Tag Archive for 'Iron Range ATV trails'

Finally a Machine built for IRON RANGE riding!!!

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on August 7, 2008
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Things are finally starting to get back to normal each day (with a new baby in the house)! It’ll sure be something when I’m able to get him on the trails with me. Though that time is a little ways away, I can’t wait.

Anyway, I found some time to kick back and page through ATV magazine and thought I’d blog a little about what I discovered…

First, let me start off by saying this…..for the record, I’m not biased because I ride Arctic Cat. I do not favor one particular manufacturer over another. Like anything else in this world, there are pros and cons to each of the machines. In fact, in our typical riding group, my buddy Dave rides a Can-am 800, Gary runs a Polaris Sportsman 700, Ed hits the trails with a Grizzly and then there’s me (blowing them all away, of course) with my Thundercat (Cat, of course, sets the standard for the rest - LOL). All are really great machines!!!

Check out the new MUD PRO 700EFI H1 from Arctic Cat!!! In the article I read says the Mud Pro comes stock with 28″ Outlaw MST’s, aluminum rims, it has 14″ of ground clearance, comes stock with a 3000 lb winch, front and rear bumpers, new clutch and gear set-up, awesome new color (my opinion of course) and last but not least a SNORKEL KIT!!!

If you read Minnesota Laws. they state the rule for a Snorkel is that it can’t be higher than 6″ above the stock air intake port. Now the stock air intake is snorkel height!!! Why is this such a big deal to me???? If you were there in Silver Bay when we had a Heated Debate with a CO on the snorkel laws you’d understand….. Thats another story to be told later!!!!

Whatever you ride (especially on the Iron Range) it’s worth looking at the new MUD PRO from Cat!

Or ask Todd and the guys at Pokegama Lawn and Sport. My Favorite place!!!!

POKEGAMA LAWN & SPORT
20760 US Highway 169
Grand Rapids, MN 55744
Phone: (218) 326-1200
Fax: (218) 326-1517
email: sales@lawnandsport.com

4th Annual Ride with the Disabled

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on August 1, 2008
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I know this is SUPER late notice, but I just came across this great Iron Range event in Nashwauk this weekend.

4th Annual Ride with the Disabled
August 1-3, 2008
Nashwauk Recreation Center - Nashwauk, MN

Friday, August 1 (today) -   Registration from 5-8 p.m.; social hour 8 p.m. - ?

Saturday, August 2 - Registration from 7-9 a.m.; guided trail rides 9 a.m.; dinner at 6 p.m. PLUS great door prizes!

Sunday, August 3 - Ride from 9 a.m. until noon

Pre-registration is available at The Range Riders web site.

Tickets:
Pre-registered:   Adults = $10; 12 & under = $5
At-the-door: Adults= $15; 12 & under = $10

Fore more information, contact Jeanne Benolken at 218-885-3573 or Mike Kennedy at 218-885-2648.

Full hook-ups available at the Nashwauk campground on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Primitive camping available.

A busy summer, but still plenty of time to ride the Range!

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on July 31, 2008
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Between having a new little guy in our house and trying to get some maintenance completed on our home, I haven’t had much time to sit down and blog about my riding in the area - because, in all honesty, I haven’t had much time to get out on the trails!

Anyway, I managed to get out and ride on Monday. We didn’t go too far and we rode on some of the more popular trails in the area. I can tell you this….bring a lot of bug spray and a chain saw with if you go exploring! I swear we did more logging than riding. The wind storms we’ve had pushed over a lot of trees and even blocked off some of the more remote trails. Even the few heavy rains we’ve had have managed to wash away a few of the small bridges. I also planned to take some photos of our ride, but, as my luck would have it, the digital camera I use when I go riding won’t even turn on anymore!

I’ve been thinking a lot about blogging about some the advantages and disadvantages of ATVs (like my ride from Arctic Cat) versus side-by-sides (like these from Polaris), but I haven’t had the time to sit down and blog about it, yet! So, if any of you out there can think of any on your own, I’d love to hear from you!

If you’ve never been riding in the area before, the Iron Range Tourism Bureau is a great source for maps and all ATV/OHV info. Plus, they’ve got great information about lodging, dining and nightlife in the area, too. Check ‘em out here.

For those of you less familiar with the trails, I’d encourage you to check out Minnesota’s first designated Off-highway Vehicle recreation area in Gilbert. The park offers a HUGE variety of terrain for both beginner and more advanced riders. Best of all? It’s free (though your ride must be registered in your state of residence)! It’s open from 8 a.m. to one hour prior to sunset each night all summer long! Check it out!

Let me know where you’re riding on the Iron Range and what you’d rather ride - an ATV or a side-by-side UTV. I wanna hear about it!

ATV Park Expansion Planning Continues

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on July 14, 2008
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From the Minnesota DNR:
Planning resumes for OHV recreation area expansion at Virginia

The public is invited to share their thoughts about the design plans for the addition to the Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area (OHVRA) with citizen advisory committee members and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resourcse (DNR) at a committee meeting on Tuesday, July 22.

The meeting will be at held at 6 p.m. at the Mountain Iron Community Center, 8586 Enterprise Drive South, just south of Highway 169 between Mineral Avenue and Mud Lake Road.

The 11 members of the advisory committee will discuss recommendations for developing and using this new 2,500-acre site near Virginia. Project planners and site designers will also share their recommended design plan for the site. They will also summarize issues and options that they considered in selecting a final design plan.

Public review of the proposal will continue until Sept. 15.

“The Iron Range OHVRA has been operating on former minelands near Gilbert since 2005,” said Les Ollila, DNR regional trails and waterways manager in Grand Rapids. “The Legislature authorized the addition of the 2,500-acre site east of Virginia in 1999, but planning was slowed by continuing negotiations with land and mineral owners.”

When completed, the Gilbert and Virginia sites will be linked via an OHV trail under Highway 135. Both sites will feature recreational trails and riding areas specially designed for OHV use. Construction on the Virginia addition to the OHVRA is expected to begin in 2009, following revisions to the facility’s master plan and completion of a project environmental assessment.

To review draft site designs or to submit written comments, contact DNR planner Brian McCann by calling (651) 259-5627 or toll free 1-888-MINNDNR (646-6367), or at brian.mccann@dnr.state.mn.us. The DNR Web site, brian.mccann@dnr.state.mn.us. The DNR Web site, www.mndnr.gov or www.findthetrails.com and have more information about this proposal.

ATV Youth Safety Training is in high GEAR….

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on July 11, 2008
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It’s not to late to get the kids registered in one of the Youth Safety Training classes scheduled for this summer! There are classes spread out all across the Iron Range but where ever you live, you can find a training class near you.

If you need help or just questions about how to get started you can check the DNR website, ATVAM.org, and/or ask me and I’ll help you through it the best I can. I’m a State Certified Youth Safety Trainer and promote youth safety 100%.

Listed below is the summer Youth Training Schedule, I hope you still have room in your busy schedules to get the kids signed up to attend. If your weekends are full, there are some classes during the weekdays. If the mornings are full there are classes in the evening. Whatever works for you and your family will be time well spent at one of these classes.

The class is easy, interesting and fun. The kids will spend some time watching a DVD and answering questions and about 4-6 hrs of hands on training depending on the class size.

For additional class information or local instructor contacts, please check the All Terrain Vehicle Association of Minnesota website at www.atvam.org. For general information on ATV safety training call (888) 646-6367 or (651) 296-6157.

 
     

07/12/08

Grand Rapids

Itasca County

ATV Safety Training Class

07/12/08

Nashwauk

Itasca County

ATV Safety Training Class

07/12/08

Bagley

Clearwater County

ATV Safety Training Class

07/12/08

Caledonia

Houston County

ATV Safety Training Class

07/13/08

South Haven

Wright County

ATV Safety Training Class

07/13/08

St.Peter

Nicollet County

ATV Safety Training Class

07/15/08

Alborn

St. Louis County

ATV Safety Training Class

07/26/08

Aitkin

Aitkin County

ATV Safety Training Class

07/31/08

Warren

Marshall County

ATV Safety Training Class

08/01/08

Warren

Marshall County

ATV Safety Training Class

08/02/08

Floodwood

St. Louis County

ATV Safety Training Class

08/09/08

Tracy

Lyon County

ATV Safety Training Class

08/12/08

Duluth

St. Louis County

ATV Safety Training Class

08/16/08

Stacy

Anoka County

ATV Safety Training Class

08/16/08

Roseau

Roseau County

ATV Safety Training Class

08/16/08

Thief River Falls

Pennington County

ATV Safety Training Class

08/16/08

Effie

Itasca County

ATV Safety Training Class

08/16/08

Waite Park

Stearns County

ATV Safety Training Class

08/23/08

Fairmont

Martin County

ATV Safety Training Class

08/23/08

Forest Lake

Anoka County

ATV Safety Training Class

08/23/08

Spring Valley

Fillmore County

ATV Safety Training Class

08/23/08

Sauk Rapids

Benton County

ATV Safety Training Class

08/30/08

Bovey

Itasca County

ATV Safety Training Class

09/13/08

Genola

Morrison County

ATV Safety Training Class

09/13/08

Royalton

Morrison County

ATV Safety Training Class

09/27/08

Grand Rapids

Itasca County

ATV Safety Training Class

09/27/08

Cloquet

Carlton County

ATV Safety Training Class

10/11/08

Grand Rapids

Itasca County

ATV Safety Training Class

10/25/08

Proctor

St. Louis County

ATV Safety Training Class

What’s your Favorite???

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on June 24, 2008
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Mine is SPEEDWERX.com (651.982.6020)
Clutch kits, CDI boxes, Exhaust, Apparel, Tires, etc…..

Being one of the few out there with a new Arctic Cat Thundercat 1000, I was suprised to see an ad about a new line of performance parts. The company had the Thundercat on the list of machines in which they have performance accessories for. They were right!

In “awe” of actually finding a vendor that makes performance parts for the new Thundercat, I forgot the gentleman’s name that I talked to! But when you call (651.982.6020) there you won’t get an automated recording and have to push 50 different combinations of numbers to talk to someone. When I called they answered the phone on the first ring & had all the time I required to talk about what is best for my machine and/or style of riding! They have a full line of ARCTIC CAT and POLARIS performance parts and they’ll even tell you what they’re working on that isn’t released yet. Not convienced that SPEEDWERX is the company to do business with yet??? Check out they’re website www.speedwerx.com, find what your looking for and read all the info on the products they have. If you’re still unsure, they have a tech line you can call and talk to them about your question. They even recommend that in some/most cases you should call them BEFORE ordering to be sure your set up right the first time.

My order is on the way!!!

Let me know your favorite performance accessory…

Good time had by all

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We didn’t break the World Record for Minnesota at the ATV Parade in Silver Bay but it was a good time had by all!

Everyone I talked to in Silver Bay had a great time.  Can-am and Polaris showed up with there race and demo trailers.  Can-am was letting people take test rides on a full line of ATVs they have out.  The hotels, restaurants and bars were full all weekend and were overly nice to us.  I haven’t gotten an email from ATVAM yet on the final numbers from the weekend but as the news and news papers reported we ended up with 1084 machines riding in the parade, about 50 short!  It was a bummer to hear that after all the work everyone had put into it.  It was a learning experience for ATVAM and all of us on what it takes to get that many machines together, but now we know what we have to do to beat the WORLD RECORD next time.

Share your pictures and stories from your weekend at the ATV parade!

Thanks to everyone that came up and said “hi”, hope to hear from you!


ATV pull sled test runs

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on June 4, 2008
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I went out and did some test runs with the Northern Traxx ATV club’s pull sled yesterday and shot some video when I was out there.

I posted them on YouTube for everyone to see.

Here are the links to each of the test runs:

Test Run 1
Test Run 2
Test Run 3

It’s a great time to hop on the ATV trails on the Iron Range right now!  Everything is nice and green and it’s not too hot or too cold outside!

Be sure to keep checking back & let me know where you’re planning to ride on the Iron Range!

Trails on the Range were GREAT this weekend!

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on May 27, 2008
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Where did you ride this past weekend?

On Saturday morning, our group left from Chisholm, did our bi-annual highway clean-up, rode up to Hwy 5 Bar & Grill for lunch, continued to River Side in the Side Lake area and headed back to Chisholm about dark. Another group I talked to left from Virginia and made a full day of riding on the trails between Virginia to the Britt Lounge.

Everyone I talked to said the trails conditions all across the Range were GREAT! It will be hard to beat the great weather we had on this Memorial Day weekend!  Saturday was almost 80 degrees all day with a late night thunderstorm that was cleared out by Sunday morning. The rain late Saturday night really helped knock down the dust for the Sunday afternoon ride. With the wet spring and then a week of dry nice weather, you could play in endless mud holes or stay high and dry on the trails. Either way it was a weekend for the books!!! I have to mention NOT one mosquito bite over the weekend, but from here on out I’d recommend a good bug and tick spray for every ride……

It’s Time to Ride!

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on April 15, 2008
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It’s time to RIDE!!! With the snow almost gone and the swamps still frozen, this is a great time to get out and ride! It’s an ideal time to get to all the places you want to see but can’t get there without swamping your machine.

If you were to come riding with me this coming weekend, we’d be on our way up to the Wooden Table Inn north of Buhl. The terrain is beautiful up there - huge pine trees and nice sandy trails all over! At the Wooden Table, you can fill up your gas tank and eat the BEST PRIME RIB you’ve ever tasted!For all of you who have ridden the trails on the Iron Range, let me know where your favorite trails are located! If you have a favorite watering hole or restaurant, I wanna hear about it. And, if you’ve got a new ride (ATV), or great new gear that’s a “must-have” let me know what you’ve got and why you like it!

Be sure to check back for more info about Iron Range ATV trails, new equipment, dining and entertainment hot spots and more as the snow continues to melt away on the Iron Range.