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Old Weekly News Page Archive of past news stories from the main page. Jump To: January 8, 2018 2017 seemed to fly by like a whirlwind, it was quite busy with a lot of travel, crew adventures, garage & house projects and work! The new year is already off to a busy start with many of us in the garage getting sleds, bikes & dirt bikes ready for the winter (which has been slow to start) riding season. I've completed a couple more How to articles which you can find on the Projects in the Shed page, there will be more Area51 updates coming including my Skidoo REV 800 project update and more!
December 18, 2017 December has been an incredibly busy month working with Andrea completing tile floors and a bunch of Fireplaces. Each one unique and using totally different styles & products. Our fall weather has been incredible. Much warmer than usual with only a handful of days sub zero and one day early December reaching 19 degrees! That all changed this past Saturday as temperatures plummeted and a Blizzard Warning issued for Metro. We received a total of 30cm snow by midnight pics are now up on the Crew Adventures page. Meanwhile barely ahead of the storm I finally got to complete a major repair on my Honda 9/28 Snowblower by rebuilding the track drive transmission which was plagued with failed/worn out bearings & gear set. Full story & pics are now up on the Projects in the Shed page.
November 30, 2017 Its been a busy 2nd half of November with Tile work and Garage projects. While changing over tires on the car & truck I found a seized rear brake caliper on my Silverado which meant new pads, rotor & caliper. Work continued with a full service on Lester's 11/32 Honda Snowblower which is much more detailed than what the dealer offers. Meanwhile Steve is back to work on his project '83 200x polishing parts and getting the bike ready for re-assembly.
November 15, 2017 Our annual Trepassey Moose hunting trip was an excellent adventure. This year it was hard to line up everyone's schedules, Troy couldn't go at all due to work commitments, Pietro missed the first couple days, Dad came down for the first couple days but had to head back Saturday evening, and Eddy was unavailable due to a back injury. Although the weather wasn't ideal, little frost and high winds we finally managed to fill one set of tags Monday before Bassan and I had to head back to town. Pietro stayed behind and hunted with Eddy today and successfully filled his own tags! Pics are now up on the Crew Adventures page.
November 9, 2017 While Steve was home we finally got my Project ATC 250sx back on track. We organized and catalogued all of my parts and finally got the rear swingarm completely disassembled and the gross differential cleaned up. This past week I continued along by replacing the worn out sock roller bearings in the steering stem with an All Balls taper roller bearing kit, and replaced the severely worn out/seized swing arm bearings with an All Balls kit. I also took the time to prep and give the frame a 2nd coat of Amour Coat Blue Paint and got a lot of the other misc parts coated with a fresh coat of Gloss Black. Tomorrow Bassan and I are set to head to Trepassey for Part 2 of the 2017 Moose Hunt which should be an awesome time.
November 3, 2017 Steve and Kailee are headed back home to the Great White North after an awesome adventure with Sandra and I here in NL. Outside of laughing, swapping stories and epic meals we went to Paint Nite NL, NLC Whiskies of the World Show. Moms wedding at the Gypsy Tea Room, some evenings in the Garage, and an awesome night dressing up in killer costumes for Halloween. All in all it was an excellent couple weeks!
October 16, 2017 The first half of October has been insane as we prepared for and participated in the first part of our Fall 2017 Moose Hunt filling 3 tags including my own license in area 36 - The Southern Shore. Each trip was absolutely awesome with great weather, ideal hunting conditions and lots of animals spotted. Pics are now up on the Crew Adventures page. In other news I upgraded my old Iphone 5 to a new Iphone 8plus. Many of the pics on this site in recent years come from my phone and the camera on my new device is phenomenal compared to the old one. The 2nd half of October is also set to be amazing as my younger brother Steve and his wife Kailee make their way back to the east coast for a couple weeks of fun and adventure!
September 17 Last week Sandra totally surprised me with a trip to Vegas for 5 days to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. I had no idea she was even planning a trip but was absolutely stoked to hear where we were going as it was my first time to Sin City! We had an excellent trip staying at the Stratosphere, enjoying the sights and sounds and even took a trip to Hoover Dam. Pics are up on the Crew Adventures page.
September 4, 2017 Although the summer recreational food fishery has been open for many weekends now, the schedules of French and I haven't lined up until today, the last day of the Summer fishery. We hopped aboard Cloud Nine and headed up Conception Bay towards Portugal Cove under sunny skies and very calm winds. We caught our quota in less than an hour thoroughly enjoying our morning on the bay! Pics are up on the Crew Adventures page.
August 19, 2017 I've had dad's 2016 Can Am Outlander at the house for the past week or so installing his father's day gift a NL Lightbars 12" Hyperflood light bar. Installation went smooth and works very very well. On Saturday Sandra and I headed to Bay Roberts to drop off Dad's bike and have a BBQ, while out there Sandra spied an old wooden desk which she quickly acquired to restore. I agreed only if she would help so she got straight to work sanding off the old weathered finish. Pics of Sandra's Desk project are up on the Projects in the Shed page.
August 5, 2017 This weekend I began a bunch of projects around the house starting with partially rebuilding the front deck and repairing my backyard fence with was damaged in a severe wind storm earlier this year. The front deck will see replacement of rotted deck boards, and replacing the rails and spindles. The rails are rotted and the spindles were installed quickly and easily. Pics are up on the Projects in the Shed page.
July 30, 2017 This past weekend the St. John's Rod and Gun Club partnered with NL Wildlife Division to hold our annual Youth Day Event at our facility near Holyrood. The event saw 50 youth participate (many for the first time) in Rifle Shooting, Shot Gun Shooting, Archery, and an Outdoor Survival session. Once again the event was met with rave reviews with many looking forward to returning for next years event. In other news, Steve has acquired two more ATC projects in the Great White North, an '83 ATC 250r and an '83 ATC 200x. Both are great restoration candidates with 98% parts intact! Both will receive Steve's clever hand starting with the 200x, pics will be up soon on the Projects in the Shed page.
July 26, 2017 Its been awhile since the last site update as I've been super busy with many projects mainly at the St. John's Rod and Gun Club. Work started in May with repairs to the clubhouse fireplace, and ramped up in June/July as we built a brand new 25m pistol range and rehabilitated Ranges B & C for our 5 year re-certification inspection. The new range is beautiful and took a lot of work after the heavy equipment left to prepare it for shooters. A sign board, flag pole, shooting benches, firing line markers, and target stands all had to be built and was completed by a very small dedicated crew. All the pictures are up on the Crew Adventures page. Meanwhile Steve has his mini 70 ATC project running, some riding pics are on his project thread on the Projects in the Shed page. Mark French recently picked up a brand new and exciting project, a sneak peak can be found on the Periodic Randomness page. Thanks everyone for your patience, I'll be back to more regular updates now that SJRGC work has eased up!
May 24, 2017 The May 24th long weekend has come and gone, although the weather was the pits Sooley, French, and I headed to the Sooley family cabin near Whitbourne for a couple nights of relaxation. Full story & pics can be found on the Crew Adventures page. Steve sent me a major update on his Mini 70 ATC project which is rapidly nearing completion. Not only did he send the latest pics of the build but also missing pics which included the gas tank restoration. Meanwhile I've been busy poking around my own Garage completing some spring maintenance stuff and building a wooden Rummoli Board for Sandra. All these projects can be found on the Projects in the Shed page. Finally the Periodic Randomness page has been updated with a few new pictures not featured anywhere else on the site! Follow us on Twitter & Facebook as we will be tweeting site updates in the future!
May 15, 2017 Spring is slowly making its presence known here on the East Coast, thankfully a bunch of us managed to forgo the cold and headed south to Cayo Coco Cuba for Steve & Kailee's wedding! It was an awesome trip, fun everyday with family and a bunch of terrific new friends! We arrived home to freezing rain and cold and it hasn't changed much since then. There's still snow in the woods and temps hovering from 0 to 5º C or so. Activities at the St. John's Rod and Gun Club are ramping up with weekly Archery, Sporting Clays and Trap shooting up and running for the season once again. May 24th weekend is less than a week away, and although there are no concrete plans we hope to get out in the country for an ATV run or to wet a line. Much of the site has been updated with Cuba Pics and Gun Club Activities update on the Crew Adventures page, and an update to my 2017 Shed Projects on the Projects in the Shed page now online. Finally, the Honda One 35th anniversary Bike/ATV show is rapidly approaching and is set for Saturday June 10th, project Foreman may be making an appearance!
April 8, 2017 Site has been updated once again!
New article on the
Crew Adventures
page from last week's snow/wind storm, on the
Projects in the
Shed page an update to Steve's Mini70 ATC project,
and new pics on the
Periodic Randomness page! I've also been working on filling in content
missed over the last couple years (mostly on the Projects in the Shed page) and
I've added even more Very Old posts on both the Projects in the shed & Crew
Adventures pages. Check out both pages & follow the
March 20, 2017 Couple more additions to
the site today including a post storm ATV run here in Torbay
and the start to my 2017 Area51 misc projects page. In bigger news
I've finally published a large project I've been working on for the
last few weeks. This project is an Archive Section, well actually two
archive sections, one for Very Old Area51 projects including old
vehicle projects on the
Projects in the
Shed page, and an Very Old Archive section on the
Crew Adventures page, both dating
back to about 1996. These sections were compiled completely from
scanned photographs and took a long time to sort though and post but
came out awesome. I'll be adding to these sections as I acquire more
photos from the crew so keep an eye out for the
March 12, 2017 The winds are finally starting to die down here on the North East Avalon as a fierce winter wind storm blows out to sea. Sustained winds of 100km/h and gusts of 160km/h (airport) to 180km/h (Argentia) wreaked havoc on houses & buildings all over town, knocking out power for over 70,000 customers at the peak of the storm. Pictures and story posted on the Crew Adventures page.
February 27, 2017 Few more updates on the site today, three Projects in the Shed have been updated, and a brand new Crew Adventure from this past weekend are now live on the site.
February 19, 2017 Earlier this week we were hit by awesome back to back Blizzards that shut the city down for two days in a row dumping just under 70cm of snow. Of course we couldn't let this go to waste, although a lot of the crew were unable to get out of town, Sooley and I headed to his Cabin for a day riding. It was an awesome day with epic (at least by east coast standards) snow conditions as we spent our time off trail back country riding. Full story is up on the Crew Adventures page.
February 14, 2017 It's Valentines Day and we sit here in the grasp of a good ol' fashioned February Blizzard, which is convenient because it may lead to a skidoo run this weekend. It also gives me a chance to process, write and publish the Crew Adventures for our annual cabin trip which took place last week/weekend. It was another awesome time at the Sooley cabin with lots of adventures and runs on both skidoo and Quad as we adjusted to the weather. There was quite a smorgasbord of vehicles on hand this year, ATV's, Snowmobiles, Studded out Dirt Bikes and even an 8 wheel Argo with tracks!
January 29, 2017 Site is completely up to date with a bunch of new Crew Adventures from December to Present, and a bunch of new pics on the Periodic Randomness page as well. It may be periodic and should be updated less randomly but I did go back and post pics from December to present!
January 28, 2017 The new year is upon us and we are having a typical East Coast winter of snowstorms followed by rainstorms so its been difficult to accumulate enough snow for decent rip on the sled. It's also a very busy time of year for the Executive of the SJRGC and I as we finalize our year end and prepare for our Annual General Meeting. This past weekend Sooley, Maffer and I headed to the Sooley cabin in Whitbourne to clear the driveway in preparation for our Annual Winter Trip in a couple weeks time which the entire crew is really looking forward to!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Shed-Headz Crew. As 2016 comes to a close we are doing so with snow on the ground! Hopefully this trend continues and we can log some miles on the sleds very soon. Its been a very busy month with snow storms, a few Area 51 projects and getting ready for the holidays. Steve's update from up North: "It's Damn Cold!!!"
December 2, 2016 Its been awhile since my last update and its been quite busy with work and visitors! Steve and Kailee were home for a week in November which was absolutely awesome and very busy, and I've been busy getting ready for winter with putting up Christmas lights, getting the car and truck winterized, maintenance on the snowblower, and winterizing the clubhouse at the gun club! Our Trepassey moose hunting trip will likely take place in January which should be a great time as hopefully everything will be froze up by then. There are a bunch of updates on the Projects in the Shed page, each of the updated pages have buttons near the top that skip to the new content. The Periodic Randomness page also has a bunch of new pics.
October 31, 2016 Just a quick update this week, Bill's Garage project is another step closer to completion with interior paint and moldings installed, and outside flashing complete. Check out Bill's Garage project on the Projects in the Shed page. This coming weekend we are having the annual Turkey Shoot at the gun club, it will consist of Trap, Sporting Clays and a Pistol Steel Shoot followed by an awesome home cooked turkey dinner at the end of the day. We had our first snow last week, coated the windshield of the truck in town, covered about 2cm on higher elevations. Soon time to tune up the snowblower & sled!
October 14, 2016 Another Week, another update! This week French finished up his fall Moose hunting adventures having helped his uncle harvest a moose, and yesterday successfully filling his own tags. I accompanied Mark in the woods yesterday and it was an excellent adventure! Pics are now up on the Crew Adventures page. I also took some pics of his new Argo ATV so I have a full write up published on the Projects in the Shed page. Finally I have a quick update on Bassan's Shed Projects which can also be found on the Projects in the Shed page.
October 10, 2016 Hello folks, I've added a whole bunch of brand new content to the site including project updates on the Projects in the Shed page. Bill's Garage build, my ATC 250sx and Peter's 300 Fourtrax projects have all been updated and two new Random Shed Project pages added. I have finished Steve & Kailee's epic summer road trip article which can be found on the Crew Adventures page, there are over 100 absolutely stunning photos to view. Periodic Randomness is home to a few new shots as well.
September 27, 2016 I've made another subtle change to the site this week, this time to the Pic of the Month Page. This page has been replaced by Periodic Randomness. This means that this page can now be updated at anytime. Pics may be a snapshot of a Crew Adventure or Shed Project, a Sneak Peak of the same, or pics I've taken/submitted completely at random that previously wouldn't have made it on the site but I'd like to share. Check out the new page using the button above, it's in chronological order and I've added a whole bunch of pictures throughout the page, in the future new items will be added right at the top. I made a small update to project Foreman on the Projects in the Shed page outlining this year's annual maintenance which is also a how to of how I maintain my bike. I've also added a new Coyote Hunting story, and Steve's bird hunting story to the Crew Adventures page.
September 23, 2016 Hunting Season is finally here and in full swing in NL, Moose is open in some areas with the rest opening October 1st, Most small game birds are open with Rabbit in October. Good luck to all hunters and please be safe in your travels, know your backstop before firing any rifle or shotgun. Two more stories have been uploaded to the Crew Adventures page, one for Spring/Summer events and projects at the St. John's Rod and Gun Club, and the other for the Atlantic Trap Championships also at the SJRGC.
September 9, 2016 Its been a crazy busy these last few weeks. The St. John's Rod and Gun Club hosted the 2016 Atlantic Trap Championships on Labor Day weekend which was a four day shoot with nearly 50 participants from across Canada. There were a lot of evenings and weekends spent at the club making repairs/maintenance to the clubhouse & equipment, renovations to the trap office, and cleaning inside and outside in preparation for the event. The shoot went off very very well and was attended by the president of the Canadian Trapshooting Association, NHL great - David (Tiger) Williams, and great showing from all Atlantic Provinces, Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan. Vendor MD Charlton was also on site with Caesar Guerini & Blaser demo shotguns, a wide array of shooting accessories, and their factory gun smith - a first for an AP shoot. Outside of the Gun Club I've managed a few more hours at Project 250sx, the biggest news is that I now have a running trike! With this major hurdle conquered work is finally moving forward with some of my EBay parts installed, color scheme finalized and gas tank repaired. Check out Project 250sx on the Projects in the Shed page.
August 10, 2016 Summer came to Newfoundland in full force during the last week of June and the warm dry weather hasn't let up yet! Its been a great summer with lots of events at the Rod and Gun Club, a major backyard project completed at my house, and some updates completed on a lot of Area51 projects. Bill is back working on his garage with Electrical & Insulation nearly complete, I performed a Winch replacement/upgrade on project Foreman, and I've finally dug back into my ATC 250sx project. Steve and Kailee had a major move/road trip from Behchoko NWT to Aklavik NWT. Also the Summer Food Fishery is in full swing, so there are quite a few pics and stories coming soon. My July ATV run with Maffer is up now on the Crew Adventures Page.
May 15, 2016 We are about one week away from the Official start to Summer in NL, the May 24 Holiday weekend. Since my last update there have been quite a few adventures completed, April saw record snowfalls for us here on the East Coast, I have a few local ATV runs logged here in Torbay and are now posted on the Crew Adventures page, and three are a bunch of updates and new pictures posted on the Projects in the Shed page. Its also been a busy time at the St. John's Rod and Gun Club getting everything ready for spring shoots, clay target order delivered and unloaded and equipment serviced and reinstalled.
March 30, 2016 Well I'm back from my awesome week in the Great White North. It was a fantastic trip, albeit with a few flight disruptions it went very well. Steve and I got in some Area51 time, did some shooting, ATV rips, East Coast night & Buffalo Airways and lots more. Pics and story will be up soon. Meanwhile, Bill's West Coast trip is now up on the Crew Adventures pages, and there are a bunch of updates on the Projects in the Shed page as well.
March 9, 2016 Its just as well to say that Winter is over at least here on the East Coast of the Island. Its been a quiet few weeks for the crew although Area51 project work continues in the absence of riding. Parts continue to Arrive for my 250sx trike project, Steve's mini 70 is really progressing (update to follow soon), and I've been hard at work updating the Crew Adventures page switching stories to the new format which has been completed back as far as 2006 now. Bill & Max are on the west coast snowmobiling this week so I'll have pics posted as soon as they are back, and in other news I'm heading North to Yellowknife to visit Steve next week. I'll finally get to enjoy some winter, pics to follow when I get back.
March 1, 2016 The warm winter weather continues to plague us here on the east coast, while the whole island suffers from low snow conditions, here on the East Coast the ground has been completely bare for well over a week. With today's rain and double digit temps all of the ponds are completely unsafe even if any ice remains. You never know what March may bring, if we get some snow there are a couple destinations for a sled rip that don't involve ponds so fingers are crossed. Meanwhile my 1985 250sx ATC project is coming along as parts continue to arrive from EBay. The Crew Adventures page is now converted to the new format back through 2009 so there is no better time to reminisce through the old trips and look at some fantastic photos! Finally, Big congrats to my brother Steve and his now Fiancé Kailee on their engagement!
February 16, 2016 The Annual Winter Cabin Trip has come and gone and it was another complete success. All the earmarks of a fantastic trip were hit this year, snowstorms, fossil fuels burnt, fires, carnage, ice fishing and a whole lot of laughs! Check out what was one of the best Winter Cabin Trips to date on the Crew Adventures page!
February 11, 2016 The newest Project in Area51 is underway. Today I picked up a wild 1985 Honda 250sx ATC. The bike is far from mint, but its going to be quite the project! Cant wait to get this on the trails! Pics up on the Projects in the Shed page.
February 9, 2016 We've had a few snowstorms so far this winter even one 30cm dump with zero wind, (unfortunately followed by warm spells & rain) so we have no accumulation on the ground here on the East Coast. Well today we had our first actual Blizzard warning, and received about 20cm, unfortunately windblown so ground cover is sparse. Pics are up on the Crew Adventures page, also Crew Adventures are updated back through 2014 to the new format.
February 1, 2016 Hey guys, the site is now 100% up to date and the new format installed. I've cleaned up the layout of the site with fewer individual pages, most important 3 are Projects in the Shed, Crew Adventures, and Pic of the Month. All Shed projects have been updated and swapped to a brand new Photo Gallery style which is cleaner and faster to view. The story is told in the photo comments. The projects page now houses the How To's Section, and a brand new Old, Old Projects section from projects way back in the day. The Crew Adventures page has been revamped, these stories go way back to 2004. All 2015 and newer stories are using the same new Photo Gallery format which is cleaner and faster to view. The older stories still use the old format and will be updated in time. I hope you like the new look and all the new content. Highlights include this years Moose Hunting Trip, a bunch of ATV runs (including a sunken bike) and a bunch of new build projects in the Garage. Honda Big Red, Mini 70 ATC, Project Foreman update to name a few.
January 21, 2016 Hey Guys, Site updates are in the works with lots of new trips and build projects coming soon. Big Red restoration, Honda 70 ATC build, moose hunting trips and more to come.
After a year long absence from updating the site, I am finally back hard at work to bring content from the last 12 months. Sandra and I purchased a new house which meant renovations, painting and the finishing of a brand new Area51 Facility for yours truly. Many stories have been added to the Rips & Trips page with more to come, and there are a bunch of new Area51 project stories in the works.
It's now the end of March, and we just had another two snowstorms, although the second one brought as much rain as it did snow. Hopefully we will get out for an end of season ride, my work with the St. John's Rod and Gun Club certainly eats up a lot of time but I'd sure like one last run on the sled before Summer. Last weekend we had the T.G.I.S. (Thank God Its Spring) Sporting Clays shoot at the St. John's Rod and Gun Club. About 20 people showed up and we had a great day shooting and an awesome lunch. In other news, Todd stepped up and purchased another sled, a brand new Red & Black 2014 Yamaha Viper LTX which is a 137" version of the new YamaCat chassis.
February 26, 2014 Well the Annual Cabin Trip has come and gone and just as in years past, it was an outstanding good time! Check out the Rips & Trips page for all the details and pictures! With cold temperatures continuing along with more snow/rain mix we are gradually building up a decent base for snowmobiling. Central and Western Newfoundland are having a fantastic winter, Bill has a snowmobile trip planned to central NL with Max...hopefully there will be no carnage this time! French has sold the Dodge Ram and picked up a beautiful 2014 Jeep Cherokee Trail Hawk, which is trail rated...cant wait to get this out in the woods with Mr. French! We might be able to drive this one right to Lucky Gully!
February 3, 2014 With fingers are crossed we are hoping winter stays for at least another few weeks here on the Avalon Peninsula. We are still getting steady snowfalls, and cold temps have returned which will hopefully make the ponds safe once again. Ice fishing opened this past weekend, but with sketchy ice conditions we are waiting another week before venturing out. I spent the weekend in the shed making some minor repairs to my sled. I replaced the front bumper, replaced the throttle lever as the thumb heater wasn't working, rebuilt front shocks as one leaked out, and cleaned kill switch. In other news, the annual Sooley cabin winter trip is planned for Feb 14, 2014!
January 29, 2014 Winter has finally returned to the East Coast! Its snowing out now and the forecast is calling for about 30cm of snow and cold temperatures. Hopefully the weather holds so the ponds will freeze up again as ice fishing opens this coming Saturday. I'll be in the shed tonight replacing my front bumper in eager anticipation for a ride in the near future.
January 28, 2014 With the exception of this past weekends shoot at the Rod & Gun Club, the site is finally up to date! Stories and pictures from the last 12 months have been published in the new and improved Rips n Trips section. This new section replaces the former Winter/Summer Galleries to better organize the 10 years of content on the site!
January 2014 Hey Folks, I finally set up my new computer and I'm in the process of organizing pictures from the last 12 months and writing updates for the site. Check back soon for an updated look and more stories & pics!!!
After our Sunday ride this past weekend, temperatures jumped and 10mm of rain ruined riding conditions once again! Luckily some of us got our miles logged while the going was good. Fortunately, we had another great snowfall Tuesday night, and its been snowing every day since so riding conditions are even better then before!
January 21, 2013 Having been rained out immediately following our blizzard on January 11, we received a decent snowfall the following Friday which made for decent riding conditions this past weekend. I got out for the first ride of the year Saturday on my own, and some of the crew and I got out Sunday for a 112km adventure!
January 9, 2013 Weather forecast for the Avalon Peninsula issued a Blizzard warning for today and tomorrow. High winds and forecasters are predicting 50-70cm snow for our area! Looking forward to some fantastic riding conditions!
January 1, 2013 Another year has come and gone, its certainly been an eventful one on many many fronts! Hope everyone had a great Christmas holiday, and cheers to lots of snow and great weather in the new year!
Today we had our 2nd significant snowfall of the year. The first snowfall is long gone, but now we have about 25cm on the ground. If it stays it will be a great base to ride on after another storm. My REV rebuild is finally done. Machine is completely back together and ready to go! We also finished some maintenance and custom work on Maffer's REV, look for an update on the Area51 page soon!
December 2, 2012 I took a run to the Rod and Gun Club today for the weekly trap shoot. Even with the recent snowfall, the club was easily accessible. Unfortunately most people must have been deterred by this as it was only Monty and myself there to shoot. We set up a trap house anyway and had a great day shooting clays!
November 28, 2012 First decent snowstorm of the year today, about 20cm fell in Mount Pearl today! I'm sure many people were out looking for rocks and stumps to hit, our crew stayed home to work on our sleds. My REV Rebuild is coming along great with a new motor, new appearance, and rebuilt suspension on the to do list. Expect and update on the Area51 page soon!
November 5, 2012 Yesterday Mark French, Don French, Justin French and I attended the annual turkey shoot at the St. John's Rod and Gun club. It was an awesome day with great weather and good company. As always, the crew at the club put off a fantastic Turkey dinner!
October 21, 2012 While French spent a weekend on call and farting around his new garage, I decided to take a run to the Rod and Gun Club for the weekly trap shoot. We had a decent turn out, enough to run 2 squads and 2 trap houses. The big news of the day is that I got my first ever 25/25 score trap shooting, and I got it with my new Browning 725 Over and Under Shotgun! Check out the full story on the Summer 2012 page
September 26, 2012 My brother joined the R.C.M.P. last year, finished his training in November, and was immediately posted to a community in northern Alberta. Last week he and his girlfriend Chantal made it back to our fair province for a visit. We attended our uncles wedding (Congrats Gerry & Tracey!), took Chantal to George Street for a Screech in Party, and had a day on the bay with Dad in Bay Roberts.
September 15, 2012 Today marked the opening for Duck & Grouse Hunting here in Newfoundland, keeping with tradition French and I were up early to see what we could find. We spent a great day in Witless Bay and managed to bag 3 ducks and 3 grouse.
September 6, 2012 Congrats to Mark & Heather French on the birth of the newest member of the Shed-Headz Crew Ms. Piper Ann French! Best part is, her Yamaha Sno-Scoot is already in stock!
September 4, 2012 Well summer has come and gone. There hasn't been a whole lot of activity here as we've been busy with a multitude of construction projects that you will soon see on the Summer 2012 page. Most of my time has been spent at Mark French's building his garage and a long, long fence. This weekend marked the Labor Day holiday so a few of us got away to Maffer's cabin in Tors Cove. It was a great weekend, Maffer turned his bike into a submarine, and we harvested a vag of blueberries.
August 25, 2012 Congrats to Steve & Krista Learning on their wedding today! Once again a great time was had by the entire crew, best wishes and many years of happiness!
July 21, 2012 The recreational ground fish summer fishery started today, French and I both missed the opening as we were busy building his fence and garage! We will definitely be getting out a few times, but I suspect it wont be as often as years past. Check out the full story on the Summer 2012 page.
July 7, 2012 Congrats to Steve & Lisa Long on their wedding today! Great time was had by the entire crew, best wishes and many years of happiness!
June 30, 2012 Had another great day at the St. John's Rod and Gun club where French and I organized a day trap shooting for Long's stag! The shoot was followed by food and beer at Bill's house that evening. All in all an awesome day!
June 22, 2012 Justin's Fence is now complete. Mark and I had to negotiate/bargain a pizza out of him Friday night while we worked our fingers to the bone. There are a couple little things to finish on the fence, he'll probably be most of the summer getting them done! (LoL)
June 10, 2012 Today Mark, Justin and I attended the annual Newfoundland Sportsman Shoot at the St. John's Rod and Gun club. It consisted of both trap and sporting clays events. It was a great day under sunny skies and clouds of gunpowder!
June 6, 2012 French and I got away for an evening trouting and it was an uber success! We managed to catch a few nice trout, but my evening was capped off when I hooked and landed a 6 lb monster brown trout! It was quite an adventure and I'm sure he'll taste as good as he looks!
June 2, 2012 Summer construction projects have begun. Sooley's Fence is just about complete, and land has been cleared at French's house for the newest Area51 Facility! It's going to be a very busy summer!
May 22, 2012 The May24 Holiday weekend is here and gone. There was no big cabin trip, but Maffer and I had a great ATV trip to Argentia, and I managed to get a bunch of stuff done around the house.
May 18, 2012 Project Foreman is repaired and ready to go! Last week I finally received the parts to completely rebuild the rear end, and this week I finished the work by installing a new ball joint and front wheel bearing. Looking forward to the long weekend!
April 22, 2012 Spring is here, and trap shooting at the Rod & Gun club has begun. Earlier today French and I helped the guys re-install the trap machines and spent the afternoon shooting. Looking forward to another great shooting season!
April 8, 2012 Easter weekend is now over, and some of us got out for a great Spring ATV ride. Summer 2012 page is up and features our Good Friday Adventure.
April 2, 2012 Project Foreman has been completely reorganized on the Area51 page. The project is split up now for easier reading, and there is actually more detailed information on some of the projects I completed on it. A further update will come in the following weeks as I tackle my rear-end repair.
April 1, 2012 "Sheila's Brush" has come and gone, as St. John's was socked with a 30cm snowstorm yesterday, and at least one of the crew got out for a ride today! Long went out to the Goulds to try out his new Summit and he was defiantly impressed. The sled is working great, and with some clutch tuning to match the Dynopro Pipe, the sled will be dandy next season!
March 31, 2012 Site has been updated once again. Couple new stories on the Winter 2011-2012 page, a bunch of new stories now that the Summer 2011 page is up to date, and 2 new projects can be found on the Area51 page. Lots of stuff going on, and more to come this summer as projects are worked on, and rides and adventures to come.
March 22, 2012 Big news today, after careful consideration, much shopping and research Maffer picked up a new 2012 Can Am Outlander 800 ATV today! Details can be found on the Area51 page and a test ride soon on the Winter 2011-2012 page!
March 11, 2012 Well the snow didn't last long, all of it was melted by the time we got to the cabin. We still had a decent night, and we did get a very small minimal ride in logging more miles skipping water then actually riding! This winter will go down in the history books as the pits.
March 7, 2012 After weeks and weeks of rain, no snow and cold temps we finally got a significant snowfall of 20cm! We're hoping to get out to Sooley's cabin this weekend so I can try out my new REV, Maffer can get his first run in, and Sooley can test ride his recently repaired Sled.
February 27, 2012 Well the weather has been absolutely dreadful ever since the heavy rainfall on February 12. Its been rain, then cold ever since. Rain means there is little snow left, but the cold has kept the ponds pretty safe. In other news, French, Justin, Long, Todd, Bill & Max are all on the west coast for the Annual Big West Coast Trip at Big Falls in Hampden. Early reports are of lots of snow and a great time. In yet more news, I am finally retiring project Renegade. After nearly pulling the trigger on a new sled many times over the last few years, a great deal came my way last week. I picked up a 2006 REV 800 Power Tek, with a 121x1.5" Intense track, nicely accessorized. The sled needs some work, but it will make a great project.
February 26, 2012 I now have most of the trip stories and pictures up on the Winter 2011-2012 page. Summer 2011 will be finished shortly.
February 20, 2012 This past summer, I lost my Server that I use to edit the www.shed-headz.com website. Retrieving a back up took longer then expected, but I am now up and running making additions to the site!
The first long weekend of the summer season is here and gone. Unfortunately this year most of the crew did not get away on an adventure as family life, work and chores take priority over our crew activities. Lots of ATV runs, Camping trips coming up this summer!
April 27, 2011 The crew has returned from the West Coast with a successful final snowmobile run of the season on the books. The trip story has been published on the Winter 10-11 page. Earlier this week Maffer and I successfully hunted the first Coyote of the crew! The full story, as well as my good Friday ATV adventure is now published on the Summer 2011 page. Shed-Headz.com and Area51 decals are now available. I will have an information page published soon, if you would like decals, please contact me by email at the link below.
April 13, 2011 Well my sled is now stored for summer and work on Project Foreman will continue very soon. Last Sunday the crew an I headed to the St. John's Rod & Gun Club for a day skeet shooting. It was an awesome day with sunny skies, 1300 rounds of ammo shot, and a wicked lunch. Sooley, French, Bill & Max leave Thursday evening for the last Snowmobile trip of the year. They're heading to B&R cabins on the west coast to make the best of the spring riding conditions.
April 7, 2011 Last night I finally completed the largest addition ever to the site at one time. The Archives 2003-2007 page is finally finished with nearly 60 new trip stories from the beginning of our sled adventures. I've taken the pictures hosted on sledsooley and have written the stories and incorporated videos where available for one complete package of our adventures.
April 4, 2011 Winter is slowly winding down, and although conditions are still marginal we didn't make it out for a run this week. The 2003-2006 Archives page is coming along, when finished there will be an additional 50 or more stories published on the site.
March 29, 2011 Well we had more snow last week, so that meant fixing my broken sled and promptly getting out for a run! Sunday French, Bill & I had an awesome day tearing up the hills in Petty Harbor. Check out the story by clicking on the "Winter '10-'11" page or the "What's new this week" button above.
March 24, 2011 Many site updates completed as of today. New stories have been published on the Winter 10-11 page, Winter 08-09 page, Winter 07-08 page and Summer 2007 page.
March 14, 2011 We had a great day in the country Saturday past, the sun was shining and warm temps made for ideal spring riding, and ice fishing. That story is up on the winter 10-11 page. Area51 has been completely updated. I read and updated all projects new and old, check them out on the Area51 page.
March 7, 2011 Last weekend Sandra and I went to Southern Harbor, I didn't have my sled with me but the guys still got a couple decent runs in. Story is up on the winter 10-11 page. If the weather holds up we hope to get out for a ride this weekend as none of us are working or on call!
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February 28, 2011 Well the annual cabin trip is here and gone, and a great time was had by all despite the miserable weather Saturday. Check out the Winter '10-11' page for the story. Meanwhile Bill, French and Pollard are on the west coast snowmobiling at Big Falls. They are due back this coming Friday.
February 22, 2011 Site is now updated, use the "What's New This Week" button above to see my recent updates and additions to the site.
February 21, 2011 The countdown is on for the annual cabin trip, just 3 more sleeps!!! Our trip to the Sooley cabin was supposed to take place this past weekend, but we had to postpone due to a family illness, and thankfully everything is OK now. Nothing worse then someone being sick and I'm glad that everything turned out great.
February 18, 2011 Summer 2010 page is now up to date with all available pics and stories published.
February 18, 2011 Winter 2010-2011 page is now up to date with all available pics and stories published. Summer 2010, and winter 09-10 pages are under construction. The trips are listed, but I'm still working on the story pages.
February 16, 2011 Well its been well over a year since the site has last been updated. my apologies to everyone that reads this site. We have all been busy with many summer and winter activities, many of which I'm working on uploading over the next few days. I have been super busy with work and haven't dedicated much time to the site. Everything will be up to date shortly.
Due to computer problems, am having trouble updating the site. I am working on the problem and hope to have everything back on track soon.
This past week/weekend the Shed-Headz 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!
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!!!
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 Witless Bay Line and back. Hopefully the weather stays in our favor as I eagerly make repairs to project renegade!
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.
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!
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. I have also added another item to my Product Review's Page.
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 sold his 1996 Formula 583 to young Joe...looks like no more Citations for him!!! Skipper Joe got out 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.
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)
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 "Warrior-ized" with the installation of a extension kit and a 136" track. 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!
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!!!
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
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!!!
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 gravel pit on Northern Pond 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 Rips n Trips page. The remainder of the evening was hosted graciously by Mr. French at his home in St. Phillip's where everyone had a great time.
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.
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!!!
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.
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.
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.
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!
May 24th weekend has once again come and gone. Despite the weather we had an excellent weekend, got more work done at the cabin, lots of gas burned in the bikes, and all the other good stuff. All pics and videos are now up on the Rips n Trips page. On another note, all parties involved in Sooley's stag and Spurrell's stagette this past weekend survived to tell the tale. There were a few drinks, maybe a few dances at the ballet, and a lot of fun too!!!
May 19, 2005 May 24 weekend is just a day away and we're all excited!!! It will be a weekend of mud boggin', water hopping, troutin' and wobbly pop's, the official start of the summer season. Yes, we will all be bringing our shorts, rain gear and snow suits in preparation for encountering all four seasons weather-wise. On another sadder note, at this time I would like to announce the passing of another Sled Sooley motorized vehicle...one '97 Grand Am (not really all so Grand). Final fate unknown at this time, all I can say is that it will go down in history in a long line of tortured vehicles including one 1987 Blue Chev Pickup, a 1989 VW Fox, a 1989 New Yorker, a 1984 Camry and one 1986 Subaru Wagon.
April 7th 2005 Well the snowmobile season is winding down in the St. John's area. There is still enough snow from Central - West for a run but Sooley is definitely done for the season, with the Mach1-ton wrote off and the Enticer in need of resurrection. Overall this season wasn't up to par snowfall-wise but we did manage to get a few runs in and do a bit of powder play, which just makes it more of an exciting wait for next season. I am headed to Roddickton on the Great Northern Peninsula for a week long ride with Dad and a few if his buddies.
March 14, 2005 Another week, another promise of a storm, and once again we were left disappointed with only a few useless centimetres of snow on the ground. That however did not discourage the crew as three of us set out Saturday morning to take advantage of what snow we had. Sooley Bill and I left Adam's Pond in Paradise, and made our way to Northern Pond Road, crossing to the Foxtrap Pasture lands, making our way out the road to the power lines that parallel the highway to Witless Bay Line. The paths were very rough with many many back breaking, leg torturing yes mams, but it was worth it once we got to the power lines. The trail there was excellent, and took us quickly across a lot of country, stopping often to play amongst the hills and valleys, climbing walls of snow and finding powder drifted amongst the rocks and trees. We then crossed the Witless Bay Line and made our way across the open barrens and cabin trails to Crane's North Atlantic Station to fuel up for the final leg or our trip across the old pole line to the Goulds. We made it back to Paradise, tired and well worn, but ready and rearing to go next weekend!!!
March 5, 2005 Sooley went for a Rip next to his house late Sunday afternoon with the intent to go out on Adam’s Pond and play awhile, but spent most of the day getting the Mach1-ton unstuck. I was out for a solo run and when I got to Paradise Irving I called French and Bill and they were in the Goulds on a rip as well. We met up on chicken farm road after a gruelling bumpy ride in Cochrane Pond Road, we ended up in the fields and trails back in the Goulds for a great powder rip!
February 21, 2005 Our annual Winter cabin trip has come and gone for another year. We spent a great 5 days in the country snowmobiling, ice fishing, and partying. Even though the weather didn't always cooperate we still managed to log a few miles, make some jumps, find some open water and break stuff up!!! Wednesday brought sunny skies and fresh powder for us early birds, and we didn't hesitate to take full advantage of these pristine conditions that day. Thursday was a little wet, as mild weather brought rain and created lots of slush on the ponds, but that didn't dampen our spirits!!! Friday and Saturday were great days spent on the pond fishing and havin' a time around the campfire. Late nights and early mornings really make you wonder what kind of a vacation this trip really is!!! If you said we are doin' it right, then you are correct!
February 14, 2005 The skidoos remained parked this past weekend as a few of us spent a beautiful sunny Saturday Ice Fishing at Goose Lake. Plans for entering the Buy & Sell fishing derby on Octagon Pond in Paradise were scrapped as the event was postponed, so we hit the highway and headed west to Whitbourne instead. We lucked into another fantastic day of sunny skies, and caught plenty of fish, keeping just a few for the pan that evening. We wait in eager anticipation for the cabin trip which starts Wednesday morning!!!!
February 7, 2005 Well this past weekend was a very busy one for the Shed-Headz Crew, Saturday was spent installing cable, data, telephone and security wiring in Bill's new house. Sunday was "Beater Day" at Sooley's Cabin where we dragged out Sooley's old 340 Enticer, my 440 Invader and Mr. Sooley's 410 Enticer II. Beautiful sunny skies, a few easily solved hic-ups with the machines, and some bumps & bruises made for a great day!!! Things we learned on this trip: 1. Mike's Paint jobs hold up great even when sliding upside down on ice for 30 feet!!! 2. A Yamaha Enticer II is probably too much sled for Bill to handle!!! 3. Sooley will come off a machine regardless of how fast and/or powerful it is!!
January 27, 2005 Not much new this past week, sledsooley himself had work commitments, but some of us got a run in the weekend. Some of us (not mentioning any names) found themselves really stuck in some really cold waist high water in the Goulds. Ice Fishing season opens February 1, 2005, so along with some snowmobiling we may get a chance to wet a line this week too.
Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith
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icons! Big Big pre-wedding congrats to Steve & Kailee on their upcoming nuptials
later this week as we head to Cuba to celebrate the event!