that time of year…

shredding it on the "trainer" sled (aka the '72 model)

 

Every year, about this time, our snow withdrawals hit about the worst. Mostly, because it could snow any day now… but it won’t. Secondly, this is the time of year when all the sled videos have been released for the year. Monkey see, monkey (want to) do.

After that, we start looking at winter pictures to find new lines and terrain to hit. It gets so bad; in fact, that I start scoping terrain out on our dirtbike rides now… Gotta be prepared, right?

And then there’s the problem of being a growing teenager: most of my gear only lasts a season before I outgrow it. At this point, I have to choose my gear wisely – because it will most likely end up as hand-me downs for my dad (no joke!). Hopefully he likes Slednecks gear.

Mod Season

The end of summer. After all the work’s been done (or at least the biggest part), it’s that time. Time to tear down the sled, and getting ready for the next round of winter.

There are two sleds in our shop, my dad’s and mine. My dads has remained under its cover since the snow melted. And then mine has been torn down to the chassis, and put back together with various aftermarket parts. Not to say one way is right and the other wrong, it’s just two different styles (like you’ll see one of us go for the trees and technical terrain, and the other cornices).

So, with that said, i’ll give and update on mods… Apart from keeping my sled together (hopefully), i only got in a couple mods so far. The biggest one was a lightweight muffler – which knocked off 10 LBS. of weight. As far as smaller mods, a new taillight and a smaller top sprocket (to gear it down). Oh, and a little bit of paint – nothing fancy (i’ll try to get a couple pics up over the weekend of the somewhat final product!). We’ll see how it does this winter!

The snow will come. But we’re still “snowsick”.

the good ol' days: shredding some deep winter pow...

It’s that time of the year. The days are the hottest, but they’re getting shorter. And shorter days mean snow.  But alas, winter’s not here yet. Looking thru the photo albums makes it worse, too… And hence this is the season of reminiscing, planning, and modding.

Modding. It’s as much a part of summer as anything else – at least for me. you’ve got 6 months that can’t ride the sled, and it’s sitting there in the shop. It’s second-best way to get a sledding fix, short of actually riding.  Plus, it’s interesting to see what changes actually have an effect on the snow. But once it’s all put back together in say, august, December seems like an awful long ways away.

Don’t get me wrong, i love the change of seasons.  But after looking thru “sledhead eye candy” (snowmobile pictures), i can’t help but wish it would skip to winter. In all honesty, i’m happy as long as i can ride. So for now, it’s on two wheels…

... but in the meantime, we still ride.

I know i don’t have an excuse for not writing, but i thought i’d share what we’ve been doing the past several days…

The transcontinental ditch that we’ve been maintaining in the Weminuche Wilderness suffered a blowout this spring. So we had a lot of work to do filling in a washed out hole in the ditch. In two and half days of work, we moved about 6 or 7 tons of dirt and material by horse and hand (as in pick and shovel!), and got the hole mostly filled…

Pictures on my mom’s blog

So that was our first mission to “the Ditch” this year. We’ll be going up there throughout the summer, but it won’t be so urgent.

 

As far as sleds go.. i haven’t gotten around to do my “summer work” – aside from stickers (to make them go faster, of course!). At this point, i’ll probably stick to inexpensive (relatively!) mods, and preventative maintenance…

Dropping in

 

 

dropping.

 

I know i usually don’t put my poetry on here – considering this is about riding. But, when i have a poem that is directly about just that… i figure it’s appropriate. And i bet you didn’t think there was any deeper meaning in hucking yourself off of a 30 foot cornice….

 

The edge of the cornice closer now,

Senses keened, eyes wide,

Unaware of anything but motion,

Focused upon the task at hand.

 

These seconds I crave -

Tension, rush, and relief,

From the edge to the landing,

These are my wings.

 

This is the form taken,

The release for me,

When thought is provoked,

Cherished is the quiet absence of.

 

Perhaps it is only

When we think the least

That our minds are the clearest,

And that we are the most attentive.