Ride'n w the Boyz 19-02,19-03,19-04

Macdowall to the Muskaday Reserve to gas up (We are riding in very snowy conditions, beautiful new snow, visibility down to less that a KM at times).
We had stopped 1/2 way to our scheduled fuel stop to have a democratic conversation! In the shelter of some pioneer buildings and caragana trees we held court. I first announced that I was OK, I did not mention that I soon discovered a mile into the ride that I no longer had a right hand hand warmer or thumb warmer. (I have a set of gauntlets in place that on cool days l, like last year this time allow you to wear gloves comfortable and warm. In today's -33 C temps with wind I have noticed the cold even wearing the Trigger Finger Mitts that I supply my "Tour Customers" on cooler days. They are not enough. I soon discover that by combining the trigger finger we still have a problem...but by swapping mitts from side to side wearing them backwards alternately "I am OK" I get the heat from gripping the bars ( yes first real ride of the years and the aggressive last 40 miles on the way back day 3 develope huge water blisters, calluses and even a black bruise below that on one hand, amazing what you do and don't feel when it is time to grab "ER by the horns and let 'ER rip!! ) We have a vote, or at least I propose it, because of the weather, to stay the course or pull the plug? I am told by 5 people to shut up, get on my sled and ride! Ok it was democratic and I can take a hint! Lets Rock!
I see my odometer was reading 27 miles at Muskaday when we stopped for fuel. OK we fueled up and are headed for the North Branch and the ferry crossing. 1/2 way there from our fuel stop the handle bars break cleanly off one of the sleds. Man this is a little devastating. I personally find this pretty defeating because it is pretty much terminal for someone. Analyzing it someone ponders if we had a drill. I have no comment. It is going to take a miracle at this point. The thought of leaving the sled in this field for another weekend and for the moment just doubling out until a ride from Saskatoon can be arranged is flawed. We cannot leave the sled here. Our T660 volunteers to hook the downed sled to his back bumper and the boys are tying in a tree for the tow.
Kiddo suggests "Dad knock on doors and see if we have a place to leave 'ER".
OK with a mission on my plate I refocus and start knocking on doors. Man it is a miracle if I have ever seen one. The video and a few snaps will show up on this page when I get it built...in the end it turns out we lost more time over a hose clamp in Our 2017 Trip than the time we lost over this broken handle bar!! UNBELIEVABLE!! LOL!!
This year again like last year we will ride the whole trip thru stormy weather. We stop in the shelter of some old log buildings for a hot dog lunch, we had a pile of them in the cookers since we left Willoughby. Yea some were a little over cooked and some slightly under but warm, not black, fully eatable! It was a warm welcome treat. After this stop I see a few people are doing jumping Jacks and every time we stop there is some fuel gauge checking going on. A fresh fill for the season, my SaberCat tank is rated at 50 L. When I filled it a couple days ago I used the felt marker at the 25 L mark. She took 45+ L so obviously there was 4+ L still hiding in the bottom that was not siphoned in the spring of 2018. With all the fuel checking it is apparent that the EFI sleds are burning more fuel than normal. Especially noticeable since we are pretty light on the throttle because of visibility. Automatically EFI is burning a ton of fuel. More than the carbed 700 redhead in the group. I am low enough that I take on 4ish L from the spare fuel can on the redhead. WE pull out of our shelter and I pull the plug on the rolling W.O.T. scenic route. We go E until we hit a road allowance and we head N straight for the safety of the #55 highway ditch. From there she is on cruise control (yea sure we were) for the next small town with pumps, we bypass the first one not knowing out of the way what they have and roll into one we have been to before. My odometer read 98 miles (158 KM) as we short stop for fuel. Some time later odometer reads 115.7 miles (187 KM) as we rolled in to Choiceland.
At the Choiceland Curling rink, curling has been taken over by new management and the ice has not been put into play this year yet! ? WE all know it certainly has been cold enough!! OK it is time for plan B!