Mar 15th, 2016: Snowmobile
 

♫ Dashing through the snow, in a 15 horsepower open sleigh. ♫
One of the pleasures of living in Rochester, NY, is playing in the winter snow.
One of the penalties of living in Rochester, NY, is coping with the winter snow.

http://cellar.org/2015/snowmobile.jpg

The secret is attitude... ♫ Always look on the bright side of life... ♫

100 years ago Theodore Woods converted his motorcycle in to a snowmobile. It looks scratch built
rather than powering some horse drawn contraption, with home made runners and fork replacement struts.
Straddling the rear wheel must have been interesting, and I'm fascinated by the little wheel of death
mounted low beside him in the first picture. At first I thought it was an auxiliary traction wheel,
but looking more it might have been a crazy brake. However it might have been a Ben-Hur or
James Bond defensive rig against squirrels who take one look at this rig and decide he's a nut.

http://cellar.org/2015/snowmobile2.jpg

After considerable navel gazing, I've a hunch the motorcycle was a Pope, but your guess is as good as mine.

It's been a snowless winter here, but still snowmobiles are in the news. Mr. Sarah Palin apparently had a bad crash and some a-hole slammed into a couple Iditarod sleds.

While things mechanical are most definitely NOT my specialty, I have to say I think Bruce is right about the original make on the motorcycle--good eye, man! I'll have a biker I know (30+ years on 2 wheels, 1 and counting on 3) take a look and see what he says other than "HOLY MOTHER OF--they put passengers on it???" :D

And that rear tire had enough traction to move 5 passengers through snow?

Todd got off easy.