...it works like a champ! I drove it for about 30 minutes in the woods today...it even did okay in the snow. So I think we are in good shape for some more riding and certainly some riding in the spring! I believe I will be taking the ol' VMAX 600 in there for some service...something is not right with that thing. I believe there is some exhaust issues, clutch issues, and possibly a serious engine issue. If you remember right...the beast overheats very quickly and with the sounds it was making last spring when I put it away...I am not confident that it will be around much longer without some big help.

I tried to sell my Renegade last month...but never heard anything back from the person I was trying to sell it to...so I am hanging on to it for the season. Unless of course I get a good offer. ;) Sounds a lot like last year right? I just need something to ride...otherwise I would pursue selling it a bit more aggressively. I had not ridden a sled in many years before I bought the Yamaha...and since then I have been addicted. You all know my passion for riding...so I will not bore you with that.

I really do not have much else to write that pertains to the content of the blog...just sitting here watching radar and the numbers. I will keep my fingers crossed for the snow lovers out there and for the suggestion I made about Monday. ;)

If anyone wants to ride this winter...let me know!

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek

The Ground Is White!

The snow has fallen...and I believe it is here to stay...for now. Temps look to stay in below the freezing mark for the better part of the upcoming week. Good news for getting the ground frozen I suppose. At our place we have roughly three inches of snow...other places in the Northern Michigan area have received enough snow for the snowmobile trail groomers to be out panning and grooming! Crazy. In my neck of the woods though...I highly doubt much action has been seen on the trails. There are probably a few die hards that are out riding...but I imagine they are using the "beater sleds".

I do plan to get my sled out and cleaned up tonight. We have enough snow on the ground around the house that I should be able to play around a little bit...being careful not to dig down to grass I suppose. ;) I am amped for the upcoming season...from everything I have read and seen it should be a decent winter for some snow. I will keep my fingers crossed! I need to get a new pair of gloves for riding...but that should put me in pretty good shape for hitting the trails! I am trying to put a trip to the U.P. together for riding their trails...but it is pretty early to start putting details together. Hopefully as January rolls around we will have more information about where we want to ride and stay.

The homeowner in me has been keeping my blog writing to a minimum...I continue to get ready for winter...and of course the holidays. I cannot be the new kid on the block and have no Christmas decorations up! So I am working on a modest but pretty light display. Nothing hillbilly...just really nice. Now that we have snow I have been scavenging the country side for a concrete safe liquid ice melt. So far all I have found is available online...none of the major name stores around here sell anything like it. I am skeptical to order something like that online...fearing that it might be a "snake oil" purchase. We shall see what I can find locally...online will be my last resort!

Enough for now...I have some obligations that I must attend to this evening!

The snow is here though...so keep checking back as my updates should become much more frequent!

Goodnight from Northern Michigan,

Derek