For the first time in two whole years I finally got/took an opportunity to get back out on snowmobile! On Saturday I tried out my new EZ Glide covered wooden ramps, loaded up Project REV and headed to the Goulds for a few hours of adventure.

It's never a good idea to ride alone, but keeping social distancing in mind Bill, AJ, Ron and I all arrived in separate vehicles to maintain public health safety guidelines at this time.

It was an absolutely gorgeous sunny day with temps hovering around -8ºC, perfect for a snowmobile adventure!

Don't forget to check out all of the build stories of our sleds on the Projects in the Shed page!

We headed in Chicken Farm road to Northern Pond Road planning to take the next trail over to Pasture Land Road.

Quite surprisingly we found the bridge on that road had been permanently removed. The river crossing is much too deep for snowmobile, and with a lot of large rocks and a sharp ice shelf we opted to turn around and not risk damaging a sled skipping the river. We also met up with George G. along the way so he joined our adventure on his beautiful blue Yamaha SRX 700 triple.

We headed back Northern Pond Road towards Joyce's Trail opting for the open country/pond route to Witless Bay Line as it was much smoother than the well worn rough trails.

With our longer ride plans changed due to the missing bridge we spent more time playing and exploring along the way which is always one of my favourite parts of the ride.

A.J.'s 2009 Skidoo TNT continues to run very well, it's a great match of machine and rider!

Bill's 2010 Nytro was the newest sled in today's riding group and continues to run very well, the new suspension upgrades were certainly put to the test!

I'm quite happy to report that Project REV is still running strong despite its unintended hiatus in the last 24 months. The only issue I had this ride was a fouled spark plug of unknown age (possibly 2018). This combined with a tank of old fuel, which I have been diluting with fresh Supreme and Sea Foam additive, was the most likely cause. I had a brand new pair of BR9ECS in my tool kit and swapped them with no issues.

We only had one other issue on the return trip to the Goulds. Along the way Bill lost or cracked & lost an upper ball joint bolt. Luckily he had a spare (although in a pinch you can harvest a bolt off the machine eg. off the sway bar) and replaced with with ease for a quick, solid trail side repair.

With darkness fast approaching we loaded up and headed for home.

It wasn't a long ride but it was a perfect shakedown run to see how my sled was holding up, I'll give it a close inspection once thawed in the garage and a thorough nut and bolt check. One thing I did forget about riding snowmobile vs. my time in Project Argo is what a workout it can be, especially standing while riding rough trails. I'm certainly reminded that I'm not 30 anymore!

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2011 Michael Smith