and fast rail trails and forest roads of Michigan’ s | |||
Upper Peninsula were exactly what they needed | |||
to click off miles efficiently. | |||
“ Michigan, I would say for me, was the best | |||
snowmobiling,” Trueman said.“ The trails were | |||
hard, flat and really nice and well groomed. And, | |||
they ride hard there, and that’ s what we wanted | |||
to do. We were going down the trail and I was | |||
looking at my speedometer and thinking,‘ We’ re | |||
making good time’ going along at 70-71 mph. All | |||
of a sudden in the mirror I see a group of snowmobilers | |||
coming up beside us, and I think,‘ What | |||
in the heck is this? I think they want to go by?’ | |||
Sure enough, they all went by!” | |||
A quick 140 miles later they found themselves | |||
on the south shore of Lake Superior in the snowmobiling | |||
Mecca of Grand Marais, Michigan, for | |||
the first night, then clicked off a fast 250 miles on |
day 12 before shutting down in Bergland, Michigan, on the shores of the Lake Gogebic. A visit to |
Pictured wih Roger Skime |
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the regionally famous snowmobiling pitstop the |
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Break time in Merriweather, Michigan
were. It was a saving grace.
“ The one customs guy says,‘ Hey, you’ re THOSE
guys!’ He couldn’ t believe it,” Lorne said.“ He
escorted us through the back door and started introducing
us around,‘ These are those guys we’ ve
been watching online.”
Soon paperwork was filed, passports were
stamped and the group and their sleds were
dropped off at the Yamaha dealership on the
U. S. side.
THE U. S. LEG Because of the difficulty in getting information
from the U. S. portion of the trip, Lorne said they
were a bit nervous about what lay ahead, but
found themselves pleasantly surprised. The wide
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Hoop‘ N Holler was mandatory, and Trevor even participated in a makeshift / impromptu drag race with strangers on the lake.
The next day they crossed into Wisconsin at Hurley and, 175 trail miles later, called it a night in Ashland at the base of the Bayfield Peninsula. Along the way in Wisconsin they came across a snowmobile accident where a rider had a broken leg, but after the injured rider and his friends assured the New Brunswick foursome that help was on the way they continued on.
Their final full day of riding would be a doozy: 250 miles from Ashland, across the border into Minnesota on Trail 66 south of the Duluth / Superior area and then across that broad state from east to west on the northern Soo Line trail. They’ d cross the Iron Range, drive through lake country and then into the flatlands – ending at the Candlewood Inn in Bemidji, less than 100 miles from their destination of Thief River Falls.
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BRINGING IT HOME Bob Steeves had been to the Arctic Cat factory
in 2011 when he attended the brand’ s huge 50th
Anniversary Celebration & Reunion. The other
three had never been anywhere close to the town
where their favorite snowmobiles are built but,
due to their brand loyalty plus the warm welcome
that was waiting for them, the 15th day of their
trip truly felt like a homecoming.
After Lorne called the factory the morning of
February 25 to inform the folks there of the foursome
’ s impending arrival, Cat dispatched two
test riders to escort the travelers to the factory.
However, even though they were in a part of
Minnesota that is so flat that“ you can probably
watch your dog run away for four days” to use
Lorne’ s words, the meet-up never happened.
Apparently on a different route than the factory
riders had expected, the self-guided tour stayed
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self-guided.“ I had always heard about‘ ditch banging’ and all of that stuff,” Trueman said.“ Well now I can say I truly experienced it right where it happens. It’ s a different kind of sledding, for sure.”
The New Brunswick crew said folks on roads adjacent to the trail who had been following the details of the tour pointed them in the right direction and / or waved them toward their finish line. The route they followed took them partway through Thief River Falls and then out to the west side of town, where the huge Arctic Cat factory awaited. Lorne led the group right onto the snowcovered front lawn of the Cat factory, and then the riders shut down their sleds and shared a moment before being greeted by an Arctic Cat official who – after a few photos – escorted them inside. Beyond the doors, a huge contingent of Cat employees gathered in the lobby and gave them a hero’ s welcome with thunderous applause.
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