Welcome Iron Bloggers! The Dog 2008 is ON!
Trail Class riders started the 2008 Iron Dog this morning! Check the official Iron Dog website for updates as information is available.
posted by Tesoro Iron Dog Blog at 8/07/2007 12:37:00 PM
223 Comments:
for all the rookies do alot of research about your sleds. you must know that sled inside and out and do go cheap on your gear. start working out now, if you wait until later you will pay for it. go to GNC and look into energy fluids and bars that can be carried with you on the trail there will be times that you don't eat for 12 hours and thats when you will break down. if you can talk to past racers,most of the ones i know will take the time to talk iron dog with you and they could point you places to get your gear and bags.
how about that.....nice sign up yesterday.....go iron doggers.....let's hear some chatter out there....a big shake up with Mckenna and Olstad....what do you make of that.....nice to see Eric back in the line up...and the nome boys....lahka and daniel....there sure is a lot of boys from Nome this year....what happened up there....some iron dog fever hit the water or somethin?
alot of rookie teams, just hope they know what their gettin in to. alot of skidoo teams i did think that so many people would trust the sled. the cats are a good ride but crappy on the fuel. davis and palin had 5 gallon custom tanks on theirs last year. polaris is good but that seat design is going to cause alot of racers to get some kind of other bracket to mount all their gear to and with no new tourbuddy for them it will nice to see their set-ups at the inspection.
Hello I am looking for a trail class partner. If interested email me @ apatikigeorge@yahoo.com Looking forward to a good experience of the trail. Hooaah!
Blogger 12:19 I think this site is not for you! I think we should go back to Unannonymous blogging!!
Too who ever let that comment should keep it to themselves. This site is a place where supporters, sponsors as well as racer like to communicate and share there input on this magnificant race. To get in it's a challenge not many people would even think about entering as well as spending all year preparing for it. I think this site is for the fans and not the people who want to gossip.
Wow, what a great turn out! Looks like this year is going to be exciting to follow!
anybody have any info on the new polaris seat setup, can you remove the seat bars to fit a tank and also are the heat exchangers under the tunnel gonna be to wide for a aggresive stud pattern? please write back with input and ideas. i plan on using the shift this coming year
noton bay ICE is all piled up very rough this year did not freeze smooth we'll need good snow to cover all the jagged and piled up ICE...good luck to all the racers
tourbuddy has a system for the IQ but i don't think nobody will use it. i would make new bars for the back of the seat and have the bars bolto the side so you can have a tank made to lay flat on the back and the tank would have to bolt to the side also.CFI's are not as good as the SDI's and racers will need at least 3 gallons to xtra on them, just to be on the safe side. i know a woman at blue sky designs she makes bags for the racers and the work good her anme is laurie and her ###373-2496 she located in wasilla and easy to deal with.
I am not a big ski-doo fan. But, I am going for the #11 team Brad Reich and John Bahnke
Hey just wondering what happened to Team #40 the rookies from I think it was Mcgrath, Ak?
I hope some of the Teams will have time to stop in and tell us about their preparations ...?
I heard that one of the team members #40 from McGrath backed out for one reason or another. One guy still looking for a partner, but that was 2 weeks ago.
Sponsor Team 20!!! The youngest guys out there!!!
www.teamzwinkspikes.com
I have never been to the iron dog race before but plan to compete in 2009. Where can i find more information? Thanks in advance.
Head over to the Iron Dog website at: www.irondog.org for more info. about the race..or call the office at 907-563-4414.
So what's up with the full throttle native website. Is it no longer up.
GO DAWG, I can't wait for another great race.
I'm glad to see so many out'a staters in it this year...good luck.
***GO ARCTIC CAT***
I am sure everyone is really just wondering wether BLIZZARD BOY will show up with the OLD NATIVE MAN! hot plugs, and fresh gas!
I heard that Alvin Newlin and his partner Tre West went into the drink on Golivin Bay? Not first hand info, I hope there ok, and ready for the big race?
Sorry for the misinformation, looks like Tre's partner is now Jim West Jr, it was Alvin Newlin on the website.
With Only One Week Left, If you have any last minute items you need Sewn up from buckles to bags to fixing a rip or a gas or gear bag. Call Blu Skye Designs in Wasilla 373-8550 and she is great and fast.
if you are looking for the start order it is at www.ldracing.com
From 1/2 of Team #23
Good luck to ALL the racers this year! Guys lets be safe out there! See you along the trail...
Trail class IF you could stop and fill in a few holes or smoth out some bumps that would be cool! j/k! I hope you guys and gals have a safe trip, see you in Nome!
I would like to thank ALL the people that it takes to put on this race each and every year from the IronDog staff and it's volunteers to the racers AND their friends and family, Also each of the sponsors not only ours but EVERY sponsor from each team that helps us acheive our dreams and goals. THANK YOU each and every one of you!
I would also like to thank team #1 for the use of their rollers (that about 16 sleds used) to remove our sleds after tech inspection last Saturday. There were some pretty nice looking sleds in there, LOTS of work, time and money has been put into this years IronDog teams with sled prep and training, and it showed. To bad the factory reps coulnt see some of the work we put into these sled to make them more durable. I counted no less than 16 teams running Ohlins shocks. $$$ It was good seeing some faces I hadn't seen in a few years!
Take care,
Jeff
Hey. . . . Best of luck out there. As a person living in a warm state with about 1,700 miles on my 2007Artic Cat. And much more under my belt, how would a few rookie teams like myself do in the Iron Dog?
Minding you that some of my buds are a bit cocky and think that they dont need to work out and be fit to enter.
We're not sure how to thank you all for helping us along with this challange we took on. From the tips on gear, the trail, planning, and riding, to the offers we had to loan replacement machines for our stolen one......I gotta tell you this: We haven't felt that kind of Team spirit since we were in uniform. For anyone who doesn't know the Iron Doggers and their support teams: They are ALL TOP NOTCH FOLKS. Come on out to the Start in Big Lake and meet them. God bless you and thank you. We'll see you in Fairbanks.
Team 30 here,
Haha, the bog topic says "Life before the race". Is there such thing? A years worth of planning for 7 days. As an Iron Dog rookie, I really have no idea what to expect on the trail. Good thing I have one of the most experienced racers as a partner. And theres no way we could have done this without the help of these sponsors
Skookum Quarry, Chugiak
All Steel, Inc., Fairbanks
Arnell ICM Company, ANCH
Prosser Corp. Gen Cont, ANCH
Sinister Air, ANCH
Bernie, North Pole
Team CC, Wasilla
Qualley Fab, NP
Klim Clothing
Greene Family Racing
Outerwears Prefilters
Shane Barber (Team 3)
PowerMadd
Fly Racing
Smith Optics
Stud Boy
Thank you all, good luck to everyone, see ya in Fairbanks.
hey, blizzard boy rides again.....see the web sites press page 3 has a picture of blizzard boy's machine.....
http://www.irondog.org/news/pressKit/08%20Press.pdf
Good luck to Mark and Forest. Up here in Maine, we are all pulling for both of you. Stay safe and leave you mark in a good way. Talia and Kaden miss and love you.
Moma Paaso
I meant to say leave your mark in a good way, not you mark. Anyway have a good time.
The starting order sure has some young buck leaving in the top 10.....maybe there will be some new blood on the podium
I am so excited and waiting with a puppy’s anticipation to be on the lake with the BIG DOGS. This will be my first start and I can't wait to see the Dragons, smell their exhaust and see the 'real men' in their gear. My rookie ride was with Blizzard Boy and Mr. Imperial and they know they will never forget my 'Thought of the day' (T.O.D.).
"Life is the greatest adventure you will ever go on. Don't forget to enjoy the ride!"
My T.O.D. is very appropriate for all you "Big Boys" aka Iron Doggers, may it bring you good luck and especially Team 6 when you hit the meadows crack a smile for yourself and remember my performance while reading the TOD……there were crocodile tears of joy!!! Rusty Pup’s 2008 T.O.D. ‘Don't let tears of joy freeze to your cheeks, full throttle & no brakes……Power to you my friend.’
Good luck to all…..
GOOD LUCK RANDY AND DAVID.
AUNT TUULA AND UNCLE LARRY
another year for arctic cat, they looked good. i would like to see drake/george do it again. if polaris wins it will be barber/booth. good luck to all racers.
the weather service is saying cold weather for the interior until wednesday. rookies better dress warm and layer good.
ITS COLD! Good luck to everyone!
"LETS GET READY TO RUuuuMBLE" 3 More days till we get to see the action good luck to all. #4,#26,#34,#37 bring it into Fbks and keep the track down. Take your time till you get to your home turf and let her rip.
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Look foward to another great iron dog race!! This is a unbelivable event..good luck to all the competers.. We will be keeping track of the progress from Eagle River, Wisconsin!!
we love you team edge performance!git-r-dun
Team 40 has Scrathed. They did not show up at the starting line. It sounds like one of the riders is experiencing back problems.
Lots of teams this year and looking for a clean race as always by the racers. I hope the blogers will do the same this year. We all have favorites and people we care about. Remember this race isn't about us or we would be out there. It's about our friends and families out there, who were alot more respectfull of each other than us last year. Lets keep it clean, ok.
I talked with Tyson last night and asked if this was his year for a win? He said there are so many varibles out there that it didn't depend on the drives but the luck of the draw. I don't agree, if all the sleds held together then the best driver wins but it is up to the drivers to keep their sleds running. This is knowledge of their sleds and the trail and in the end the best team wins. Lets keep the blogs clean this year. We all have family, friends and our favorites out there. They race a clean race and we should do the same with the blogs.
Anyone know if Trail Team 52 made it to Rohn?
Looks like an exciting race. Hope all goes well this year. Go Team #15 - we'll be cheering for you!!!
Good morning Racer Fans!
Whats happening...
Northern Gal Fan
I can not believe the lack of info coming out of ID HQ. I know this is not the Big Show, but there are lots of us out here wanting to know what is hapening with the teams....
I agree with the above - no new info on the Trail (Breakers) Riders since last night. Does anyone have ANY info on any of them - if so would love to know what is going on
We're worried about our brothers and nephews in the Trail Class. Did they ever make it to Rohn? Please let us know.
I agree on lack of information. Although I don't have someone in this years race, I will in 2009. I am following this year as closely as possible to learn how to track them.
I also noticed that only one trail team is listed in the GPS tracking?
Guess I've got a lot to learn about following the teams.
Oh, and to those running the blog, it would help if the newest was at the top, not the bottom; or give people the option to choose.
Thank you.
75 miles from Puntilla to Rohn and anot a single update in 7 hours. Way to go ID HQ. If you want to drum up interest in this race you might want to give it some attention yourself. The message I am getting from you is if you aren't in the PRO Class you aren't worth the time. These poor guys and gals out there on the trail might as well taken a ride to Nome on their own for all the respect and attention you have shown them and their family and fans.
Tom
I'd like to assure followers of the blog that race officials and volunteers put information on the race tracking part of the website as soon as they get it and are able to get the info entered. More volunteers are always welcome to help speed this up. I'd also like to let you know that we are all concerned about those on the trail no matter whether they are trail or pro class.
Rohn has traditionally been a difficult location to get information out of due to the high mountains which don't always have a good line of site for satellite phones. If you read the rules you'll notice that Rohn is not a layover option for pro class due to this reason.
Re: the issues of GPS tracking, the units are very expensive, thus the reason for the trail teams not all having them. If you look at GPS tracking you'll see that the trail class team with tracking is almost to McGrath.
Those that left Puntilla this morning will probably make it to McGrath late this evening (barring bad trail conditions/mechanicals). I hope this info helps in your understanding of the 2008 Tesoro Iron Dog.
Good Luck
Thank you alaksa63 for the feedback. I appreciate it very much.
Go Team Ski-Doo! Any team ski-doo. Next year- 1st rookie team into Nome. If anybody can be a cowboy it's me. I'm like a vodka travel bottle, across the state in no time.
Go team 3 lets get the monkey off your back Shane and get that win!!! goog luck and god speed to team 3.
Hello 4:37, Tom.
Please take it easy on the Iron Dog staff. They really do a good job.
Between Puntilla and Rohn and on to Nikolia there is absolutely nothin there. No people or staff to do any reporting, (except for a couple of volunteers with no sat phone reception). The only possibility would be helicopters or airplanes and that is very unrealistic.
Let's have a safe race....
Go all racers!!!!
Go TEAM 17. I'll be cheering from down south!
To all the iron dog racers, be warm and safe, have fun and Team 25 go cat go
GO TEAM 22 PALIN /DAVIS. GOOD LUCK
Am I the only one on here ?????
Just want to wish all teams the best of luck.
-36 at Lake Creek this morning and -40 in Skwentna. Warmed up to -19 right now. GO TEAM 8
GO Mr. Dude and Scott!!!
Sooo awesome....
i agree...the latest should be on the top part of the page...!!!aurgh! We are cheering loud here!
Oh! and whats up with the word verifications????
bummer...go Dale Jr!
ALRIGHT leave the staff alone. Call the HQ and see if you can give a hand where they might need your help. Or be Patient and we will get the news thats the way it goes on here. They are worried about the racers not the fan.
Well I wrote this comment once, but it did not come up so again. Just got word from Skwentna at 12:30 that Team 8 was in 3rd place out of Skwentna. GO TEAM 8
To all of the racers, you guys ROCK. It takes a special type of person to make the commitment to race. Good luck to everyone. Be safe, fast, and have a AWESOME time. Last but not least HAVE FUN!!!!!!
anyone here???
does anyone know where i can go to see how many miles it is from check point to check point
8
Aklestad, Johnson 01:35:00
Shell Lake 02-10 12:49:00
02-10 12:49:00 00:27:00 No
00:00:00 No on trail to Puntilla
16
Minnick, Olstad 01:37:00
Shell Lake 02-10 12:39:00
02-10 12:39:00 00:27:00 No
00:00:00 No on trail to Puntilla
22
Davis, Palin 01:40:00
Shell Lake 02-10 12:52:00
02-10 12:52:00 00:29:00 No
00:00:00 No on trail to Puntilla
10
Olds, Spernak 01:45:00
Shell Lake 02-10 12:49:00
02-10 12:49:00 00:30:00 No
00:00:00 No on trail to Puntilla
This is a fun race, no one should be worried!
whats up with vanmeter/dick team? gps shows they are south!
that gps ping was on feb 8th guess there gps is not working today
Thanks to all of the Irondog volunteer who have made it possibile for the many rookies to live out their dreams. As the father of one of the rookies, Andrew Zwink, I was so touched to see how excited and happy he looked when he and James got to the starting line. How do you other parents and families of riders get through this week and stay sane?
To get milage between check points go to the home page and click on Rules in one of the orange squares. You will have to scroll down quite a ways but they have that info there. As well as a lot of info about this amazing race!!
thanks i couldnt fing it to save my life
waaah, did you leave me here all alone???
thank you...i figured vanmeter scratched! i'm sure they are kickin up some snow!
hi carl
so aklestad/johnson are leading?
where is davis/palin team on the gps?
Hi Jana!!! Team # 13?!!!
we heart you Tre and JR!!!
is unch out to lunch???
GOO IRONDOG TEAM #13!!!!!!!! WHOOHOO
ah...where are the leaders?
whoomp there they went!!
Tyson Johnson Baby, TYSON JOHNSON!!!
there went who??
16in and out
i hope this blog improves where we can read the latest blog without having to enter something...thanks iron dog volunteers!
anything on team 8
come on #14! go mckenna/quam! go cats go!
No gps for 16 or 22, interesting!!!
Team 16 in the lead looks like. Team 8, Yea, looks to be in 4th place now.
shoot, by the time I get my comment on the blog, everything has changed. I guess team 8 is in 3rd place, but you do have to remember there are 2 teams with no gps tracking. Don't know where team 22 is.
I was wondering the same...where is team #22?
ya think they did that on purpose? no gps? hmmmm....
whats the latest?
Any Huntingtons online? How's your team doing?
Go Team 42, WWP!
http://www.adn.com/military/story/258006.html
Communications are down at Ophir, no report on trail riders through there, but GPS tracking shows they are close to Poorman.
hello
Any news on team 20?
Any news on team 1?
Team 16 and 22 must not want to be watched... must be a nice short cut. really no other reason to turn it off. cheatin bastards
Go Team 5 spence and wold
maybe there stuff is broke DOLT!!!
Not sure whats going on with team 17. They have been moving very slow for the last hour
Nice to see Team 22....Clear and Transparent. Just like someone else we know.
who's leading the race?
I still love team 22! Veteran Champs!
Apparently those GPS devices are quite expensive. I Guess Sarah and Todd have fallen on hard times.
any word on team 8??
Team #8 are still leading aye?
testing
Oh be nice....i'm sure another team is right on their a$$ not wanting to lose sight of them!
Does anyone know what the first place prize is?$$$
Whats up with team 15?
Iron Dog supplies the GPS units free to the racers but has to rent them - they are not cheap. Only 1 per team and some of them, esp. 14 and 22 are not working and never worked. POSSIBLE that the units were faulty from the getgo. Worth noting that Davis/Palin's GPS worked just fine last year so it seems unlikely they have it turned off somehow.
any news on team 6?
any news on team 22?
whats up with the trail by skwetna? zig zag?