why did you start sledding?

[Can-Do]

my father or any family member was never into any motorized sport.

growing up and through high-school i witnessed a lot of my friends quading and messin around with sleds or basicaly any motorized past-time.

i was envious that a lot of people i know could afford and had availability to such machines. it wasnt that our family was poor, actualy the opposite but my dad was always out of town working and when he was home there was always a lot of work to do around the acerage and such. very little time for frills.

as i grew up i told myself some day when i can look at the large scale picture of where i am in life finacialy and with the dog shows and races the wife and i attend. to be sure i had time to fit everything i want to do with the time i have available.

well now is that time, granted i started much later in life then most people when it comes to a past-time like this. i started moto-cross years ago but my shoulders cant take the punishment any longer, arthritis has killed that for me.

i bought an 08 quad and sled fairly close together knowing i wanted to partake in both activities. iv wanted to scince i was probably 15 to 16 years old. well now im 37 and haveing a blast with both. my only regret is i didnt have the oppertunity to start at a younger age

i cant complain though, iv met some really cool people thus far over the last couple years, people like 4byrookie, Labradorian, Deasoninc, Lococoin, Addicted, and many others from this forum site and others sites like this one. its part of MY journey now and i wouldnt trade it for the world.

a big thanks to everyone here and for those of you from other forum sites as well. to those iv met and others who i have yet to meet. its not just about the toys we play with but the people along the way that play with us. im 37 and and when im out rideing i feel like im 15 to 16 again and not a care in the world :d

 

[polarice]

i started when all my buddies at work were riding and telling me how much fun the mountains were, so I bought a sled and i've been hooked ever since only been riding for 9 years now but it would be a cold day in hell before i give it up.

well if they got snow in hell id go there for a ride

 

[Sleddingdad]

I wanted to have fun with my wife in the winter. I love HP. Jumping is fun in the snow. The scenery is fantastic. Solitude on top of a mountain is enjoyable.

 

[wade1974]

Well I only started sleddin this year. I grew up in newfoundland and my family wasn't very well to do. I was the guy who watched many of my friends go sleddin and wished I could. It only took me about 15 years later to get my first sled. The house and everything that goes with a family had to come first, but I can say without a doubt that it might be my first year to own a sled and my first year of sledding but it will not be the the last. It's an absolute blast everytime I go out. My wife loves it as well. Thats why we bought 2 sleds.

I also have to thank everyone on this site for all the great info. Without it I probably would have been lost.

 

[H2SNOW]

been on sleds my entire life ....work horses on the trapline ....Elans,Double tracks etc.....when I got older I was able to buy nicer stuff and enjoy it more for fun and not just for ....a way of life ..in the north ..it just is

1st 1974 Elan 150
2nd 1979 Elan 250 twin ..big power I tell ya
3rd 1980 something ET 300 Yamaha
4th 1981 Skidoo Tundra
5th 1996 Skidoo summit 583
6th 1997 Skidoo MXZ 583
7th 1998 Skidoo Summit 670 X
8th 1998 Skidoo Mach Z 800 LT
9th 2004 Summit 800 Rev
10th 2007 Summit 860 Rev ...still in the mail..

 

[RockyMtn]

...... it would be a cold day in hell before i give it up.

Well I for one, hope Hell freezes over !!!! I'm getting my sled buried with me so I can rip it up down there too! Just can't see me going the other way! LOL!..


CHEERS!!!!

 

[MADPOW]

mainly because of being born and raised in Northern Ab, and not really anything else to do when I was young in the winters. Got old enough and was able to buy my own, been hooked every since.........

 

[brew_doo]

My dad had Sno-Jet sleds through all his 'wild' years and my older cousin had a Sno-Jet while growing up so I just had to have a sled. I saved all of my paper route money and when I turned 14, I bought my own '79 John Deere 440 Cyclone (must have been around 1990 or so). Had it for a few years and then sold it to put the cash towards a truck when I was 16. Went without a sled then until 1997 and have had Doo's ever since. Can't see myself without one for the rest of my days.
Good thread PR.:d

 

[cat girl]

I started to keep up with my brothers when we were kids. I loved it right away! I got smarter though..they still ride ski doo's LOL

 

[all-4-stroke]

it all started before i was born when mom and dad bought two brand new '80 yamaha enticers. i was sledding before i knew what oxygen was. then i graduated to riding in a sleigh towed behind one of the 340's then stepped up to doubling then made the executive move to drivin on my own i think when i was about 9 or so. then the happiest day off my life at the time was when mom and dad bought two more sleds :d 92 exciter 2 and a 97 phazer SS, that meant i had my own sled. i rode that 340 right up until 2007 when i bought my first sled a new phazer mtx. unfortunately some jackasses stole that along with my 340 and the trailer. so with my insurance pay out (thank god!) i went ahead and bought my 40th anniversary nytro mtx. i have ridden yamaha all my life!!! and i cry sometimes in the summer when i realize how far away winter is. sleddin is the best addiction i have ever aquired and i never ever plan to give it up!!!!

 

[jay007]

When I was 6 my uncle gave me an old super olympique (one lunger) drove that thing into the gound! Then got an old Rupp and must have put a million miles on that thing before miling it out. Then on to a Kawisaki Invader 440 - seemed like a bullet compared to the Rupp, it broke beyond repair then got an 89 mach one (still going strong) before realizing the way to ride is in the steep and deep so bought a 97 summit 670, now ride an 05 summit 800.....just thinking about the changes between the super olympique and the rev its amazing! The only way I won't have a sled again is if I am unable to ride at all.

 

[kennyblatz]

grandpa had a jag 340 i think, busted my lip open on the kill switch.. i can't really remember that. but i will never forget when he let it go over the pond hill ghost rider and it flipped end over end onto the hood.

 

[McLuvin]

Great stories! My dad used to race Artic Cats back in the early to mid seventies in Sask, then after he quit he bought a 1976 Jag 3000, and a kitty cat. The rest is history.

 

[MRAN]

My buddy Tom borrowed a 78 tnt off his boss for me to play with while he road his old phazer, and took me up a nearby mountain. Got stuck as often as I could and haven't looked back - am enjoying a 97 ac 600tr for now, hopefully something a little bigger and longer next year, and the year after, and the year after, and the year after, and the year after, and the year........you get the point.

 

[enis750]

my dad used to race moto-x back in the day and he used to oval race sleds to keep in shape for the upcoming moto-x season
i never had a moto-x bike or sled growing up...ever
i al ways give my dad crap for not getting me into dirtbikes or sleds...why i ask!!???

i was lucky enough to ride my friends bikes, sleds etc..
my cousin had an old 440 of some type that we alsmost sunk when we were like 15
then his dad bought 2 brand new sleds...a Formula S and a Folrmula SLS
went on one trip to the lake w them when they were new and never sat on another sled until 3 years ago

my first sled was a 2007 M8...yep my first owned sled and havent sat on one for like 12 years
i bought it on May 2 and rode it May 5 at Radium (Forrester)
let me tell ya, it was pretty intimidating getting on that thing & going to the hills!! ha ha!!!

attached is a pic of the hill i climbed my second day on the M!!!
i dont even know if i would try that one again today!! ha ha ha!!
for those of you who ride there, will recognize the pic
look near the right middle of the page...you can see our tracks going up there
the pic only shows half of the climb, it started way below the treeline

here is a pic of the ol girl, just after i finished burrying her balls deep!!
i sorta miss her now.......might have to buy another one

heres one of my bro in law walking back up, after he helped me get unstuck
was pretty steep

well i dont have it anymore, its gone and I now ride a 2003.5 Summit800HO 144
(had a baby recently, needed to sell the M and buy something a little cheaper)

not your typical story, but i think its a good one!! ha ha ha!! AND im still ALIVE !!!
sorry, this post got alot longer than needed!! ha ha!

 

[RETODD]

my dad used to race moto-x back in the day and he used to oval race sleds to keep in shape for the upcoming moto-x season
i never had a moto-x bike or sled growing up...ever
i al ways give my dad crap for not getting me into dirtbikes or sleds...why i ask!!???

i was lucky enough to ride my friends bikes, sleds etc..
my cousin had an old 440 of some type that we alsmost sunk when we were like 15
then his dad bought 2 brand new sleds...a Formula S and a Folrmula SLS
went on one trip to the lake w them when they were new and never sat on another sled until 3 years ago

my first sled was a 2007 M8...yep my first owned sled and havent sat on one for like 12 years
i bought it on May 2 and rode it May 5 at Radium (Forrester)
let me tell ya, it was pretty intimidating getting on that thing & going to the hills!! ha ha!!!

attached is a pic of the hill i climbed my second day on the M!!!
i dont even know if i would try that one again today!! ha ha ha!!
for those of you who ride there, will recognize the pic
look near the right middle of the page...you can see our tracks going up there
the pic only shows half of the climb, it started way below the treeline

here is a pic of the ol girl, just after i finished burrying her balls deep!!
i sorta miss her now.......might have to buy another one

heres one of my bro in law walking back up, after he helped me get unstuck
was pretty steep

well i dont have it anymore, its gone and I now ride a 2003.5 Summit800HO 144
(had a baby recently, needed to sell the M and buy something a little cheaper)

not your typical story, but i think its a good one!! ha ha ha!! AND im still ALIVE !!!
sorry, this post got alot longer than needed!! ha ha!

Hey enis750…stories and outcomes are pretty similar!! Rode 440’s around the Tofield area with my dad and his buddy as a kid…long time ago…then four years ago my brother-in-law got drunk with his buddy that rides next think we own a couple of old Artic Cats…got the itch BAD…moved on to this:

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2209664400102976725GsQcNI

Now own a 04 800…look familiar !!! Now VERY addicted to the mountains and lovin it.


Cheers…

 

[mxz sledhead]

Oh wow going back down memory lane .When you live small farm town
Stony Plain you got have fun some how and sleds were the thing to do.
I start 36 years ago with a $50 dollar Sno-Jet i earn doing Edmonton
journal route.Then grew from there rideing the sleds to school was always fun
and popular .The freinds I rode with back then are still the freinds I ride with
today.NOw we ride mountains and local trails with our own sons and new
freinds.Sure make Alberta winter short ah bummer.
P.S If it not a DOO it just won't do! ha ha:d

 

[BC Sno-Ghost]

Great Story Polarisrider and cool pic.
I started riding in the prairies when I was 6 years old. Moved to BC and started sledding with my Pop and his friends to go ice fishing in mountain lakes. Lost touch with it for a few years when I was between 16 and 27 but got married and the wife and I needed something to do in the winter. We bought a 1980 Citation one lunger and a 1982 Enticer and the rest was history. Tried snowboarding for 3 years but the crowds and the Dorks at the hill spoil the experience. Back to sledding and there's no looking back now.