Prelude to the HoF Ride...... A Jekyll Story

[427cobra]

Wow nice pictures Troy! That looks like a fun place to ride.

[HoosierDeereMan]

Well it's time to talk about the unfortunate incident.But first I'd like to bring up a point to all snowmobiles to consider. The vintage look is awesome. The clothes and helmets that Deere made back in the day were some of the best looking items ever to me. In the past I have always worn a old vintage helmet from the 70's on rides. I always thought it looked cool! However it doesn't offer you much protection in a serious situation. I read were you should replace your helmet every 6 to 7 years to be safe. I actually bought a new helmet this year for this ride and after seeing first hand what happened I'm damn glad I did and it was worth every penny!

So we left Whitefish point and were road running back to the trail that would lead us back to the cabin. We had turned on the trail and hadn't gone very far at all. I was following Don and we were running maybe 25 MPH? He started into a left turn and when he came out the sled kept turning left and actually ran up the tree! With the skis up the tree trunk and the rear of the tunnel dug into the ground the momentum turned the sled on it's right side and tossed Don skidding down the trail on his right side about 10 to 12 feet. I was in total shock of what had just unfolded in front of me. My fear was hitting Don and running over his legs and midsection with the 340/S. All I can say is thank god for Kelsey Hayes juice brakes and Woody's 60 degree gold diggers! I was able to get it shut down and off the side of the trail without incident. It sure wasn't skill, it was panic. I ran over to Don and asked him if he was okay. He was looking at me and started talking so those were good signs. He asked me get his helmet strap loose. I was shaking like a leaf and was struggling to loosen the strap. By this time Roger and Bob arrived on the scene. It seemed like several minutes had passed but in reality it may have been 30 seconds. Roger was asking Don questions and he was responding well. Bob got Don's helmet off and after checking things over we got him on his feet. Ross and Kevin had arrived sometime while all this was going on. We helped Don onto the seat of the S as he collected his thoughts. He kept telling us it ain't good guys. He told us his entire right side hurt and then kept apollogizing for what happened. We kept reminding him that at least he was okay and that sleds can be rebuilt. Ross and Kevin hightailed it back to get the truck so we could get Don out of there. We helped Don onto Ross's late model and he rode out slowly to the road. It was a very scary situation but all appeared to be okay for the time being.

[HoosierDeereMan]

Here is another shot of the heavy snow we rode in Saturday morning.
Next is our sleds lined up in the parking lot of our favorite lunch time diner.

[HoosierDeereMan]

The famous bra tree and Chic's trail stop.

[HoosierDeereMan]

Last one. Chic took a group photo of the vintage group for us. L-R, Sean and his 78 Cyclone 440, Ross and his 78 Yamaha SRX project sled, Kevin and his 76 Dator project sled, Roger and his 81 Polaris Cutlass, and myself with the 75 340/S.

It was a great trip! I sure appreciated the opportunity to able to hang out with guys. Thanks to all!

Troy

[DeereKid9]

I totally forgot about these two guys who showed up, made a bet that we couldn't get 400 cases of Canadian Beer back across the border from Canada.

They had a eerie look to them like they might be related to Ross and Kevin. Maybe it was their suits in sizes 68 fat and 12 dwarf.

Big and Little Enos with kevin and ross (2).jpg (45.14 KiB) Viewed 909 times

[400brian]

Bob has WAAAY too much time on his hands!

[Norton]

Roger,.

As always, really enjoyed your writing and stories. I have to admire your choice of sleds to ride with the bunch. The Cutlass in the day around here had the nickname "dead last". Always brought you home though!

Rainville has picked me up as a free agent from the ETJ race team for the I-175 on Saturday. I only signed a one year contract so I could go back to my old team next year. (-:

DA, sorry to read about your mishap with a tree. I hear broken ribs are painful but that has to be better than legs or arms!

See both of you guys in St. Germain. We plan on the Poker ride on Friday again this year.

And Roger you were right on that 78 CC motor noise at last years HOF ride. It has a bad flywheel connecting rod bearing but caught in time to save even more damage.

kb