Meeting new people is one of my favorite aspects of attending events like Hay Days, races, dealer open houses, pig races and the like.

It's funny, but most conversations I have with fellow riders usually touches on the subject of what machines we ride. And I'm frequently amazed by the sheer number of sleds that so many Arctic Cat riders seem to own.

Darin Martens is one guy I met recently (at Hay Days), and who exemplifies what I'm talking about.

Click to see a true Cat fan.

On the heels of dressing Tucker Hibbert and team last season, Arcticwear adds several more top racers and teams to it's program for the upcoming race season.

(Picture your favorite racer in the above image.)

Gotta love the Arcticwear/Arctic Cat family of racers and race duds!

Click for a fashionable full list of names.

The results are in, and Team Arctic crushed it at the 2015 Hay Days (and Princeton) grass drags.

Hit the throttle to read the official press release.

It's that time of year again...the classic Open House event at Arctic Cat dealerships.

Where the combination of great conversation, great displays and great deals produce the perfect shot of preseason ether to ignite our passion for the coming season.

Like the one at Country Cat in Sauk Centre, on Oct. 3.

Click to read more.

I'm thankful I can escape all of life's regular trappings by heading out on a nice, enjoyable ride.

I'm thankful I can stop, look around, smell the roses and really absorb all the beauty around me.

I'm thankful that jack-wagon I call my friend will eventually put away the #$@*% camera and help me get out of this mess.

And I'm thankful it's Friday, Sept. 25, 2015.

FOX Shox unveiled a new prototype electronic version of their QS3 shock system at Hay Days this year, effectively ushering in the next era of simplified suspension control.

Tentatively dubbed QS3 RAD,  the new system uses a 12v powered stepper motor controlled by a handlebar-mounted switch, allowing the rider to choose between three valving options in the QS3 shocks while riding.

Touch the button to select the rest of the story.

Arctic Cat is a company loaded with talented, creative, passionate and hard working engineers. In the Snowmobile department, Doug Braswell is the person whose job is to direct that amazing engineering workforce to produce the best snowmobiles in the world.

The multi-faceted man was gracious enough to answer key questions about his role, how he’s organized the department and some clues to what we can expect for future product.

Click for the engineer's perspective.

I'm thankful there's a wintertime equivalent for those of us who are Born to be Wild.

I'm thankful that no matter if it's one track or two, single ski or more, twist-grip or throttle lever...that we can all just get along as we bang ditches and blast big air.

I'm thankful that what's old is new again.

And I'm thankful that it's Friday, Sept. 18, 2015.

Team Arctic drag racers delivered a crushing blow to the competition at the recent 2015 Hay Days grass drags.

What's your elapsed time to click and see (some) of the winners!?!

Tucker Hibbert will have another arrow in his quivver this season: Dan Ebert.

The longtime Arctic Cat racer, engineer and (most recently) crew chief has joined Hibbert's Monster Energy/Arctic Cat/Ram Truck team as a mechanic working alongside crew chief Kirk Hibbert.

Wrench on over to the press release to learn more.

For those of you hitting the Sand Sports Super Show this weekend in Costa Mesa, Calif., there's a chance to win a ride shotgun on the SST track with Robby Gordon in the #29 Wildcat X SST Truck

Plus there's a chance to win a SPEED LED Lightbar and SPEED R/C Traxxas Truck.

Simply hit the Arctic Cat display booth at the show, sign up (Friday night only for the Gordon ride) and then cross your fingers.

Good luck!

Beer, handlebars, Burger King, brats and more...

...Here's a guest commentary about Hay Days from Rodney Dragan, ringleader of the merry band of snowmobile thugs known the world over as "F.H.U.C.-S.T.I.C.S.".

Click for some clack.

The 49th Sno-Baron's Hay Days extravaganza went down this past weekend in near perfect splendor, unleashing the excitement of snowmobiling via wild mix of products, people, racing, swapping and anticipation.

Click for a sample of what could be seen during the weekend.

In what was probably the biggest surprise of the event (and truly a sneak peek), Arctic Cat briefly unveiled a single-ski type snow vehicle at Hay Days this weekend.

It was just a tease, with VERY limited information and a VERY short cameo. The single ski machine appeared for about 1 minute atop the Arctic Cat truck before disappearing.

Click for some pix, limited info and speculation based on my photographic evidence.

The biggest news over the weekend was Arctic Cat's unveiling of what it's calling an SVX 450 Snow Vehicle.

It's a single-ski snowmobile built for back-country riding, with the potential for other types of riding in the future.

Check this out, and look for additional updates here!

UPDATED on 9-15-15 with more detailed information on several items for each sled.

Arctic Cat unveiled its 2016 snocross and cross-country race sleds at Hay Days this past weekend, each getting a host of updates.

New exhaust system... new brakes... new track... new cool stuff!

Race on over to a full description of each sled.

I'm thankful it's the day before Hay Days (although it's actually the day that most swappers make deals).

I'm thankful so many from the wide world of snowmobiling are descending upon North Branch, Minnesota, bristling with expectation of what they'll see, find, sell and hear at 49th annual start of winter.

I'm thankful we can all pause for a moment today and say a prayer for the many thousands who suffer sadness, loss, heartbreak and more on Sept. 11.

And I'm thankful it's Friday, Sept. 11, 2015.

Ever see a pig race?

Me either, until a recent Friday in Leader, Minn., when a pack of bacon was ripping laps around a track in front of a few hundred screaming fans. 

Among the screamers were myself, my son Cal and our friend Pat Bourgeois of ATV World/OSM Magazine.

Click to see some divine swine.

Arctic Cat announced today that it's moving its corporate headquarters to Minneapolis from its current location in Plymouth, Minn., in order to accelerate and accommodate growth.

Cat anticipates that it will begin occupying the new headquarters in the summer of 2016.

Over time, approximately 150 to 200 personnel will be housed in the new location. Arctic Cat’s facilities in Thief River Falls and St. Cloud, Minn., will remain vibrant manufacturing sites, with overall employment levels staying the same.

Click for added info.

I'm thankful for the men and women who produce the coolest damn machines in the whole world, whether it's 1975 or 2015!

I'm thankful that, in the U.S. and Canada, it's Labor Day weekend.

(I'm thankful that, in the past 10 years or so, it's seemingly become a 4-day weekend for most poeople, because nobody who's supposed to be at work today is returning my emails or phone calls.)

And I'm thankful it's Friday, Sept. 4, 2015.