Today The Mystery Guest was the first to arrive and we went for a lap in the woods to test the new muffler. This recent modification reduced the amount of exhaust inhaled by the shotgun passenger and driver. We ascended the steep hill and took the new trail to the stonewall gap at the roadside. As usual, we were rewarded with the enjoyable water crossing and ample mud at the edge of the pavement. Medora and her friend, Sara, joined us while we were returning to the main trail. Then we met Mark, who was on his way to work, and offered to take him for a spin. We entered the woods on the trail, bajaed to the highway fence, and ran over a few small trees. Then we descended back to the trail, dodging potential tractor-stopping trees along the way. Mark departed for work and the Bartons arrived. We ascended to the summit of Mount Tractor with Chris sitting shotgun and The Mystery Guest and George in the dump body. Erosion and loose rocks provided us with some difficulties during the drop off. Chris held the gearshift in first as we descended onto the extremely steep grade. The rear wheels slid over the loose rocks which allowed us to gain unwanted momentum. At one point I almost got ejected over the steering wheel due to the instability and bouncing inflicted by the dangerous conditions. We made a successful recovery but we weren't in the clear, yet. About 20 seconds later we heard a gunshot like sound. At the same moment George and I noticed a section of decayed log blow apart about 8 yards off the starboard side of the tractor (as if it were hit by a bullet). A quick glance at the tires didn't show a puncture, so we assumed that we were under fire. Chris began yelling to alert anyone that could be shooting, while The Mystery Guest and George attempted to take cover in the dump body. We bajaed for about a minute, hit a stump, and noticed the right rear tire was flat. At this point the stressful situation became quite amusing. We rolled strong back to the yard with the tractor slanted down on the right side. Everyone was quite relieved and Chris stuck his hand into the sidewall to demonstrate the size of the hole. At this point The Mystery Guest and the Bartons departed to tend to other affairs. I assume that the impact witnessed on the log was caused by the force of the air or a piece of rubber ejecting from the tire. Once a replacement tire was fitted with a snow chain and assembled, Brett, Ethan, Brian, and Graeme arrived. Ethan brought two sacrificial TVs from the dump which were temporarily placed on a pile of horse manure. We ascended the steep hill and took the trail to the stonewall gap at the roadside. While descending the steep part of the trail, Iwak and Jeff caught up with us. After the water crossing we returned to the barn and got the sacrificial TVs. We ascended to the turnaround and found an old piece of dump body that had broken off during summerfest '94. We continued over the stonewall with Iwak sitting shotgun and tractored to TV cliff for the first time in three years. On the way Graeme hit his funny bone on the dump body when we bottomed out the differential. Once our destination was reached, the TVs were tossed off the cliff onto the rocks below. Then we ascended to the summit of Mount Tractor where Iwak added some large rocks to the monument. The number of mosquitoes following us was becoming excessive, so we jetted for the yard. This time we bypassed the drop off, tractored down Chris and Matt's path, and went over the stonewall. Iwak rode the bull and we returned to the yard for some laps. Iwak and Brian drove some yard laps while Graeme and I balanced a lawn chair on the canoe trailer. The trailer was fastened to the tractor and Iwak rode a yard lap in the chair. Brett rode the chair next, then late arrival Andy Jones took the chair for a lap. Andy experienced a mid lap chair malfunction and it had to be repaired. Each lap included a trip over the pile of horse manure. The fest was concluded with a lap of the barn in reverse to park the trailer.
* Note : Today ended Chris Barton's streak of 23 consecutive Tractorfests.
Jasper stopped by for a visit during an evening training ride so we went for a spin on the tractor. We ascended the steep hill and took the new path that descends to the muddy stonewall gap. Apparently the mud and water dried up at the gap exposing some damp soil that we were able to track onto the pavement. Then we returned to the barn via the road and talked about bike parts for a while.
7/10 Joe Alachoyan, Paul Alachoyan, Bob Baylis, Andy "Boogman" Jones, Brian Jones, Eric Rocheford
Today's fest originated from an unexpected visit from Joe, his dad, and Eric. They were in the middle of a long easy training ride and stopped by to go for a spin on the tractor. We ascended to the summit of Mount Tractor and descended it's steep west side. After viewing the now inactive drop off, we continued along the off camber section and down Chris and Matt's path. With Joe sitting shotgun, we shot over the stonewall and rode the bull. The right rear wheel held air for a moment after bouncing over the second rock of the bull. Then we returned to the house and the riders departed. An hour later dedicated Tractorfest sponsor Bob Baylis of the main st. Automotive Service in Clinton arrived and moved the tractor to Stow with his ramp truck for the upcoming Jonesfest. After unloading the tractor we went for a ride. We journeyed into Brian's backyard and ran over some tall grass and brush. Then we took the main path to the edge of the Assabet river. The rear wheels dug deep holes in some sand as we attempted to ascend a steep grade. After backing out of the holes, we ascended the hill on a lesser grade. We proceeded with caution as we traveled along the edge of a cliff that dropped 15 feet into the Assabet river. After descending the other side of the hill, we plowed through some small trees and brush to get back to the main path. Then we looked for the trail that traveled along the Assabet river. It was over grown with high ferns which made it difficult to locate. Once we were on the trail, we plowed through the thick ferns and eventually ran into a jam. We had to baja for a while and run over some trees to avoid some extremely thick plant matter that was obstructing the trail. We returned to the trail and tractored the network of trails in Brian's backyard. Then we crossed the field to the house for a quick break. Brian drove to the stream where we got stuck in mud during Tractorfest '96 on tour. The stream had dried up and Brian showed good skills while baja. He successfully squeezed between trees at high speed and made quick accurate judgment about which obstacles could be run over and which ones shouldn't. Eventually the front end became tangled in some trees and required some effort to get unstuck. I took over driving, ran over some stumps and dead trees, and returned to the main trail. Then we went back to the high ferns for some baja. Tractoring through the ferns was very entertaining and some ferns were as high as the steering wheel. We bajaed for a while and all of a sudden the front wheels went up. Apparently we didn't notice a two foot high bank that was hidden in the ferns. It took four attempts to get over the bank. Once on the other side, we tractored off camber with the driver's side on the bank. We stopped moving and I noticed that the left rear wheel was spinning and wondered why. After a couple seconds the left side of the tractor dropped a foot, the left rear wheel landed softly on the ground, and we continued forward motion. The tractor had tipped sideways so far that it was at the balance point with its left side in the air for a few seconds. Had we tipped any further the tractor would have rolled onto it's side. We returned to Brian's house and capped off the fest by viewing the Tractorfest web page.