RWTC 2020 Vintage Challenge

[BU1]

Just got home from this years adventure with Rainville and Brian Lindner. Small group, but fun ride to our new destination. Thanks for not leading us too far astray! Very neat to have Glen ride with us with his original I-500 340/S. Brian, we owe you for the fuel filter we used from your stash. Thanks. Scott and Brian O.

[400brian]

Yes it was an adventure. Things didn't go exactly as planned this year, but I put on around 200 miles of good riding.

[340sracer]

I want to Thank Joe and Brian for leading the pack,I know It didn’t go exactly according to plan but if everything went smoothly it would in my opinion get boring. Also want to thank Joe for supplying his truck and trailer for hauling the gas for the sleds and the trailer on standby for picking up dead sleds which wasn’t needed thankfully.
Also want to give thanks to Mark Resch for driving the truck along with his copilot.
Also heard some interesting stories from Mark and his adventures in racing Polaris snowmobiles.
Until next time Glen

[400brian]

The write-up on this year's RWTC is complete in the RWTC topic section.

It has been suggested that the stories that I write do not capture the fun we have in St Germain. If I knew how to fix that, I would.

We do indeed have a great time! If the sleds run well it helps, if the trail conditions are good it helps, and if the weather isn't extreme it helps.

This year the trails for the most part were very good. The weather cooperated very well, the travel conditions were excellent driving up and back home. Thursday and Friday were the coldest days, the main problem being -20s overnight, which means it takes a while to warm up the next day. On Thursday when we ran down to Lake Tomahawk, both the Katy and I had the chemical heat packs in our mitts, and they really do the job. Gotta keep some of those in your pockets just in case. The sun was shining on Thursday and Friday, with a late appearance on Saturday, but Saturday was warmer although it was late in the day before it was noticeable.

For the most part the crew we ride with do a good job of getting their sleds prepped, this helps a lot! Sure, there is often some strange failure that pops up. This year the clutch failure that Jason Peterson experienced on his 800 is the one that comes to mind. It worked out well though, it held together until we were back from Lake Tomahawk, and died in a spot they could get the trailer to. Wade pulled the clutch off his '75 400 and had Jason up and running for the next day, which was awesome, but really, that is how this group rolls!

We have been harping on sled maintenance for 15 years, and it seems the guys have taken that to heart, because we run hoods down pretty much the whole time we are in St Germain, and considering that the machines we ride are approaching 50 years old, that is impressive. It just makes it that more fun if you can ride without issues. Great job guys!

There were no bare spots in the trails this year. Much of the snow had come early, so the snow on the trails was getting a bit long in the tooth, but for the most part, we had great riding. The only issue was that they had gotten a lot of snow before it got cold enough to freeze the lakes over, so slush and rough conditions were a problem all season. I ran across Big Saint on Wednesday, and Plum on Saturday, and they were probably as rough as I have ever seen them.

All that said, we had a great week of riding with a great group of people. It is always a let down when it is time to go home, but we soon begin planning for next year's ride, and start thinking about sled projects we want to complete, so we look forward to 2021's fun in the snow.

[bambam00]

Brian: Fantastic read as always !!!!!! I love your color commentary !!!!! Thank You to all for being at the 2020 Ride with the Champs,, Craig Marchbank SHOF Pres.

[EricR]

Great write up, and the realities of keeping a group together on the trail.