2010 Vintage Challange Ride with the Champs

[Matt]

Kenny, a few of us joined a different group last time that did a shorter run, I think it was like 60 miles. We ran at a good pace, but made plenty of rest & BS stops.

[400brian]

Kenny

The year before, I ran a little over 80 miles in good trail conditions, and was a tad sore the next day. I had been doing some riding that winter starting in Dec., so I had a little conditioning.

Last year, we had snow early again, but I was so fixated on getting the 340S put together, that I did very little riding prior to the VC. Did both rides on the '74 X8.

Now it appeared that Rainville didn't think this old guy was going to keep up on that old mid mount. And I'll admitt I couldn't stay close enough to keep a ski up his snowflap ( after the first fuel stop anyway ).
But I was the guy who followed the Guide, Rainville,Waters, Meyer, and Teresa Larson to Star Lake ( the wrong way ) just to tell them they had missed the turn to Sayner. So the old guy didn't do so bad.

I was stiff the next couple of days, but it was worth it. Rainville did tell me afterward that he had forgotten how tough them old farmers were.

[Danzig...]

Kenny,

You cant mount up on my lil Ol' T-cat if ya get tired...

[JoeRainville]

Hey Guys,

Tom, I love your enthusiasm! I am all for "I survived the 2010 Vintage Challenge" sticker or something like that. Get that darn secondary fixed too! I really did enjoy riding with your crew last year and going side by side across a lake with JRC and then your 77 CC Cat was pretty sureal. The ride deffinately gave us a glimps of what it was like to ride a 340 CC racer back then. Funny, but on the lake 75 mph was all my 78 CC Liquifire could muster. She ran OK, but felt a little tired on the top end. I kind of think we could still time the events like a "road ralley" as breakdowns and trailside repairs should keep our speeds reasonable. At least the trails were groomed, unlike the ditches of the I-500!

Kenny, Guy Cowing made the ride with his son last year. They brought a beautiful 80 Liquifire and a early 90's EXT Cat. Guy rode the LF most of the time. Oh yea, he was 68! And Todd Myers brought his little buddie "JD" and he finished the entire ride on a Sprintfire. Oh yea, he was 14. I have no doubt you can handle it, but it wouldn't hurt to get some miles in first. And replace your rear shocks.

I will give Linder credit for keep up with his JDX-8. After the Watersboy and I would loose site of the group, we would pull over to get the guide to wait up. Linder was usually the first sled to catch up to us. Wasn't in a big hury after dark, as my night vision was never the best, and I had a developed a helmet splitting headache to boot.

Needless to say, I am really looking forward to next year. Never has such a vintage event caused so much preocupation with the participants.

Later Liquidator!
-Rainville

[Eric Bergstrom]

Wow!... truer words are rarely spoken Joe! Just reading about this gets my blood pumping for next year. Despite making it only about 90 miles last year on my '79 El tigre 5000 (missing out on the middle two stages due to a faulty fuel pump), and some cool events that occurred as a result (Jon Carlson taking the time to help me make the repair in a snowy parking lot on the MI/WI border), I will be looking to complete every mile next year!

I will be making a number of improvements to my sled before round 2. Jetting will be the first issue to be tackled. I was running super rich by nightfall (even in cooler temps) and ran the last 20 miles or so with no carb boots. I will also be working on clutching since I also did not get the top end I was looking for... and I'll be adding a cross country rear tank to increase my range between fuel stops. Not to mention some traction issues. Hopefully Tom and I will have the snow and the time necessary to get these things worked out before the event.

As for the event itself, I agree that it is likely very difficult to work out the details if you're in charge, but I do like many of the ideas posted here. The one I like most so far is leaving earlier in the morning. Don't get me wrong, it's very nice to have introductions of the people that are going along on the ride, especially because they really are legends of the sport... and breakfast is obviously vital. However, I think that leaving earlier (when did we get going, 10 AM or later?) would have, by itself, eliminated many issues we encountered last time around. Also, having premixed fuel waiting at gas stops would be a God-send!

I think my concern is that I'd like to be able to finish in a reasonable time, so that they don't downsize the ride. I think the coolest parts are the "fast ride" over a long distance.

Sorry for the long post, I'll do my best to keep future ones shorter. That said, if I do finish on my Tiger this year, I'll be looking to run my '76 Cross Country Cat the next year... and that will be a dream come true! Is it bad when I'm equally excited for the next two, three, four Vintage Challenges?! I can't wait!

[HoosierDeereMan]

Tom, Great job on starting this post! I think the common theme last year was "Pig Rich"! I had completely dismantled my 340/S and had been through it top to bottom. Of course I was the 1st casualty! It wasn't all bad, I got to meet Eric Bergstom at the first gas stop. Some ruts in the ice was my true demise last year! And after hearing the scary story about Teresa's spill I'm not so sure I want to hit the lakes at WOT again. One thing that would really help is if we hit town a day or two early and got some trail time under our belts. My jetting was perfect for home but too rich for St. Germain. Had we rode for a day around the area I could have corrected my jetting and picked up both trail permits to boot. As mentioned before, an early start would be a huge help. Another thought is to leave in flights at timed intervals. This might help with the gas stops as a huge group would not all roll in at once. Maybe the flights are made up of Deere groups, Cat groups, Polaris and so on. The point being if you need a spare something you stand a better chance of fixing or someone in your group having the right replacement part and knowledge for your brand? Just a thought not trying promote segregation here! If rescue vehicles are a problem maybe we could with the permission of our stopping places leave a truck and trailer with spare sleds the night before. I also think we need some kind of inspection prior to leaving. A working headlight and tail light are a must!

Last years event was a blast. My hats off to the organizers, they did a great job. I'm going to call last years ride a small group. I think this year will be huge. There were so many good times had by all that attended last year that alot more want to participate this year.

Troy

[deereoftheyear]

I've always been tempted to go, but a few things have always crossed my mind. I read that you guys have gas troubles, are there no gas station stops along the way??? Do you have to ride with a predetermined group or can you go solo? How long did it take the fastest group to ride last year? Anyways, just some things i was wondering about.

[JoeRainville]

Hello DotY,

We didn't have 'gas troubles' exactly. There was one stop half way up to Fishtails on lake Gogibic and gas at the restaurant. I just took a while for everyone to fill up and for all the pre-mix guys get our fuel mixed. The first stop took the longest, but we got better at getting the group through. That was why I suggesting filing the back of my truck with premixed cans to speed up the fuel stops.

We generally rode as one long, spread out group. Brain Nelson was the caboose on a Turbo Touring Cat and took care of the straggellers and helped with small repairs and tow duties.

The fastest guy ditched the group and made it back by 5:00. If we didn't get lost, it would have been 30 miles shorter for my group.

We are thinking of orginizing into smaller "flight" groups were we take care of everyone in our small group of riders. Last year we all kind of stopped and pitched in when there was trouble from belt changes to jetting adjustments to spark plug swaps, ect.

-Rainville

[Tom Rowland]

Troy,
You might be onto something when you mention flights. If we have 50-100 sleds or so it may speed everything up if we were to leave in flights with a little time seperating us. When we started out last year and my sled was pig rich, I did stuggle a little trying to follow some slower riders whose sleds were running fine at the slower speeds. I think we could be flexible as to how many sleds are in a flight...3, 4, 5, 6....shouldn't matter too much. It would also serve as a way for fellow riders to partner up with those they want to ride with. Would also be a way to identify us once the event begins, if we were to go ahead with our sled decal plan....A sensible sized decal could maybe be placed on our hood or windshield...stating something like "2010 Vintage Challange Participant" with our flight number being a larger number on the decal that would be visible to others as they were passing me.?? Just some ideas. To the fellow asking about riding solo, was no problem at all last year a few people did. If we do go with our flight idea this year, it will still be no problem as solo riders can be grouped up with other solo riders or a smaller flight. We maybe could go so far as to try to put flights together of riders with similar riding styles.

[Tom Rowland]

Ooops,
Joe, I see you have made a post that I had not yet read when I placed mine above. If I doubled up on some things you have already commented on, that is why. Us Cat riders are not always so quick! Tom.

[deereoftheyear]

What kind of sleds did the front runners use, Deeres? Is there more racing at the front of the pack and what time did the ride start?

[JoeRainville]

Tom, no sweat really!

DotY,

The front runners changed a bit, but on the way up Kenny Waters and I hung with the guide for the most part. That put his 80 LF and my 78 CC LF near the front part of the day. But, the lead changed a lot. There was a good running SRX and 75 JDX-8 riden by Ross and Kevin Campbell. Making good time had a lot more to do with keeping your hood closed as it did with running a good pace. Linder's 74 JDX-8 ran well, as did the Polaris's of Team Jekyl. Most of the Cat's of the Rowland clan ran well, minuse one fuel pump issue.

There wasn't any racing, but there was a little friendly banter back and forth. OK, so I did try to make "The Waters Boy" eat some snowdust if I could, but his 80 440 LF had studds and way more HP than my 340!

There was also the slower run around St. Germain done by the other vintage riders. I was told it was fun, but they had a few breakdowns too.

-Rainville

[400brian]

I agree with Joe on his point about the fast guys being the ones with their hoods shut. The guys who were constantly fiddling under the hood weren't covering any ground.

175 miles can be covered in less than six hours at a average speed of 30 mph.
But you can't be sitting, you have to keep moving!

After our ride last Feb., I was talking to some cousins who have large group riding experience. Thet told me that in their experience, the guys at the back of the pack have to ride 10 mph faster than the guys at the front, or they will get left in the dust. They added that 6 or 8 riders of similar riding styles are about all you can keep together without stopping frequently to re-group.
It was kinda looking that way to me last year.

[WinnipegStPaul9]

There was also the slower run around St. Germain done by the other vintage riders. I was told it was fun, but they had a few breakdowns too.

-Rainville

I'm not sure it was "slower", just shorter distance but with some really cool "watering hole" stops.

Just my opinion.

DA

[harleysportster]

I agree with Don, I don't think it was slow by any means. In the straight open areas, we were averaging over 40+. Don was running in the front of the pack behind the leader who tried to lose him but he showed us how well the 340/S performed in the winding trails of the woods. There was a 78 cylcone trying to keep his pace.
As far as fuel stops, I was very concerned about running about of fuel but Keith lead us to a gas station at the right time. I was very close to being empty. There was an older 340 Rupp that was running on fumes. He showed us his gas tank and you could see the bottom was getting dry.