Ride report - Feb Snowmobile trip @ U.P. of Michigan
#1
02-25-2009 | 11:31 PM
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Ride report - Feb Snowmobile trip @ U.P. of Michigan
Greetings all,
You have all heard me ranting and raving about a newbie snowmobile trip I was leading for some riding pals to northern Michigan (the part above Wisconsin), and that trip was this past weekend. 5 friends joined me, and only one had ever ridden before. Everyone loved it and cannot wait to do it again. We covered about 200 miles in the 24 hours we had the rentals, and everyone wants to make it a 2-day destination ride next time.
At the time we got there, there was about 2.5 to 3 feet of snow on the ground, and it snowed the entire day we did the bulk of our riding, adding another 8 to 12 inches, depending on the location. As it was along the southern shore of Lake Superior - it was all lake effect, and at times was dumping down.
In attendance:
"GSXR Jill" - some of you have seen her with her blue & white GSXR in pix I have posted before
Konrad
Lewnitic & his wife Sarah
Larry
Myself
Location: Marquette & Alger County, Michigan (that's NORTH of Green Bay, yo), including Gwinn, KI Sawyer AFB, Marquette, Negaunee, Sand River, Sands Township, various other locations.
Miles covered: Approximately 200-225 (in 24 hours)
Equipment used: 1x Ski Doo 600 Renegade, 3x Ski Doo 500SS (600cc) MXZ Rev, 2x Ski Doo 550F
End result: Tired, sore, but had an absolute blast!
Location: U.P. of Michigan!
The Renegade and 500SS's were amazing machines, with beautiful suspension. Not a hitch with any of them.
Here are some photos.....
This is how we do snow in the U.P. (yes, that's a phone booth)
Picking up the sleds from the rental shop:
On the trails:
Watching the sled-dog races at the UP 200
At my dad's
Fillin up
At the static aircraft display at the now defunct KI Sawyer AFB (you guys have seen summer pix from there in my 4th of July threads)
On top of Mount Marquette at the overlook, city of Marquette below and to the left, Lake Superior to the right
Chillin after it was all over, and facing the 6 hour drive home:
In short - it was a blast, and if you have not done this yet - you must. I have forgotten how much fun it is, and it is a great segway for riders to maintain their sanity through the winter.
You have all heard me ranting and raving about a newbie snowmobile trip I was leading for some riding pals to northern Michigan (the part above Wisconsin), and that trip was this past weekend. 5 friends joined me, and only one had ever ridden before. Everyone loved it and cannot wait to do it again. We covered about 200 miles in the 24 hours we had the rentals, and everyone wants to make it a 2-day destination ride next time.
At the time we got there, there was about 2.5 to 3 feet of snow on the ground, and it snowed the entire day we did the bulk of our riding, adding another 8 to 12 inches, depending on the location. As it was along the southern shore of Lake Superior - it was all lake effect, and at times was dumping down.
In attendance:
"GSXR Jill" - some of you have seen her with her blue & white GSXR in pix I have posted before
Konrad
Lewnitic & his wife Sarah
Larry
Myself
Location: Marquette & Alger County, Michigan (that's NORTH of Green Bay, yo), including Gwinn, KI Sawyer AFB, Marquette, Negaunee, Sand River, Sands Township, various other locations.
Miles covered: Approximately 200-225 (in 24 hours)
Equipment used: 1x Ski Doo 600 Renegade, 3x Ski Doo 500SS (600cc) MXZ Rev, 2x Ski Doo 550F
End result: Tired, sore, but had an absolute blast!
Location: U.P. of Michigan!
The Renegade and 500SS's were amazing machines, with beautiful suspension. Not a hitch with any of them.
Here are some photos.....
This is how we do snow in the U.P. (yes, that's a phone booth)
Picking up the sleds from the rental shop:
On the trails:
Watching the sled-dog races at the UP 200
At my dad's
Fillin up
At the static aircraft display at the now defunct KI Sawyer AFB (you guys have seen summer pix from there in my 4th of July threads)
On top of Mount Marquette at the overlook, city of Marquette below and to the left, Lake Superior to the right
Chillin after it was all over, and facing the 6 hour drive home:
In short - it was a blast, and if you have not done this yet - you must. I have forgotten how much fun it is, and it is a great segway for riders to maintain their sanity through the winter.
Looks like a blast!!! I am going on my first snowmobile trip in a week and a half in Colorado, can't wait!
#3
02-26-2009 | 12:49 AM
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Posts: 2,885
THat's serious snow and mountain riding out there... big difference from trails for sure. Keep a shovel, tow strap, and locator with you. On the trails it feels like a jet-ski and handles like a quad - so lean in and be ready to do corrective steering to pull the inside ski back down to the ground when it pops up or starts to roll. In big powder... well - it feels and handles like a boat. Always remember to lean uphill!
Have a blast, bring back pix!
Have a blast, bring back pix!
#10
02-26-2009 | 03:59 PM
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Posts: 2,885
I wear my riding jacket every time I go snowmobiling. I also give clothing recommendations for the first timers... everyone listened to me, and no one was cold. In fact - 2 people had to remove some clothing.
Temps were between 8 and 26 (night/day). Clothing consisted of GOOD winter boots (Sorel, etc), thick athletic socks, under-armor pants (some people wore under-armor shirts), either thick, heavy jeans (like riding jeans or Dickies type) or thick sweatpants, snowpants (bib/overall type) or Carhart bibs, tshirt, heavy sweatshirt, good ski jacket (or thick riding jacket in my case), good ski gloves, balaclava, motorcycle helmet, Scott 2-pane winter goggles. Even with all that on - so long as you can maintain flexibility and not be restricted too much in movement. Between the heat the machine throws off, the heated grips, and the body language you will be throwing into the machine - it keeps you plenty warm.
Better to be too warm and dress down than to be too cold and try to warm up then dress up while riding. Nobody in my group was cold at all... they were all surprised, but I was happy.
Temps were between 8 and 26 (night/day). Clothing consisted of GOOD winter boots (Sorel, etc), thick athletic socks, under-armor pants (some people wore under-armor shirts), either thick, heavy jeans (like riding jeans or Dickies type) or thick sweatpants, snowpants (bib/overall type) or Carhart bibs, tshirt, heavy sweatshirt, good ski jacket (or thick riding jacket in my case), good ski gloves, balaclava, motorcycle helmet, Scott 2-pane winter goggles. Even with all that on - so long as you can maintain flexibility and not be restricted too much in movement. Between the heat the machine throws off, the heated grips, and the body language you will be throwing into the machine - it keeps you plenty warm.
Better to be too warm and dress down than to be too cold and try to warm up then dress up while riding. Nobody in my group was cold at all... they were all surprised, but I was happy.