2016 RWTC weekend

[Kcowell]

Once again had a great time! I will be returning hopefully for years to come. Thanks Brian for a great ride. Being my second challenge to be part of and complete, I can say the people who participate are the ones that make the ride great. A few of us know each other at the beginning but by the end of the day, we are finding each other on facebook and exchanging phone numbers. "No sled left behind" is a unspoken rule of the ride, whether it's giving someone a tow to the next stop or digging under the under of one of those "odd ball"(non deere) sleds to help a fellow rider get back on the trail. I really like that about the vintage challenge. Mark and myself both after last years ride set our sleds up with spare oil holders and saddle bags, with nothing more the the challenge in mind, and boy did they come in handy! Hope to see everyone one again next year!

[400brian]

Thank you Kyle, that was well stated.

In the 8 years I've been doing this, I have seen this many times. Some guys do the "Challenge" and decide once is enough. Others come back with determination and commitment. I would say that those are the ones that have the best time on the ride, they embrace the challenge.

Lincoln, Kyle, and Mark came back to try it again, and it was obvious that they were also now seasoned VC veterans! There is a camaraderie among this group, shared experiences, shared stories. It may take days or weeks to fully decompress and process the weekend's events, there is information overload to work through, but once you can put it all in perspective, you realize what a unique experience it was.

[Jd sled rider]

Kial stated it very well! I built a sled with the challenge in mind, it is a little unnerving to have all new bearings in something and still have one of them fail. I have already fixed everything and am planning a few upgrades for next year. I will continue to make the trip until my wife says no more! It truly is a lot of fun and I hope to see everyone from this ride there next year, it was a great group to ride with. I have my room booked for next year and will be there on Wednesday and begin the festivities on Thursday again. Later Lincoln

[Matt]

I just saw that John Sandberg had posted a followup article to the RWTC on ArcticInsider: http://www.arcticinsider.com/Article/20 ... me-Weekend

[WinnipegStPaul9]

I just saw that John Sandberg had posted a followup article to the RWTC on ArcticInsider: http://www.arcticinsider.com/Article/20 ... me-Weekend

It's a terrific article!!

DA

[Jd sled rider]

Ther is a bad ass picture of a legendary x8 and the pilot. Later Lincoln

[400brian]

Some of the guys headed straight to the banquet, but I really need to decompress a bit, and that hot shower is going to feel good! A couple of Mountain Dews, and a couple of ibuprofen get the process started. I sat down and called Rainville, to let him know we had got it done without him, then hit that hot water.

I dropped the Bennetts and the wife off at the door of the restaurant, then went out in search of a parking spot. by the time I got there, the gang had grabbed a table in the bar, the banquet gets bigger every year. I found Bob Anderson to tell him the rest of our DNR story, then chatted with the Larson's, who I hadn't seen since the first fuel stop. Dan and Teresa ran the whole route, but a ways behind the main group.

Jamie brought out a cardboard box and set it by us. This was the first out award that Rainville had put together, and I believe had arrived that day. I was pulling the First out Trophy out of the box, when I noticed something else in the box. It was a black plaque, and I could see a JDX8 decal on it. I said; "Jamie, what is this?" But she just laughed, and said she didn't know anything about it.

Bob Anderson also informed us that a trophy had been donated by Olav Aaen, to be awarded to the nicest looking survivor of the Vintage Challenge. With things worked out with Dan, I headed back to our table to enjoy a hunk of prime rib, and a cold Spotted Cow.

After a bit, the evening program was started, each guide telling a bit about the ride they were in charge of. Bob had Dan and I take the podium, where I commented briefly about the ride, threw Rainville under the bus ( gently I thought ) and presented the first out trophy to Mathew Larson. Dan then presented the Aaen trophy to Matt Gabler, who's 78 LF in CC racing trim was deemed to be the nicest looking finisher. Dan then presented me with the plaque that Joe had sent up, recognizing 8 finishes of the VC on the X8. I'm not sure what they were going to do with it if I hadn't finished!

That wrapped up my responsibilities as guide, I could now relax, and listen to the wild tales of what had been going on behind me all day!

[JDT]

Congrats Brian. Display it with pride.

[jep_800]

I read the article from John Sandberg, which was done very well... Maybe there are folks working on it, but would like to hear about the recount of the banquet from those who frequent this site. Didn't hear much about what Hubert Fixen said, other than he wasn't overly chatty due to his illness he's been dealing with. It would have been great to listen to some of his stories from the ETD days.

jep_800

[WinnipegStPaul9]

Jep_800, it takes a great deal of effort for Hubert to talk. I think everyone would love to hear his stories but for now all we can do is to hope that he gets better.

DA

[jep_800]

Don,

Agreed. I have a friend in Belle Plain, MN that knows the Fixen family and I think it's been pretty tough on him. Hope he can make a full recovery soon.

jep_800

[JoeRainville]

Although I couldn't make the ride this year for the first time since 2007, I was able to help out in a small way by making the "First Out Award" for Lindner to present at the induction banquet.

Sounds like everyone had a good time this year, and that Linder and Dan handled the guiding chores without major issue. Leave it up to Brian to smooze a DNR lady, LOL!

Looking forward to returning to guide the VC next year :>)

-Joe

[400brian]

And after the photo was taken, he added a drive belt to the thing! It weighed a ton!

[400brian]

So I finally got the photos off my camera and inserted them in the thread where they are being talked about

Some thank yous are in order:

To Craig Marchbank. Jamie, and the board; a great job by all, thanks for all the effort.

Big thank you to the Larson family! Dan provided the support truck and trailer this year, and his Father in-law drove it. Dan has been a huge supporter of the Vintage Challenge, and his riding tailgunner takes a load off the guide.

To Wade and Mindy Bennett; thanks for the laughs, and for putting Katy on the '78 LF on Friday, it was appreciated!

To all the guys who rode the Vintage Challenge; thanks for working together and making guiding the ride easy.

Thanks to Joe Rainville for the recognition of years past, and for believing I could get a group up to the UP and back. No doubt Joe will be back in '17, if he can keep from getting the wife PG for February.

It was a great weekend, conditions were far better than we dared hope in early January. We booked our room at the Whitetail for next year on the way out.

One more thing; displayed at the banquet were some blue prints for a proposed addition to the museum. 60 x 100, 2 story building, attached to the north side of the existing building. Pretty exciting being as the existing building was brand new when the JD gang first went up to the RWTC ten years ago.

Looking forward to 2017, start making plans to attend now.