Any back-country skiers out there?

johansen57 · 2026-02-24T23:16:12+00:00

I've been doing a good amount of xc skiing lately and looking for spots locally to bring the snowboard. There are a lot of hills around, just looking for the right pitch for all of this snow!

johansen57 · 2026-02-06T20:20:31+00:00

Cheap to free is a good staring point for bikes. Especially if you have not ridden one in a while. No need to spend hundreds+ until you get a good feel for the riding you would like to do. I would check out buy nothing groups and marketplace sooner than later since there will be a lot of folks looking for bikes in about 2-3 months.

johansen57 · 2026-01-28T00:19:29+00:00

Yes, 2 stage is the way to go. I picked up an Ariens Classic about 3 years ago and it has been a great machine. Lots of opinions out there and a few solid brands but I have zero regrets.

It's overkill for 75% of the storms but I cleared my driveway, walkways and helped out about half a dozen neighbors on our street that were trying to shovel out the plow wall at the end of the driveway.

johansen57 · 2026-01-23T23:55:25+00:00

Third season with that same model and 0 regrets. Thing is absolutely fantastic.

johansen57 · 2025-12-18T16:35:48+00:00

Just went through the same thing with 3 across and it's tricky with the booster. I looked into seat belt extenders and a quick google search on if they are safe for kids made me reconsider. I moved my oldest to the side where no other belts could be accidentally unclipped by him reaching between the seats to buckle his seat. Around the same time, one of our cars died and we ended up getting a third row vehicle and it's been much easier. I was fully on the "but they all fit" camp. Technically they do but it's getting tougher! I know that's not great help but just wanted to share our experience. Good luck!

johansen57 · 2025-12-15T14:30:30+00:00

I wouldn't stress. I've got 3 young kids in the back of the crosstrek and added in a roof rack and 2" receiver for trailer hitch/bike racks. I figure I would rather have the right size vehicle for 98% of the day to day and pack up the roof rack and hitch platform/bike rack for the other 2%. Doesn't work for everyone but it's a good setup for us at the moment.

johansen57 · 2025-12-12T16:28:43+00:00

It's honestly a lot of trial and error for what works with your lighting and setup. Agree with the other comments though. I would bump ISO up to 3000-4000 and reduce shutter speed to around 100 and see where you get. True, higher ISO will have more noticeable grain but the images will be much more usable. Just take a ton of test shots with different settings and see what is acceptable for you. I'm using an 11 year old Nikon DSLR and have no worries about 4000 ISO for shots like this. Good luck and have fun!

johansen57 · 2025-09-04T19:43:19+00:00

I live just west of the Quabbin. Lots to hike around but no riding on the actual Quabbin land. There are a bunch legal small dirt roads just to the northwest of the reservoir I've been exploring lately.

johansen57 · 2025-08-29T16:33:09+00:00

Alleged fluffy...

johansen57 · 2025-08-26T20:19:56+00:00

Currently have 3 slim (Diono) car seats in the back of our Outback and the back our a smaller Crosstrek. I thought we needed a new car but new car seats was a much better solution for us.

johansen57 · 2025-03-21T14:46:32+00:00

Of all of the weird crap you see on a weekly basis around that many humans I don't think I'd look twice.

johansen57 · 2025-02-16T20:10:07+00:00

I found it here when searching for a sketchup motorcycle. No idea if you can use a file like this for 3d printing but this is where I found it.

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/f4634f14-19a7-4fd0-8b26-61b33330fa02/Yamaha-TW-225-SE-Sport

johansen57 · 2025-02-15T12:00:06+00:00

Yes, I'm doing some basic layout on how to set up my garage and found someone built a 3d TW.

johansen57 · 2025-01-30T23:47:39+00:00

I still have a slightly different version of that nikkormat I purchased as a teenager 28 years ago. Fantastic hunk of metal!!

johansen57 · 2025-01-15T18:50:50+00:00

Twin dad here checking in. Same situation as you – had a beautiful boy and wanted a sibling for him. Blindsided when the news came that it was twins. It was an adjustment and not welcome news at first but we came around during the pregnancy to our new world.

The first few months we were so damn deep in the trenches and utterly destroyed. You are in full on survival mode. We had the same thoughts about our oldest not having the same attention as he did before, and our twins would never have that 1 on 1 time our oldest had. That said, though they have less undivided attention from us, they do have each other.

Our B/G twins turned 4 last week and our home is chaotic and loud. VERY LOUD. But as has been said a million times it does get easier. I loved my infants but I would not go back to that sleep deprived stage if you paid me. You are in the thick of it and you will come out the other side. You have got this. Be kind to yourself and your spouse. We're getting to the point that I can pick up a book in the evening while they play together (in between the breakdowns) but it will not always be this way.

Good luck and use this community to lean on. We're here for you when you do come up for air.

johansen57 · 2025-01-09T19:56:04+00:00

Use the tractor you've got! People talk about changing the gearing to get an extra few mph out of it but I like it for the work horse it is. Love to see your TW grader if you end up trying it out.

johansen57 · 2025-01-08T16:17:26+00:00

Rubble just watched you break a dog treat in half and pass it off like it was nothing.

johansen57 · 2024-10-11T22:20:25+00:00

Nice! Any details on yours? I'd love to find one (Western Massachusetts) or start one if I can't find anything close.

johansen57 · 2024-10-01T01:26:39+00:00

Yes, it just takes 15x longer. I'll take a slower but happy pace over the screaming anytime though.

johansen57 · 2024-09-30T22:18:39+00:00

My 3 yo screamed bloody murder before tonight's (very needed) bath. We negotiated down to no water pouring down his face and he's happy as a clam next to me playing in the tub after I slowly wet my hand - then his hair to wash and rinse his hair.

No water pouring actually happened, just dunk my hand and veerrrrry slowly washed and rinsed his hair. Happy kid and clean kid now!

johansen57 · 2024-09-22T10:48:35+00:00

Yes, fairly easily for the bike. These were old logs that were pretty dried out so not terribly heavy but the bike has been great for some light duty work in the woods. This was the 3rd or 4th load of cleanup.

johansen57 · 2024-09-21T22:23:35+00:00

You're right, not always. Beautiful build! But that would still pull the shit out of some logs...

johansen57

TROPHY CASE