After insisting that I sleep at his house Tuesday night, # 2 and # 1 (formerly # 7) rolled out of bed and shot over to Townsend Common to meet with # 3, # 5 & # 10. # 4 bagged out with a mystery illness. # 3 was a trooper and drove up alone earning early points for WPR Racer of the year. 5 WPR Racers drove north to Lancaster, NH to get registrations at a local Polaris Dealership. This was approximately 40 miles north of Franconia Notch or as # 2 calls it simply: "THE NOTCH".
We rushed off to unload for a big day of riding in Nash Stream. We got dressed and fired up the machines. There was at least a foot of snow on the ground and the conditions were fabulous compared to all reports. We got going down trail 5, smooth and wide and perfect for a little early season warmup. The boys all had communicators and were probably solving the world's problems while blasting their way 26 miles up to Dixville Peak. There were a lot of bumps on the mountain so it seemed strange that we had only gone 26 miles. It was a fairly steep mountain where we took a break and talked about all the tweaking we did in the offseason.
Next, we were on our way up 110 to the Balsams Trail for some intense riding at a pretty fast pace. # 3 with his usual spot leading the way set the pace on his XC. # 10 was next on his sharp doo'. # 5 sporting the Booga Green Machine and # 2 on his doodle' alternated the pecking order. I know they were keeping an eye on me and my new rocket ship. Thanks boys, I appreciate it.
I had a chance to ride the Yamadoodle, it's pretty cool, still rocks. Nice changes bro. I also got an extended ride on # 5's Cat', What a nice riding sled. I enjoyed it. My new sled was all I had hoped for. It was as fast and comfortable as I had remembered ( from a short ride on # 3's last winter ).
Back to the ride, we rode to lunch at a little spot called the Sportsman Lodge where the cuisine was "not as good as the riding" We planned the rest of our trip there. We headed off to trail 20 to 112. That trail ended and it forced us back on 137 to 136 to 20 up to Pittsburgh. We had stopped and asked directions to get some gas. Apparently, the XC's don't get the gas mileage the others get. I recall a sign that said "Pittsburgh: The Northern Most and Largest Town in New Hampshire" . So we were in the town that borders Canada, but we really weren't that close. After re-fueling and having a drink, we blasted off into the wilderness for some more riding. At this point we were at about 100 miles. I was thinking that we would only get about 140 miles for the day, but I was mistaken, was I ever...
I did not have communication, since the EDGE X wiped me out or $. I was wondering when we would start heading back to the trucks. I was having fun, but did not have a map or any idea where the hell we were. I would say " When are we planning on getting back" or " When are we getting gas" those were my main concerns at that point. After dark, then came the snow... lots of snow. The trails began to collect some fluffy white loose snow. It softened the trails a little, but vision became a slight hinderence. I had changed from high beams to low beams and back 30 times.
Then while taking trail 19 we got lost, the trail ended. We went back and forth on a paved road about 6 times. It got a little eery when we turned the machines off and read the maps by flashlight. It was dark and we were running low on gas.
So we decided to backtrack. The map showed a route that was not direct. We had to go the wrong direction to get back and we still needed gas. # 5 needed oil since he was dangerously low ( Mandatory oil topoff and inspection next time? ). We finally got the gas/oil around 7:30pm. Fatigued and mentally spent we rode the final 40 or so miles back to trucks down familiar trail 5.
197 miles, 12 hours of riding and one heck of a maiden voyage for my Edge X. Not over, we still had to drive home, leaving at 9:30pm at a snail's pace due to the freaking blizzard we were in. We finally got to Leominster at 1:30am, with little time to sleep before driving to Easton to shower and get dressed. I was facing the unenviable task of getting to my desk by 7:00am in Boston, I had called in sick so I couldn't even talk about my trip.
It took a few days to recover physically, but ****, when do we go again?
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member # 2, Club Founder, Director, 2003.Dash For Cash Club Champion, 2001 Pole position Dash for cash, 2000 Dash for Cash Champion
