Rich Lupia @ Upstatesnow.com was my guest of honor today in ilsnow land. He came up here to talk some business with me. Then the plan was to ride down Indian Lake to Perkins Clearing and spin off some fun miles before he had to go home. I gave him the XP to ride and I set up saddle on the ole Formula S.
Unfortunately, I had set the parking brake on the XP while warming up the sled then forgot to unlock it before we took off. Rich thought the XP was running really sluggish and stopped the sled. Then the brakes caught on fire!! By the time I got back, I saw Rich furiously throwing snow on the brakes, which saved the XP from going up in flames! Rich felt really bad about what happened, but it was totally my fault. I was able to limp the XP (w/o brakes) over to Adirondack Mountain Sports for repairs. That was a bit scary!
As for the ride, I only got as far as Pashley Road on the Sabael trail before I went back to look for Rich. I was wondering why he was having such a hard time keeping up with the ole’ Formula S! 🙂 In the short time we were out, we saw dozens of sleds and it will only get busier over the holiday weekend, especially with the Indian Lake Snowarriors Poker Run on Saturday.
Weekend Snowmobiling Outlook:
There are going to be a ton of snowmobiliers up here, looking for snow! Traffic is going to be heavy and it will be a Battle Royale between the handful of groomers and the horde of snowmobiliers descending into ilsnow land. You’re going to find good and you’re going to find awful. Get here early for the best results. Lakes should be fun! Historically, Moose River Plains gets whooped up BADLY on President’s Weekend, so don’t be surprised to find sno-cross moguls on the Indian Lake side and lots of chatterbumps on the Inlet side as the traffic overwhelms the grooming efforts.
As for me, I’m awaiting to hear from Adirondack Mountain Sports in the morning to see how much coin it will take to repair it. Meanwhile, I’ve got the Formula S for a back up and will ride that when I need to scratch the itch. But any real long distance rides are on hold for now. Hopefully, within a week, I’ll have my XP ready for the Back 9 of winter.
Conditions will change rapidly this weekend. Keep up with rider reports on the ilsnow.com board!
Darrin @ ilsnow.com
