I love it. I usually take a day off during the week, usually do 150-250 miles in a ride. An average year is around 2000 miles. I am also lucky that I can ride to work. Makes it nice to break up the normal drive routine.

 

Thirty years ago...yes...now...a resounding no!!! When I rode...you had to have a box of spare parts and tools with you...along with someone who knew how to use them!!!

 

I am familar with those, I was 6 but my parents were into it and I started out of some of those ride for a day work on them for 3 machines. Today they are more like cars, gas & oil and ride.

 

Gas...oil...and...ride fast!!! I know a guy who owns a shop that sells/services Yamahas...he keeps trying to get me to buy a sled...not gonna happen!!!

Some of these machines are more expensive than the last 5 cars I've bought!!!

 

Yea, it is expensive to get back into. A little ridiculous on the price for something you can only really use for around 3 months and average miles of 1000-2000 miles. But there are worse hobbies to spend money on, like crack.

 

i do, i rode 1800 miles last year on my 05 f6 efi. from around straton, vt upto killington area/rutland

 

I miss it like you wouldn't believe!
And we'd love to get back into it.

We moved here from Ontario 12yrs ago, and I have to admit that I thought being Vermont there would be awesome trails. Locally (Milton) the system was broke up that you couldn't get from A to B.
Asking around got me to a Rail Trail, that doesn't make sense to me. Trailer out to a parking lot, pray for no vandalism when you leave, drive in a straight line until you've had enough, then turn around and drive that straight line back to your truck.
Not my idea of sledding.
And because we had no trails to run from our house, we sold both our XLT's after the first couple yrs.

I know there's better Vast systems out there (Island Pond?), but again it seems like you have to drive somewhere and park, and drive the same route back, unless you have a cabin, which is what were used to.
I'm used to doing loops. Maybe stay at a motel or someone's cabin, and do a weekend loop that circles around back to your starting point. We need more motels on the system.

I realize we don't have the funding here to have "hwy's" in the forest with potties and glassed-in maps. So it is what it is. But I'd like to meet up with some people that have a good background of sledding in Vermont and help us get back into it.

I picked up 3 used sleds last winter for the kids to use in the field behind us. Felt bad cuz we didn't make our usual yrly pilgramige to any of our buddy's cabin in northern Ontario, so figured I'd suffice with clunkers for them at home. Unfortunately, they turned out to be more clunker than I wanted...

One tradition that we used to have was the weekend after Columbus Day 'Get Ready for Winter Party'. We'd go to the Toronto Snowmobile Show (ridiculous size, can't see the whole thing in one day), then pick someone's house to spend the evening at afterwards and chew the fat over what we saw at the show, watch new and old videos, and I'd bring my collection of dealer brochures, price lists and paraphanilia dating back to 1970.

Now that I've talked your ear(s) off since you got me started on my favorite pastime - anyone want to get a fall party organized? We'd be happy to host and get to know more people

Ron

 

Hey Miles and Ron.
I haven't ridden that far south because I like to ride from my house and by the time I am to Bethel, Rochester or Hartford its time for me to head back. I here the Chittenden are is good but would like to try farther south if conditions are good.

Ron the north west side of the state is hard to ride without that many trails and typically less snow. I totally agree with riding loops. I try to avoid the rail trails because they are boring and the speed limit of 35 is ridiculous. I consider where I live to be center of riding. If conditions are good in all directions I can do 150-200 mile loops easy. Island pond is ok but usually busy and heavily patrolled because a lot of out of staters go there. I typically take a Thursday or Friday to ride, very little traffic and usually trails are groomed. Trails in Vermont are harder to keep and make because a lot of large land tracks have been split up and bought by tree huggers so the close off access. Never riden. In Canada but have heard and read its nice and different.

I would like to try a meet but be closer to end of October as the earliest due to full weekends.

 

Funny - my 13 yr old boy got all uptight on the weekend and said "I thought we were supposed to be working on sleds all summer so we ride in winter, not fix in winter".

I know I told him that last winter, but I never asked for broken manifold studs and sway bar links and tire problems etc. I don't seem him taking care of anything - sheesh.

Funny though for him to blurt that out on the weekend. Guess he's feeling the summer leave too.

We don't have any trail worthy sleds right now, only field runners. Hopefully be able to change that this fall (when the prices go up likely....)

 

You probably already check out craigs list but more and more popping up now. Had a frost at my house this morning, so adds will be flooded very shortly. I am biased toward ski doo so thats all I look at.