Periodically I hear from Ross Spoonland, the uber Arctic Cat snowmobiler who consistently racks up more miles than anyone I know, and whose knack for documenting his travels is second to none.
Last Thursday Ross had another one of his big adventures, logging a whopping 334 miles on a big loop that took him from his home in Park River, ND, to Thief River Falls and back home (with brief stops in the NoDak/Canadian border towns of Pembina and Neche.
Ross originally planned to do the ride with a friend, but a last-minute leg injury (to his friend) left Ross riding alone. For safety purposes, he uses a SPOT GPS tracker that updates his location every 10 minutes, so family and friends can follow along via the interwebz.
I asked Ross a few questions about his set-up for this ride. Here’s the skinny (after which are a bunch of cool POV pix from his trip — definitely worth looking at):
What are you riding these days, and what kind of mileage does it have already?
I have a 2015 Arctic Cat XF8000 SnoPro LTD with the following season mileage totals:
2015: 7,004 miles (11,272 km)
2016: 6,016 miles (9,682 km)
2017 (so far): 1,948 miles (3,135 km)
Total miles on sled: 14,968 miles (24,089 km)
How many hours total for Thursday’s ride?
11 hours total. Fired the sled up at 8:00 am and took off shortly thereafter. Got back home at about 7:00 pm
Anything unexpected occur during the ride?
Nothing unexpected…but I did have a nice chat on the trail with three Minn. DNR officers who were monitoring the trails.
Did you keep track of fuel and oil usage?
I don’t keep track of miles per gallon or oil consumption. I just fill and ride while watching the odometer for the next fill. I have a Mountain Addiction 3-gallon can mounted on the tunnel and an aluminum 32-oz bottle of oil in the rear bag…just in case.
Did you map out the route prior to riding?
Yes. With trail permits to ride ND, MN, MB and ON, I’ve created GPS snowmobile trail maps covering all those areas. I can plot a route out in advance that provides turn-by-turn prompts with turn arrows at intersections on my Garmin Montana. With the GPS mounted on my handlebars it is easy to see what’s coming up.
What time did you arrive at Arctic Cat?
I arrived in TRF at about 11:00 am.
When are you going to do it again, and what time should I be at your place to join you?
Will do the big TRF run again next season.
Thanks Ross, you inspire me to dream and ride big!
You’re welcome.
