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7 of us rode out of Cabanon 3 days and then did a 3 day loop. Overall trails were 7-10. Area received 8-12 inches of snow the day we arrived. Rode thru the following places during the week. 1,000 miles total 6 days of riding. St Zenon, Mattawin, Repos, St Gabriel, Kanawata, Weyomentaci, Relay 22, La Tuque. Only 1 potato in St. Michel. Trails south toward Gabriel were fine. Cant say enough about how much I like this 2020 Renegade Enduro 900 Turbo for Quebec riding. Was snowing good when we left also.

I bet the driving was bad. Think we might have gotten a foot of fluff in RDL. All the locals here taking about up coming trips to the tropics. Bathing suits on sale at the indoor mall today. Got all the things done on my check list today except wine. Working on that now.

Does Dominos deliver with drones?! And can they include some JD & a bag of weed?

hmmmm, riding in white out conditions, or going to the spa and getting a massage. Maybe a little time in the hot tub after. Followed by a glass of wine.

After a foot of snow yesterday we thought the trails would be soft with no steering grip. Wrong. Despite the sparse groomer report this morning, many trails had been groomed, and those that weren't were still packed from yesterday's traffic. Plus we met lots of groomers during our ride. All was well until we decided to take the green trails back to RDL from the Verte club house and hug the St. Lawrence. Quite a ways in we lost the couple sled tracks we were following. Conditions were drifty and deep snow. We doubled back a ways and found an old trail a couple sleds used and was going in the right direction. Really a sketchy trail and surprised we made it thru to the main trail. Then had any miles where some wheeled vehicle went thru. There were areas by the river where all the snow was blown off the trail, and along the river with huge ice heaves. Once we got to the helecoptor pad the rest of the way was fine. We did see one stuck groomer. He had a helper who was putting big pieces of wood under the cleats to get traction. Never saw that before. Worked slick. The snow in many areas is now deep enough you would not want to try off trail, even in some of the fields. mike

Like Mike I am retired and we both have more than 50 years under our belts on the snow and I agree with you Quebec Bob sometimes we just have to keep moving. However one day a number of years ago I wish I had taken others' advice and just stayed put and as we call it had a camp day rather than spend a night in a blizzard in a snow cave. From my aviation background: Learn from the mistakes of others you will never live long enough to make them all yourself!!! Andy

Mine has never kept the sun visor clean while up But cleans up quickly when down. I get the water on inside to because it's to warm. It is a cold day helmet for sure. Personally if I lost 30lbs it would be fine but then I'd need a smaller helmet.

https://youtu.be/ojCPd-_vtJQ JG don't know if you've seen this video from a few days ago by st Zenon pulling a Honda off the trail, too funny!!

Good read: Sent from my iPhoner incident last weekend in the Chic Chocs. I assume most of you have already heard the general story, so I will quickly summarize that. I mostly wanted to note what we used (and wished we had) that allowed us to spend almost 40 hours in the woods at 0F and be rescued by a Canadian military helicopter. Hopefully it can help someone be more prepared than they are now. A couple guys from our group of snowbikes dropped over a ridge into a section of steep trees that would have been easily rideable if the snow was different. That day, the snow was super powdery, bottomless, and filled with buried trees. I went in to help Leon get unstuck, and quickly found that getting back out the way we went in wasn't going to be possible. We sidehilled horizontally across the mountain as long as possible, hoping to intersect the ridge and ride out the top. The tree line was super dense at the top, and riding through it wasn't possible. The tree line gradually forced us downhill into a river bed, where we decided to head for a "road" on the GPS that would lead us to an old trail, then out. We battled the creek bottom, open water, tons of stucks, trees, dead ends, etc well past dark The “road” wasn’t there. The sides of the ravine were too steep, deep and dense to get out, the way we came in was out of the question, and the way we were heading was dead ended everywhere we looked. Eventually, wet, cold, exhausted and almost out of gas, we decided to set up camp and try again in the morning. The next morning, my bike wouldn't start. Obviously a few mistakes were made that got us in there in the first place, but dozens of good choices followed that allowed us to stay the night, the next day, and half of the following night until we could be retrieved. Search and rescue had attempted to reach us by snowmobile and snowshoes for almost 24 hours and were unable to get to us. It goes without saying that you absolutely need to be able to start and maintain a fire if you expect to spend any amount of time in the woods in the winter. Besides that: The #1 most valuable asset we had was my Corona folding limb saw. I have been carrying this saw since I started riding the backcountry in 2008, and it was in someone's hand cutting almost 100% of the time. It is super efficient and durable, and easily cuts up to 12" logs. DO NOT TRUST THE SHOVEL SAWS!! They are brittle, bend, and break, and will wear you out. Fires in the snow take a surprising amount of wood to make heat. The wood is almost guaranteed to be wet and/or green. We had stockpiles of different wood and tended the fire constantly, and still froze. Don't leave home without a good saw. #2 Garmin Inreach. This is a small satellite communication device that allows you to send messages and your coordinates through text. Not only did this take the guesswork out of where we were for search and rescue, but it allowed us to communicate to our families that we were ok, etc. We all feel terrible about the worry and chaos that this situation caused our families, but it would have been much worse for them if no one knew where we were, and if we were alive, injured, lost, etc. I had just gotten the Inreach for christmas and almost didnt take it. Without it, you are limited to radio contact and old fashioned hunting. #3 Good gear. Space is limited on what we can carry every day, but we all wished we had a spare, dry layer to change out at night. We were all wet from riding/digging/working, and even the best gear takes a long time to dry out when it's 0 degrees. Even with good gear and a solid fire, we all froze all night. I was more sore from shivering and being tense all night than I've ever been from any exercise or activity. Any gear can be waterproof, but if it doesn't breathe, your inner layers will stay wet. Breathability is what drys you out and warms you up. There is a reason I wear and sell Klim. And I think we all know by now, no cotton. #4 Batteries. Almost all of our "life saving" equipment relies on batteries. Charge everything every night. Dont use it during the day if you don't need it. Keep important, small devices close to your body to keep them warm. Cold kills batteries even if they aren't being used. The equipment is only worth having if you can turn it on and use it, and chances are if you need it for an emergency, it is going to be needed for a long period of time. Carry a small recharging battery and the correct cables, and keep it warm. #5 Mental and physical aptitude. Always be thinking. Make only careful, methodical movements to make forward progress and avoid mistakes, stay calm. Panic will never help anything and is usually dangerous. Luckily we all kept calm, worked together, and were in pretty good shape (for old guys). This got really long. Huge thanks to the local Search and Rescue team, the helicopter crew, our snowbike buddies who did everything in their power to help us out, the Sled Den, and our families for not chopping our heads off when we got home... Live and learn, send and return.

I might as well ask, What will the conditions be in 2 weeks?

Just got a text from two buddies who are in Forestville and had hoped to take the ferry back to Matane tomorrow HOWEVER IT IS CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE! Next problem the 3 is closed at Forestville so trying to get to the west is a big problem. Does anyone know why it is closed? At a spot check they said it was a river crossing??? Thanks Andy

Speaking of aviation...a wise man once said: “Id rather be on the ground wishing I was up in the air, than up in the air wishing I was on the ground” It can get nasty and dangerous sledding mid winter in a storm for sure. Makes sense to just stay put sometimes...and drink wine.

I found on ebay a yard of Gore-Tex for 20.00 Was going to make blanket for my passengers with it. It may do the trick. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Gore-Tex-Performance-Shell-Material-Fabric-Sewing-Waterproof-Windproof/251584650369?hash=item3a939d1c81:g:VesAAOxye5BREjwY GutZ

Slow pro was given the readers digest ( yes, i'm dating myself) version of Quebec riding! I think he was in awe of the trails and the adventure. Quote of the weekend "It aint no Howdy Doody time" You will have to ask him. lol

I get it, but in 31 years I have almost never stayed at the same lodge 2 nights in a row...usually on a trip with 2 or 3 others and hundreds of miles from the truck...sometimes we just have to keep moving.

I just cancelled my 5 days heading that way, to many problems. Making new plans.

There is another gas station, depending on which way you are coming or going, with a lot of other stores. Just east of the 23 and 73 intersection on trail 73 is the groomer's garage. There is a sign on 73 at Route des Pioniers, stating gaz 1 km. It is more like 2 km but the spur runs right along the side of the road and it is very easy to get to. There is an Ultramar, bank, McDonalds, SAQ and other stores. Jack & Sandi

You can carry whatever you want but if the dude (or dudette) in the booth hands you a little slip of paper and say's "see that building over there" .....expect AT LEAST a minimum one hour delay. I travel often with a buddy that has a pistol permit and they seem to zero in on him like flies on shit and bring on 1000 questions.

It'll buff out! (The trail, not the Honda)

Those non retired guys dont get it yet.😀

All about the adventure!!

bonjour snowmaster !!! whooops !!! hahha...if he does nt know how to operate it...he just need to send me a pm ...i have tons of experience with a honda snowblower....best one to bs your neighbors !!!😀 must not be shy to bury up to handle bar !!! jean-guy

I'm thinking the FML stands for "F*&CK me longtime

Bad timing or I would go. Waiting for my chauffeur to arrive and heading to Matane. Quick 4 day ride over there.

19 January -8c clouds with some light flurries 6-7” overnight real fluffy stuff looks like more in picture but is only 6-7” that fell last night.

Retirement means never having to go out on a day like this. About 8 inches of snow on the ground and winds starting to pick up, supposedly 50 kph winds later this morning, Oh the drifts. New Brunswick group headed for home:

18 january -18c heavy blowing snow

Just after you cross the road from the parking of Dion Moto is a trail on the left. Local short trail then back across road into gas/depanneur. We been going there for years for gas and supplies. Surely not as easy as right next to Roquemont but gotta have the gas.

Or Trudope up here!

You mean never miss a photo opportunity Andrew? It would be like a no holds barred match if Cuomo and Schumer had the same photo opportunity! Might be better than McGregor v Cowboy in the UFC fight tonight?

Exact same thing I did. Andrew Coumo gets too much of my money already.

Interesting ! The Officer actually said going into Canada you can have an expired license and they will likely let it go...but US is tougher. I always heard Canada was tough especially DUI’s, etc. Bottom line...If its run by any Govt....it makes no sense. Why would I expect consistency at our US border ? Meantime cross from Mexico illegally without ever having contributed a penny to our great country....you get more rights than us and you just may get free healthcare. Don't get me going. Haha Going forward....Im bringing my passport just to make sure they cant screw up my play time. 🙂

bonsoir !!! back from local trails...lots of snow !!! jean-guy

DAMN.. ..we rolled into Repos at 230 and waited until 330 Just left LeCabanon and all trails very good condition s We'll catch ya on the flipper side Snobeeler

bonjour !!! while cooking eggs and bacon !!!😀 jean-guy

good morning !!! back from tq 5 ...little bad luck last night ...started again this morning ...lots of snow...not much cold....-9c at 10 pm ....traffic is very low... saw a few local tourists !!! climbing hill with antlers and down to the cb ...a foot of fresh sow !!!...started snowing while climbing...an extra 3 '' !!! jean-guy

A lifelong riding partner from Vermont (rode together last week) got back home and turns out some other lady his wife works with personally knew one of these guys wives. Just got word that the helicopter bill was 30,000 grand i guess 7500.00 each is better than freezing /starving to death in the Chic Chocs