Leaderboard

Day 3, Sunday, March 11th 2018, 202 miles. We woke to blue skis and it stopped snowing, yeah! With only 200 miles back to the truck we weren’t in a big rush. Mont Vilian does not start breakfast until 8:00AM, a bit of a pain under normal conditions. All was good with the food and the cabin but the poor to no internet is a show stopper for me. We were expecting the worse as the last 5 miles in was all ice and no fresh snow. As soon as we hooked a left towards Alma we could see they had gotten plenty of snow this last storm. It was perfectly fresh groomed and we were first tracks all the way to Alma! Best I have ever seen these trails. We crossed the bridge, meandered through town and stayed on the 23 all the way into Mont Apica. The trails were in really nice condition and the traffic was not too bad. A few of us grabbed a splash of gas and off the Le Tape for food and gas. I think overall better food and much quicker service. 23 to Le Tape was a tiny bit bumpy in the turns but mostly really nice. The side trail to Le Tape was very good considering the traffic as we got closer. After lunch we grabbed the 369 back to Route 3. I would say the 369 may have been the best I have seen it ever. It’s amazing what a pile of new snow and grooming will do. We did jump on the 304 to avoid the last twisty part of 369 through the mountains. We were dreading Route 3 but it was totally fine for a warmish Sunday afternoon all the way back to the Hotel. High 5’s and hugs all around and a successful 780 mile trip in the books. No sled or rider issues. Gas, oil and go, just the way we like it.

Powder turn ... 101

Day 2, Fri 3/16) Morning plan executed, 6-7-8, up the 23 just about first tracks. This trail's a fav of mine, since the first Quebec almost 20 years ago, at night, in heavy snow, with zero experience in riding & gear etc etc. Today's lesson confirmed: There's more to picking trails than just iMoto! The 90'ish miles from St Ray to L'Etape showed no recent grooming. Because it didn't need it! It was amazing. Flat concrete in the beginning, dropped one scratcher, so no problem. Then 1"-2" of cream cheese, then 2"-3" up to the pull off for the truck stop. The 5 miles to & from the gas was pure merde. Decent time @ 11:00am. Went in for sugar & caffeine & a break. Back to the 23 north and uh oh, lumped up bad. iMoto said groomed last night? Maybe shouldn't have hung at the truck stop so long? After the trail got bigger/faster it went back to mint. Then bits of lumps where we leapfrogged different groups. It pays to stay out front! Apica had some action, keep moving. LSJ clubhouse/warming hut was pretty packed. I love seeing old salts out on the trails! Makes me think I've got a future! Keep moving. Now Mike's out front with the '18 and the GPS and he's got wings. Topped the gas in Hebertville and into Chalet & Spa Lac Saint Jean in Chambord. Just 200 mi, plus 10-15 of track spin. Aside from some smallish drifts in some open spaces the trails were perfect in this area. Plan was to get here before the outdoor pools & saunas close and still catch dinner, but OOPS it's 3:00pm and the spa doesn't open until 4:30!? Back into reception and Natasha reads our minds (or facial expressions)... BEER! I don't really know beer, so let's have some local LSJ Oatmeal Noir, had me tripping (not the footsteps kind).

Stop signs at RR crossings are real girls & boys! Train!.mp4

Great trip guys, you got a good taste of what we enjoy about the back country in the hinterlands of Valin great reports👍 RR

markusvt Gettin some BC pow

Plenty of snow !

Our rental mules ready for the adventure

Arrive at the Glacier House

Just outside of Kelona BC, heading off to Revelstoke

This is the cabin we were put in , its about a 1/4 mile Or so down the trail . Quick ride for dinner /breakfast

Pregame ride:

OK, blah blah, no drama, season goes fast, but '18's been a great one. Day One, Thurs 3/15) Kept with a no-trailering trend this year and rode right out of the garage at Moto Thibault in Trois Rivières. Plan was to drive north early enough and get in an afternoon ride to position at the Roq for an early Friday run up to the lake. After sloshing thru the puddles around the industrial park it was groomed all the way door to door. Except the .3mi of lumpy bunny trail coming off the water behind Au Chalet en Bois Rond cuz the groomers can't get in there. No complaints! Need to stretch our legs once in a while right? "Spring forward" and got to St Raymond, gassed up, checked in, and hosed off all all before sundown. Live tunes, excellent chow, & friendly service in the brewery. Truck parking is packed, sled corral is not.

https://quik.gopro.com/v/lPH8EsYkl0/ A few weeks ago the team (doorite , markusvt , Dave , Todd & Richard . made a run to Revelstoke BC to play in the steep and deep for 3 days . What a time we had ! ! Knowing its not Quebec trails here but thought we'd share a little of our trip.

Day 1, Friday, March 9th 2018, 365 miles. We decided to start at the Sheraton Four Points in Quebec City. Nice rooms, nice food and huge parking. If you are trying to go north it is a better option for us than the St Foy area. We debated on starting more north in La Malbaie but voted unanimously against it in favor of more miles on the sled and less in the truck. We woke to a fresh 4 inches or so outside and it was still snowing. Breakfast at 7:00 and then out to unload 5 sleds, Me, Jay, Randy, Dave and Greg. On the trail at 8:00 or so. We found awesome conditions on the power-lines in Quebec City. No rocks and tons of snow. They fully recoved from the rain and warm. No water, no missing snow bridges, nothing ! A few snowmobile bridges redone since last season and some fresh signing, it was nice. There were lots more 30km maximum signs in town so we took it very easy. Most of route 3 was freshly groomed and really nice until Relay Mont St Anne. It stayed nice until the 369 La Tape turn off then the snow started picking up and for sure no groomer had been here in a bit. Big snowdrifts and hard going all the way to Relay Michelieu at the Baie St Paul turn off. They have 2 huge gas tanks there now that I have not noticed before. No worries we don’t need gas and continue on. It is obvious that the groomer has been here recently which was nice. A few small trail reroutes since last year but it was all nice. A bit choppy before the ferry as it usually is. Snowing heavy now and WINDY……. We got off a bumpy Tadousac ferry ride and headed to lunch at Restaurant Chantmartin a few minutes up the trail, (I was wishing I put the peanut butter on my toast for breakfast because I was HUNGRY!). We met some folks there that were calling it a day because of too much snow and hard going. We finished an awesome lunch and marched on. Both gas options on the trail in town are no longer open and we did not want to get the one off the side street so off we go. We bypassed Pelchat and got gas at Relais Escoumin. I know guys had issues with bad gas early in the season here but we took our chances and all was well. We told the lady in the relay where we were going and she said something about good luck and crazy Americans. We wrestled the sleds on the Route 3 bypass due to the locals tracking it up every which way playing in the deep snow. Our plan was to get to Chenail Du Nord at 5:00 with 320 miles but with all the new snow and a few excursions we were not going to make that. We arrived in Forestville at 6:45PM to get gas. I looked at the Chenail Du Nord side trail on the way by and there were no tracks and now the fresh snow was in the 12-18 inch range and still snowing. We leave at 7:00PM after grabbing (3) empty windshield washer jugs for tomorrow. I shoot a note to Benoit we are running a bit late. We doubled back the few kilometers to the side trail and off we go. Fresh tracks for 1KM then off a huge bank onto a plowed back road, hum....... We go a short distance and hook a left back onto the side trail and are ready for the remaining 60 miles. Lo and behold someone had ridden it pulling a sled and it’s perfect! Benoit has this section pretty well signed to his door. I have GPS tracks if anyone needs them. It’s dark now but we could easily go 65mph+ on sections of this trail. We arrived at 8:30PM with 365 miles on. Long day and the only over 250 miles day this year, but sometimes to get to the interesting places you have to pay a bit. We had new snow the whole way and everyone was happy to be there! Benoit came out to greet us and get us set in our cabin. He said he would go wake the chef and dinner would be ready at 9:15. Quick unload, shower and off to eat. The new chef was awesome. She is a local Floresville woman living in the bush here for the winter. The meal was awesome as was visiting with Benoit for the evening. He took out his calculator and said 600KM in 12 hours in this fresh snow, and you got gas, and you ate lunch? We said yes, he said crazy Americans. We've heard that before. Lots of snow today and everything open for business. I can't see this much snow melting quickly so head on up. Quebec City is a great place to leave from when the conditions are this good.

That’s why He’s..... PLAYHARD. Nuff said.

A plane ticket and 350 to 400 a day for sled rental with gas, food and lodging , same as any trip, this sounds and looks like a blast for 2 or 3 days, would love to put it on the bucket list with the hopes of conquering one of those big rolling hills!!

That looked so amazing until I saw the shovel and stuck sled. You boys have fun, I will be happy to just read it from the couch. mike

If one of the magazines is looking for a photographer, they don't have to look very far. Wow! Is that with a smart phone or a real camera? You picked a beautiful spot that was untouched. Unbelievable! Jack & Sandi

The 5 miles to & from the gas was pure merde....... French Poop ! LOl Sunday when we scooted into there it was the best it's been for us in years ... but we all know that only last a few hours with the traffic that spur gets

Wow! Gotta luv that, definitely in your teams wheelhouse. Pictures are just fine for me, but I know how you guys love that deep stuff.

hi smclelan !!! ahaha......must have been bumpy between matane and baie comeau.....strong winds here all day ...rock 'n roll at the lake !!! i left at 6 am...back at 5 pm .... good for cross point side ... just woke up ...nap...on my way to bed !!! jean-guy

Flying in

I rode from Pointe a la Croix today, the trail was 10 out of 10!! It was groomed last night. We stopped for breakfast in Albertville at the clubhouse, good as always. Sitting in Baie Comeau tonight, not bad considering the plan at 10pm last night was for us the stay at the Copper tonight. LOL

Trails look nice. Would rather be out there than behind a desk.

Its this... https://www.auchaletenboisrond.com/

Glad to see the monkey is still smiling!!! mike

Good to see Mr. Vinner on the trail again ! You gave him the big bore machine on this one. He is moving up nicely.

Wapishish is Accessible from bras Louis and is quite the donkey path into the relais. They have 91 octane, good beer/food and even offer lodging. They mentioned that they hope to be on Quebec map in the next year or two. Sounds like they have been busier this year then in previous years. We stopped their on our way back to valin after riding Cote Nord. We had started that day after a great stay at Chenail Du Nord, and were lucky to have Benoit confirm our handmade Gps track west to Wapishish. It’s worth the adventure and our group would go back again.

forgot..... can t confirm ....i was talking with a friend yesterday ....he told me that cross point groomer...kaputt !!!....down !!! i believe that ...looks like there s not much action on their side since a week !!! forgot to walk on their side this morning !!! first tourists on my way to main steeet ..just before 4 am !!! jean-guy

It was last Tuesday morning and I awoke early at Riviere du Loup. This was the day to make Squatec in time for breakfast at Belle Autofois, best crepes in Quebec. I suited up and went outside to my sled, it was time to awake the 90 Mouse Power under the hood of the 900 ACE. I opened the side panel and there are all 90 mice, wide awake and alert. They looked somehow bigger on this morning. Mice must have ESP and knew we were making the annual high speed run for crepes, the little buggers stayed up all night popping steroids for this run. My little buddies! I looked again and gasped. They were all cross eyed, their tails were straight up. They looked mean. They looked like wharf rats. They were all sporting man buns. About the time I saw a brass pole under the hood, I heard a high pitched giggle. I reached under one of their beds and pulled out a young female pole dancing mouse. As I grabbed her she was terrified. I asked her name and she said Delta. She begged I let her go so she could return to her home in Jonquiere. I suddenly realized the mice were not high on steroids, but worse, Viagra. I then remembered a picture I saw on Quebecrider. A member had tied a monkey to his front bumper. The monkey had no expression, he had drawn the short straw and this was his fate, forever. I had an idea. I doused Delta in perfume and tied her to my front bumper. Suddenly the 90 mice came alive, tails again in the air. They could not see Delta but sensed she was only inches away, and she smelled great. Delta had an expression on her face of sheer horror. I jumped on the sled and gave some throttle. Delta started screaming. The mice heard the screams and got more excited. Their tails went high. Up trail 526 and then down trail 85, past the RDL club house. When the trail turned into the rail bed, I gave it all it got. The ACE quickly got up to its usual 85 mph top end and settled in. Delta's screams were now in a fast rhythem of scream, pant, scream, pant. I could hear all 90 mice squealing with delight as they heard Delta. Suddenly the sled was doing 90, then 95, 100, 110. I arrived in Squatec with time to spare and the crepes did not disappoint. Later, upon returning to the hotel, I placed Delta in my truck and drove her to Monro's and dropped her off. I told her a lot of Quebecrider members come to this place and they would take good care of her. I returned to the hotel and quickly got on the phone to the SkiDoo factory. I told them how I got 90 mice to do the work of 150. SkiDoo said this was the best invention ever. They said the invention would be a new machine next year called the 900 ACE Turbo. They wired me a million dollars. I returned to the hotel and told my little buddies to get spiffed up, we are going out. We then drove to Monro's. When we walked in there was Delta at the brass pole. She was summonsed over to our table. I told them how we were now all rich and all 92 of us would split the million bucks. THE MORAL OF THE STORY: There is no moral. 90 mice have no morals, they hired a hooker. Delta has no morals, she is a hooker. And I have no morals, less than the mice, I doused a mouse in perfume and tied her to the front bumper of my sled. THE END OF THE STORY,,,,, OR,,,, DO FAIRY TALES HAVE HAPPY ENDINGS: 89 of the mice went to work for SkiDoo as lab mice. SkiDoo gave them all kinds of pills and all kinds of injections trying to make them perform like 200 mice. This top secret project at SkiDoo was called project Sidewinder. The project failed, and all the mice ended up with was two tails. And the tails would no longer point to the sky. Bruno, my head mouse in charge of the engine compartment, became a bouncer at Monro's. He went on to father hundreds of children from various pole dancing female mice. He lost his fortune to child support. Delta became SkiDoo's Vice President in charge of recruitment and training. She scoured the world for pole dancing young female mice. She then trained them to ride the bumper. These young ladies would go on to be known as bumper thumpers. I used my share of the money and Snow Checked a new Polaris after hearing Polaris uses neutered chipmunks. ALMOST THE END: Years later I went to Valcourt to the SkiDoo Factory and met with my little buddies. We sat around all night drinking beer and laughing. Then Carlos raised his glass and said, "To Squatec". We all hoisted our glasses, drank, and cheered. Next, Omar raised his glass and said, "To Crepes". We all hoisted our glasses, drank, and laughed. I knew I had to join in. I hoisted my glass and said, "To Delta". The room fell silent. Wh, where's Delta I asked, blood draining from my face. My little buddies, tears in their eyes, told me Delta's fate. Every year for one day Delta would leave SkiDoo headquarters and spend a day riding the bumper. Last year while riding the bumper, an on coming sled passed by. Tied to the pretty blue Yamaha was an expressionless monkey. For Delta it was love at first sight. Later in the day her driver stopped at a club house. While waiting on the bumper, Delta looked around and saw the pretty blue Yamaha and saw her monkey love still tied to the front bumper. She hopped off her bumper and jumped up to her monkey. For both it was immediately love. Delta tied herself next to the monkey and in a few minutes the monkey's driver returned and off they rode into the sunset. Delta was at once fired from SkiDoo. She didn't care, she was now a Yamaha bumper thumper monkey humper. And as for the monkey, he is no longer expressionless. He and Delta happily ride down the trail. The monkey flips the bird to other monkeys and never stops smiling.

Day 2, Saturday, March 10th 2018, 212 miles. Did I say the free WIFI worked excellent here at Chenail du Nord! We woke to an additional 6 inches and still lightly snowing. We cleaned the sleds off then headed to breakfast at 7:30. Breakfast was awesome and while we ate Benoit loaded the tracks for the off trail connection to the C-900 Pelchat trail into the GPS’s. He has a new way this year as both of his ways last year have portions that are plowed, sanded and logged this year. We took a few pictures, filled the sleds, spare tank and the windshield washer jugs with gas. One of our team members expressed concerns about the miles, the deep snow, gas and getting stuck so we put him at the back. Move on we must. These are snowmobiles after all and they do go in the snow. We packed our stuff and off we went into the abyss. The snow was deep and no one had ridden this trail since the all the new snow and there was a lot of it. It was fun bombing through the snow on the way to the C-900. For the most part we were the only tracks but in a few sections there were local camp sleds that had broken the trail near them. It was mostly flat with some gentle uphill’s. Benoit said there are (3) separate type of systems you ride through. Doublewide class 4 type roads in the summer for the first part, bigger summer logging roads for the second part, and narrow ATV summer trail type for the 3rd part. All unplowed and full of snow fun. Benoit has it signed pretty well but I would not do it without a GPS. We stopped 20 miles out and emptied the windshield jugs into the sleds that we thought may need them. The 900 would be good and I had 4 gallons onboard that I would need breaking trail most of the way. 15 miles from connecting with the C-900 we started seeing a few huge holes from locals getting stuck and digging out. A few miles later we came on a group of locals stopped and resting from the deep snow challenges. They were headed to Chappell after a morning of fishing and drinking wine they said, good times. We arrived at the C-900 Pelchat trail at 75 miles and to Chappell with 112 miles. Only the last part was groomed wide and nice. We got gas out of their (2) big tanks. I have not been there in awhile so I’m not sure how long they have had them. We went in for lunch and with all of the renovations it is pretty darn nice now. The servers did not disappoint and the food came out faster than McDonalds. We took the lake over to KM31, then a short blast on whooped out 93 to the Brais Louis. The trail was groomed perfect all the way to Onatchaway, super fun. A quick blast on the secondary trails to Mont Vilain with the last 5 miles pretty icy and no new snow here.. The place is redone and more upper class than the old Scooby Raid. We went in to check and Huston we have a problem. They don’t have our reservation. A quick show of the confirmation on the cell phone and they admit they hosed it. Next best option is they set us up in a cabin ¼ mile away, no WIFI and knock $30 off everyone’s price. With no choice really we took it. Off to the cabin to checkin and shower up. Nice place really. Dinner was 5 star for sure. Owner’s and wait staff all supper nice. Terrible WIFI in the lodge, come on folks this is 2018. Early bed time for all as plowing through the new snow was pretty darn tiring.

hi playhard and northbound !!! money shot pic.....allan dyck ....aldergrove ,bc.....taken at the ntl in vallée jonction ....south of quebec city ..must be 88-89 ??? i could still name lots of riders...back in the 70's ..i was reading '' us '' magazines from my oldest brother!!! this is how i started learning english ......so , if my english is nt too good....coming from your side of the fence...ahahaha number 4 ...jeff surwall...american living outside toronto....he was president of '' no fear '' in california.. number 1...suzuki bike...ross pederson multi x canadian champ....pic taken in ste geneviere de batiscan ...iceman territory !!! number 1 ...honda...carl vaillancourt ...125 cc...with mugen honda motor...riki light blowing snow....-2c jean-guy

The cab gets "Iced" !

....and you never know who you might "bump" into on the trails, last Friday we bumped into the Gutz Brothers at the Drakkar...!! and while we were having dinner the one and only Don the "Iceman" stopped in to say hello and hand out stickers!!