Huskies in Aviemore.

[Andrew Br]

We went to watch some of the husky races in Aviemore at the weekend.
It was great fun and it was heartening to see the dogs obviously enjoying themselves.
There was a lot of bike technology in use on the carts.


DSC_0091 by Chocolatebike1, on Flickr


DSC_0102 by Chocolatebike1, on Flickr

DSC_0111 by Chocolatebike1, on Flickr

Standing near a lot of huskies with what looks like a cat on my head was a brave move.


DSC_0115 by Chocolatebike1, on Flickr

This one was particularly handsome.
Sadly, Helen wouldn't let me bring him home.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Look fun.

But why do they have those funny booty things on their paws?
And why were they racing carts rather than sleds - lack of snow?

[numbnuts]

in the news they said there were over a 1000 dogs.......that's a lot of shit poo to clean up  

[Andrew Br]

Look fun.

But why do they have those funny booty things on their paws?
And why were they racing carts rather than sleds - lack of snow?

They wear the boots to protect their paws on the gravel. There were a couple of traces of blood at the end of the course.
There wasn't enough snow to use their sleds.
When we decided to go and watch, there was lots of it still falling in Aviemore.
Sadly, it had mostly gone by the time of the races.
They were still skiing up on the mountain and it was possible to get all the way down to the base station 'though it was quite slushy lower down.

[Andrew Br]

in the news they said there were over a 1000 dogs.......that's a lot of shit poo to clean up  

We didn't see any shit poo, but there were lots of shovels and plastic bags in evidence.

[Cudzoziemiec]

So it's only because of the gravel they need the boots? I presume they don't need them if the course is under snow. In the absence of snow, wouldn't it have been better to run on mud? Or would that mean the carts getting bogged down?

[Andrew Br]

They use a X-country ski course for the races in Aviemore so they're stuck with whatever the surface is like.
There are other venues used across Britain and around the year so I suppose that they might have to contend with dust in the summer (if they're lucky   ).

I don't know if they change the cart's tyres to suit the terrain.
There were several examples of polyurethane tyres on display as well as some plastic wheels.
Some of the carts had suspension forks and hydraulic disc brakes.

There's a cart at the back of this photo:-


DSC_0104 by Chocolatebike1, on Flickr

[Cudzoziemiec]

They're not just modified bikes, then - they look as if they must be made from scratch.

[woollypigs]

My brother was into this some years ago. I had a go with three of his attached onto my old bicycle. Boy could they go !!!

[LindaG]

Beautiful dogs.