Storage Dilemma on my snowmobile

It seems like all the newer mountain snowmobiles have eliminated storage all together.  There used to be compartments built into the seat, but that was back when the seats where much larger.  Now they have shrunk everything down and I guess storage is a secondary priority to manufacturers.  This problem has become very apparent this year when we went out on our first ride last Friday.

October 26th snowmobiling - Video

Here is a quick video of all the snow.  There is also a blip about how the T-motion performs.  My brother the one narating in the video.  It is his new 2011 Ski Doo (He bought it out of the box with 0 miles) with T-motion installed.  I am on the sled at the top of the hill.  He is coming off of a 2007 REV chassis, so the upgrade is substantial.  You can really see the difference in the way he is riding if you compared it to last year.  In my opinion he started this year (rusty and all) looking better than he finished last year.  Snow conditions probably had something to do with it, but I believe it is mostly the sled. 

Keep you eyes peeled for more videos of our first ride.  I am not very good at editing yet, so it takes me a while to put a video together with a bit more action involved.  For now FEAST YOUR EYES ON ALL THAT NEW SNOW.

Please go ahead and subscribe to my blog and Youtube channel,

Thanks for reading,
DPS

Bret Rasmussen snowmobiling seminar

I just attended the Snowest Intermountain snowmobile show.  It was pretty cool.  There where a lot cool innovative products.  I enjoyed going around and seeing all the displays.  But the real reason I like to go is for the free riding seminar put on by pro rider Bret Rasmussen.  He is a mountian snowmobiling celebrity, and an excelent rider (one of the best in the world.)  Naturally I was sitting as close as I could to the front.  I was on the second row and pretty close to the center.  I really wanted to hear what he had to say. 

Watch the video by clicking READ MORE.

SNOWMOBILING IN OCTOBER

I went out on the first ride of the season today.  It was awesome.  Never has a first season ride been so good.  Snow over our hoods, powder everywhere.  Loved it.

I was disappointed however in the fact that when i got up there and tried to use my new Contour GPS camera the battery was dead.  I must have left it on all night.  I was super bumbed out.  It would have been the first real video with my camera and I was excited to use it.  Now I am going to have to wait another couple of weeks before it snows again enough to go out.

Fortunately my brother had his GoPro so we did get some footage.  I will share once I get it from him and edit it a bit.  But for now... Click READ MORE to see the pictures.

Planning the first ride of the season

We have had uncharacteristic storms come threw northern Utah this week. My favorite riding area got hammered with snow. So I am going out to ride in it tomorrow. But with the first ride of the season there is always a checklist of things to get done before you can go play. Here is mine:

Just takes a bit of cash...

A couple of days ago I was talking to my brother-in-law about some cool ideas.  I brought up amphibious vehicles.  In the past these vehicles are capable of going on land and water, but at snail like speeds.  Where is the fun in that.  Now there is a solution out there.  The first high speed amphibious vehicle.  It looks a lot like a 4-wheeler, but it can also go around 45 mph on water like a jet ski. It just takes finding that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  If you can fork out $40,000 for a four wheeler- Jet Ski combo then this thing is for you.  When you buy it, give me a call because I would like to go for a ride. 




Thanks for reading
DPS

Your first time

There is a first for everything. Sometimes we have to push ourselves to try new things. This can be challenging and even scary at times. For my Nephew he took on the challenge of riding a motorcycle in the sand dunes for the first time. He looks like a natural. In reality he is a very good rider with a lot of common sense, so riding a motorcycle didn't seem that daunting a task to him. He did very well. Rode the thing like he had been riding for a while, but at the very end he crashed. It shook him up a bit, but he was fine. The bike didn't fair as well.



Thanks for Reading,
DPS

The New Macarena, Gangnam Style

I have a hard time understanding why Gangnam Style is crazing the nation, but then I think back to other crazes like the Macarena.  That dance was just as dumb, but we all did it.  Well there is now even robots doing Gangnam Style.  Pretty cool.  I am a sucker for technology.  I cant imagine how much time it probably took a programmer to get the robot to do the dance moves.  Probably a very long time.  Anyways, thought you all might like this.  Not much to do with power sports, but entertaining non the less.




Thanks for reading,
DPS

The cost of going on a diet

It can be expensive to lose weight. No I am not talking about that extra jelly role you have aquired over the years from eating greesy food.  I am talking about making your snowmobile, motorcycle, or 4 wheeler lighter.  The name of the game is Weight vs Power.  You can have as much power as you want in the world, but if your machine feels heavy you are going to get tired.  When you are tired you make mistakes.  When you make mistakes you get stuck or Hurt or dead.  Hopefully it never results in injury or death, but you get my drift.

Projects are fun

Sometimes we get these grand ideas to complete some task.  For me this week it was remodeling two bathrooms in my house. My wife had grown tired of our unoriginal cookie cutter bathrooms.  So she came to me with the grand plan.  I of cource was persuaded through constant pressure to say yes.  Today I finished one of the bathrooms except for some wall touchup and haning a mirror.  It looks quite a bit better than it did.  The Color ont he picture looks funny, but it is actualy a light green color, not a puke brown color.  Sorry about that.

So that is enough about my wifes project.  I want to tell you all more a bout a project I have been working on myself. I have been working on the www.discusspowersports.com forum. I am almost ready to launch.  There are just a couple more things to tie up, then I will let you all see and join the forum.  I am excited about where it could go.  I just wanted to give you guys some background as to why I decided to start a forum.

Doing Good Business

We have all had those experiences with a business that leaves us wishing we had never made the mistake of using them.  I have had my share of such experiences.  However this post's goal isn't to complain about crappy business owners.  It is to hopefully help the smaller business that goes above and beyond to make their customer happy.  I will just name a few who have helped me most recently.  I hope you go use them too for your needs.

If you are ever in New Zealand

I have a coworker who spent some time down in New Zealand.  He started talking to me about a boat tour that he took.  The way he described it sounded pretty cool.  But let me be honest, I have been on boat tours before, and most the time they are nothing special.  This one however looks to be pretty crazy and exciting.  If I am ever in New Zealand I will have to do this tour. You will see what I mean. 

Thanks for reading,
DPS

Contour GPS Review

If any of you have been following my post's you know that I bought a Contour GPS pov camera.  I just wanted to provide a review of the camera for anybody who is interested to read.  Please comment with any questions about the camera and I will answer the best I can.  Also Please consider subscribing to my blog.  Thanks.

XM T-Motion Kit installation

Here are some pictures of the install. It went smoothly and the sled seems to tip on the concrete a bit easier.  It isn't a huge difference but it is enough to feel.  Maybe it will feel lighter on the snow.  We just won't know until the snow flies.

Helmet Camera Update -updated

Just a quick update. I got my new Helmet Camera in the mail today. I am excited to start making videos and sharing them with you all. The features of this thing are so cool. I love that I can use my cell phone through bluetooth as the view finder. I can also change settings with my phone. The GPS seems to work well too. Stay tuned for some videos in the future.

Thanks for reading,
DPS

Update-I have been playing with the features of the camera and it is sweet. I have the ability to record GPS stats, but I am trying to get them imbeded into a video so I can share on YouTube. So far Contour 's Storyteller software has been giving me trouble on this front. It Strips the GPS data out before it posts to YouTube. I am exploring two workarounds right now. Stay tuned Still.

Got my XM kit for my new 2011 SKidoo

I am adding a T-motion kit to my new 2011.  I will taking pictures, measurements ect while I change it out.  SO those wondering the differences stay tuned.  Questions and comments welcome!.

Near Death

I can't imagine what would of happened to this guy if he had gone over. I saw this video online a while back. It is incredible. I think you ask will gasp, and say "Holy Crap". This one makes my wife uncomfortable.

Thanks for reading,
DPS

Time to Burn

Sometimes we have extra time on our hands.  Most of the time that is a rare thing.  It is nice to use this extra time to catch up on the little neglected things in life.  For me, I used this extra time to make a video summary of my brother snowmobiling last year.

My brother brought me his GoPro and said; "This has all my videos on it. Could you download them and make me a copy?"  I of course said that I would.  Well it was 8 GB of boring. :)  I decided to take the highlights though and make a movie.  I didn't want to cut too much out because it was for him, and they where his memories I was toying with.   I think compared to the raw footage this is much better, but it is 10 minutes long.  So if you have time, take a look.

I also did it to gain a bit more experience editing videos.  I am still very novice and limited on my abilities to churn out a professional looking video.  I have imbedded the video on this blog for you all to scrutinize.  Leave comments on what you think.  Try to give constructive feedback as I will use your comments to get better.  If your going to comment about the music... I know :)  I have a hard time in the music department.  Music has never been a passion of mine.  Choosing music was the hardest part, and I eventually just went with some songs.  Hope they are OK for you.

Thanks for reading,
DPS

Weird thing with the video... when I was viewing it in HD it started getting jumpy.  Just a heads up you may need to turn the resolution down.

Flyboarding. This is on my bucket list for sure

My brother just sent me this video.  It looks crazy fun.  A new kind of power sport called Flyboarding.  I must try this.  I hope I get the opportunity some time.  If any of you have a hook up, let me know about it.

Thanks for Reading,
DPS

Ready to spend the big bucks huh?

There are thousands of things to consider when buying a new toy.  As anybody will tell you, the more choices you have the harder the decision is to make.  If the choice was only between two variables then you could easily go with your gut feel.

The problem with power sports is there are so many opinions out there on what is important, that if you are buying for the first time it becomes daunting.  Here are some things to consider when buying your first toy:

When work gets in the way

My sister and brother-in-law invited me to go to St. Anthony Sand Dunes.  They are going tomorrow thru Thurs.  It is the only time my Bro-in-Law could get off work.  Unfortunately I cannot take time off.  This is a major bummer.

What do you do when life conflicts with fun?  Well at different times in my life I might have responded differently. When I was a teenager I would have said "screw work, I am going to play."  The perspective was much different back then.  I didn't have a family to take care of. If I took work off it really didn't effect me.  I didn't have bills to pay.

Cornice Jumping Anybody

Winter is getting closer and closer. My wife keeps telling me that she is not ready for winter yet. I keep countering with BRING IT ON. I am so excited for this snowmobiling season. I have upped my gear this year with the addition of a BCA avalanche air bag system, Contour GPS helmet Camera, Suspension upgrades for my sled, and other various changes to be safer, or to help have more fun.

 One of my best rides last year was with my brother. The same brother that shattered his knee (read my blog post named "Wrecking" for this story.) It was the day after one of our larger snowstorms. The snow in a lot of places was up to our hoods. On this particular occasion we found a Cornice that was steep and had a sharp lip at the top. We spent several hours tearing it up. Out of all that time there, we didn't get a lot of video but here is a quick edit of what we did get that was remotely entertaining.

Thanks for Reading,
DPS

First attempt imbedding a video. Let me know in the comments if the quality is better, or if there are any issues.

Helmets

I have never been a helmet wearer.  When I started ATV riding with my wife eighteen years ago, we never owned helmets.  It was always easy to justify not wearing them.  After all we were just putting around in the mountains on trails.  How could there be any danger?  4 wheels, not likely to tip over, groomed roads and well traveled trails.  No problems.  By and large I never have had any close calls out ridding.  Hooray for me save some cash on safety equipment.  6 years ago when I got my snowmobiles, still I rode without helmet.  Snow is soft, no need to strap the heavy thing on.  Balaclava for the cold and goggles for the eyes, good to go.  Many enjoyable trips again with no problems.  4 Years ago I purchased another snowmobile.  It was a Skidoo MXZ 800 that had twin pipes and didn't have a muffler.  That sucker was LOUD.  An interesting side effect, I started to wear a helmet just to protect my hearing.  After a period of time, it just became second nature to have one on when riding.  Other than protecting the noggin, the helmet began to have other uses;  Intercom, speakers, wind breaker, and sun visor to name a few.

Friday my wife and I went for a ride in the beautiful mountains by Mantua.  When we were preparing to leave my wife asked about helmets.  I thought, "We never used them before when we went riding."  By way of information, it had been about 7 years since our last ride together, due to raising kids and health issues, but that is another story.  Rather than voice my thoughts, I dug up some helmets and goggles and got set.  As we arrived in the staging area, the air was cool and crisp.  The views were amazing as the trees were in the height of changing colors preparing to drop the excess weight for the winter snow. Single track zigging up the hill, through ruts, around trees, over rocks, it couldn't get any better.  We spent the day exploring new trails and terrain while getting to know the area better.  After hours of sure enjoyment we were ready to head back to reality.  As we traversed the single track back down the mountain as we had done several other times, we hit a stump.  For the next 5 to 10 seconds, slow motion events were imprinted on my brain.  First thing I thought as the ATV was thrown to the down hill slope is, "Don't loose it over the edge the trees, it will hurt."  My next thought, while breaking, was to shift my weight to the uphill side to prevent a roll over.  Meanwhile my wife was tossed to the down hill side of the ATV and was falling off.  So I started to try to turn the ATV and adjust to keep everyone on.  A concert of motion, wrong direction, ruts, hill and gravity nearly rolled the ATV or tossed us off the mountain. However, we escaped with just a bruise to my wife's ankle.  Never before have I came that close to a roll over while riding ATV.  I can see that helmets are only good when you need them, but the problem is you never know when you will need them.  

Fall time

The colors in the mountains are wonderful this time of year. You should really try to get up there if you live near any. The leaves are changing and the air feels clear and cool.  Sometimes it is nice to stop for a minute and take in the beauty.

Sweet Setup

My brother came by my house today.  It made me a bit jealous.  He has a sweet setup.  It will be nice when the time comes for me to get set up in a similar fashion to my brother.  I can be patient though.  Fist problem, I don't have room at my house to store anything this big and fun.  Second problem, I don't make enough money to purchase anything this big and fun.  Third issue, even if I did own these things it might be hard to get my wife excited to use them.  She is not an outdoor camping lover.  This trailer toy hauler combo might be a good solution to that.  I almost had her convinced that we should get a pop-up tent trailer. The problem with that is it would have to be one that could haul 4-wheelers and such.  They cost around $13,000.  I might as well find a used toy hauler.  Then the problem is that if I had a large toy hauler I would need a bigger truck. 

Power sports will never be an investment for money.  However I do believe it is an investment for family memories.  It is expensive to get set up fully.  The truck, trailer, toys, gear, electronics (GPS), gas and cost of maintenance and repairs is almost too much.  There are many people who give the sport up for those reasons.  It is too bad really.  I believe it isn't worth stretching your family thin and going into exuberant amounts of debt, but it is worth the memories.  You won't look back on your life and think, yeah I had money back when i was raising my kids... Rather you will think on those times you spent as a family out exploring the mountains on your UTV, or riding in the sand dunes on your Sand Rail. My most fond memories growing up are our trips to Lake Powell and Lake Mead. 

You need to think of some way to create these memories for your own family.  Getting involved in Power sports of any kind is one of those great ways.

Thanks for reading,
DPS

Making S's in the snow

I was just reviewing some video footage that my brother took of last years winter (2011-2012).  One of the videos was with me out in front of him making S's in the snow.  It started conjuring up the feeling it gives me to be out on the snow on my snowmobile.  It is feeling of freedom. It can be challenging too, so my competitive nature loves that.  Maybe the S's in the snow represent dollar ($) signs because of the amount of money it cost to get involved in a sport like that.  But when you are out there the thought of the motor guzzling down $4.00 a gallan gas drifts out of mind.  It is where you can clear your mind and foget your worries.  Maybe this is why riding is so addicting.

In the video we were at Monte Cristo Utah.  It was the best snow all year.  Still wasn't great but it was really good none the less. We usually ride with a larger group, but on this day it was just my brother and me.  We spent the day scouring the mountain for some good powder, and then we found some.  The searching all paid off. I hope you enjoy the footage. My editing skills are sub par, so there isn't music or anything else. 

Thanks for reading,
DPS

ps. my brother is the one wearing the camera on the 2012 Polaris Pro RMK, I am the other guy on the 2008 Ski Doo XP.

 

Helmet Camera

I just bought a helmet camera. I got the Contour GPS.  I got it on Ebay for a pretty good deal.  I plan to use it to post videos of my power sport adventures.  You can expect to see more and more as the snowmobile season gets under way because I think this will be my first real chance to use it.  I am pretty excited for that.

I was looking into the GoPro because everybody who films their rides seems to have this one.  Even my brother has the GoPro HD HERO2 and it produces some nice video.  The reason I went with the contour GPS is because you can overlay GPS trails with your videos that show location, altitude, and speed.  You can also buy a Bluetooth Dongle for it and it will display the picture and camera settings on your smart phone.  This feature is a huge selling point for me. I have read that people have had trouble setting it up, but I am a pretty techy guy so I don't think it will be an issue.  More videos are soon to come to the blog. Check back often. 

Do any of you have a helmet Cam?  Which one?  Would you recommend it to others?

Thanks for reading,
DPS

Politicians vs power sports

Tonight was the first presidential debate. I hope this country makes the right decision.

There are probably more debates over power sports than anything else. We are influenced by claims of the "candidates" and by negative advertising about their opponents. We listen to these debates and ultimately vote for the best choice in our mind. Presidents and politicians seem to say only what they think we want to hear. It is the same way with manufacturers. When a politician becomes out of touch with the people, the people vote them out of office. When a manufacturer becomes out of touch, people switch brands and the manufacturer loses market share. A politician makes promises about their policies, manufactures make promises about their product. If these claims turn out to be false the people let them know about it one way or another.

You get the idea. We all have decisions to make. The best way to make it is to look at where you have been and where you would like to be. Look at your goals and choose the best option you think will help you achieve those goals. Then when you see the results of a choice you ask yourself. "Am I better off now than I was four years ago?"

DPS

Snow!!!

I used to hate winter.  I hated the cold, and the snow.  I like warm climates.  I have never cheered winter on before, until I started snowmobiling.  I find myself hoping for an epic snow winter, and relentlessly cheering on the snow storms.  We got a small dusting above 10,000 ft in our mountains two weeks ago, and I started cheering. 

                                 Picture from the Snowbird Facebook page

I knew that it was still way to early to pull the sleds out and start tearing up the mountain, but I saw it as a good sign for snow this year.  Well it is looking like at least in Northern Utah where I live that it probably was a good sign as we are slated to have an "Above Normal Snowfall."

                                  Picture from Accuweather.com

I know there are a lot of you out there who think I am nuts.  To you I say... Pick up a really fun winter sport like snowmobiling and you too will be cheering on the snow.

DPS

First motorized toy

I have been crazy about power sports as long as I can remember. I bought my first toy when I was 10 years old. I saved up for a long time. I sold lemonade, did extra chores around the house, and checked the couch cushions daily. :) I had earned $250 over an entire summer. One day my money was gone out of my jar. I went screaming and crying to my mom. She said, "I think your dad put your money in the truck." I couldn't figure out why he would do that but there wasn't time to think about that right now. I ran out of the house as fast as I could to the truck. I pulled open the cab door and climbed inside to recover my precious loot. It was not in there. My face dropped. I went back inside to explain to my mom that somebody must have stolen my money. She repaid, "I know it is in there, go look again. Maybe dad put it in the bed of the truck." Why would he do that, I thought to myself. But non the less I ran out to the truck again. I hopped up on the rear bumper. HOLLY CRAP, A GO-CART. This is exactly what I was saving my money for. I wish I had a picture for you guys, but I don't. This was my first motorized toy.  I loved it, and rode it every day. I tore the lawn to shreds as I would skid sideways in a drifting like manner as I raced it around the yard. These memories will stay with me forever.

What was your first motorized toy or experience riding somebody else's? Comment below and let me know. I would love to hear about it.

DPS

Cinderella Story - Buying a Boat

I am going to try to make this long story short.

Two summers ago (2011) I was looking for a boat to buy.  I looked all summer but what I wanted was always a bit out of my humble price range.  As the summer was winding down I found one that said "Cracked Engine Block - $3000."  I had a spare motor so I thought to myself that I could replace the motor and have a good boat. I started looking up the value of the boat based on the model the webpage listed.  It was valued at $5700. Cool, with a bit of elbow grease I could have a $5700 boat.  After negotiating a bit with the seller I picked the boat up for $2700.  I started looking into the motor issue.  The motor still ran, and started right up, but water would spew out the side of the block around the freeze plug that is under the motor mount. My dad who was helping me with the repair noticed the freeze plug had come out.  I inspected the block very thoroughly and there was no cracks or damage to speak of.  Total cost to repair the boat $1.99 + tax for a new freeze plug.  When the boat was being titled it came back as a different model than what the guy told me it was.  I looked up the model, and it turns out it is more valuable than the model the seller thought he was selling.  Total value--- $13,000.  Do I put much weight in listed values from NADA?  No, but it gets you in the ball park.  I don't think if I sold the boat I could get $13K, but who knows. 

I never thought it was possible to get one of those Cinderella story deals.  I guess everybody gets lucky once in a while.

DPS

Wishes Don't Always Come True

Have you ever been somewhere and just kept wishing you had your four wheeler or motorcycle?  This happens to me a lot.  Maybe it is just Laziness, but I don't think so.  This especially happens when I am hiking on a dirt trail in the mountains somewhere, or camping.

The Route of the Hiawatha should be experienced on a mountain bike at least once in your lifetime.  It is amazing and an easy ride for the whole family as it is a gradual down hill the whole way.  When you get to the bottom they load the bikes up in a bus and drive you back to the top. http://www.ridethehiawatha.com/

So... I experienced it on the bike and it was sweet.  Now I wish I could ride it again on a four wheeler or motorcycle.  It would be perfect, but is not allowed.  I can understand why.  It would be dangerous for the bikers, but I think they should have an annual Power Through the Hiawatha Day where you can go exploring on your favorite ATV, Side by Side, or Motorcycle.

If the idea catches on, remember who said it first. :)

Even though it is not on a motorized vehicle, it was fun, but I wish, I wish, I wish...

Thanks for reading
DPS

Two Mile Tunnel to get the ride started - pitch black inside

Other side of the tunnel - amazing scenery

Several long bridges that sky high above the ground

Trip Planning

Sometimes it is hard to get out there.  Aligning schedules with your family or riding buddies is a pain.

Two years ago I wanted to go boating to Lake Powell.  My wife was pregnant, and other family members weren't committing to a trip that big.  My wife told me she wouldn't go, but that I could.  I started asking family, and friends to poll who was interested.  I had a lot of people say "That would be fun, but I just don't know, it is too far away to think about."

As time drew closer my frustration rose.  I really wanted to go and it was looking like nobody was going to come.  I only had one commitment and that was from my dad.  I talked to my dad and said, "If it only ends up being me and you, are you still willing to go?"  He replied that he would.  So I said "Then it is final, we are going to Lake Powell no matter what."

What a load off my shoulders.  I really didn't care at that point who was coming or not, because I was going to be there. I thought to myself "first come first serve."

As the time drew closer my brother opted in with his family (wife and Four kids). We left on a wednesday and on the Monday before my sister decided she could go with her family (husband and daughter) at the last minute as well. Total we had Eleven people go down.  What a fun trip.

Sometimes it is hard to get a trip together, and a lot of the times takes so much effort that you give up and cancel all together.  Just remember the old saying from the movie The Field of Dreams.  "If you build it, they will come."  I am here to say "If you plan it, they will come."

DPS