D-rail

Moguls isn't the one that burned last year, that was Papa Charlies...

Can buy two years for $45.

From the pages over at HCS... Ok.. here we go again. I ran over 90% of this yesterday, and with a mere mile or two of disruption, mostly due to logging, or alleyways in small towns, the trails should be intact unless we get some crazy warm-up and a bunch of rain. It's a good 200 mile ride. Start time is @ 8 am, at the Martin Road parking lot, just on the northeast part of Duluth. The trailhead is close to the Jean Duluth Road. Maybe a mile away. It's NOT the one by Boomtown. The warm weather might cause more traffic up north as the season progresses, so I think we have to get to this lot early, or it won't have room if we get a big turn-out this ride. A few of us are gonna start at the Lester Park beginning spot. I'd say be in the lot to claim yer place by 7:30, or earlier if possible. We will be heading up the North Shore trail, to the Pequaywan Trail system, go north to Hoyt Lakes, refuel, have lunch at the Haven lounge, head over to Giant's Ridge, and along the Laurentian towards Virginia, south across the highest bridge in Minnesota, and down the Trailhawk's trails to Cotton (fuel stop) & Canyon, then over the Reservoir Trails and back to the NSST. These trails are not as wide/fast as the State Trail for cruising, but do offer some interesting terrain and challenging features. As always, be on your best behaviour (you know who you are!!), and be courteous when meeting/passing others. Be ready to depart promptly @ 8. Call/text me @ 218-391-8507 if you are running late. No official HCS ( or Freedomsledder) endorsement of any kind is gonna happen, you're on yer own here.

Since several folks do not or cannot frequent the "other" forum, I thought it prudent to include others who might not already know about this ride. Taken from HCS: Inquiring minds want to know... The official/unofficial Brisk pace ride is gonna be held Saturday, February 4th. Starting in Silver Bay, we will go up to the Skyport Lounge on Devil Track for lunch, and then back. As always, be ready to leave the trailhead @ 9:00. Not 9:10. You know who you are... That means it would be good to be ready to leave well before then, as it's nice to catch up with old friends, and greet any newcomers beforehand. If you are running late, please call me @ 218-391-8507, or better yet, text me- so I can get the message, as sometimes cell service and getting through is sketchy. This parking lot is 5/8 of a mile past the only stop sign along the main road into and through Silver Bay coming offa highway 61. Make sure your registration is visible, and current, with a full tank of fuel. Even though many of us are getting older, we travel at a somewhat brisk pace... this is not a good ride to attend if you are an inexperienced rider. But, we want everyone to be safe, do not ride over your head, and leave room enough to see the trails clearly. Stops to get fuel will be available. The disclaimer: This is in no way an endorsed HCS ride. It's just a bunch of fellow enthusiasts who enjoy riding and having a good time. Feel free to include yourself, and meet some new friends if you haven't made it to one of these. I'll put another ride together in March, and we usually have one in Grand Portage near the end of the year.

Tow strap, Baby wipes, we use Wolfsnout dust masks, bandanas are marginal. Good goggles. When following in dusty conditions being able to breath and see are pretty essential. Slime. Gorilla and electrical tape. Power bank for phone. rags. Headlamp.

Yep. So much snow, it's not even gonna be an issue riding in May this year.

We've gone up maybe another mile or so from where the river was open this year. We usually take a spin up as far as we feel safe, but a month ago for the poker run, there was a good foot and a half of snow, and maybe a foot of slush underneath the snow.We got off it right away. It had since melted down, and froze up good, then had about eight inches of fresh stuff. It changes from year to year. We always find open water when we go up. There is a shortcut thru the woods we found a couple years ago that runs over to the main (Otter Lake) road in, but we didn't go over it this time, we knew the main trail was pretty ruff. Usually, the main road is smooth, wide, and a blast. Shortcut comes out near the gravel pit. If you get on the heliport, you'll see the tracks up river.

Have been debating if we should bump the start time to ten am to allow for guys to use the dining room for breakfast. Snow up north is really abundant, and more is forecast the middle of the week. I anticipate a good group of riders. Meet in the Casino lot. 218-391-8507 if you need to call me.

Copied from HCS for those who don't get on there... This is a great time to see much of what the Grand Portage has to offer for riding opportunities. The area is one of the last places with snow in most typical years. Staying at the Lodge which is part of the Casino. Hot tub, pool, and often the sauna is working. Dining room and drinks for after the rides are available, and each occupant gets five free dollars to try winning more in the Casino. Fuel is right there, or at Ryden's next to the border. This has a great variety of riding types. This has been a well attended event. Feel free to stick with the group, or wander on your own. Friday and Saturday will be the dates we will ride, some stay on Sunday, too. 9 am start time. Call me if running late (218-391-8507), but enjoy the relaxed atmosphere up there.

In case anybody is running a little late..call or text me and let me know if we need to wait for you, or maybe plan on looking for you up the trail. 218-391-8507.

Cut and pasted from HCS. In order to include any who might not be on there any more, feel free to join us!! Who woulda thought.. Yes, In an effort to keep up with the traditional crew, and maybe have other guys/gals (what.. ? We have gals who ride these..?) join in the frivolities. Here's the particulars, in no particular order. Silver Bay lot, about 5/8 of a mile past the only stop sign along the main drag coming offa highway 61 (stoplights by the Cliffs Taconite plant). 9 am start. That means full tanks, and if you show up at five after, you are playing catch up. Be early enough to be ready to go, and meet your fellow Hardcoresledders. This ride is best attended by those who are experienced riders. We aren't necessarily fast, but we travel at a Brisk Pace. if you cannot keep up, stay towards the back of the pack, and we will let you catch up. DO NOT ride over your skill level, PLEASE! We have had incidents in the past, so mind your manners, (I can hear it now- what fun is that!) leave room so visibility is clear. You MIGHT get a whiff of pines as we traverse the trails. Not for certain, though. This first ride is often during the first weekend in February, We will have other rides to attend, if this doesn't fit your schedule. X2700 said he got rooms at the Mariner, they are open, but no telling if they will actually answer the phone. My understanding is the angry Russian left for the Happy Hunting Grounds and like many places, good help is hard to find. Rooms are getting difficult to come by, with the seasonal activities. I'm pretty sure we will go to Grand Marais this round. Have lunch at My Sister's Place, and return. Fuel stops as needed will be available. Buying fuel on the trail is like $5/gallon, so into town we will go for fuel up north. Lutsen was $3.79 for premium today. Nutshell: Silver Bay first lot 9 am lift off. Saturday Feb. 5th As always, the disclaimer... this is an unofficial official Brisk Pace ride, not endorsed or supported by Hardcoresledder or its affiliates. You are responsible for your own actions...

I wrestled with this silly cfi-4 for some weeks on end trying to map out a 660. I brought a used 800 ecu to a dealer and for $35, they reprogrammed it to fit a 600, then I had to fiddle fuck around with a power commander to try and dial it in. Nobody had the right calibrations for a 660. I'd say, if it's stock, just run it as is, with a 600 calibration. It is a LOT of screwing around with the power commander for the end results. I used an AF gauge, dozens of different maps, brought my laptop with me to the long starightaways to change settings, and talked with several dyno guys about these. Never got it to run longer than ten seconds at WFO before it started running lean, and I tried adding lots of fuel there. Top to bottom brand new engine. Tried different injectors, harnesses, pumps, filters, sensors, two different power commanders... horrible design. Dozens of quarter mile runs trying to get it working. I ran it for almost a year, but last time it seized, I yanked out the engine, and it's sitting under my bench for over five years untouched. Best is to match the injector colours to the ecu, like has been said.

This powder riding lacks the intensity of speed, acceleration, taking turns and instant response. Powder is like riding in slow motion to me.

Again, a day after. I posted this in HCS, and I know some don't get on there, so here's what I said. Sunday ride, we had about 6" in town, but up north, it's a whole 'nuther world. Got a late start to the day. Finished up a couple snowblowers, and delivered so townspeople could wrestle with a machine instead of a shovel. In town, only showed maybe a scant 6" of fresh snow. I saw radar patches during this storm, and deduced the snowfall would be more up and away from the Lake. I bundled up my supplies, and took the harrowing journey north. Highway 61 had a few bozos who really shouldn't have been out and about. Otherwise, the roads were only populated by a few cars following the occasional plow. Long stretches of icy roadway had my trailer trying to get ahead of me in numerous places. I drove into Finland. Everything was closed. Up to the parking lot near the Clair Nelson Center. I could make out the driveway, no sense in cutting it short or long, and getting stuck in the ditch. I put it in four wheel drive just in case, spun around, and parked aimed towards the exit. I opened my door, and the snow was even with my floorboards. A good 20 inches deep. I hoped I'd be able to make my way up the short Iinline when I had my fill of riding. Anybody that knows me and how I ride can attest one of my least favorite riding is this kind of stuff. Spinning down to try to get traction, any time I slowed down, or tried to stop, a mountain of snow would pile up infront of my sled, which kept my arms and legs busy trying to clear out a path so I could keep moving. I know now why mountain riders have no headlights. They are useless in deep powder. I could manage 12 mph before the fluff would come up over my hood,, and block my lights, and I'd be in the dark unless I slowed down. Virgin two foot deep fluffy snow kept me shifting back and forth trying to steer with just my weight. I also learned not to stop facing uphill. Turning around was no picnic, and the ride back on my path was double the speeds I'd been limited to. I shut off my sled, stopped to catch my breath, and eventually could make out the outline of the sled and the snow. Weird being in the dark, with the snow coming down. I managed a whopping 15 miles, and by the time I got back to the trailer, was beat. Good time for a shakedown cruise.

As a track worker for the event for over a dozen years, we were dissed many times, as the management(s) tended to claim that the ski hill did just fine without the snowmobilers. We were treated like we were second class citizens, except when the guys who started the event were running the show. The greenies frowned upon other events that involved snowmobiles, too. "Visit Duluth" was kicked out of the promotional programs, the city said they weren't needed. Anything to cut the costs. The venue grew exponentially, especially the last four years or so. There's no way the event caused the ski hill to lose money, when the weather was decent. I know it's been a struggle to get the track up and in shape for many years due to its early slot in the schedule. Today, looking at the amount of snow they had made for the rest of the slopes so far, no reason to think it wouldn't have been enough snow this year, like 95% of previous ones. The city has had liberal mindsets when it came to supporting functions like this. I don't know that the skiers themselves put a consortium of naysayers about any of these, I feel they do tend to be put off by gasoline powered/motorized anything. If the council wants to keep the ski hill a viable enterprise, they should reconsider engaging these events. It brings more awareness, and what else the city has to offer, for recreational activities. I heard the management is once again changing this year.

This is a thread I put on HCS a couple days ago. I know some guys can still access that site, but for those who don't get on there... This is pretty much a copy and paste. Had to go look today. In the past 25 plus years, the Snocross circuit began here in Duluth. A lone gun sits on top of the hill,, awaiting orders to broadcast white gold. I walked to the main ski hill areas, and yes, the two foot thick snow is groomed and other guns have been busy. The skiers got their wish.

white hair... maybe

On my way to the Trestle, and more sunset pics from today. Axles are nice and quiet again. Creeks are scant with water, saw 1.5 puddles along the trail.

I've been to a few of these... Great stuff!! https://grantsburgwatercross.com/

Rode last Friday from Two Harbors to Finland. Any time I slowed to under 15 mph to negotiate a part of the trail, or stop to take a picture, the bugs swarmed on me like a neon sign said free lunch. I got a couple axles grinding on me, so I gotta replace em again before another venture happens.

Sez the guy who sold his sleds and moved south...

I met John a few times, usually at Dixie's.

I messaged Michael Brandt about it on Facebook. He said indeed, the trails were open. He said he would look into why the signs were still up. This was well over a week ago now, but I ain't been up there since, and this weekend, we're riding in Sconnie. As long as the gates let me thru, I'm going.