Saying goodbye to an amazing athlete

Even though I didnt know him, I felt sad about the death of Jeremy Lusk yesterday. I follow freestyle motocross a bit and always watched for Lusk to take things bigger and more difficult every year. I guess, that caught up with him when a double grab backflip when wrong and the resulting crash left him with massive brain and spinal cord damage, which eventually lead to his passing on monday. 

The motorsports world is a small one and all of us involved are affected when something bad happens to someone in our community. Sometimes that means we have a chance to look at what we do for a fun or for a living and take a moment to realize what the consequences of what we do can be. 

My prayers go out to Jeremy's friends and family. 

The truth, and the "beep"in side of doin test rides

Now, I dont want to make any enemies here... but when a video clip like this one comes across your desktop you cant just ignore it. I mean, Taera and I get along great. I like traveling with her and I like shooting stories with her. But, because Ive spent a considerable amount of time with her this past winter I can say with confidence... she'd do the same to me... so here is a behind the scenes look at Taera shooting a test ride. For the finished product make sure you watch every episode of Snowtrax TV or look for the episodes online at Snowtraxtv.com

On a different note. Here is a snowman I built for this little girl while we were on the Grey Bruce trip. She liked it.

 

I just thought everyone would like to see a killer snowman... 

Untill next time...

Grey Bruce, perfect trails, perfect tails!!!

Recently I accompanied Taera on a trip to the Grey Bruce region of Ontario. She was doing a story for the show, and I was driving the truck. Really, its a sweet gig. I just drive to a location, unload the sleds and ride. Then, at the end of the week, I get paid... dang eh!This trip really turned into an adventure for a number of reasons. First, we decided to go on a groundhog hunt... seeing as how Wiarton ON, is located in the Grey Bruce region and Wiarton Willy is a groundhog. It made sense at the time anyway. Needless to say, with the help of our local contact Brian Plumstead, we found him. 

And, according to eyewitness reports, he's a big fan of Yamahas Nitro. I was not surprised to hear he did, in fact see his shadow and we'll be having 6 more weeks of winter. Apparently he wants to ride more.

Next, Taera was doing some winter camping for a night so me and the boys took off for an epic ride on some of the best trails ive ridden this year. Chris Hughes, Bill Tennison  and I all ended up at one of the many Club Houses in the area, which, on this particular evening was hosting a wing night. Now, just so were clear... this is a big deal. Id estimate over 100 sleds outside and easily 120 people inside. We came, we ate wings, we ripped it up. Thats all I have to say about that. 

Before I sign off for the night I really have to make a point of saying that I was extremely impressed with every inch of the Grey Bruce Regions trails.  Sure, we hit some bumps, I even cartwheeled my Nitro in a field. 

But the bumps were pretty small the and field incident was all my fault. Over the 3 days we were in town I put on over 300km. This is an area id go back to in a heart beat... maybe next time ill even get to ride with Willy... who knows. 

What I wear on my head... and what I think about it.

This season ive put on just about 3000km so far. Ive ridden in some of the harshest conditions (aka: COLD) ive ever ridden in. And, when so many of the guys I ride with are switching back from their open face to full face helmets on the coldest of days to avoid frost bite. Ive stuck with my setup with no problems. I was thinking about why my system works so good. Heres what I came up with.

My Helmet:

I wear a Z1R Rail. This is not what most would consider a super high end helmet. Its well priced, not cheap, but not unrealistic like so many others. But, I dont buy my helmets. So price is not a issue for me. What I do care about, after wearing every other brand of helmet you can get at one time or another, is how a helmet feels and functions. My Z1R Rail fits perfect in size XXL. (yeah, big melon, I know) It looks amazing in the blue and white color scheme I picked. It has just the right amount of ventilation for a warmer riding day, but not too much for a cold day. Its built extremely well. I take head protection seriously cause its the only one I got. Ive torn this helmet all apart and found it to be made extremely well, of high end materials and with no flaws. Ive also tested my helmet on a number of occasions I wont go into here. The end result is that I am, still here. So, im convinced this helmet is safe. 

My Goggles:

Like my lids, Ive had the opportunity to use pretty much every goggle brand you can get your hands on. From Dragon, to Oakley, Thor, Scott, Answer, Spy and many others. I have a collection of them in my basement. Furthermore, and I dont want to sound like im bragging, but I get to use these products for free. Yay! What im trying to get across is that at the end of the day, when I say Ive found something I like its because I HAVE tried many different option and its NOT because Ive spent my money on one or the other. Of all the choices I have, the goggle I keep coming back to is Snow Warp from Smith Optics   For some reason this goggle has managed to keep me warm and fog free on the coldest, snowiest, sweatiest, rainiest days on the snow. From the mountains to the flats, in all conditions this goggle works. Ive had Snow Warp goggles last for so long the foam has started to deteriorate. They are durable, good looking and easy to disassemble and clean. You can find lenses for them anywhere. I think the

 reason they keep your face so warm in the snow is the super wide foam. It fills in the gaps between your goggle frame and your helmet. Like a seal, that keeps out the cold. No other goggle does this good a job in this varied of conditions. To illustrate how much I like these goggles, Even though I have received a couple pairs for free from smith this season, I wanted to make sure I had enough to cover every different lighting condition. So I actually paid for a couple more pairs. I could have bought any goggle I wanted. But, I chose to buy goggles I already have, because they are so good I wanted to have more of them. Dont even think about it... just go buy them. 

Anti-Fogging:

I wear a No-Fog Mask under my helmet. I dont wear a no name brand knock off model. I bought the brand name No fog because its the best. Because no other mask protects your face from cold and your goggles from fogging like a No-Fog. When I did finally find one (they can be hard to get ahold of mid season) I bought both of the ones the dealership had in stock. I never want to be without it. I know the people at No-Fog. They sponsored me all the years I raced. They know what they are doing and make a great product that works. If your wearing an open faced lid, you should also be wearing a No-Fog.

So thats it. Thats my story. 

Until next time...

Serious E-Tec thoughts.

Yesterday I was riding the Ski-Doo MXZ 600 E-Tec Renegade and I just happened to be flipping through the digital gauge and saw that the sled has over 1700 miles on it So, I flipped through the gauges of the other 3 E-Tecs we have between Snowtrax and Supertrax and found out that each of them has between 500 and 1500 miles. Combines, they have about 4500 miles. So far not ONE has giving us even a minor problem. They all start and run perfectly every time, even at -35, which was the temp here all week last week. 

As I was riding I got thinking about how much I really like the Renegade. Most of the miles on this particular sled are mine. Throughout the day I was switching back and forth between the Renegade and the TNT, both E-Tecs and I was critiquing how I felt about each of them. Overall, Ive decided that I just, plain and simple, REALLY love the MXZ Renegade, Adrenaline Package, E-tec. I just love that sled. Its warm, its really fast, it starts and runs PERFECTLY every time. It rides amazing, handles spot on and is extremely comfortable to both sit on, and ride for 145 miles, like I did yesterday. 

Just a note: it was -24 when we left in the morning and -18 when we got home. We rode 145 miles through 4 different clubs trails. Some were great, and id like to send a big THANK YOU out to the crew and volunteers from the HCSA (Haliburton County Snowmobile Association) for the amazing trails. They were near perfect all day. Considering that we met 201 sleds in 145 miles (I kept track all day) and their trails were still perfect, they deserve alot of credit.

Some of the trails we rode were the worst ive ridden all year. This is where the Renegade really showed how comfortable it is, no matter what the conditions.

Part way through the day I stopped on the trail along side my dad, Mark, of Supertrax Magazine. We had been switching back and forth all day. My comment was something to the effect of the Renegade being a lazy mans snowmobile. He asked me what I meant and I simply explained that for me, the Renegade allowed me to ride faster, more easily, for a longer period of time while keeping me more comfortable than almost any other sled ive ever ridden. We switched off and about 40 minutes later we stopped again and he agreed. 

Now, I could choose to ride just about anything I want this season. And I have put big miles on a number of other sleds. Some ive like, some ive very much disliked. But, on this day, on these trails, the E-Tec Renegade was doin it just right.  

Do 3 E-Tec's make a 3-Tec?

So the goal for today was simple. Shoot the ride footage and component shots for a co-operative test ride between Taera and I on the 2009 Ski-Doo MXZ 600 E-Tec and E-Tec Renegade. Sounds simple right. Let me tell you my friends... nothin is simple when you've got monkeys like us doin the work. 

First, Taera decided it would be a good idea to lock the short track E-Tec in her trailer and loose the keys. Not a big deal. Just cut the lock... with no bolt cutters. Solution 2, cut the lock off with a Sawzall... not gonna happen. So, finally, I ran home, got my Makita cordless grinder and chopped that sucker into little pieces. BAM!! Trailer is open! Luke = 1, Lock = 0!!

Then, we headed out on the trail. Things were going smoothly. Lots of test ride footage was being recorded by the ever intrepid Camera Guy Doug.

Then... it happened. We passed a section of trail I have ridden by a million times and we have shot almost as many. A cliff on the side of the trail. Maybe 15 feet tall, straight down to the trail. Ive looked at that cliff so many times and though... "I bet I could drop off that" but Ive never done it. Today was different... today was the day. 

So, I fired up my Ski-Doo MXZ 600 E-Tec Renegade, picked my way through the trees to the top of the cliff... took one look and just drove off. Needless to say... it went well. Nothing broken, no problem. 

After that we continued on shooting more test ride footage. Then we hit the lake. It was all powdery and smooth... just gross. I had to do something about it. So, it was time for some pow turns. Pow turns are great... everyone love them. As Ron Burgundy would say "drink it in... it always goes down smooth" and so do pow turns. 

The rest of the day was filled with other stuff. We didnt break anything. So thats good. 

Make sure you stay tuned to Snowtrax TV to see the full review of Ski-Doos MXZ 600 E-Tec.

Until next time... 

Moms Birthday Celebrated LESTER style

They say "the family that plays together, stays together". I come from a family that plays together. And, fortunately for everyone involved. We all love to play in the snow. Especially when its on sleds. So, for Moms birthday this year, the whole family, including my brother A.J., sister in law Lindsay, mom, dad and my wife Emmy all suited up and headed for Dorset, to The Fiery Grill for a bite, which by the way was PACKED. And, just so were clear, this is THE place to go if your in Dorset. 

Now, my wife, Emmy, loves to ride sleds, as does A.J.s wife, Lindsay. But they like to go at a bit more moderate pace. My mom on the other hand can keep up with anyone. So, for this trip, A.J. and Lindsay rode the Ski-Doo GTX 1200 and Emmy and I rocked the Arctic Cat TZ1 Turbo. 

Mom rode the Ski-Doo GSX 1200 and Dad was on the Yamaha Vector. Needless to say, we all had a great time. The girls all did a superb job of either driving or riding and mom had a great B-day with her kids.  

P.S. We had to borrow the hood of the Supertrax Z1 Turbo Sno Pro for our TZ1 cause we didnt have a permit yet. But dont be fooled, the TZ1 Turbo should have a black hood on it.