Crappy Gift Return

A DitchBanger Chirstmas Poem

Telemarketers VS Cpt Mark

Video 63

Help us Help a Family in Need....

Mike is on Vaca for 4 days....

Loft 2.0

Loft Build 2.0 happened last week. While one shop carried the business, the 2nd shop got a facelift. The BK team split and a few went to build the loft while the others continued answering phones, parting sleds, and shipping parts. Unlike the first loft, the shop did not stop for a week. The wood was delivered Tuesday and the floor was secured on Thursday. This thing is bigger, better, and ready to hold some serious parts!!

Check out the pics of the loft from a pile of boards to completion..

Open House

Monday update Oct 25

Got a lot of PACKING going on from the weekend....check it out!!

Weekly Update 10-18-10

UPDATES ARE BACK!!

Text the word 'SLED' to 91011 or email the word 'LIST' to BkBoatnsleds@gmail.com to get on the Chopping Block list!!!

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Come Party with Us!!

Pumpkin Carving Contest

PowerMadd Group Deal

Join the list of folks that will be getting a 2" non pivot riser block. $25 shipped to your door! Paypal $25 with your address to BkBoatnSleds@gmail.com to get your hands on one of these!

Free "Poor Man's Ipod"

Join NOW!

Loading a Buick into a F250

Well, we are always open to new ideas and new avenues.... and when a 1997 Buick Regal came across our plate for $600, we decided to take it. This isn't the first car that we have dealt with, but it was the first car that we have decided to part. Let me tell you, parting a car seems like a great idea on paper. Once you get into the process though, you realize quickly that there are a LOT of parts on a car!

Once we were done, we loaded it on a car hauler to take to the scrap yard. Right about that time, the local scrapper stopped in. We had told him the week before that he could take it, but he wanted it all cut up, so we decided to handle it ourselves. This time though, he saw how stripped out it was and told us, "If you can get it in my truck, I can give ya $50 for it." That seemed like a better deal than messing around all day taking it to the yard, so we took it.




If you liked this situation, then you may like the other antics that happen at the shop.... check out of Fan page on Facebook for play by play, contests, give aways and more!

How to Remove a Mercruiser Outdrive (Alpha).

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BK Cruiser Trailer Race Video

Well the BK Cruiser finally hit the racetrack...literally! The BK team was all ready to make it to the original date but the weather was not cooperating. The race got post-poned to June 19th and we could not attend. That didn't stop the Cruiser from getting flopped around the track! Driver "Trailer Racin' Matt" ripped the cruiser around the track a couple times before getting hit head on in turn 4.

Matt told us that the boat was "too big" for the race coordinator's liking to he had to take a chainsaw to it and "perforate" it before it hit the track. Keep in mind this is a 26 foot hard top cabin cruiser on a tandem axle trailer.

Here is the video of the race we found on youtube. If you watch, the BK cruiser comes by the front of the track at :15 seconds and :44 seconds. You can see it again at the top right of the screen at :56 seconds. The race ends for Matt and the cruiser in turn four at 1:10.




Here is a picture of Matt's truck after the race.


We want to thank Matt for being a nut and racing through that mess. That is the biggest boat that we have gotten to Matt's hands, but it will never be the last!

To see more about the BK CRUISER, check out this earlier blog post.

Free Tool Loaner Program

We are starting a new loaner program this summer. For our customers that like to "do it themselves", we would like to help you out even more. If you purchase the parts that you need from us, we will let you borrow any specialty tools that you need for the job. A lot of these tools cost hundreds of dollars and you rarely use them more than once. Let us buy the tools and you can use them when you need them. We just ask for a refundable deposit for the cost of the tool. It's that simple! So if you need to make some repairs on your boat, but you don't have the tool to do so...stop in and get the parts AND the tool that is needed.

FREE SHIRT!

The new "I'm a Motorboater." shirts are in and YOU can win one FOR FREE!!
Become a fan of BK @ BkFanpage.com and write..."I'm a Motorboater." on the wall. 2 lucky fans will get their very own Motorboater shirt! Can it be any easier?!

Come join us and remember, it's always more fun to motorboat with a friend!

LIVE Boat 'Part Out' @ Port of Blarney's

BK will be joining a list of other marine industry businesses at the Blarney's Boat Show Saturday June 12th at the Port of Blarneys. The list of vendors includes Ravewaves Boat Detail, Chicago Mastercraft, Road Rage Designs, Fun on The Fox.com, Racing Extreme.com, Worldwind Motorsports, Bottoms Up and SO MANY MORE!!

There will be so many cool boats there that we needed something other than stickers and cards to stand out in the crowd. We put some thought into it and came up with.....

LIVE 'Part Out'


This 1982, 19 foot Bayliner will be parted out LIVE at the show from 10-3 tomorrow. There is always a desire to have the nicest, cleanest, sharpest looking boat on the chain and tomorrow you will see most of those boats.

Mark my words, Bk Boat n Sleds.com will have the ugliest boat at the show! And we are proud of that? DAMN STRAIGHT!

You won't want to miss watching Mike and Doug from BK taking impacts, crowbars, and their bare hands to this old skool boat. Make it a point to find them and say 'hi'. While your sipping your beer and watching a boat come apart in the parking lot, sign the hull so we know who to thank at the end of the day!

And don't forget, although we are known in the area for our used parts, we also specialize in new aftermarket and OEM parts as well.

See ya at the show!

Addicted to Facebook

One of our owners, Doug Hein, got called out on his Facebook use. It has happened in the past, but this challenge was very specific; "stay off Facebook for 48hrs, and you win a lunch" was the challenge set in place by Drew Ferraro. Something in that statement, probably the 'free lunch', got to Doug deep enough, that he excepted. Now, to get an idea of how much Facebooking Doug does, consider this.... he keeps his personal page, the BK fan page, the 'I Bang Ditches' page, Doug's Couch, and about 6 other fan pages rolling all day/every day.... and he keeps it all updated on the go too via Blackberry apps and email.... I am exhausted just explaining it. It has also been stated by a few of his Facebook friends that he has been 'hidden' on thier status feeds because he was monopolizing thier feeds.... thats a problem.

So Doug accepted and COMPLETED the challenge... but there was some loop holes that he had used in the process. The BK youtube account is attached to the other owner's, Mike Missak, Facebook page. Doug was able to get some videos up to his Facebook community via this connection, and took over Missak's page in the process.

Here are the videos from a Facebook addict detoxing from the social networking site.....







So there you have it. Doug has been unleashed BACK into the Facebook community. Expect a lot of posts in the next 24 hours to make up for his lost time. I am sure there will be some give aways on the BK fan page too..... Thanks for checking out the blog and if you or anyone you know is addicted to Facebook tell them they are not alone, BK has one too....

Hit Close To Home...

Last year, many of you remember the 1971 Apollo Hardtop that we had out on the Chain of Lakes. It was a very unique boat that got some serious attention. We pulled it out of Inland Harbor and got her back into running condition. We even called in the experts to have it detailed..



This was a very special boat for us. This was our first cruiser. The boat we had before it was a 24 foot pontoon, so this was a very nice step up the ladder. While we were moving up the ladder, we decided to become part of a real marina too. We slipped this beauty at Rustic Harbor where she was surrounded by friends. That was about the time she got her full decal kit too!



We had some great times on this ol' girl. You could find her out in the cove strung together with a bunch of other boats almost every weekend. Her hardtop was perfect for cannon balls, backflips, and sunbathing. She was a little weak in the motor department, so she rarely went full bore. She was usually the last to arrive.





We even made her the home office one day.


Well every good boat ride needs to end at some point. The time has come for this ol' girl to go out in style. Many boats decay in the back of Marinas, some sink at sea, and some are dropped into the landfill. This vessel will go for one more wild ride....

TRAILER RACING!!
Saturday June 5th
Rockford Speedway
7.00 pm

The BK Hardtop will be dragged around the track and smashed to bits in one of the wildest races you will ever see. If you have never seen a trailer race, it is a demolition derby race where all trucks have a trailer. The last one around the track WITH something still attached to his trailer ball, WINS!




Come on out and honor a legend!
See ya there!!

Safety First

While cruising the forums this week, I have seen a lot of posts about safety. With the Memorial Day weekend on us, a lot of us will be playing with the toys! Life is short and you never know when the Reaper will tap you on the shoulder and wisk you away. It takes only a few seconds and some common sense to stay a couple steps ahead of that hooded freak.

If your headed out on the water, make sure ya have a life vest. You may be the best swimmer in the world, but if you are skipping across the water at anything over 15 mph, you may need a second to catch your breath when you stop. When out on the crowded lakes, I like to think all the other people out there are Idiots. That way you are always looking to see what they are doing. Give everyone their space and that will allow you more reaction time when some "idiot" changes course. That being said, most accidents on the water involve 2 vessels. In this example, it takes 2 idiots to cause a problem.... don't be the second idiot. Know what you are doing out there and most importantly, watch what the other people are doing. That should keep you out of trouble.

If you are looking to stay on land and play in the dirt or street....wear a helmet. I know we have heard it all before and many of you are rolling your eyes right now. Helmets save. There really isn't much to argue about on that point. It is a choice to wear a helmet and many riders don't like the feel of them. I don't care if ya wear one or not... but I am sure your family will care if you are hurt without one. It doesn't matter if you are screaming down the freeway in a fourth gear pinned wheelie, or jumping the dunes with some buds....your head doesn't like hitting hard shit. Just wear the damn helmet.

We want ya safe because the more ya ride, the more ya break your toys.... Ride safe.

Open House 4-25-10

It is time for another BK open house!

Sunday April 25th, we will be welcoming all of our customers to the shop with special deals, free burgers, raffles and more! We would love for you and your friends to come on out and hang at the shop for the day. We will be talking power sports, giving away prizes and much more.

We had a successful winter open house and had quite a few people asking about swapper booths again. So, we will be offering FREE spaces to sell your used parts and machines. At the winter house, we had folks that had sold trailers, spare parts, and gear! It was successful for everyone. So if you would like to bring some things to sell to the public, feel free to do so!

We will also have motorcycle parking available. So if you are out riding around, stop in with your riding buds and grab a burger and say hello.

Whats a Junk Boat?

We at Bk Boat n Sleds.com would like to inform everyone what a 'junk boat' looks like. We know that in any given neighborhood, there are probably 1-5 junk boats. These boats are typically in the backyard or side yard of older homes. Once in a while there will be one in a garage. This is usually the case in newer neighborhoods, or if the owner was thinking it was a project.

Junk boats typically do not have titles with them. If anything, there may be a trailer title, but rarely a boat title. This is because the boat was a relative's that passed, a friend that gave it away, or the boat has been in the yard so long, the title has been misplaced.

Please enjoy this informational video to see what a real junk boat looks like. If you have one that matches most or all of this criteria, get rid of the boat.....it's junk.





Please share this with your friends, so THEY know what to look for also.

Best of the Fox Awards

"Head right to the voting"

It is that time of year again... It is time to vote for the best businesses in the area. There are a TON of categories to select from. It only takes a few minutes and, if you are in the Chain o Lakes area, you have some favorites!!

Here is how it works. Go through the list and when you come across a category that you have a favorite for, type that business' name in the input box. You need to complete 10 categories in order to submit the ballot. You can enter a ballot once a day!

There are a LOT of great businesses in the area and what better way to support your favorites, then by nominating them for Fox's BEST!

Bk Boat n Sleds would fit under the "Recreational Vehicles/ RVs / ATVs" section!

Free FLY Racing Helmet!!

Bk Boat n Sleds.com is giving away a BRAND NEW 2010 FLY Racing Motocross helmet. This is the Kinetic model and it retails for $100! One of our lucky Facebook Fans will walk away with the size and color of his choice......for FREE!!

If you are on Facebook, post "I'm FLY" on the BK Fan page (www.BKFanPage.com) and your ENTERED!

Please share with your friends and post this offer on your page!

Launching a Fishing Boat....INTO the Shop!

We had a customer call us this am for a trailer. He had the axle of his fall out and he was in dire need of one asap. We told him we had one in Barrington (30 minutes from shop) or we had one at the shop that was a little cheaper. After thinking about it and weighing his options for a few hours, he called back. He was coming for the trailer we had at the shop. GREAT! There was only one issue...there was an 18' Bass Tracker Nitro on it at the moment.

Now before anyone cringes and starts to shed a tear, this was an abandoned boat that does not have a title. It is a parts boat. We pulled the boat off the trailer and it fell right to the pavement of the parking lot. We can't keep anything outside overnight, so we used the forklift to slide the boat into the shop for the night.

This is the first time that a boat came into the shop...NOT on a trailer!

Thanks for reading and please tell your friends to check out our antics!

You can join us for LIVE updates of crazy things like this at www.BkFanPage.com.
Fans also get special discounts and offers!

Gmax Motorcycle Helmet BLOW OUT!

GMAX (GM48) Full Face Helmets
$59.99 while they last!

We just got the green light on blowing out some GMAX full face motorcycle helmets. These are last years' designs, but they are still slick! There are 2 designs and a few colors to choose from. All sizes are available. Here is Gmax's sizing chart.

Features

• Lightweight DOT approved Thermo-Plastic Poly Alloy shell
• New high-tech shell designed for maximum venting and comfort
• GMAX D.E.V.S adjustable Dual Exhaust Venting System allows control of air flow through two side vents, three top vents and two rear vents as well
• Coolmax™ interior and cheek pads move the moisture away from your body and the fabric dries quickly. The added performance keeps you dry and comfortable
• Removable adjustable cheek pads and comfort liner allows custom fitting for increased comfort
• Padded chin strap
• Large eyeport for improved range of vision
• Painted shell with high-tech water decals and high quality clear coat finish
• Built-in speaker pockets
• Screwless, easy shield removal

We can barely keep these in stock at this price, so there may be a wait on getting them in. Give us a call, pre-order one, and secure one of these awesome helmets.

Call us today!

815-363-1254

Monday / Tuesday Update for week of 3/29/10

Outboard Inventory

We landed a heck of a deal this past week. One of the local marinas was looking to liquidate some of their outboard inventory and gave us a call. We scoped it out, settled on a price, then realized it was a LOT of stuff! We took one trip with a pick up and enclosed trailer and didn't even make a dent. The next day we arrived with a 26 foot box truck with a lift gate. We did NOT mess around.

It took about an hour and a half to load the truck. Luckily, the marina owner had a tractor so we didn't have to carry the motors too far.

The loaded 26 footer was a sight to see. It ended up being a lot of out board motors. They were spread out at the marina, so you really could not grasp how many there were. Once we got them in the truck, it really started to become a reality.

It worked out to be 50 outboards of all makes...Suzuki, Johnson, Evinrude, and Mercury. There was a mess of miscellaneous parts too. We picked up sets of controls, lower units, 6 outdrives, 3 I/O motors, shrouds, and so much more.

Now it is time to SELL this inventory. If you or anyone you know needs outboard parts, we certainly may have what you are looking for.

Special Visitor @ The Shop

We had this gem of a boat come in last week. There really wasn't anything out of the ordinary about it for us. It was an abandoned boat at a local marina. The paperwork had been cleared and the boat was towed to our shop to be stripped. We took the cover off of it and the inside was trashed... The seats were tore up, the side panels were chewed out and there was animal feces in the boat. The boat was pretty bad, but it was still nothing unusual for us.

We kept the boat in the main shop for the night and started fresh on it in the morning. We had two guys on dismantling the boat and 2 guys running the eBay side of the day. We had joked about something living in the boat and pointed out fresh feces... still not thinking anything was odd about it. We took a break from the boat and one of our guys headed upstairs to put some parts away. As he was putting a trailing arm into the top shelf, he was HISSED at. It didn't sink in until this image came into focus.....

That was it for him! He came hustling down the stairs speaking pretty calmly for what had happened. He said, "Uh guys, we have a little issue upstairs you may want to come see." Mike and I could not possibly imagine what kind of issue there could be UPSTAIRS. Of all places in the shop, upstairs would be the LAST place we could have an issue. "We have a raccoon" was the next thing he said. I still did not believe him.

He was serious all right, and it was a HUGE raccoon at that. We had never had this issue at the shop so we had NO experience in this situation. We called the Lakemoor Police and got a number for a wildlife catcher, but did not have to make that call. With the help of Northwest Performance's Ian and North Shore Designs' Eric, we were able to convince the raccoon to leave out the bay door of the main shop... that's not the end of the story.

The raccoon leaves the shop and hangs a sharp left turn and runs down the side of the building... and right into the open bay door of shop #2. After about 20 minutes of chasing him around the sleds and bikes in that shop, we were able to get him back outside. This time he ran through the parking lot and chose a tree on the grassy berm.

This was the FIRST time we had a visitor like this at the shop. We shared the whole experience as it unraveled with our Facebook friends and got a lot of suggestions. We also have been told that we have a new mascot. Our customers know us so well. When something like this happens, we embrace it. So, we have changed the name of Bk Boat n Sleds to....

And I would also like to introduce to you "Boss Hoss" the BK Raccoon.

Boss Hoss says,
"Thanks for Reading and Don't Forget to Share on Twitter and Facebook"

PADS Sleep Out April 17th

I was at the Young Professionals of Mchenry meeting last week and we were discussing volunteering options. PADS of Mchenry (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) came up. They are having a "sleep out" event in April to raise donations and awareness to help homeless individuals. As soon as I heard of the event, I knew it was something that I had to be a part of.

I would like to experience the feeling of being homeless as much as I can for the night. I know that it will be more of a physical experience than anything, because I know that I am fortunate enough to be returning to my home the next morning. I will be trying my best to forget that for the night. I am going to try to really get into the situation of being homeless and forget everything I have, for the night.

The only "luxuries" I plan on having for the night is the www.DougsCouch.com couch, my BlackBerry, and a camcorder. I have chosen to bring the BlackBerry and camcorder to document the experience and to connect with my Twitter and Facebook through the night. I would like to allow people to see what I see through the night. I am not planning on sleeping in a tent or inside. I will be on the couch in the elements. I plan to bring a sleeping bag and a tarp. That's it.

I have set a reasonable donation goal of $250. I think that is attainable and I also have a feeling we can gain raise MORE than that! I do not have much to donate and I am not asking you to donate much either. If you have a few bucks to donate, that would be great. If you have more to donate, that's awesome! I will be keeping everyone posted on where I will be spending the night April 17th.... until then, lets raise some CASH!

Donate Here!

Pleas share this with your friends also...

FourSquare.com

Bk Boat n sleds has come across the site Foursquare.com. Foursqaure is cool site that has been around for a year now. It allows users to "check in" via their mobile phone when out on the town. When a user reaches a destination, or venue, (i.e. bar, shop, park, home, attraction, ect....) they open the app on their phone and select the venue that they are at. When they check in on the app, their location is updated on the site. Users get points and badges for their travels. For instance, when a user checks in at Bk Boat n Sleds in Lakemoor, Il, they will be awarded a "I'm on a Boat" badge for their online profile. Users can also leave "tips" or "to do's" for other users to see when they check in.

The owners at BK have been using Foursquare for about a month now. There are some bugs and frustrations, but all in all it is a very interesting site. We have added a physical sign in at BK for users that come check the place out.

Sign up, come in, sign the wall.... we would love to have ya!

Foursquare users, here is our venue profile.. Bk Boat n Sleds

How to Find Our Retail Location

We are very hard to find, so here is a dry run!

Remember to share this with your friends on Facebook!

Help Stop Boat Neglect

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Help stop boat neglect, watch the video and ACT NOW!

BK Goes to Dealer Expo '10

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Most of the BK team made the trip down to Indianapolis for the 2010 Powersport Dealer Expo. We rented a new 2010 Cadillac SRX for the trip so we could ride in style. It was FRESH to the Enterprise lot and had not been rented yet. We put the first thousand miles on it and it will NEVER have that fresh, new car smell again.

We stayed at the Clarion in Northwest Indy and got in late Friday night. We had a brainstorming session poolside and really came up with some nice plans for the MX dirt season. It was a fun, immature night and, just as you can imagine, we got little sleep before the 5.45 am alarm went off.

We snagged some free contenental breakfast and hit the expo. There was a lot of awesome new products on dysplay in the halls. There was also quite the array of people. I am sure we got the looks also. I was in my signature shorts and flippy flops.

We ran into Travis Pastrana as soon as we got into the main hall. I took that opportunity to hand him a "I bang Ditches." sticker for his bike. He had a good laugh at it. We met up with a lot of our dealers and got to see some of the new products that they were launching this season. The new FLY racing gear is is awesome...and AFFORDABLE! Dragon Alliance also has some realy sharp goggles that are going to be very hott this season.

We will be carring all the huge brands and will be offering some great prices. We are psyched for dirt season and we hope that you are ready for the new season... here it comes!

Replacing Your Hyfax

Changing Your Hyfax
with Mike Missak

New-Used-Aftermarket-OEM
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BK @ WTC for #3 of the Roadside Diaries

We made the trip out to Wauconda, IL again for the Winter Thunder Challenge again this past weekend. We donated our time for the roadside attraction too. It is a good time, if you would like to join us sometime, feel free to email us.

This time we were joined by Troy Olsen with Racing Extreme and Mike & Eric from Worldwind Motorsports. We we had it pretty luxurious this time too. Doug brought the Dougscouch.com couch so we did't have to stand the entire 2 hours.

Once we did our time in the ditches of rt 12, we headed into the races to see what was going on. We saw the BK banner in a high traffic area and also ran into our sponsored racer, Jeff Peters #331. Jeff has had a GREAT season so far, so it was cool to hear about that.

Bk Boat n Sleds and Worldwind Motorsports will be sponsoring the next event out at the WTC. It will be the WTC Meltdown!

Come show some support and join the antics with us Feb 6th & 7th.

Google, Yahoo, and MSN....oh my!

So, we get a call from a marketing company about once a week. The pitch is that they can get your business FEATURED on Google, MSN, and Yahoo for $19.99 a month. Instead of hanging up, we have started playing the game. On this particular day we decided to tape it and we lucked out; they called twice!



New-Used-Aftermarket-OEM
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Week 2 at the Winter Thunder Challenge

We made it back out to the Winter Thunder Challenge at the Golf Farm again. It was drizzly and a little warmer than expected, but the races must go on! We were also visited by Mike from Worldwind Motorsports in Antioch. We also met Mike from Road Rage today! Road Rage had thier big Road Rage Shootout this past weekend where 2 lucky racers won custom SLED WRAPS!

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BK at the Golf Farm for Winter Thunder Challenge

Bk Boat n Sleds is a proud sponsor of the Winter Thunder Challenge at the Golf Farm in Wauconda, IL. Part of our sponsorship agreement is to donate some of our time to welcome race fans to the event. This past Saturday, Mike and I did our first of 6 scheduled "road side" attention getters.

I donned the BK Ditch Banger uniform for some added attention. I got a lot of compliments so I am going to take it a step further and get the bk logo on the back of it. If you have never held a big sign on the side of a busy road, I highly recommend it. And for those of you that are wondering, the "trucker horn" hand motion still works as good as you remember from your childhood!

Here is some video...



I would also like to thank Mike at Worldwind Motorsports for getting us the gig!

Smokin a Turkey With Baby E

I through together a video of how I season and smoke my turkeys. If you have any tips or unique things that you do, feel free to share and leave a comment!

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Police Sled FAIL

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Mchenry Sledheads Snowmobile Club

Some of the members of Mchenry Sledheads Snowmobile Club paid us a visit last week. They came out for the Bk University night via sled and put on some good miles that night too. We have had customers show up via sled before, but this was the largest group to date. If you are in the area feel free to ride over, there is a trail on the south side of 120 that is VERY close to our shop.

New-Used-Aftermarket-OEM
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Bk University Clips

We had our first Bk Boat n sleds' BK U night last night. This was a one night class that Mike Missak, co owner, taught. The topics covered all the basic and simple sled maintenance topics that any sled owner can do. We have a lot of customers come through the shop that WANT to work on thier sleds in thier garage at home, but do not know where to start. Mike helped the attendees get familiar with the components of a sled and what to look for when diagnosing a problem. The feedback was great and if there is enough desire, we will plan another one in the future. Thank you to everyone that came out and to the riders that made the trip via sled!

Here are a few pictures from the night.