S
...in the big garage, took off her side panels, checked everything over...topped off the gas and oil, checked both belts, no leaks, no bends in front end, opened up all zippered bags etc. to air them out, set a small electric space heater a few feet away to help dry her out....hung boots and gloves, parka and bibs and helmet in the coat room and walked into the house....my other she watched me through those big blues with maybe a little bit of jealousy, "how's the new girl she asked", "sweet ride" i replied...."i'll bet" she said sarcastically.....:face-icon-small-dis...a new sled does that sometimes................picked up the new Alpha 7 weeks ago....belt drive, can, y-pipe, boards, clutching changed for high altitude (8.5-11k), zip-tying wire bundles, sealing exhaust leaks, spending time to learn where everything was and where a connection or location might cause me grief later...getting bags and tool kits ready for contingencies....all the stuff a mountain rider needs to do................break in rides, more inspections.....learning new balance points, foot positions for terrain changes, noting what sled does well (get on top of snow quick, awesome traction, easy learning curve with this one (congratulations cat)............finally several days of snowing followed by a bluebird day, 3 ft of new on top of 2-3 old....sled rides nice on trail in, not much different than a 2 rail sled.......sled's amazingly easy going side to side, carves easy and predictable, no big balance points to overcome, no struggle to keep ski up and on edge.....thru trees, traction, clutching, engine response, steering and balance are all excellent.....hitting throttle, no big dig in, just forward thrust on top of even soft in the trees snow....loving the day, ride all day with little fatigue, rider (me) is staying fresh without the giveout i sometimes get at the start of the season........over to the big hill, i already have a feel of the clutching and traction, an engine that flat gets after it and stays pulling, 8200 rpm that spins the track and won't back out of it, confidence builder for sure....approaching the hill i notice only a couple have gone over it, and obviously with some effort judging by their lines....approaching i don't stop, just slow down to walking speed, i know the 15 or so sleds have noticed the alpha and are curious to say the least....base of the hill is about 9600 ft, the top about 10500......with just enough room to get the track speed up, i hit the hill, a lot of deep trenches at first that i cut thru with no problem, as i get above all the turnouts and the track is getting a fresh bite at things the alpha really is coming into it's own, where others have struggled i can change lines at will, never a feeling that i might have to turn out, just turning snow into propulsion, did i say confidence ?......the hill starts to shallow out, and i roll from side to side, ain't no thing i'm sayin'..............new girl ? yup, and a fine one she is...:face-icon-small-hap
