Vintage Derby

_FIII · Post by **_FIII** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 12:33 am

A big congratulations goes out to Pete and all the volunteers that put on a great event today near Roblin, Manitoba. It was a stellar event and lots of fun. I highly recommend this ride next year to all who could make it. Very scenic ride and the trail conditions were first class! Good job Pete, you can count us in for next year.

Will post some pics tomorrow night.

basketdators · Post by **basketdators** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 1:27 am

I second that! Great job by the Roblin and Makaroff area volunteers, and especially a big thanks to Pete [Liquifire 4/6]. And I'm not just saying this because I won the trivia contest. My boys and I were talking on the way home tonight , and agreed that these events are more fun than racing in alot of ways! Finally Pete, thank the cooks [excellent chili!!!!!!!!!!]
Bill Gehl

basketdators · Post by **basketdators** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 1:31 am

Just another quick note, you guys would not beleive the 300 Pete had there, by the looks I'd say a couple hundred miles on it at most!!!!!! Unreal!
Bill

Liquifire 4/6 · Post by **Liquifire 4/6** » Sun Feb 03, 2008 3:36 pm

Thanks so much to the Gehl clan for showing up in full force. It was really nice to meet you all and I'm elated that you enjoyed the event so much. It was a great success for being only our second annual Vintage Derby. It seems everyone was happy with the trail and I expect we'll likely see quite an increase in attendence next year. I'm pretty zonked out today from the ride and the dance as well as spending the entire last week working on the trail, but it certainly was worth it....And it's people like you who make it all worthwhile. THANKS AGAIN! The 73 Sno Jet auctioned off at the dance went for $1250.00 so that'll help the local club a fair bit seeing as it was donated. I didn't get many pics because my batteries went dead at the half way house and the spare set I had with me evidently fell out of my unzippered jacket pocket somewhere along the trail (along with my smokes)....so I'm looking forward to seeing your pics of the ride. The only decent shots I have of the ride are too large to upload into here. I hope to see you guys at Govan......I had planned on bringing the Alouette and the Sunfire, but I just read the race rules and it's only for 79 and older and the Sunfire is based on an 1980 Trailfire so I guess it has to sit at home. I might take the Raider instead as it seemed to run quite strong yesterday.

PS: Congrats Bill on your outstanding achievement in the trivia contest....You know your stuff!

LiquidFire · Post by **LiquidFire** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:42 am

Pete,

It was a great ride! Looking forward to it again next year. I attached a couple group pics, hopefully they will work. Not exactly sure on how to compress these files. Look forward to having you come up to Regina on your way to Govan drag races.

LiquidFire

LiquidFire · Post by **LiquidFire** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:43 am

Here's another pic.

LiquidFire · Post by **LiquidFire** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:44 am

Last one!

Liquifire 4/6 · Post by **Liquifire 4/6** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 2:26 am

Thanks LiquidFire for the pics. I was just over ar Dave's discussing the Govan drags. He figures Bucky's Yamaha might be worth taking...only prob is it'll be in the same class as Dave's "Couch". So it looks like I'll have to run it and I'm not sure if I can bring myself to race a Yamaha........I might have to ease up on the throttle just so I don't win.......lol. Congrats to Liam (LiquidFire's son) who won the award for youngest rider in the derby. He's eight years old and rode a 1980 Liquifire as though he was born on it. And not only did he ride the sled in the derby, he rode it to and from the derby from his uncle's place 12 miles away. I bet he'll keep the JD sled legend alive around here for a long long time.

_FIII · Post by **_FIII** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 9:31 pm

If I knew it was allowed I would have brought my 9 year old son. He will be coming next year, to make it 3 generations from our family. My son has been on the Spitfire a few times but I think is now scared off after he tipped it last year. He prefers our 1991 Safari 377. It's a little more stable and not so snappy off the line. Pete, we are already making plans for how many sleds we can round up for next year, as well as finding butts for on the seats. I am also going to hit up a few local businesses for some door prizes. I'll see what I can get from the local ski-doo dealer. I have gotten to know the owner pretty well.

Pete, I will have a Tnt hood at the races this weekend that I might have to send back home with you. It is for the guy that was riding the 71 Tnt 292 at the derby. I lost his info, but he has mine. If he doesn't get a hold of me could take it back for him???

_FIII · Post by **_FIII** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 9:33 pm

If I knew it was allowed I would have brought my 9 year old son. He will be coming next year, to make it 3 generations from our family. My son has been on the Spitfire a few times but I think is now scared off after he tipped it last year. He prefers our 1991 Safari 377. It's a little more stable and not so snappy off the line. Pete, we are already making plans for how many sleds we can round up for next year, as well as finding butts for on the seats. I am also going to hit up a few local businesses for some door prizes. I'll see what I can get from the local ski-doo dealer. I have gotten to know the owner pretty well.

Pete, I will have a Tnt hood at the races this weekend that I might have to send back home with you. It is for the guy that was riding the 71 Tnt 292 at the derby. I lost his info, but he has mine. If he doesn't get a hold of me could take it back for him???

Liquifire 4/6 · Post by **Liquifire 4/6** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 12:50 am

Hey Richard, that'd be sweet if you could drum up some door prizes for next years derby. We'd really appreciate it and would do our best to mention the donors name a few times. It'd be great to see your son riding next year.....I honestly didn't know you had a son who is into snowmobiling, otherwise I'd have told you to bring him along.

No problem about the hood. I can bring it here and get it to him...but I'm a bit stumped about who was riding a 71 TnT. Might it have been a guy named Doug? I know he has one, but I'm not sure which of his sleds he was riding on saturday.

We're already thinking about some changes for next years trail. Did you consider it long enough? Some of the guys riding clunkers probably thought it was plenty long enough, but I'm thinking an optional extra 6 mile loop might be nice for those who want more ?

_FIII · Post by **_FIII** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 1:50 am

The extra trail would be nice as I would have opted for that. Any where up to 30-35 miles would be nice. After that some sled might run into re-fueling issues. My dad's 77 RV likes it's fuel and has a small tank to boot!

I think it was Doug? He said that they race it in the Saltcoats 100 mile endurance race. Sounds like this hood might not see next year, from what he was saying!

My son will be there next year for sure. I have to work on his confidence. He has trouble going more than 5mph. He's afraid he might fall off! If all else fails I will bring up my 71 Mark I sk-boose and pull him around in it.

Since there are no local vintage derby's around here I will bring up some extra door prizes for sure. All we have around here is drift bangin' poker runs that are 70 or so miles. After our last blizzard I don't think any of the vintage sleds would do to well in the middle of the open prairie.

Liquifire 4/6 · Post by **Liquifire 4/6** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 11:19 am

ok, it must be my buddy Doug L. You can reach him at 204-937-3782. By the way, I'm gonna try and maintain the vintage trail for the remainder of the winter if my Widetrack tranny hangs together. It was making some pretty strange noises the last couple times I went grooming. A few of us will probably get together with old sleds on some weekends and ride the trail and roast some weinies at the club shack. If you're interested in driving out and joining us, just let me know and I'll let you know when we're doing a ride.

_FIII · Post by **_FIII** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:46 pm