Arctic JC

Don’t know how I did it but I’m not complaining, nice to be a passenger some times. Really the diesel HD does a better job towing than my truck would.

In the truck on the way home, great trip to end a really great season. We were fortunate to have awesome conditions this trip and all season long. Here’s hoping we have another good one next season!!

Just finishing up dinner, slightly behind schedule tonight. Robbie’s deep into the cnn right now 😆

Another great ride today, 440km, beautiful sunny cold day. Lots of fresh snow this morning, and fantastic conditions throughout the day! More traffic heading into Cochrane, the Westway is packed tonight. One more ride in the morning before we head home. Lots of Moose tracks today but unfortunately none seen.

Awesome day, 425km, other then A trail thru Kap (along hy.11) trails were fantastic especially northern loops (L125, L159, L165, & L163). Highlight of the day was seeing two Moose on the L159 just before it meets the L165. Conditions were spectacular, snowing heavy in Hearst right now. No premium gas in Smooth Rock, first time getting fuel in Moonbeam, it may be the new fuel stop moving forward for us. Can’t wait for tomorrow's ride!

Nice 120km loop around Cochrane after driving up earlier today. Lots of snow and not too much traffic. Off to Hearst in the morning, forecast is looking good, excited for the ride!

With the options available today, most likely a 900 turbo R and depending on model shock upgrade and MCX kit would be nice. Too bad we didn't see Polaris finally add a turbo 4stroke to their lineup. A left over Sidewinder, Riot, or Thundercat could be an option but my Thundercat still has fairly low milage and lots of life left, so those will more then likely be sold by the time I'm ready to purchase. The next sled will be a 4 stroke turbo, may only have skidoo to choose from and I'm okay with that, lots to like about 900 turbo R renegades.

The price of the new ones is definitely crazy. A 9R XCR is $30k w tax before a single accessory. Even a XC 650 is $22k OTD with no 7S if you snowcheck. Murray Motorsport had ‘24 XC 850’s for $12.5, you could have had 2 for slightly $$ less then the XCR. I don’t see myself snowchecking a sled in the future, will hold out for a deal on leftover. Something like this… And upgrade shocks at some point.

You won’t use them all the time but when you do they are definitely nice to have. Not having to drag a heavy 4stroke around to get gas or make a turn on pavement is nice. While I type this I think about how convenient they will be in the parking garage at the Companion next week. I have the Rouski’s (Kimpex), my friend with the SRX has the Qualipieces roller skis. One downside to the ones I have is that you aren’t able to use superclamps on the skis in the trailer, not an issue with the Qualipieces. Also the Qualipieces are a much cleaner compact setup, engagement of the wheels is done by lifting from the ski loop and using your foot to engage the wheel. The Rouskis you have to lift with one arm and engage the wheel with the other. Rouski has a new Evo model but I have no info on those. When the time comes for a new sled I’d be leaning towards the Qualipieces, seen them in action on the SRX a few times this year and like that setup.

I have Caliber Edge Glides 2.0 on both transitions, trailer floor to door and door to ground that make for a smooth entry/exit from the trailer. Not once has the wheel retracted going either direction with the trailer. Weight of the sled and forward direction keep them in place during normal use. The only time I’ve had them retract is when going backwards over the small curb at the bottom of my driveway at home coming out of a friends trailer. 5th season for them, still all the original hardware.

With the trailer I have now, every time I load or unload. During the season ideally as little as possible. I have used them a few times this season, all at gas stations. Came in very handy yesterday having to navigate through a large parking lot with no snow to get gas. Best feature is how well the sled steers on bare pavement.

Last ride in the South for the season for me and the first time trailering to ride since January when I brought the trailer and sleds up to the cottage. Shelburne to Owen Sound and surrounding areas. Lunch at the Kettles Back Home Cookin’ in Chatsworth was very good, first time there and will be definitely going back again next season. It’s been a fantastic season so far, been out a ton, my son also, on his sled and some rides with me. Headed to Cochrane / Hearst on Sunday for a few days of riding to finish the season off.

It’s in Allenwood beach (Wasaga-Tiny boarder). Not too far from your place when you cut across the bay. How are conditions around you? I haven’t been West of Beausoleil Island yet this season but was hoping to get out that way this week.

Great few days riding out of the cottage, lots of seat time for my son on his sled and mine. Crazy drifts yesterday, I’ll add a pic of a concession road with the plow in the distance, drifts are as tall as the plow. Trails this morning were some of the best so far this season, with the fresh snow yesterday conditions today were excellent!

Hockey stick strapped to the sled is awesome! Enjoy your weekend

The Midwest Mini kits are reasonably priced compared to others. How long did the gear last? They do sell an upgraded tensioner that may help improve the life of the gear and chain. Keep us posted if the new clutch helps with the low end bog and improvement with the rear shock kit.

Who’s kit are you using? Eventually I’ll be doing the speed kit also

My condolences to his family and friends

Great ride today, left from Shelburne, and headed north. Parking lot in Markdale is snow filled and I wouldn’t recommend trying to stage from there now. The snow from Markdale north to Owen Sound just got deeper and deeper, tons of fresh powder, 95rxl650 wasn’t lying, it’s a winter wonderland, there is soo much snow. I’ll add a picture at the Bayshore boat launch in Owen Sound, snow mounds are as tall as the building. We got fuel and headed back to Chatsworth, then to Chesley, breaking trail most of the way. We then continued south to Neustadt, then up to Durham for fuel and a bite to eat. Freshly groomed trails across the B111 from Durham, and the B110 all the way back to Shelburne. Just over 300km, probably the most fun I’ve had on a railbed. Tons of snow everywhere, many perfect trails, really surprised none of it is green. Great mid winter conditions.

Had lunch today in Midland and was able to check out trail conditions from the road in a few places. I see that area has gone green now. C trail at the 301 looking North towards Wyevale. (I rode this 4 hrs prior and it looked much better) C trail and Base line road Midland off the 305, ice is staked (sorry the pic is upside down) 305 at Robert street west Overall lots of snow but lots of melting going on also. Any trails around Midland or Penetang were pretty brown especially around road crossings. Should be expected with mild temps and high traffic. Lots of people out in that area riding today. With the mild temps too bad the trails didn’t stay yellow for 48 hours more. C trail looked okay going through Elmvale.

That’s on my bucket list, I remember 02sled years back organizing rides out there but i never made it out.

Westway motel, never had issues leaving the trucks trailers there, they have always been very accommodating. It’s right beside Tims, close to the trail, and fuel. Friendly owners and staff, and they support the snowmobile clubs.

We launched this morning from the Dufferin Drift Busters club house in Shelburne, parking lot filled quickly this morning and was by far the the busiest I’ve ever seen it when we got back, 30-40 trucks and trailers. Lots of people out enjoying the trails today, thank you to the Dufferin Drift Busters, Klondyke Trail Groomers, and Durham Trailblazers for all the hard work that went into the trails we rode today. Trails coming out of Shelburne were definitely thinner, a few sections of gravel mixed with snow, nothing too bad and snow increased as we headed north. Markdale has much more snow, the parking lot in Markdale is not plowed but people are staging from it. The snow especially closer to the entrance is packed down. We headed into Durham for fuel and lunch, roads were snow covered so the road running sections were decent, and we saw mixed conditions on the trails into Durham, very good to thin sections. We did go through a few muddy crossings, nothing deep or very wide but enough to get some mud on the sled. We stayed north out of Durham and headed back to the B110 as we heard things weren’t as good to the south. Overall we had a very good day, 170km, 3 years since this group rode together and it was nice to see everyone again. To everyone looking to get out, the snow is light and will get beat up with the heavy traffic the trails are seeing. I can see conditions deteriorating as the days go on. Lots of trailers heading north as I was on my way home. Some pictures of the good stuff….

Thanks for the heads up, if things aren’t looking good we will launch further north or in Durham

Rob and I are launching in Shelburne in the morning and heading north