Let me put it this way, I'd never want to do that mountain with no brakes again. I don't think I could successfully repeat that performance of 25 years ago and I'd probably have a heart attack on the way down.
+100MPH in places through the groomed woods trails at day or night is really no big deal if you are a skilled rider. The washouts (start looking for them late Feb-early March) up here can really suck at speed. Cruising along at +/-100 doesn't give you time to slow down, and if you hit the brakes it transfers weight to the skiis making the washout that much more dangerous to hit. I learned early to give it full throttle if I came up on one fast, acceleration will transfer weight from the skiis to the track. So the skiis stay above the depression in the trail, the rear suspension takes the real hit on the far side of the washout. These washouts are typically 2-4ft deep and 6-8ft across, frozen solid. You don't want to slow down to 60mph to ride down into them because they will launch you into the air upon exit. I've taken hundreds of hard hits at speed as the rear suspension slammed the far side of the depression and drove the impact up my spine but never damaged me. The newer sleds with really tall suspensions would absorb these hits much better than the older sleds. I used to ride as point man most of the time and If I encountered a trail hazard I'd flick my brake lights a couple times to warn those behind me (if they were keeping up). I was a true adrenaline junkie, not so much anymore. I'm older, not as strong, more brittle and have no one to nurse me to health if I really screw up ... I'd still take some of the mostly flat and relatively straight groomed trails at 100+ though - after riding a few hundred miles first that season to refresh my riding skills. There is no speed limit on Maine Snowmobile trails whereas NH has a 45MPH limit on state maintained trails. Northern Maine has the most incredibly maintained trails in the state, you can find out how fast your sled really goes up there. Canada is a notch above the trails in Maine but I haven't ridden there since 9/11.
That sounds insane. Rode my Knucklehead 100-120 mph plenty of times, but that’s on smooth pavement and never for very long either because those “would if thoughts” would start eat’n away at me.
Never been on a snowmobile, but I’m sure if I’d have grown up around where they were prevalent I’d of been all in. All but for the cold it looks like a blast. Goin’ 100 mph can get you a long ways from any sort of help pretty quick should a problem arise! Not to mention in harsh winter conditions. I’m a pussy when it comes to cold now, wasn’t when I was young in CO & WY. Farmers and ranchers and some hunters used snow mobiles in the winter, but I don’t recall it being a big thing in a sporting sense there in the seventies. By the 80’s I was in the deserts. Dirt bikes, mtn bikes and quads were the thing. Now it’s side by sides.
All your ridin’ buds must think you’re a crazy sumbitch! And that ain’t a bad thing!
My buddies aren't usually far behind me, we are all seasoned fast riders. We usually wait up at the intersections to make sure no one misses the turnoffs. Most trail riding speeds on decent trails are probably ~40-80, the longer relative straightaways are best for the 100+ stuff. One of my favorites near my camp is "Piston Alley", a ~20mile stretch of logging road that has long straightaways and gradual turns. Many a sled has blown up on "Piston Alley"! The trails in northern Maine are mostly unused logging roads and Maine has an plus local trails not shown on this map. Lots of logging roads and connecting woods trails.
Back when gas was cheap ... and riding into Canada was no big deal we used to ride from my camp with saddlebags, gear, and ride all the way through Northern Maine into Canada up into and around the Gaspé Peninsula. Some trips we also took the ferry across the St. Lawrence seaway and rode further north. These trips entailed about 7 days of riding 1500-2000 miles round trip, stayed at hotels, motels or cabins nightly. My girlfriend at the time called them "Power Trips", lol!
Lol, look’d up Piston Alley, it do look fun! Man that’s such a different environment than here. It’d take a hundred lifetimes to experience and taste all of what this country has to offer.
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