2021 RWTC

[400brian]

The 2021 RWTC weekend is in the books, it was a very different event this year. It was about a year ago that our lives took a hard turn right into the ditch. I had very much hoped that by now things would be getting back to normal. I refuse to believe that a return to normal isn't going to happen, but it hasn't happened yet.

So what happened is interesting. The formal inductions and banquet was postponed until 2022, but a ride with Mike Trapp on Friday sold out at $200 per rider and I think 110 riders or so participating. That event was described by Craig Marchbank as a home run! But on Saturday, it was a very small turn out. It was cold, never got above zero, but it wasn't much better on Friday, so I really don't understand it. Here is the other thing; we had seen light sled traffic all week. The Whitetail Lodge was practically empty, the bars had light patronage. But on Saturday, we saw as much sled traffic as I remember, it was nuts! The motel was hopping.

So lets start this story from the beginning.

Tuesday February 9. Hi of 5 Low of -23

I had planned to bring 3 sleds this year, in fact I had three sleds running, but in the end I just brought the 73 and 74 JDX8s. After the quick engine rebuild last year, the 74 wouldn't run right. In the days leading up to our departure I revisited the metering arm adjustment on the carb and got things very much improved. I was reasonably confident the two sleds would run.

We normally travel pretty light on this trip, eating out at least 2 meals a day. But this year Katy prepared quite a lot of food to take along. We normally do not bring a cooler, this year we brought a big one. There were a lot of unknowns this year, it was hard to know what to do. As it turns out, the restaurants were only open on the weekends, this left the bars to fill the void, and they were. For the most part no one seemed too concerned with Covid. Yes we had masks with us, and yes you saw some folks wearing them, but for the most part folks were not.

We loaded the sleds onto the trailer Monday night, and we were on the road by 2:00 pm the next day. Katy upgraded vehicles in January, we now had a '17 Silverado extended cab 4x4, and this would be my first time sitting in it, let alone driving it. I had installed a trailer light hook up in the wiring harness a few days before, and when we hitched the trailer onto the truck Monday night I was impressed to see we had absolutely no lights on the trailer at all. Great! So getting to the motel before dark seemed like a good idea.

We never stopped once on the trip, and rolled into the Whitetail around 5 pm. On arrival I noted that the trailer had NO tail lights, and only one left directional operating. We got our gear into the room, then proceeded across the street to Blink Bonnie's Bar. It was Richard Rainville's 5th birthday, and we had been invited to help celebrate the occasion. The dining room was half empty as we arrived, but was pretty much full by the time we left. Richard was entertaining our waiter, and by the time we left, a guy at the table beside us gave him $5 for his birthday.

Back at the motel we sat in the lobby and visited, and talked a bit about what we might do over the next few days. As an added bonus, the motel fire alarm that had gone off once the previous night at around 2 am, now started going off every 15 minutes or so. Richard was quite concerned about this, and was having a conversation with the gal at the desk about calling the fire dept to resolve the problem. Eventually the owner showed up and pulled the fuse on the system. Of course birthday cake was served as well to top off the evening.

[400brian]

Wednesday, February 10th High temp of 4 low of -24

The plan for Wednesday was to get the sleds off the trailer, get them running, and take a run up to Sayner for lunch and possibly walk through the Eliason museum. There was little incentive to get an early start, as it was very cold. So it was probably around noon when we staggered out to get things going.

Katy and I pulled the two JDXs off the trailer. Both had a bit of fuel in them left over from last year as I had apparently been too lazy to pump out the tanks and start with fresh fuel. The battery in the 73 is only a year old, and it cranked over well and fired up. After a few laps around the parking lot to get it warmed up, I turned my attention to the 74. The battery in this one is past its prime, so I started pulling. It flooded before ever firing, so a new plan was needed. Rainville came over with the starting fluid. He blew the gas off the plugs, I cranked the engine a bit to clear things out, shot a bit of ether down each hole, re-installed the plugs and went back to pulling. After a couple of tries like this, the engine fired and life was good. Both sleds were topped off with fresh fuel, and now we were ready to ride.

Joe would be riding the 400 with Richard in front of him, Cari would be riding the Sprintfire, which is the first time she would be trail riding with us. Jason Peterson joined us with his freshly restored Cyclone, so we were ready to go. I got tapped to be on point, so I suggested we take the round about trail to Sayner. We rode west past the Whitetail Inn, then turned north, this route brings us into Sayner from the west. We ran a slow pace, around 20-25 mph to keep the women happy.

The trails were pretty nice for the most part, and there was little to no traffic seen. There were a few sleds parked in front of the Sayner Pub, however, the dining room was empty. We got a table in a far corner and enjoyed a very nice lunch.

As we finished lunch, Jason mentioned he wanted to make a carb adjustment, so he did that and took the sled out for a quick test rip. I had suggested to Katy that we switch sleds so she could try out the plastic ski setup I have on it. After some prodding by Joe, she agreed to do this. Jason returned and we headed south towards the motel. We had gotten as far as the boat storage lot just south of Sayner when we lost the Rainville's. After a few minutes Joe came into view, but no Cari. Joe yells at me to go get her, she had been right beside him at the last intersection. I buzzed back to find her, and she was indeed at the intersection, but with the sled snuggled up to a small tree. She hadn't hit anything, but she needed the sled pulled around. I grabbed the skis and pulled it around, I got it started and rode it back up onto the trail just as Joe arrived, No harm no foul. We ran a route that took us across Big St Germain Lake, as Richard wanted to do that. In the photo below, we had just got on the lake at Fibber's Resort.

We rode back to the motel to let the women and Richard off, then us guys rode over to the SHOF to take a look at some property near the museum that Joe and Cari are in the process of purchasing.

When we returned to the motel, Joe helped me load the sleds on the trailer, because Katy and I were trailering up to Manitowish Waters in the morning. We had brought plenty of food with us, so we had supper in the room and watched some TV.

[400brian]

Thursday, February 11. High temp of 7 Low of -30

Thursday morning we were on the road fairly early, and were at our friend's house in Manitowish Waters by around 10:00 am. Renee had been busy making cream filled eclairs in an obvious effort to get us even more fattened up.

We got the sleds off the trailer, got them started, and headed out for a local ride. The trails were excellent for the most part, traffic was very light, and we enjoyed a tour of the local area. We were heading back towards the house when things took a turn for the worse. Katy was riding the 74 JDX8, because she found she really liked the steering with the plastic ski set up. I was right behind her on the 73 JDX8.

I was really feeling good about the day. We had buzzed right along on a few of the straight smooth sections, and from where I was sitting, Katy was doing great, and that made me happy. We were running across a relatively flat open area, and then were making a rather sharp turn into a woods. From about 10 feet back I watched as Katy made this turn. She had slowed way down, but about half way through I watched as the rear of the sled slide to the left about a track width. Unfortunately, she didn't turn the skis to respond to the slide, the left carbide dug in, and the sled flopped on its side fairly abruptly, and she got tossed off quite unceremoniously. I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed!

I jumped off my sled and as I got to her she was getting on her hands and knees, so I flipped the sled on its feet so as to have a place to sit her down on. Gary and Renee were already there helping her to her feet, so I re-started the sled. She was saying she was OK, and about that time I perhaps pointed out that she had just broken her second NOS windshield. Yeah, that was not the best idea.

We slowly drove back to the house, and when we got there I drove both sleds into Gary's heated garage. The broken windshield had my MI antique registration sticker on it, and we had 3 days to ride to go, so something needed to be done to fix this. Gary couldn't find any aluminum flashing, but he did have some galvanized, so I fashioned a patch to support the corner that was broken.

I then took a look at the 73 steering issue. When I assembled the 73 a year ago I put new rubber spindle bushings in, and found I had to compress the steering arm onto the spindle to get the retaining bolt in. I was wondering if I removed a washer out from under the upper bushing, I might be able to reduce the steering effort I was seeing. While I was doing that, Gary got the grill fired up, and tossed on some home grown sirloin steaks we had brought along. We had a great lunch, Gary did a great job at the grill!

After lunch, I finished up the 73 experiment and took a quick rip to test it out. To my disappointment there was no improvement. I suspect the source of the heavy steering is the carbide placement on the Excalibur II skegs. I think they are placed a bit too far back. The skis don't dart, but they resist turning.

We loaded the sleds and returned to the motel about dark. Katy voicing her displeasure with previous events most of the way.

Later that evening I spent a couple of hours in the motel garage with Rainville. I think we successfully diagnosed why he has a brake issue on his 72 400, and a throttle issue as well. It appears both cables are not correct. The brake cable is too long to get a useful adjustment, and the throttle cable is not Deere and is shot in any event. We then fixed a fuel leak on the Kitty Cat tank shut off. The packing nut on the valve had been tightened to such an extent that the O-ring was shot. I suggested a farmer fix of wrapping the shaft with Teflon tape and then a careful tightening of the nut. Last I heard the fix held for the weekend anyway.

[400brian]

Friday February 12. High temp of 5 Low of -21

We got a text from the Bennett's Thursday night indicating that they were loaded up and would be heading our way first thing in the morning. They had been riding up in the UP all week in some really cold temps. Friday is the day we normally do the Bogie Bash. This year we had discussed riding up to Boulder Junction, which is a 50-60 mile round trip, but considering that Joe would have Richard with him, and Cari and Katy were going, it seemed a bit ambitious in the weather we were looking at. So it was decided that the 30 mile round trip to Lake Tomahawk would be the destination.

The hardest part is to get suited up and get outside. We had to get the sleds off the trailer and get them started and fueled up. We had gotten an inch or so of very fluffy snow over night as well. So we were out there getting ready when the Bennett's pulled in and Jason Peterson arrived. When everyone was ready Cari and Richard came out, and we headed west to the Shell station.

[400brian]

So while we were waiting for Joe to fuel the Sprintfire, the subject of glasses fogging came up. Katy mentioned that they had some anti-fog wipes at the gas station, so she ran across the road and got three of them. She and Joe felt it helped, Jason was not as impressed.

When everyone was ready, we took off to the west along 70, then turned and headed south. I had ran this route on Thursday the year before and I did look at the map before we left. I didn't know the route like the back of my hand, but I did remember certain landmarks. In the end I would say we ran exactly the same route as the year before.

We pulled into Lake Tomahawk at around noon. The Cafe' we had ate at the year before was not open, so we went just down the street to the Shamrock Bar N Eatery. There were a fair amount of sleds parked outside, and we always draw a crowd wherever we stop. We made our way inside to find the dining room wide open, and we had a great lunch.

[400brian]

After lunch we headed out to retrace our path back to the north. Katy and I both had 2 heat packs in each mitt, and I was glad to have them. With the vintage suit I was warm enough tucked down behind the windshield, but the cold air was tickling my back just enough to notice. We both wear Sorel Glacier boots, and they work great, no issues with cold feet.

I never heard Richard complain all week, and he is not typically bashful about expressing himself. When we got back to the motel, Wade and Mindy wanted to get checked in, Jason wanted to go to his cabin and mess with Cyclone a bit, and when Richard was offered to ride the Kitty Cat he declined.
So Joe and I rode over to the SHOF to see what would be going on the next day.

We chatted with Jamie and Craig, visited with Tom Otte, and as the Trapp ride participants started pulling in, we visited with some of those guys. The impression we got was that Saturday's schedule was very much uncertain at this point. Saturday was forecast to remain below zero for a high temp, and that seemed to be sucking some of the enthusiasm out.

[400brian]

Saturday, February 13. High temp of -3 Low of -20

We were out in the garage for a while Friday night, we loaded Joe's tool box into the trailer, and a couple of sleds. We should have put our rides for Saturday inside before we turned in for the night, but it never occurred to me. I walked out Saturday morning and pulled the rope, and I could barely turn it over. After a few pulls it got a little better, but I wasn't pulling it fast enough to start it. The plugs were dry, so I shot a little gas down each hole to prime it. I got a couple of pops, and that was it, I did it again and got nothing. Wade had been holding the throttle for me, and he offered to try it, so I switched to holding the throttle and he gave it a couple of pulls and it sputtered to life.

Joe had not been able to get the 400 started the night before to put it on the trailer, so he was working on the Sprintfire with about the same success.
I was lapping the parking lot getting things warmed up when I noticed the Sprint running, so we were about ready to go. So Wade was on his 440 Cyclone, I was on the 74 X8, Joe was on the Sprint, and Mindy was on her late model Cat as we headed over to the Museum.

When we pulled in, it appeared that we were too late, everyone had left. However, when we got inside, Jamie informed us that no, it was more like no one had shown up. I guess after a while Bertilino did leave with a few riders, but that was pretty much it. After floating a couple of plans, it was decided that we should meet back at the Museum at 1:30 for pizza. We didn't have a huge amount of time to go anywhere, so I suggested we ride over to Pitlik's Resort, which is east of St Germain. We had been there around 10 years ago on a poker run, and it would be around a 20 mile round trip. I asked Jamie if Pitlik's were open, and she replied that Yes, a bunch of them have been over there for Bloody Mary's ( that is their specialty ).

Rainville was on point for this one, although he had never been there before. We head out of town to the south, jump on a powerline right of way, and head east. We had looked at the map, but Joe was scratching his head when we got to the powerline. I turned to the east and hit the throttle, he soon passed me. Once we got going, all we had to do was follow the arrows to Pitlik's. It seemed like it took a long time, but we eventually got there without any problems.

When we pulled into the place, there was a large group of modern sleds sitting there. Of course when a group of 40 year old sleds pulls in we draw a crowd. As I got off the X8 I realized we had an extra rider, we had a guy on a Polaris riding with us. We had arrived about 15 minutes before they opened at 11:00, so we got to stand around for a bit. The group of modern sleds pulled out, but there was still a decent sized group waiting to get in.

[400brian]

Once we got in, we had some time to kill, so we just relaxed and visited. The guy on the Polaris was Rick from Fond du Lac, WI. Years ago he had once worked at Mercury Marine, now he was retired and was doing what he felt like doing and was building some sleds for the grand kids. It turned out he and his wife were staying at the Whitetail. Had we known that, he could have ridden with us all week.

So we sat at Pitlik's and watched it lightly snow. We coordinated between Katy and Cari to meet us at the SHOF at 1:30, as we had not known what to tell them when we had left. Eventually we saddled up and headed for the Museum. The trip back seemed much faster to me, and the only issue was that Joe turned on the first sign into St Germain, when he should have waited until the second.

Everyone returned to the museum, we had pizza, we conducted a little business, then headed back to the motel to get everyone loaded up.

[BU1]

Excellent write up as usual, Brian!! FYI, You have a package inbound.

[400brian]

Yes indeed, a box was in my mailbox. Scott sent me a couple of the Kohler fuel filters that I run. Last year on the run over to Little Bohemia and back, Brian Olson's Puma was having some fuel issues, and on the way back, I believe a filter was liberated out of my toolbox while I was hitting the head in Boulder Junction. Thanks Scott.

[400brian]

The Bennett's and the Rainville's left Saturday evening. Katy and I stayed the night, and checked out around 11:00 Sunday morning. Ran into Rick in the lobby, and he told me he had booked the room for 2022 and was planning on riding the Vintage Challenge on a Rupp. That would be very cool indeed!

So I will try to wrap up the experience for 2021. Since 2007 we have experienced very low snow conditions, we have seen conditions where if you got off the trail you would be buried. We have seen cold, we have seen close to 60 degrees, it all comes with the territory. This year was the strangest with the health concerns and all the questions that there were no good answers to.

The snow conditions in the North Woods this year were very poor right up until the week before we went up. The lakes had been marked since December I believe, but the snow just never came. Very much the same as here in southern WI., we'd had little snow and just a handful of very cold days up until Feb. The storm track had remained south of us all winter. Brad Wheelock told us that they had more snow in Rockford than St Germain had. But we got lucky in that just before we went up, they area got 9 - 10 inches of dense snow, and that saved the day. Then we got the polar vortex that gave us the longest period of cold weather in years. That cold weather helped keep the trails in good shape, and apparently limited the amount of riders coming up.

The health concerns did not seem to be a big problem for the folks that were in the area while we were there. We saw little mask wearing by patrons or staff in the bars we stopped at. For sure things were much quieter than normal. Not all the bars and Restaurants were open, and things were pretty dead early in the week. At the Whitetail, there were just a few cars in the parking lot when we arrived, very dead. By Saturday things had changed a lot.

During the week we were there, I can't say I observed a single person showing any signs of being sick. I haven't heard of any of us that attended falling ill since returning. Myself, I haven't been off the farm for most of a year, so this trip was a big deal for me.

We wanted to explore the local area a bit this year, run some trails we haven't in the past, and we did some of that. I think the run down to Lake Tomahawk is a good distance for the Bogie Bash, and with an early start and favorable weather, we could add a run up to Pitlik's to fill out the day. The folks at the SHOF are very much hoping that everyone will return in 2022, and I hope so as well. The date has been pushed forward for 2022, the event will fall on Feb 18 - 19, so mark you calendars.

To all the folks that did come up this year, thanks for the good times, let's do it again next year, bigger and better!

[AirborneX4Special]

Thanks for the after action report again this year Brian. Always enjoy the read and the pictures. Arguably the most fun part of the hobby is showing up anywhere on old snowmobiles and drawing a crowd.

[JDGuy]

Great report as always, thank you "Mr. James T. Kirk", LOL If you retire from farming, which farmers seldom do, you could probably get a gig as a news reporter/writer. You have a natural gift in that regard which we have enjoyed over the years.