Every winter, at Dorset, the Puddlejumpers show up to run their sleds across the open water under the bridge. This can be a LLLLLOOOOONNNNGGGG distance, depending on how the river is running, and speed is of the essence.
It works like this: the boys and their toys gather on the lake, throttles revving, waiting for the testosterone to reach critical mass. When that happens, one breaks from the pack, kicks it into high gear, and heads for the open water. They tell me it's a thrill...
I note the Dive Recovery truck strategically parked just off the bridge, and pause to consider that snowmobiles aren't designed to float.
Our snowmobiles aren't nearly powerful enough for a long stretch of open water, and we don't have a dive recovery truck... but we do have a little bit of open water off the end of the main dock. And yes, you guessed it, over the years this has proven to be irresistable to Brian... and this year for the first time, David ran the water. (not in his good, new snowmobile, however, just in case!!! This is his Dad's... a much older workhorse version)
He came back to inform us he had crossed this off his list of life's ambitions... he also said if felt really weird, that the sled slows and drops as it hits the water, then picks up again... And yes, he did admit it was a thrill...
We can't truly condone this behaviour. On the other hand, at the Dorset Snowball, and every weekend now through into mid-March, we'll probably be joining the throng on the Dorset bridge at least once to watch the Puddlejumpers run...
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