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!
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…
Just a quick note…I uploaded some ATV parade photos on my MySpace and Facebook pages. I’ve posted a couple here, but check out my other photos, too, on MySpace and Facebook. And, don’t forget to leave me a note and let me know where you are planning to ride on the Iron Range this weekend!
I plan to blog a little more about the ATV parade when I get a spare moment here. But, if you were in attendance, let me know what you thought. I had a great weekend!
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!
Meet me and the crew from the Northern Traxx ATV Club up the North Shore in Silver Bay! Though I mostly ride on the Iron Range, I’m a member of ATVAM and I’ve gotta tell you about this great event.
ATVAM is hosting an ATV PARADE to celebrate its 25th anniversary. We are planning to break the WORLD record for the most ATVs in a parade. The Parade is being held in Silver Bay, MN, on Saturday, June 14th. Our goal is to have 2500 ATVs to participate in the parade. So grab your family, friends & buddies and plan on making history with us this year in Silver Bay!!!
For more information you can contact me or visit: http://www.atvparade.com/.
Preregister before Saturday and get a free Memorabilia T-Shirt. (you may register anytime up until the event).
See you in Silver Bay the weekend of June 14th!!!
Don’t let the forecast stop you!!!
The forecast for the coming weekend isn’t bad for riding the trails here on the Iron Range. Friday is calling for a 50% chance of rain (perfect dust control for Saturday). Saturday is 45 degrees, Sunday is 55 and sunny. Whatever the weather, I’ll be out riding! Last weekend I was up by the Thistledew Camp and had a great time on the trails up there. We rode for over 6 hrs and never had to ride on the same trail twice. With awesome sand trails winding through the huge growths of Pine trees, this area is perfect for ATV riding.
This weekend? I’m probably going east right out of the Hibbing/Chisholm area. Final destination? Liquid Larry’s in Kinney. The ride to Liquid Larry’s is great, you can stay high and dry or get full of mud. Either way, Larry (owner of Liquid Larry’s) will welcome you and your crew in for refreshments and some great chow. If your wondering about fueling up or grabbing more ice, you’ll be going through the north side of Buhl and riding right by a convenient gas station.
If you’re planning to ride on the Iron Range this year, let me know where you’re planning to hop on the trail…and let me know when you’re headed this way.
See you on the trails!
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.
