Thursday March 13 - Snowmobile!!!

I did it!! I did it!!

I have had a snowmobile ride, about 45 minutes worth led by a guy, Jim, who is part of a well set-up club and on his friend's (Jane) snowmobile!!! It was awesome and so much fun, maybe one of the most fun things I have ever done in my life. 

He gave me the run down on the controls and then I had a wee circuit of the parking area before we set off on a trail. He led the way and turned to check on me from time to time. He used hand signals to tell me to stop on a few occasions, such as when we were to turn onto a trail and when we were to cross a road.

There were a couple of tricky turns but I coped OK. It is a weird feeling as it is not like a car or a motor bike as the skids do slide a wee bit from side to side. It means you have to focus on the trail ahead and not think about other things. 

At the first stop he told me that 
going a bit faster straightens the ride up and as I discovered this is true. I actually got up to 30 mph on occasions! 

It is best to follow at a bit of a distance in case anything happens in front and as the occasional piece of ice or snow gets kicked up.

Jim and Jane are really lovely people and it was so good of them to do this for a complete stranger. To lend your snowmobile to a complete stranger is beyond the call as far as I am concerned! 

I really appreciate this as well as the time they gave up! We met them at 5.30 pm in the evening and I was so lucky with the weather. It was a beautiful day, cold but sunny with a lovely blue sky. The extra snow from yesterday made the conditions perfect.

Earlier, I took a few photos as the weather had changed yet again!! Then we went out for lunch, picked up a few supplies and headed back to the house for a break before setting off to Oakfield-Alabama, NY. Irene had hoped to organise a ride but her friend was away. A chance contact via FB with Debi, who I had met through FFRC and who had put out a plea on her FB page, led to what followed. 

We picked up Debi and then we headed for the Sno-Packers Groomer facility where we were to meet our hosts and the rest followed from there.

After the ride we had a photo session and also looked at the snow Groomers that are used to prepare the trails so the snow is smooth enough for the snowmobiles. The machines that pull the groomers are much larger that I thought they would be!

We drove back to Batavia and had Pizza for tea, it was a great ending to a wonderful day. I was, and still am, walking on air, it was such a wonderful experience, one I will never ever forget!! Once again a huge thank you for Jim, Jane, Debi and Irene for enabling this wonderful day!!