CPSC Riding with Dan & Dylan 020610

We got a phone call from Chris & Craig on our way up today. They headed north on the 7N RR grade this afternoon, heading towards Laona. They said the trail was thin, but very rideable, with no lubrication or overheating problems.

I also talked to our Lead Groomer Kevin on the way up. Last night they groomed out west, and are still working on the trails today. They're pulling snow in from the edges, then grooming that snow smooth up on the riding surface of the trail. He was pleased with how the trails are grooming up. He said the wooded trails are fine, but the RR grade is pretty thin in many spots.

We headed out at about 4:00 pm for a quick run before Dylan's party tonight. We left the very slippery lake at Bonita Creek and headed south on the 7S RR grade, which was freshly groomed and in very nice shape. We turned west on 2112, which was freshly groomed but also the thinnest trail we rode today. It was very icy and had very little snow on top, but we had no problems with lubrication or overheating as we headed into the tunnel. The tunnel was groomed, but still pretty choppy as we made our way west. We stopped to take a few pictures, and we could see where the groomers had pulled snow in from the side of the trail- click on photos to enlarge:

We passed by Pine Grove Bar & Grill and continued north into the woods. This trail was freshly groomed, thin and a little rough, but still very rideable. We went left at the "Big Y", then west on 18W towards Boulder Lake. We ran into the Groomer Boys on the way to Boulder Lake. They were pulling snow from the edge of the trail, spreading it out onto the trail, and grooming it smooth up on the riding surface of the trail. The result was a decent trail to ride on, and we were very grateful for that. Click on photos (sorry they're a little blurry) to enlarge:

We made our way out to Langlade County and into Boulder Lake Sno-Goers' trails. The first section of trail was freshly groomed and in great shape, but when we made our first turn into the woods, the trail was a little choppy- it had not been groomed in a while. Overall, the trail was in ok shape- plenty of snow- as we made a sort loop through Langlade County before coming back into Red Arrow Townsend trails. These trails were perfectly groomed and in fabulous shape as we cruised down towards Animal's Bear Trail . No time to stop today, so we came back into Chute Pond trails and headed into the tornado zone. The groomers had been through ahead of us, and there was adequate snow for us to ride on as we made out way back to 4 Corners. We headed east on 18E and ran into the Groomer Boys again. We gave them a "thumbs up" as we passed by, and worked our way through the woods to the 7S RR grade. The grade was in surprisingly good shape as we headed south to Mountain. We filled up at Parkside BP, and met Chris and Craig there. They told us to get going or we'd be late for Dylan's party, so we boogied home down the grade.

We got home, picked up Sherri and Dusty, and headed over to Doze Inn for Dylan's 21st birthday party. I took just a few photos to share- especially the cake Larry picked out especially for Dylan- click on photos to enlarge:

Special thanks to Larry, Della, and everyone else for making this a great party for Dylan. We made plans to ride Saturday- hope everyone gets out of bed and makes the ride!

Saturday, February 6, 2010. Temperature was 17 degrees and sunny at 9:15 am.

We met Mark & Barb, Dave & Mary, Dan & Jenni, Adam, Stephanie, Ken & Julie, Laken, her friend Carly, and Dusty on the lake and headed out on Bonita Creek. We went south on the 7S RR grade, which was freshly groomed and in much improved condition than yesterday. We turned west on 2112 and found the same thing. The Groomer Boys had been out all night pulling more snow onto the trails, and grooming them up for some mighty nice riding for us. We continued west into the Tunnel, and headed north for 4 Corners. We turned onto the Mountain Lakes trail that led us to O'Neil's Halfway Bar where Carey joined our group. Chute Pond trails were in really nice shape- remember they were virtually unrideable this past Wednesday- a huge thanks to the Groomer Boys. We continued north into Paul Bunyan trails, which were in good condition as well, through the Cathedral of the Pines, and worked our way into Red Arrow trails. We knew when we crossed over into Red Arrow trails without seeing the sign, because the trails went from good to excellent- flat, smooth, and perfect. We gassed up at Townsend Shell, and headed north on the 7N RR grade. The grade was good until we entered Forest County and the 100 Mile Snow Safari trails, then if got choppy and rough as we worked our way to Wabeno. We continued north to Laona, then north from there the trail smoothed out a little as we made it to Popple River Pub. Click on photos to enlarge:

Ken & Julie were surprised by our negative review of the bloody mary there last week- Ken recommended the spicy version, so that's what we ordered. It was much better, but with a cheeseburger for lunch, the price tag was still too high for a bar in the middle of nowhere. After some confusion, only half the crew ate lunch there, then we headed over to Armstrong Creek to gas up and stop in at the Green Shack. The 100 Miler trail to Armstrong Creek was a nice improvement over the grade, and made for a really nice ride. The menu and prices at the Green Shack made me wish I had waited for lunch- the other half of our crew had some really good looking grub.

After our second lunch break, we headed south and west towards Wabeno. We made one wrong turn by following an ATV turn arrow, but righted ourselves quickly and got back on track. The 100 Miler 7S trail we rode was in nice shape as we headed into Wabeno. We got back on the grade and headed south towards Townsend. We had a little confusion as we got near Kathy's Valley Inn, our planned stop. Laken, Carey, Dusty, and Jenni turned south instead of stopping, so I followed. Laken then pulled over, and Carey and Dusty kept going south. Dylan came out to find us, and we turned around and headed back to Kathy's. Barb & I were laughing about losing more riders- we lost Floyd a few weeks ago. We called Dusty, and he and Carey were down the trail at Lakewood Motorsports . We told them to go over to Mulligan's Sports Bar & Grill and we would pick them up from there. The rest of the group ended up at Golden Eagle Pizza, and we picked up Dusty and headed back down the RR grade to the Pond. The grade was in really nice shape- the Groomer Boys did a really nice job with that trail, too.

We rode 167 miles today on some very nice trails. Traffic was pretty heavy, but overall the trails held up as good as can be expected. We saw groomers from Chute Pond, 100 Miler, and Red Arrow out while we were riding- keep your eyes open for them while you're on the trails. Here's how we graded the trails we rode today:

We saw the Oconto County Sheriff at Intersection 1, checking riders as they came by today. It's a good reminder to make a complete stop at all stop signs, and have your registration stickers up to date.

We had a little trouble getting my ZR 600 started this morning, Usually it's just two pulls, but it was stubborn today. We finally got 'er going, and headed off the lake at Bonita Creek a little after 7:30 am. As we headed north on the 7N RR grade, we were really impressed with how nice the trail was. We gassed up at Parkside BP, and continued north into Paul Bunyan trails. This section of the grade was by far the best we've ever seen it in- freshly groomed, flat, hard, and fast. We turned east onto a side trail just south of Lakewood, which was also freshly groomed. This winding trail through the woods was in great shape as we headed east, then north towards the Ski Hill. We continued north into Red Arrow trails, which were outstanding as usual. We headed up to the scenic overlook and took a break and a few pictures- the left two are on the overlook, the right two are how nice the trails were- click on photos below to enlarge:

We passed by Kathy's Valley Inn and went west to the Bob Kroll Memorial trail. We headed south onto another fabulous trail, and wound our way through the woods until we got to the turnoff west to the Boulder Lake Sno-Goers' trails. We cruised into Langlade County on yet another perfect trail before turning south onto a trail that had a day's worth of chop. It was still a "good enough" ride as we headed south. We took a break in the tornado zone and snapped a few pictures- click to enlarge:

We continued on towards Boulder Lake and the trails after the tornado zone were much smoother. We crossed back over into Chute Pond trails, which also has a day's worth of chop on them. They still rated "good enough" as we stopped at 4 Corners for a few pictures- click to enlarge:

We headed south towards the "Big Y" and through the woods, past Pine Grove Bar & Grill and into the tunnel to 2112. These trail were in very nice shape as we headed back towards Chute Pond. I stopped at Bonita Junction and took a few pictures to give you an idea of how nicely our trails have shaped up since Thursday when the Groomer Boys started their project- click to enlarge:

We rode 66 miles this morning on some really great trails. Only a small section was not freshly groomed, and those trails were still nice to ride on. Here's how we rated the trails we rode today:

One last big thanks to our Groomer Boys for getting our trails back in very nice riding condition. I wish I had taken off Monday and stayed and ridden more today before watching the Super Bowl. Note to self for next year...............