Pellet heads!! What's up today?

Stoves all "Mucked and Sucked"
Widdle one lit and Da big one laid and ready to go.

 

Goof off day, went shopping, then took a break to devour a sausage platter along with some oatmeal stout, to be followed by a nice nap.

 

Isn't that everyday?

 

For as many of them that I can. Sometimes the boss gets out the chair and whip, when that happens I might do a bit of work just to save my mangy ole hide.

 

And >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>this

 

I used to fool with sleds back when I was young and lovely.

First sled was a 1969 Rupp

Rebuilt that iron horse and then moved on to a new (Then) 1973 Arctic cat El Tigre 400
Then came a 1976 Polaris TX440, followed by a 1979 Polaris Centurion 500

In 1986 I bought an Indy 600

Toooooo many injuries between the sleds in the Winter and the 1000 hp Drag boats in the summer and I was done.

Sold the sleds and the drag boats and stayed with a mini day cruiser for a few more years and then called it enough.

Now it's the easy chair and pellet stoves.

And nursing sciatic pain.

Gawd it was fun though.

 

I used to have a 1976 Arctic Cat El Tigre. 440 free air motor, no suspension to speak of, cleats on the track. That sucker called for a 20:1 mix. You'd never get lost on a calm day - just follow the smoke trail home. Ran great for a long time, but it finally ate a crankshaft seal and seized up. I beat the heck out of that thing.

 

Sold my 1998 Indy 600 this fall. With no trailer and no one to ride with, it was just sitting there all lonely and neglected. I bought it winter of 2012/2013 for $700 - rode it that one season. Sold it for the same amount to a guy for his little girl's Christmas present.

 

Pretty much what I saw on the back of the truck on Tuesday or Wednesday

 

NEVER forget the maple syrup!! Oh and NEVER the crap they call maple syrup at the grocery store

 

Fact: I've have never even riden on a snowmobile. I always felt if I got hurt on the way downhill, riding on those skinny sticks, I would get my first ride. I really tried to avoid that, and was successful for all those years. My knees won't allow for that mode of transport anymore so this might be my first ride, on this very "powerful machine"... all 10 HP with the original worn drive belt. The safety concerns on these old machines are real. The spooling issue, the gas tank is formed into the front frame. The thought of smacking a tree and cracking a gas tank that is almost directly under the engine has crossed my mind. My friend and his son have some new Bombardiers, I just don't see myself in a hurry anymore. Hey it's cold enough for ice fishing again.

 

I just got my first recliner this last week. I sat down in it right after supper around 6 and woke up at 11, two days of planning lumber must have wore me out.

 

Your first ride ought to be a lot of fun. I hope you have a wide open field with no tracks or other sleds on it. That'll really give you the "old" feel of what it was like before trails were groomed like I-95... And, yes... that means you'll get stuck, burn out belts, swear a little... all part of the fun...

 

My wild and crazy days were on motorcycles. I built a Cafe racer in 1975 before the factories started to build the original Ninja's. It looked very similar to this:

The wife insisted I sell the bike when she was expecting out first child. It was fun while it lasted.


I loved to sail. Years ago a friend who would race J boats on the Long Island Sound out of New Haven, asked me to crew for him. That was just plain nuts, all these little boats jockeying for position at the start. Collisions, protests, yelling at each other... all for fun? Took the enjoyment right out of it for me. So the wife and I got a 25' sail boat and just cruised about in it, and spent vacations with the children on it. Occasionally we would charter larger boats from Gloucester Mass, Rhode Island, and an unforgettable trip in the Virgin Islands. We cured all that having four children and their involvement with travel soccer.

 

Headed to the junkyard today to get a door latch for my Dodge pick-up... 7F this morning so it will be a fast trip... no lolly-gagging today.

Tomorrow my buddy and I will be at the stock car ice races at one of the local mill ponds.

 

Ice racing sounds like a blast if adult beverage is permitted

 

Do you have a self serve yard in that area?

 

I have wanted to go on one LAST sled ride, but GOOD sense has prevailed.

One good jolt to my lower back is all it would take to really mess me up now.
IIRC 89 was the last year we rode before selling the sleds.

Started my trucking co in 91 and we moved back up here to the ranch in 93.

Waaaay tooooo many years ago.

One thing though, even now, when the crisp days of fall arrive my throttle thumb still starts to ITCH
Sledding is a disease, and you never get over it, you just attain remission is all.

Winter was all consumed by sleds, and Summer was consumed by the race boats.

 

Challenge accepted, blizzard.