Old Weekly News Page
Archive for past stories and news from the previous week (or thereabouts!!)
To return to the Main Home page, please click the "Home" icon to the left of your screen
November 8, 2009
This past week/weekend the Shed-Hadz crew had another hunting trip on the Southern Shore. Sooley, Maffer, French, Matthew French and I loaded up and headed to Maffer's cabin in Tors cove. All in all we managed to shoot a few Grouse, bottle some Moose, cut a TON of firewood (thanks to an ever helpful Beaver!) and snare a few rabbits. In between all of that we managed to get a run on the bikes, winterize the cabin and have a few laughs!!! Full story on the Summer 2009 page. In other news work on Project Renegade has commenced with the removal of my 500cc motor and the scrapping of the Parts Machine.
October 20, 2009
Congrats to Bill & Heather on your wedding this past Saturday. It was a great day (minus the drizzle) and an awesome party that night! Best wishes from all the crew.
October 13, 2009
Well today I have BIG news. Sooley finally has a new sled, as his 2009 Renegade 800r just arrived off the truck from Quebec. Its an awesome machine with low kilometers, and 1.75" track, and black plastics. With the sale of his old machine pending, he also purchased a new galvanized single trailer to replace his well worn old trailer! We sure are looking forward to this winter to put this machine through its paces.
October 12, 2009
Captain H. finally got his outboard motor back from the repair shop after having it in for a tune up. It turns out that a dirty carburetor was all that caused it to run poorly. Captain H, Joe, Terry, Calvin and I jumped aboard the boat and headed down the shore for a run to pass away the afternoon. We landed on a remote beach and gathered enough driftwood to have a great bonfire that lasted long into the night!!!
September 29, 2009
Saturday marked the start of the week long Fall Recreational Food Fishery here in Newfoundland, and unfortunately that day brought high winds and rain. Fortunately the weather fared much better Sunday and French, Maffer, Sooley and I headed out for a day on the bay. Since the weather forecast for the week didn't fare too well French and I also headed out Early Monday morning for a few hours of fishing. Pics and Story on the Summer 2009 page.
September 13, 2009
Congrats Tyson and Anastasia on the Christening of your beautiful baby Gracie. It was a great day and an awesome party afterwards. I don't think anyone went hungry, well except for Uncle Joe who missed it as he was working! Not to worry, we have lots of pics of the Grub you missed Joe!!!
September 9, 2009
Well another Labor Day weekend is here and gone. Some say that this marks the end of Summer, but I for one certainly hope not as its been one of the best summers I can remember both for weather and weekend adventures! With the weather not completely cooperating and Captain H's boat still awaiting repairs we decided to make a few runs on ATV instead. Captain H, Terry and I spent most of the day Saturday exploring the back country off the old road to Little Harbor. We spent most of the day off the beaten track and managed to pick quite a few berries. Sunday we made a trip to LeManche where we found heavy equipment had been operating. We did a little trouting in a leaky boat!!!
August 24, 2009
This past weekend I loaded up Project Foreman and hit the road and headed to Southern Harbor for my first real test ride since getting the bike back together. Saturday morning Captain H, Joe and I hit the old railway track and made a trip to Port Blandford and back. It was a great trip and I'm pleased to say that all is working well on Project Foreman!
August 18, 2009
With some extra time devoted to the site this evening, I have finally gotten all of the Seasonal Crew Trip Galleries Updated. Formerly when you clicked on a page, eg. Summer 2008, the links on that page went only to a Picasa picture album. Starting last winter, I changed the format so the links bring you to a new page that tells the story of the trip, and has links to the Picasa picture albums for the trip and Sledworthy/Trek magazine stories if applicable. Now I have all of the stories for Summer 2008, and Winter '07-'08 up and finished.
August 3, 2009
This past weekend was the 2nd weekend of the Recreational Fishery. Saturdays weather was rather poor so we opted to spend the day in Clarenville visiting baby Gracie and doing the rounds of Canadian Tire, Mercer's Marine and Home Hardware. Sunday's weather was much better so we hit the water after the wind dropped out lunchtime and made a trip around the bay catching our quota along the way. In other news Project Foreman is finally complete for this year. All repairs have been made, and my Camowrap finally came in and I have it installed!!! In other news have acquired a parts machine so I will be able to get Project Renegade back on the snow this winter. Part of this repair will be swapping my 500cc engine for a much better 583cc with RAVE valves!
July 26, 2009
The 2009 Recreational Groundfish Fishery opened yesterday and under clear skies we wasted little time hitting the water in search of a meal of fresh fish. We had an excellent morning on the water and easily caught our quota of 5 fish per day, maximum 15 per boat. Next weekend we will have some sensible filleting knives and sharpening tools though!!!
July 21, 2009
Congratulations to Anastasia & Tyson on the birth of your beautiful baby girl Gracie earlier this morning!!! I've already started looking for Mini ATV's & Skidoos for her!!!
July 20, 2009
With the forecast calling for clear skies on Saturday and rain for Sunday we decided to take advantage of the weather and lack of wind to make a trip across the bay. This adventure took us over to long island where we ended up in Harbor Buffett scaling across the decks of a long abandoned whaling vessel, and visiting long resettled communities frequented now by seasonal cabin owners. Pics and story up on the summer 2009 Page.
July13, 2009
I am pleased to announce that after too many months of waiting for parts & repairs both the Foreman & Grizzly ATV's are back and ready for the trails. Both bikes were plagued by break downs on a trip in early May where I lost the rear drive shaft and Captain H. lost the timing chain on our ATV's. After working most of the weekend I have all loose ends tidied up on Project Foreman and I'm ready to hit the trails, and Captain H. now has his bike back from the repair shop as well.
July 3, 2009
Happy Belated Canada Day!!! I would have posted sooner but I was in Southern Harbor for the holiday and the launching of Captain H's boat! After a couple weekends attending to some fiber glass work, installing a drain, mounting the motor and painting the inside of the boat, it was finally launched June 30. On Canada Day Captain H & I made the first trip on Placentia Bay while Tyson slept the day away! We had a great trip to Haystack, Long Island, the story & pics are up on the Summer 2009 page.
June 18, 2009
This past Thursday night, Sandra, Captain H, and I took Terry out to see the antique and muscle cars at A&W Kenmount Road. We had a great time (especially Terry), the weather was great and cars were in abundance!
June 14, 2009
After a few test runs in Captain H's boat, we've decided to look for a larger boat that will better suite our Salt Water Adventures. Luckily we came across a great 19' fiberglass over wood boat in Shearstown that needs a little finish work on the inside, but will make a great project. Project Foreman is still in pieces awaiting the Engine to be assembled at the dealership.
May 26, 2009
This May 24 long weekend we opted to stay in town and entertained friends and family all the while getting some chores finished outside our house. With Project Foreman still in pieces waiting for parts we concentrated our efforts in securing a boat and motor. We have found a nice little 15' fiberglass boat and a great 40hp Yamaha Outboard. This past weekend we got everything together and tested it out in Jack's Pond Park. The motor is running great and the boat works well and is very stable. We think it might be a little small for what we want so we may look for something a little bigger, if not this one will fill the role. Tales of our adventure will be up on the Summer 2009 Page.
May 11, 2009
Finally got out for our 2nd decent ATV run of the year this past weekend. Leaving Southern Harbor heading East towards Whitbourne. A couple mechanical break downs ended our trip prematurely, read all about it on the Summer 2009 page!!! In other news our search for an ocean going vessel for the food fishery and camping in Placentia Bay is going well. We have a few leads to check up on so hopefully a purchase will be made soon!
May 1, 2009
This past weekend I finally got out for my first ATV ride in the Southern Harbor area to test out the new brakes/repairs, and so far so good!!! The brakes kept getting better and better as the day wore on and the pads broke in. The Quadrax kit from Honda One is defiantly a fantastic upgrade and I highly recommend it! In other news Captain H has his bike back from the welding shop after having some frame repairs completed, and young Joe purchased another ATV. He bought a 2003 Yamaha Banshee and all I can say is WOW!!! Its an amazing bike in great shape and a hell of a lot of fun. Our next run is planned for the 2nd weekend in May!
Cheers, MIKE
April 23, 2009
Its been quite awhile now since I've updated the site as I've been busy in the shed and very busy with work. Since my last skidoo ride (where I had problems with the clutch and chain case on Project Renegade) I've only managed to get everything disassembled and diagnosed. Warm weather in March ruined sledding on our end of the island so repairs have been put on hold for the summer.
On that note I started and completed work on Project Foreman which this year included the installation of a new Front Disk Brake kit to replace the stock drum brakes. I also completed other repairs which you can read about soon on the Area51 page.
Cheers for a busy summer, and check back for ride & project updates!!!
Cheers, Mike
February 23, 2009
After another heart sinking mild spell we were very happy to have 2 decent snowstorms and cold temperatures late last week. Riding conditions here on the east coast have finally turned good!!! Its been a long winter waiting for decent snow accumulation and we were not about to waste an opportunity to get a ride in!!! Old Joe and I headed out to Southern Harbor Friday evening to meet up with the crew out there for a run Saturday morning. This trip took us deep into the country south west of Goobies into Black River Pond area. The story of a great day riding coupled with some mechanical trouble for yours truly can now be found on the winter '09-'09 page. Sooley, Maffer & Bill also got a ride in on Sunday leaving from Paradise taking the new "groomed" trail to Whitless Bay Line and back. Hopefully the weather stays in our favor as I eagerly make repairs to project renegade!
Cheers, Mike
February 7, 2009
The parts for Sooley's Mach1 finally arrived in St. John's Friday afternoon just in time for our planned ice fishing adventure Saturday. Friday evening, Sooley, Maffer, French, Ronnie and myself went to Area51 and made necessary repairs to Sooley's sled, more info & pics can be found in Sooley's Mach1 (version2) story on the Area51 page. Saturday we went ice fishing on Goose Lake near Whitbourne and enjoyed an awesome day in the woods and logged some miles on the sleds. More info & pics can be found on the Winter 08-09 page.
Cheers, Mike
February 2, 2009
Well Sooley is still waiting for parts to replace the damaged DSA arm on his Mach1, Maffer is up to his eyeball in _____ renovating his bathroom, but some of us managed to take advantage of this weeks snowfall! French and Bill got out Saturday to ride the new groomed trail at Northern Pond, joining hundreds of other sledders in the area. Myself and Joe headed to Southern Harbor and logged just under 300km with the crew out there over the weekend! Unfortunately the snow that hit St. John's missed us out there Sunday, but we still had a great weekend of riding! Trip reports can be found on the Winter 09-09 page and check out the What's New button above for other recent site updates!
Cheers, Mike
January 26, 2009
Well another week and more disappointing weather here on the east coast. While the west coast is seeing record snowfalls, we are just seeing rain and bitterly cold weather. I have a few more odds and ends picked up for project Renegade since its just as well to pick at it 'cause I cant ride it!!! Also with my extra free time I've had time to update the site. The How To's page has been updated with a repair we made to the kill switch on Maffer's REV, and I finally finished the How To on Fiber Glassing as well. I have also added another product to my Product Review's Page.
Cheers, MIKE
January 19, 2009
This past weekend I took a run to Southern Harbor to meet up with the some of the Crew. Reports from the bye's said that the track was icy so cooling would be a problem so I opted to leave the sled in town, wisely so! This weekend a couple of the bye's picked up their new rides, Captain H. picked up a 1999 MXZ 670H.O. in pristine condition, and passed on his 1996 Formula 583 to Young Joe...looks like no more Citations for him!!! Old Joe also got out with his RX1 to get a feel for the sled this year, and Scott was around to show off his new Polaris 800 Dragon. Even though the weather didn't pan out for a decent run, we did get a lot of bugs worked out of the sleds for when the weather turns favorable.
I am using a new format for trips this winter which you can now see on the winter '08-'09 Page. I'd appreciate any feedback compared to the format used previously on the winter '07-'08 page.
Cheers, Mike
January 13, 2009
Last night, myself Maffer and Sooley (now known as captain carnage) finally got out for our maiden voyages of the 2008-2009 sledding season!!! Skipping supper we all loaded up and headed to the Goulds to test out our sleds in the many fields and roads in that area to get a feel for some of our modifications and to work out any bugs in the machines. I'm pleased to report that project Renegade is running very well, the oil leak seems to be fixed, the new rear wheels are working well (and look awesome), and the new gearing set up is AMAZING! Although the snow on the ground was on top of slippery ice, there were a few places where we got enough hook up to get a feel for gearing changes. Maffer's REV project which included a track and gearing change this year, is also working very well. Track changes and gearing can really make a sled perform the way you want. Sooley, who never made any changes so far this year earned the title mentioned above after cracking the gate on his trailer, rear ending Maffer on a trail (luckily no damage occurred) and then finding the only big rock down by Bay Bulls Big Pond. Luckily a DSA arm was the only casualty and we suspect that the arm rusted from the inside causing it to be very fragile. All in all it was a great night and a great feel for what this season will bring (well hopefully not in Sooley's case!!! LOL)
Cheers, Mike
January 6, 2009
Well the new year has arrived and we are still waiting for enough snow to get a sensible test ride in! As mentioned earlier Project Renegade is ready to go, but as I wait I continue to tinker with little things while I wait. Maffer has completed the installation of a new Track, Gear Set and general maintenance of his 500ss REV, and Bill's RX1 has been "Warriorized" with the installation of a 136" track and extension kit. A few of the crew will be riding new sleds this year. There is a 2009 FX Nytro XTX, a 2004 RX1, a 2009 Polaris 800 in the stables and another Beast for Joey currently being built!
Cheers, Mike
December 31, 2008
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!
December is all but gone and with the exception of one day, there has been no riding here on the east coast yet! Project Renegade is ready for snow, my 70 link chain arrived just in time and is now installed with my 19/44 gear combo. Also installed are my new machined aluminum rear idler wheels with nasty nuts and my oil leak repair is complete. In other news there will be at least one new sled, possibly 2 in the Shed-Headz Crew stables this winter, and crew member Bill has just about completed his 121 to 136" track conversion on his RX1. Its been a busy year, and everyone is waiting in eager anticipation for snow to get some testing done!!!
Cheers, Mike
November 29, 2008
Its almost December here in Newfoundland and here on the East Coast we are still patiently awaiting our first snowfall of the season. Hundreds of snowmobilers are itching for the first ride of the season all the while tinkering with their rides in eager anticipation. I of course am no different and will be spending a few nights in the shed now that most of my parts have arrived. Christmas will soon be here and hopefully the season will bring a little snow for some test and tuning before the riding season gets well under way. The Eastern Trail Riders have been busy this past number of weeks with new trail development that will take us from Cochrane Pond road to the Witless Bay Line on groomed trail this winter. Check out progress on their website www.easterntrailriders.com
Cheers, Mike
October 20, 2008
Well Fall is here in fine style, the leaves have turned, the temperatures have dropped, snow and snowmobiling are just around the corner! Like many people I am once again in full swing repairing and preparing my sled for the first snowfall. I spent Thanksgiving weekend around the bay in Southern Harbor, which included shingling a roof and getting in a couple decent rides on ATV. Our first trip took us west towards Clarenville exploring new trails and following a rough trail on the pole line for a bit. Saturday night took us back to LeManche Placentia Bay where a great night ride was followed by a bonfire on the beach. It was a beautiful clear night without so much as a draft of wind!!! Also on Thanksgiving weekend French, Younger French, Sooley & Burton went Moose hunting on the Southern Shore near Mobile. On Monday they finally spotted a dandy 17 point bull and were successful in the kill!!! French's poor Honda Foreman worked hard that day lugging the large animal out of the country! This month my latest article has been published in Sledworthy Magazine which recalls trips of last winter which here on the East Coast doesn't always mean being able to travel by sled!!!
Cheers, Mike
September 15, 2008
This past weekend we celebrated crew member Mark French's last party as a bachelor as he is getting married at the end of the month. (Yeah, I know, why should he be happy!!!) We spent Saturday afternoon Clay Pigeon shooting at the Pit on Northern Road, with Mark making sure all necessary permits were in place. We had nine people participating and fired off well over 1,350 rounds of ammunition, so needless to say there were a few sore shoulders that evening. Pics from that afternoon are now up on the summer 2008 gallery. The remainder of the evening was hosted graciously by Mr. French at his home where everyone had a great time.
Cheers, Mike
September 2, 2008
Well if you consider Labor Day the end of summer I guess summer is officially over. Unofficially I'm sure we can expect some great weather yet before Autumn sets in. My Long weekend, also my birthday weekend was spent in Southern Harbor and a good deal of time spent racking up a couple hundred miles on the bikes once again! Day one took me and some of the crew East as far as Fairhaven traveling through some of eastern Newfoundland's most scenic terrain. This area is bordered by Trinity and Placentia bays and is dotted with hundreds of ponds and gullies, barren hill tops and forested valleys. The next afternoon was spent exploring the main transmission line in that area with hours spent rock crawling and finding our own way through alders and tall grass! Day 3 found us exploring more of the rugged terrain of the isthmus crawling over old trails starting from old LeManche. These trails had steep hill climbs over loose clay and sometimes bedrock, some tangly mud and twists and turns. All in all it was another great weekend with some relaxing riding mixed with great technical riding as well. Since my camera battery died I will be revisiting these trails to capture them on film, the shots are well worth a return visit.
Cheers, MIKE
August 24, 2008
Well its been a few weeks now with no new news, but since I'm really only releasing the site today it don't matter since you are all reading this for the first time today!!! During my last visit to Southern Harbor one of the crew lost the motor in his 660 Grizzly, which is now gone for diagnosis and repair. This past weekend we still managed an awesome ride to Goobies and then partway down the burin peninsula enjoying awesome trails, cloudless skies and beautiful warm temperatures. I'm happy to report that Project Foreman is still running strong and trouble free (knock on wood), and this year I've managed to log the most kilometers in one season since I've owned it!!! Looking forward to the long weekend, no plans made but the best trips are often spontaneous!!!
Cheers, MIKE
July 21, 2008
Just returned from another adventure on the isthmus!!! Had a great run on the bikes to Clarenville where we met up with Tyson and hit the sales at Canadian Tire. Needless to say, the next camping trip will be even better then the last. On the way home we stopped here and there to do some trouting, and to explore some newly built side trails. One of these trails had a hidden "trap" that simply opened up and ate one of the bikes!!! The surface of the new road looked fine, but is was simply a cover for a deep mud hole with the consistency of wet cement!!! A quick tug with my bike set it free and we were good to go again.
Cheers, MIKE
July 9, 2008
After talking about it for awhile, myself and the SH crew finally got underway and did a camping trip on the bikes. We enjoyed an excellent 2 night adventure to the Terra Nova area. Despite some mechanical breakdowns, and a long day on the trails, everyone involved had a fantastic time and look forward to another camping adventure soon. Pictures and story to be posted on the Summer 2008 page shortly.
In between all this I have contributed again to TREK magazine, check out the first 2008 issue on stands and at dealers now.
Cheers, MIKE
June 22, 2008
Well its been another crazy busy summer for me again this year, work work, house work, around the bay work and so on, but I still have managed a few runs on the bike.
Yes, that means that Project Foreman Restoration is complete, for more details check out the Area51 page for pictures and blog updates. Myself and the SH crew have had a few runs in the Southern Harbor area including trouting, runs to Clarenville, and a beautiful run to the long abandoned Settlement and Mine at LaManche Placentia Bay.
Cheers, Mike
May 15, 2008
Well its only a couple more sleeps until the long awaited May 24 long weekend. It's the weekend the marks the beginning of summer, opening of campgrounds, opening of the trouting season and anticipation of camping, car racing, ATV riding and warm weather!!!
My Foreman project is progressing well, its not finished yet, but will hopefully be back on the trails in about another week. Pics and my blog have been updated on the Area 51 page. Also, Sooley's ATV dump trailer is coming along well, The design has been pulled from his head, and is taking form in welding and steel The first pics have been posted on the Area 51 page as well.
Although its hard to get the whole crew in the one place at the one time like we used to I'm sure this is going to be another exciting summer, with more events and more trips even if taken more individually then as a crew!
Cheers, Mike