Let me start out by saying in the most humble way that I am not a particularly good rider, but my friend Spomey is. No, he is not the type to to do the 1000 ft drops or the back flips, but it has been a very long time since I have seen him miss a line. Simply put his sled goes where he wants it to...period.
This weekend we came across two individuals who sat stuck on the side of the road. Spomey, having the heart of gold and the strength of six mules decided to stop and help. It was not long before he lifted the sled onto the road inspite of these particular individual's...how should I say...confusion? And I do not want to get into the discussion of flatlander vs. mountain rider or enter into the fray of who has the baddest sled on the mountain...But lets just say the equipment was good. Supercharged and turbocharged good.
It turns out they were visitors and wanted someone as a guide. Spomey asked, "can you ride?" Now, it is not like spomey to talk smack. He was simply trying to ascertain if they had experience. Because if they did not, they would not have a good time following us. It is as simple as that.
Well, the guy sniffs through his nose and spits into the snow, takes a long drag on the cigarette from the corner of his mouth, puffs out his chest and cocks his head to one side and says, "that sled has 220 hp, it can go anywhere I point it, I ride Cooke City and I can ride with anyone." Holy pazolies I thought to myself. And I don't know about you, but at the age of 42, I have had my azz handed to me several times and I can now say my approach is a bit more humble. This guy was old enough to know better.
What happened next is probably the most extensive snowmobile clinic I have ever seen. It was only 15 minutes into the ride when, as the two where wallowing below us after we had popped back onto a road and I ask, "are you doing this on purpose?" Spomey's answer was, "hell yes, mr. puffy chest I can ride with anyone, I am going to school these amateurs."
Was the terrain tough? well, not really, but I can say when there was a choice between the "C" line and the "A" line, we took the "A+" line and watched the show. Towards the end of the day Spomey ask me how I thought they were doing? I said I think one guys eyes don't line up with the holes in the skull anymore and the other's look like two piss holes in the snow. Good Spomey said, and dropped off into a canyon to put the dairy queen swirl and cherry on top.
A few minutes from the truck one of the gentlemen, just ran off the road. He said that he was too tired to sit on his sled. Earlier in the day there was mention of exchanging phone numbers to ride another day. When we got to the lot they loaded and skulked off.
I am not sure there is a moral to the story..but from now on I am keeping my mouth shut...
Gosh, I hope they enjoyed the ride....
Karl
