It was the weekend between Christmas and New Years. Just winding down from one holiday and getting ready for the next. Most people have something going on the holiday weekends, but reserve the weekend in between for some vacation activities. In Sledder World, we go sledding. This happened to be the same weekend that the Pink Ribbon Riders had their second annual Minnesota Snow Run to raise money to help men and women with breast cancer. The air was cold and the trails were ripe, so a couple of the Max Sled Team went along for the ride.

We left early that morning from home base, about four hours away. I only got about an hour of sleep before the trip. Randy drove part of the way so I could sleep a little more. We got to the Quadna Mountain Resort in Hill City, Minnesota, where the event was hosted about a half-hour before the ride. There were about 80 participants and everyone was divided into groups with like-riders of the same skill levels. Each group had a leader and a “sweeper” who would be the last person in the group and make sure nobody was having problems. Some groups rode 40 to 50 miles and others rode more. We were placed in the Hooter Hauler group, which was a 100+ mile ride. This group was lead by Rocky Cutsforth of Roxspeedfx.com. There are five groups in all ranging from two-up sight seers with frequent stops and slower paced riding to aggressive trail riders with fewer stops.

Everyone started out at 9am to rendezvous for lunch in Grand Rapids at the beautiful Wendigo Lodge. On our way we stopped at a trailside rest built and maintained by the Itasca Driftskippers Snowmobile Club. There, we warmed up by a lit fire and those in need could relieve in the rustic outhouse. Another group got there ahead of us and were warming up; we took the scenic route. They carried the banners and in the group were sisters who dressed their sled for the Pink Ribbon Rider’s sled decoration contest. Their sleds were dressed in gorgeous eveningwear and adorned in scantily clad goodness.

Before lunch our group had just less than 40 miles on, so after lunch we decided to head further north. We weren’t due back to Quadna until 4:30pm and it was only 12:30 when we were done with lunch. Our ride took us through swamps and forests and power lines. We stopped infrequently, but we did take about a half-hour break to allow some of the others in our group to ride the Max Sled demo units. This proved to be quite a positive with the other riders who otherwise had never had a chance to ride some of the new iron.

Some in the group needed fuel, so we decided to head to an abandoned gas station. Well, we didn’t know that they no longer sold fuel until we got there, but had we known prior, we wouldn’t have had the uneasy feeling you get when your fuel tank is on its last fourth and the next gas is miles away. We did make it to another town and fueled up there, but the afternoon was approaching an end and we needed to get back to the Pink Ribbon Rider’s event. As it was, we were about 30 miles away and the time was well after 3pm. We decided that we wouldn’t stop until we got there, but our group leader had an issue with the sled he was riding. It lost a rear idler wheel and couldn’t go much further. We happen to be less than four miles from the sweeper’s lair and he took the downed sled home while the leader took the sweeper’s sled back to Quadna. We hightailed it toward a long, straight railroad bed trail and got back with enough time to load our sleds and get ready for the evening’s banquet. We put on over 133 miles during that ride.

After the ride, we could enjoy some cocktails and a delicious Italian meal while conversing with our newfound friends and mulling over the stories and tales of the day. While on our ride, Max Sled Test Pilot Randy Nemitz ended up misnegotiating a corner and wound up narrowly escaping a tree. He had to have help from the group to get his sled out of the thickets, but otherwise escaped unharmed. This proved to be worthy of public display while during the banquet and prize giveaways and unbeknownst to us, he received an award for the “Crash of the Day” donated by PowerMadd.

Randy Nemitz puts the day’s ride and event into his own words: “The Pink Ribbon ride on December 29th, 2007 in Hill City, Minnesota, goes in the books as one incredible day of riding for a great cause. There were over 80 riders split up into groups on the trails. I would just like to say that I had a blast. This will be a “must attend” ride every year for me. The trails were in very good condition for the 133 miles that we put on. We met some new people and gave them the opportunity to ride our demo sleds. We had some great trail side sled talk which is one of my favorite things to do. After all that fun we were treated to a huge meal back at the lodge. For the finale they had some drawings for some really nice prizes in which almost everyone that attended left with something. Once you sign up and ride for this great cause you will be hooked as the Max Sled Team was. I have never seen such a great planned and well run event as this one. It was such a laid back and fun day of riding; one I'm still thinking about and can't wait to attend next year.”

After dinner the Pink Ribbon Riders gave out almost a hundred prizes for those who participated as well as prizes for the Sled Decoration contest and Top Fundraisers. Among the recipients was Tami Swanson from Nebraska who also received a gift card from the Pink Ribbon Riders to help her offset some financial burden for fighting her breast cancer. You see, this is what it is all about. The Pink Ribbon Riders raise these funds and volunteer their time so that they can give the people fighting this disease some financial relief. While they have also risen funding for research, they feel that monies raised should go directly to those who need it; the people who have to buy medicines, pay for fuel for appointments or any other expense they incur due to fighting breast cancer. And to top it all off, we got to meet new fellow sledders, ride over 133 miles, have a lunch and dinner and get a chance to win some prizes, just for participating. The cost was $75, but you got your meals and prize tickets as well as raised funds for a great cause.

Max Sled would like to thank Jody McKay and the rest of the Pink Ribbon Riders for inviting us and for all their hard work in putting on this event, and the other four upcoming events, to help fight breast cancer. We would also like to thank Mark and Paula Warnert for providing the facilities and donating both meals for the day. You may know the Warnert name in snocross racing with their Ski-Doo team riders. We were also told that Arctic Cat helped a lot along with other top sponsors such as HMK, Camoplast, Choko, TekVest, Klim, Slydog and others. A group of riders from factory Polaris were also amongst the participants. For more information about the Pink Ribbon Riders and to sign up for a ride in your area, visit their website at http://www.pinkribbonriders.com/, or consider a donation if you are unable to attend.