dblacks

Mike it was great to get back up to Quebec after a few year Hiatis. Funny part was I can still ride that area without using a map, lol!

You would have met Rob Gardner (Early Rider) He is in Alaska now, the Iron Dog starts this coming sunday. Once back from Alaska he will be home for about 2 weeks and head to Labrador to race in Cain's Quest. Should be intersting. See more on our website or Facebook Page. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=605101471&ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Team-Maine-Racing/44258434735

Got a chance to ride into Chaudiere Appalaches last weekend, quick 2 day ride with my son, my friend Rusty and his son. Rode a loop from Jackman up and around a long way to Montmagny and spent the night at the Econo Lodge and then a longer loop back to Jackman on Sunday. We had a great time, it was my son's first trip riding his own sled into Quebec and Rusty and his son's first trip to Quebec so they had fun seeing some sights and enjoying the trails I have talked so much about over the years. Also ran into some old friends at the St. Sabine Clubhouse. Also ran into Smclelan at the bar at the Econo Lodge. Great to meet you guys!

Lack of Snow and cold Temps along the coast forced the Cain's Quest committee to change the route for the 2011 Cain's Quest. As many of you know the 2010 Race was postponed due to the warm up on the coast for the proposed race route they planned to run the same route for 2011. Now with the lack of decent conditions they have changed the route. The Racers will now be headed to the 59th Parallel. Team Maine Racing Can't wait to go!

Needless to say it was a major blow to many but the race committee made the right choice given the conditions

thanks guys!! Lot of updates on our site already, including the blown motor in one of the races sleds that happened this morning. www.teammaineracing.net Info on the other teams from maine and elsewhere welcome

The Start of Cain's Quest is less then a week away. ER (rob) and one of the crew members left last night to go up to Lab City, MaineCorrado (Rich) & several more of the crew are leaving on Tuesday and then 3 more are flying up on Thursday Team Maine is the more prepared then either of the past 2 years, a bigger support crew and with the our past experience we look forward to competing in this years race with some of the best endurance racers you will find. The course is 300 plus miles longer, going further north and further east out to the coast. The challenges will be greater then ever before and more risk involved. We can not say enough to thank all of the supporters we have online and other places that give the racers and support crews the drive to compete as hard as the do. With Out our supports Team Maine Racing is nothing! Please go to our website as we will be trying to do all updates there to make it easier on us then trying to post them all over the net in all the forums that follow us. We also have pictures of the 2009 Ski Doo XP 800 Renegade - Team Maine Editions on our site. Thanks The Crew at Team Maine Racing

New Team Maine Racing Trailer built by Sno Pro Trailers. Trailer Wrap was designed by Logan Feeny of Sno Pro Trailers, Printed by SledWraps.com and installed by Dennis Carrier of Carrier Signs. I will have more pics up on our site.

Hey Howard! I hear from chad you guys have been out beating the bushes as usual and having a good time doing it. Hope all is well with everything. We appreciate the help!

From Left to Right Early rider, Mainecorrado and Dblacks

That is one of the best areas to ride in!

Team Maine racing has been very busy with Planning and preparing, this economy has made it hard as well as other issues but what would a year without issues be. As some of you may know, the race course is longer by at least 300 miles if not more like 400 this year going further North and East out to the coast We have a New Flagship sponsor in Coutts Bros and Also Sno Pro Trailers has stepped up to build a trailer that fits our Needs. Hats off to these guys as it has been awesome to have 2 Major sponsors that are excited about The Race, Team Maine and want to get there hands right into things to help us in whatever way they can!! We will be unvailing the new Trailer with a complete wrap on it soon thanks to Sledwraps.com We are again raising funds for Pine Tree Camp and have raised over $6000 to date for them. We have many levels of sponsorship as usual which include a pit Crew Level and a Honarary member level just for the guys on the internet forums that enjoy being part of the Team. There are links to them on the front age of our site. If anyone isnt already on our mailing list for our News Letters please email me your info at Dana@teammaineracing.net We are greatly looking forward to Cain's Quest 2009 and the support of all the guys at home yelling at thier computers is what drives us more then we can ever explain in words!

Great to meet you Bill as usually I am not in the region when you are. DB

I will see you at MSA show this weekend!

they usually start grooming around Thanksgiving or earlier depending on the amount of snow they have gotten. Howeer there is usually so much traffic on the groomed sections that it seams like a mogul course after 10am. Plenty of boondocking but fuel is the issue.

Well after a long couple of days and ending up 12th overall and 7 hours behind the leaders when arriving in Churchill Falls Team Maine ended in 4th place overall!!!! Thanks a ton to the support of so many, with lots of Team Work and finally some good luck on the last day we achived and awesome finish.

hey guys, it's rich. rob and i got into goose around 3 this afternoon, sleds are in "pretty good shape" considering what they have been put through. we have had to deal with mechanicals since the second checkpoint from running out of gas because the drawdown tank not working, to low octane fuel making the sled run in limp mode, to 3 broken track adjuster bolts, to broken rocker arm bolt in skid, to the grand finale of sheering off the left rear hanger for the left rear skid bolt at seal lake yesterday. we slept in a woodshed last night and left for nipishish at 5:30am today with my skid held together with a tow strap and team 1 with a broken arm in their primary clutch. going was slow but we were making progress. our support team, todd, dave, and the milleys were making their way a 6 hour ride one way. we met them 6 km from harveys check and plated my sled with a fabricated piece they sourced late last night in goosebay. they also brought a clutch for team 1 so we were rolling once again. rob and i rode our butts off back to goose to make up lost time from mechanicals and our times reflect our effort. we were happy with our progress today given a 14 hour hold up at seal lake yesterday. a lot of teams are broke and crippled as of right now, in fact there are 3 sleds in the impound lot with no skids in them, just sitting on the ground. tomorrow will be a good day for us, we leave around 8 am after some brief repairs. it will give us a lot of daylight. the trail from seal back to orma is so severe that we will not be able to backtrack and a new track will have to be punched through over the western hills around the lake. this is good for us because it takes a lot of time and energy to do this for the lead teams all the while rob and i will be making up some more ground. i can only hope that our mechanical problems are over and we can finish this race a few places higher than we currently are. we are discouraged with the breakdowns, but realize a race like this invites serious problems. tucker hibberts uncle, Rex, is running pretty well and told my wife today that the iron dog is nowhere near as difficult as Cain's Quest, that says a lot since he has raced the iron dog. keep an eye on us, and think no breakdowns!!!!! THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Team Maine, Well the 1st day has been a long day again! They guys were pumped at the starting line, Rob was up and ready to go at 5am…. Not much sleep for any of us. Well as you may have seen they made awesome time at the beginning. At the 1st checkpoint I got a call from them saying their draw tanks weren’t working. Todd and Dave were already out on the trail waiting for them so they went south to meet them as Rob and Rich ran out of fuel before the 2nd checkpoint as many did; there was no fuel at the 1st checkpoint this year. We don’t have that issue solved yet but will in the morning. 2nd issue was Rich must have come down just right of a snow drift to shear off both Track adjuster bolts. Rich called me as I was in route to Churchill Falls, I called todd and Dave to go meet them as they were 25 miles from them. Rob fixed it enough to move slowly on but they decided to stay of the slush covered lake that they had planned to run in case Rob had to tow Rich and they missed them. Meanwhile I had sent David and Andrew Milley to meet Wayne and Irene at the Gabbro checkpoint, Andrew took the adjuster brackets of the spare sled in Todd’s trailer and had everything ready for them to fix Rich’s sled. Meanwhile in the issues with the tanks Rob’s auxiliary tank cap fell off and water had gotten into the system and the sled was running awful all they way on the last 45 miles to Churchill. We have already put plans into place for what is needed in the morning for most of what needs to be done when they go back on the clock at roughly 8:00 am Eastern Standard time. The lead team set a record pace into Churchill but they have issues with their sleds as do many of the teams that pulled in. Also they Goosebay end of the course will be very slow and if Rob and Rich take care of the equipment once they leave they will catch up and pass many teams. They guys are very upbeat and ready to move on. Dana Team Maine Racing

Team Maine Racing Update Saturday 3-8-08 It has been a long 2 days, sorry for the delay in getting this out to you. Yesterday when running errands with the Big Truck and trailer, we smelt something funny under the hood, Something was burning. I pulled it over in front of the Chevy Garage and we looked under to find a belt pulley locked up and the belt ripped apart. No problem we had one over nighted from Montreal, It didn't show up today. We found the right belt but it was on a truck in for service work and got the dealer to take itoff and put it on the Duramax so we are all set for the race. Last night was Registration, GPS testing and Rob's 35th Birthday!; thismorning was more errands, work to double check on the race sleds, Tech and gear inspection, final prep of the support sleds and tag sleds, Racers meeting among other things. SnowmobilerTV is hear to film the race and they have asked Team Maine to be one of 3 teams featured throughout the race. They have interviewed us all, filmed us at registration, installed a helmet cam on Rob's Helmet and are planning on more interviews. Both Rob and Rich have been interviewed by CBC and the WeatherNetwork as well as several local News Publications and Sledworthy Magazine. Rich drew the 15th starting spot so they will be starting the race at 11:30 Atlantic Time and we do change an hour here tonight just like you at home. This puts them in the middle of the pack and then they will have a 24 minute holdover at the 1st Checkpoint so all the teams will be on the same time when they leave the 2nd checkpoint. We are all very excited for the race to start, we have all of our plans in place and barring any sled issues we are prepared to be very competitive. We can't say thanks enough for all the Support. I will update after the start of the race as I will be in Lab City for another hour or so after the start. Dana and the Crew

It is Friday morning and we have been in lab city since Wednesday afternoon. We have been very busy with people coming over to see us at the hotel. We weren’t in town 5 minutes and had other race teams stopping in to say hello and see what type of information we are willing to give up. Everyone is talking different things about the race from being very fast to being very slow going especially at the Goosebay end of the course as they have gotten over 2 feet of fresh snow in the last several days. They weather is actually very nice; Yesterday was clear and got up to 9 deg. F. It is expected to get to -5 plus a wind-chill on Sunday, the first day of the race. We went out for a ride yesterday to run a couple of sections of the race course that were easy to get to. The race sleds are sitting in the Milley’s Garage and as we have a few things to do to them before the sled inspection tomorrow. We have registration tonight at the snowmobile Clubhouse, sled inspection on Saturday morning, Racers meeting Sat. afternoon and then a Press meet and greet after that. Needless to say we are completely overwhelmed by the hospitality of the people up here. We made long lasting relationships last year with other local teams as well as many of the local people. If there is anything we need all we have to do is make a call or 2 and we will be told where we can get it. Until tomorrow, thanks a ton for the support and many well wishes. Be sure to link onto the blog on our website and you can click on comments below the message and add any comment you like. The Crew at Team Maine Racing

http://www.wabi.tv/content/4091/Watch_TV5_News/ Click on evening news, I will imagine it will be gone by tommorrow. I am not sure if they are airing it on the morning show or not.

We are hitting the road tonight, I will update on the 20 hour truck drive once we get into Lab City dblacks

Team Maine Update 2-27-08 Hello Team Maine!!!Things are coming down to the wire. It is less then a week to go before we leave Maine for the 20 hour truck drive to Labrador City. The last couple of weeks have been very busy with planning and preparation. Rob and Todd were in Labrador earlier this month for a week they spent lots of time checking out snow conditions as well as exploring some new sections added to the race course. A big expense in personal time and money but it was needed to be done so we have a better chance at competing with the locals in their backyard. Unfortunately Rob found a rock under the snow with his personal Ski-Doo XP Summit that bent up the front end of the sled. They did however get some time on the Race sleds and found a few things that needed to be changed. Meanwhile at the Andy Santerre Ride, Dana, Rich and the girls had taken a longer loop with Kevin Freeman (owner of the Sled Shop in Presque isle) and Rick Salley (The Ski-Doo Rep for Maine) and on the way back to the Caribou Motor Inn, Dana was leading the group, he had a very large Deer jump out from the side of the trail and literally land on the front of Rob’s XP Renegade that he was using and it mangled the front of the sled. This left us with 2 of Rob’s sleds to rebuild before the race as both will be making the trip to Labrador with us as Support Sleds. Fortunately both Rob and Dana were okay from the incidents and both sleds are ready to go. The Race sleds have had lots of work done to them. Both with Ohlin front shocks, revalved rear shocks and heavy springs, auxiliary fuel tanks, auxiliary lighting among many other upgrades and adjustments for them to stay together for Rob and Rich during the race this year. We can only hope all the hard work pays off to limit down time due to broken parts. This year Rob’s wife Tina and Rich’s wife Amanda are making the trip up to Lab for the race. Evidently they were not excited to sit up and stare at a computer screen all night again this year; they would rather be there and know what is going on 1st hand. We are looking forward to showing them around “The Big Land”. It will be interesting to get a women’s prospective on the whole event. Perhaps they will be the 1st Women’s team to enter the race next year……. Also joining Rich, Rob, Dana and Todd will be Dave Hammond, as well as Wayne and Irene Dyer (Sponsors and supporters that want to experience the whole event). Also David and Andrew Milley and Todd Stokes (locals from Lab City) will be joining us up there as support crew Members. We will have 2 groups of 3 out in various parts of the race course to support Rich and Rob. We will have a Web Blog up and running on the website over the weekend so Dana can post updates and let all the supporters back home post messages to the team and share other thoughts. Rob and Rich will probably update it themselves in Goosebay like they did last year. We will have links on our website to the GPS tracking site so you will be able to see where the racers are as the GPS updates. There will also be links to the Web Cams that are supposed to be up and running for the race at 3 of the checkpoints. We want all of our sponsors and supporters to be involved as much as possible from the comfort of your home or office. Again part of the goal is to raise Money for Pine Tree Camp so if you know of any other potential Sponsors or Supporters let us know. Special thanks to our many sponsors; Please visit the website to view the long list that continues to grow. Also a special thank you goes to all the friends and supporters from QuebecRider.com, Hardcoresledder.com, Dootalk.com and SledMaine.com The Crew at Team Maine Racing Racing to Support Pine Tree Camp www.teammaineracing.net

Thanks for the good words guys. I will do my best to keep you updated. Andyman, I believe you are on listed with the 200 plus other people on out email update list. If I have emailed you an update and you dont see it posted here can you copy and paste it for me. I have plenty of places to update but time may be an issue for me at points during the race or based on internet connection. Strategy is huge in this race and we have spent countless hours talking about it. As usual keeping the equipment and the riders together is the biggest part.