We usually have 4 or 5 riders at the most since one guy quit riding, I guess it was 2 years ago. He's retired and I'm retired. The guy I always ride with works for GM and so does another guy who rides with us sometimes. They usually get a couple of weeks off for shutdown around the 4th of July, while other people are tooling up for the new model year. There was one ride where it was just the 4 of us. The leader was on a Sportsman 1000, the next guy was on a Sportsman 850, then me on my Sportsman 500, and finally the slowpoke on his Sportsman 335. All Sportsman models, and all in order of engine size. Nobody planned it that way. It just happened. But even when I'm only the second rider there are times I'm either sucking dust, or hanging back from it when it suddenly gets blown away by a breeze and I don't know where the guy ahead of me is. This summer was the worst I can remember. It either didn't rain at all or barely rained for 2 months before we got there, and the trails were so dry that when it finally rained the ground soaked it right up. After it rains the top 1/4" or so might still be soaking wet when we go for a ride, but that gets churned up by the first ATV and there's dry sand underneath that's already been pulverized, and it's dusty again. Everyone except the leader ends up looking like a raccoon to some degree, except light around the eyes instead of dark.

 

I ride a lot by myself. Probably 60-70% of the time. If I had to wait for someone else to go I'd never get out.

I've ridden 150 miles in just the last few days by myself and I'm fine with that. Today I rode 42 miles.





This aspen tree was on the ground in front of this bathroom at the Silver King Mine today.
So I cut it up and dragged it out of the way.

 

I'm sure I'v posted a picture of this before. A friend of mine made it for me years ago for my Honda because
there was nowhere on the front to hook anything to.
I don't like jerking hard trying to pull someone out or move a tree off the trail with my winch cable. I pulled
the spool right out of a winch doing that years ago.
This just bolts on between the fairlead and the winch mount. Its the perfect anchor point for the front.



This is what it looked like when he made it for me 8 years ago. I drew the plans and he made it.
We called it the "Winch It". :grin2:



This was a few years ago before I carried a chainsaw.

You Tube

Its pretty tough.

 

Proper application of brute force.....

 

I like your Winch It. I think the steel rod in the center of my Glacier plow mount would be a good point to hook on to but never pulled that hard on it. I was surprised the tree broke before the tow strap did.

 

Frank, the tree was pretty dead so that's why it snapped so easily.





And this one on the rear for when I ride with other people.

 

 

You too!

 

Well I got out for another ride today hoping to find something to climb up in the snow.

You Tube

Been here a million times and record it every time.



I knew this would be challenging coming back up. My butt puckers when its dry.



This is the hill I was hoping had some snow and hadn't been packed down.



Looks like the only tracks were from hunters.



Didn't make it my first try. Backed up and hit it again and went over the top. I'm very pleased and impressed with these tires.



Up on top.



These Mud Wolfs have exceeded my expectations.



I hit this hard in high and still didn't make it. I made it just past that dirt spot in the trail by the trees.



Got caught in the ruts. I didn't want to back down, kind of in a bad way here.



Once out of the ruts I just rode out from here.



And believe it or not I managed to get stuck one more time.
I'm quite pleased with my new Warn Winch too.



And then I headed back home. Clear blue sunny skies today and 55°.



Once again washed and ready for the next ride.

 

Looks like an especially nice day for a ride.