Groomer help

The snow in Southern Ontario was sparse this year, and a new groomer had been purchased for one area within district 5.
District 9 is one hour north of there and had much better snow conditions and open trails that were seeing triple the amount of the usual sled traffic.
The decision was made to "loan" the groomer and operator out to district 9 to groom the rail line trail from Chatsworth to Dundalk.
District 9 and district 5 groomer crews checking over the new CASE groomer and SledgeHammer drag at the Key Motel in Chatsworth Ontario. In the middle, is STV's "Grooming With Graham" host Graham Snyder. (That is a SGC calendar that Graham is about to hand over to trail warden Hugh, who is standing to his right.)
There is lots of snow thanks to Georgian Bay lake effect flurries.
The new CASE groomer at work on the rail line.
Smooth......
The vast majority of grooming takes place at night so the cold temps can help set the trail for the next day's traffic. You can spot those lights for quite while!
(It looks like the mother-ship from the movie "Close Encounters" coming at you!)
The snow was heavy and wet, so Graham was showing me the challenges in working with that kind of snow. Breaking it up and getting it level and packed is tricky, but it got easier as the temps started to drop.

Alliston "Live On Skis" vintage event.

This past weekend I was in Alliston Ontario for a vintage event known as "Live On Skis". This was a display, ride-in and all-round fun day for vintage enthusiasts.
Two nice Merc Twisters.
One of two Manta twin tracks that were there.
View from a hill, and the loaner TXL that got me there.
Me (Phil) heading out to the radar track on a borrowed Yamaha SRX. *LOUD!*
John Bogie (Yes, that's his real name) riding his Chrysler SnoRunner.
What a line-up of sleds!
A view down the line, lots of colour there!
A gorgeous 1976 TNT(RV) 340
Another line up of sleds.
A relaxing ride in the country. That's a Suzuki followed by a John Deere.

It was a superb day in Alliston.
Thank you Shawn Horner for organizing it!

OFSC Family of the Year Ride

I had the pleasure of riding with the Stapley Family who was selected as The OFSC Family of the Year. In recognition of this award, the family was awarded a snowmobile trip with Snow Goer and Snowmobiler TV. We stayed at The Rosseau, A JW Marriott Resort & Spa on Lake Rosseau for this trip and were escorted around by Dan from Muskoka Sports and Recreation.

Here are some of the sleds parked in front of the hotel.

This was a neat floating bridge that we all had to cross.


Meet Carol Anne and Steve Stapley. Great people to go snowmobiling with!


Here is the group stopped for a picture on the route to Bala.


Stopped for another shot in Bala


One more great spot on the Seguin Trail


Riding the Seguin Trail


On our way back to the hotel


Thanks to Ontario Tourism, the staff at The Red Leaves Resort and Dan for the great time. My biggest thanks goes to the Stapleys. It's families like yours, who volunteer for the good of us all, that make this such a great sport.

Ride at Wasaga

When I am forced to wake up before the sun does, it’s usually an omen that the day to come will require strenuous efforts and gallons of coffee. In fact, when I think about it, mornings to my body are like afternoons to bats- I can simply not operate successfully and my vision is typically unfocused. Nevertheless, when my dad knocked on my door on the morning of February 6^th, 2010, at approximately 6:32 AM, my eyes shot open and my vision was as clear as a hawk. This morning wasn’t just any morning. We were going snowmobiling.

The plan was simple: my dad and I would leave his office with all the gear and be on the Wasaga Trails by 9:00 AM. The purpose of the ride was mostly leisure. But in case we found any photo opportunities, we brought two cameras to capture the moment. If you know my dad like I do, it was hard for him to leave the video gear behind. Yes fellow riders, you read right. My dad, for the first time in his career, miraculously left the video camera behind.

Mother Nature certainly treated us well on the ride, and so did the groomers. Above us were blue skies and scattered clouds with a brisk blend of calm winds. Below us were perfectly groomed Wasaga trails that a snowmobiler could only dream of. We drove past some fantastic landscapes and scenes, including an abandoned farmhouse (which a local informed me a bear might be hibernating in it), a neat cliff next to the Nottawasaga River, and on the famous beach itself. But these factors weren’t the cream of the crop; it was riding the Ski-Doo 800 E-TEK that completed the perfect snowmobiling day.

Being only the second rider in its history (my dad put the first kilometer on the gauge), I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the magical E-TEK machine. It rode around corners with ease and had a way of taunting my thumb to press further down on the gas. At times it felt as if I was gliding on top of the trails, kind of like driving a hydrofoil on snow. Unlike some other snowmobiles I have driven in the past, it didn’t feel wobbly or unstable, but held its balance and stability even in the most rigid terrain. Bombardier certainly focused on sturdiness and speediness when designing the E-TEK on the drawing board.

Yes, the day was undoubtedly pleasurable. Not to over dramatize here, but it certainly reminded me why snowmobiling is such a fantastic leisure sport that everyone has to add to their bucket lists.

Snow Not Too Far From Home

I decided to pack up the sled on Saturday and head off to the Hamlet of Ennismore, about 30 min east of Lindsay in district 2. There I met up with 6 friends and it was decided we were going to head up to the town of Bancroft. Well it wasn't 10 miles into our ride when we had our first problem. One of the four doo's blew a belt. So after a small laugh and a new piece of rubber installed we were off again.

Back on the lake it was a short ride to the nearest trail, with a quick stop for fuel we hit the trails hoping to make up for lost time. The trails in this area were great especially considering how little snow was on the ground. Just north of Gooderham is a great restaurant that we stopped at for lunch. I had the club sandwich which was stacked high. But the Nachos were definitely a table favorite.

After talking to a couple locals about the Polaris Rush I was riding, we grabbed another splash of fuel and headed home. We never did make it to Bancroft but it was a great day of riding non the less.

Pre Season Sled Review

I have had a chance to log some miles on four of the SnowGoer Test fleet sleds so far this winter.

Here is a quick review on the F8 LXR

Markdale Ontario Clubhouse
The new 800 motor is a huge improvement over last years carpal tunnel generator. This engine is silky smooth and the power is very linear. When you squeeze the throttle you don't have your stomach hit your spine. It just pulls and pulls without the big hit. This engine does not shake the sled to pieces idling and the fuel and oil consumption while not on par with other 800's is a whole lot better than before.

The LXR version comes with Fox Zero Pro shocks all around. I found the rear suspension was bottoming easily so I moved the rear coupler blocks to position 2 which reduces weight transfer off the skis but couples the front and rear shocks sooner to improve the ride. The slide action rear suspension is the best all around rear suspension on snow in my opinion. Running down the rail trail between Dundalk Ontario and Markdale over stutter bumps the Cat just tracks straight and eats the bumps. You have to ride one of these Cats to appreciate just how well they ride.

The new skis reduce the darting that was common on last years F series Cats. What a difference. The deeper keel design really works.

The F series design does not turn a lot of heads on the trail but Cat has really done a great job with the latest version of this chassis. The sled is heavy and the Diamond Drive has an annoying whistle sound while rotating. The ergos are superb and sled turns well on tight and twisty's. Cat has good deals on these sleds right now so if your in the market for an new Cat head down to your dealer soon. There is plenty of riding time left and you will not be disappointed.

RAP Tour (Annual Guys Ride)

This past weekend was the one time of the year, when Hal, Kevin and I (Phil) go for our annual 1,000+ km ride. Snow conditions were good for a RAP tour, so off we went for an extended loop around Algonquin Park.
The trip started Friday morning in Parry Sound then headed along the southern route to Pembroke. Saturday we rode from Pembroke to North Bay and on the last day we rode south, back to Parry Sound. Tight bush trails, wide power line trails, smooth staked lake trails, it was a great three day ride. I am known for being "chatty", so I'll stop typing here and let the pictures tell the story.

Our sleds for this ride were the Yamaha Vector and Polaris Rush.
The Seguin trail looking very smooth......

A lake chat with sledders. (Hal is talking "RUSH" in the background.)
At the border of the big park.
Ah, the winding power line trails.......
Groomer day north of Pembroke.
Groomer operators checking out the RUSH. (And borrowing it for ten minutes!)

Clubs make navigating the RAP tour a little easier by posting these little RAP stickers on signs.
You can't leave a vintage sled outside without Hal and I checking it over.
Sunset on Lake Nipissing.......
We checked out the radar runs at North Bay. A 185mph sled? WOW!

I like the lake trail staking and signage. No more getting lost on a lake.