NSGTX1200

SPOT will contact the local emergency services because AirMedic is a private company which has to directly bill someone in order to recover their costs which they state as averaging between $8000-$20,000 per mission. Local emergency services are typically governement funded. A membership to AirMedic is $75/person and only applies to that person, so if someone in your group doesn’t have coverage and is in need of medical help, your coverage doesn’t transfer to that person and they’re on the hook for the $8000-$20,000. AirMedic’s signally device is a PLB which has been around for decades and transmits a frequency, nothing else. They’re not really in competition with SPOT because SPOT can be used for other functions such as marking places with GPS coordinates and communicating with your own designated contact and help group. If you’re traveling alone etc and have break-down issues, SPOT can be used to get help in situations where AirMedic is not a justified use. You pay a fee to use SPOT (~$125/year) and have access to their satellite network, SPOT will talk to AirMedic when you have paid the membership fees to AirMedic because now the cost of the helicopter ride is covered by you and not SPOT. The best of both worlds is to use SPOT and pay the $75/person for AirMedic. SPOT has other uses besides SOS emergencies, such as marking trails and places, keeping in touch with family so they know where you are. If you have a Delormes GPS/SPOT or Iphone/SPOT combination you can send 1-way text messages describing your emergency situation or to friends saying going to be late, having a good time. A better system, although more expensive is InReach which is similar to SPOT but runs off of the Iridium satellite system and can be used for 2-way text messaging communication. Since I ride in other areas than just Quebec, SPOT is a more universal tool for me. I use SPOT on a regular basis, but fortunately not the SOS feature yet. A PLB has no other use and I feel 99 % of the time my issues will be break-downs, getting stuck or lost which won’t constitute or justify the use of AirMedic. In the 1 % case of needing medical help I hope local rescue services get the job done, but there are never any guranttee’s. I think a contract with “Quebec Riders” would have a limited following, most people won’t lay-out $350 (typical cost) for a PLB and then an annual fee on-top. I also think there are a limited number of people which subscribe to SPOT. A small group doesn’t garner much incentive for savings and at $75/ person which doesn’t seem excessive for an annual insurance policy, how much do you really expect to save?

From Amqui find trail # 587 toward La Redemption. From Amqui the first land-mark you will see is the ski-hill at Val D'Irene. A little further along you can get gas at Sainte Irene. 22.5 km or 14 miles from Val D'Irene on trail # 587 you will arrive at the top of steep hill, trail 587 continues down the hill and the branch at the top of the hill to the right leads to the Radio Tower. This is wide road and will be tracked, I don't know if it's been groomed this year, when we were there last year it wasn't. It is a couple of miles on this road to the Radio Tower, but a short way in you'll know you're on the right track. If on the way to La Redemption on trail # 587 you come to a "Y" where 587 goes to a sharp right and 579 goes to a sharp left then you missed it. Turn around and go back 11.4 km or 7.1 miles and going up steep hill it is now on the left.

Everyone has an opinion on the Gaspe, but it really depends if you want to put on a lot of miles in a day or just average mileage. RDL to Matane is a fast easy riding, but many people riding the Gaspe figure I can ride 200-250 miles per day and that makes for a long day. I find the Gaspe much slower, mountainious, steep twisty trails and many places to stop and enjoy the view or take a picture. I personally average 120-150 miles per day in Gaspe, and I don’t ride after dark as there is nothing to see. One problem with Gaspe are the town (hotels) aren’t spaced conveniently, so you either have a very long day or a short day. Ride some of the local trails if you have a short day. The local trails around Carleton up into the hills are really nice, if groomed, otherwise no signage and easy to get lost. Matane to Mont Saint-Pierre is ~ 155 miles, the most interesting part is Sainte Anne-des-Monts to Mont Saint-Pierre from a scenery point of view, but not a place to ride in a snowstorm or high winds due to drifting and visibility. In this area you can easily lose 2 days due to weather. Hotel in Mont Saint-Pierre is not fancy, but acceptable and food has always been good. A great place wake-up in the morning. If you want a longer day go on to Murdochville. The hotel here is also acceptable and food is good. As a side trail, riding from Murdochville to La Cache is nice, good view of the backside of the Chic Choc Mtns, but the trail needs to be recently groomed, as its never well signed and you can get some significant drifting. I think riding in this direction is better than the reverse from scenery perspective. Trail 597 from Murdochville to Chandler is nice ride through the Reserve, side run to Perce for lunch. There is a local trail behind Perce which is groomed ½ way up the hill, the balance isn’t and the road to the top is narrow and the snow can be above the guardrail, but worth going to the top. Motel Chandler is decent and you can stop into the Chandler club for food and visit with Dale (see their Gaspe website). The ride between Chandler and New Richmond to me is just a ride, not that much to get excited about (anytime I’m on a powerline I’m bored). In New Richmond and Carleton you will find good hotels. The ride from New Richmond to Ponite a la Croix is much more interesting with better views of the ocean, and more interesting hills to ride. Trail 595 (New Richmond to La Cache to Sainte Palin) is nice ride, but depending on your time you can’t ride them all and there are other interesting trails in my opinion. Seeing as you’re leaving from RDL I’m guessing you don’t have a New Brunswick trail pass, so I would stay in Quebec. Ponite a la Croix (Campbellton) through to Kedgwick, Moose Valley on onto Edmunston can be a good ride, but I would head to Amqui, there are lots of local trails in this region worth riding. I would ride trail 587 towards La Redemption and take side trail to Radio Tower. This trail isn’t groomed, ~ 2 miles, but there is a small sign. At the Radio Tower all the trees are snow ghosts (totally covered in snow) and pretty cool for the east coast. Good area for off trail riding. From Trail 587 come over into Bas Saint Laurent region and ride 548 to 546 down to Squatec. If time permits comedown to Degelis on Trail # 569 (nice trail) and then run main Trail # 85 up along the lake to Cabano and onto RDL. I ride New Brunswick, Gaspe and Bas Saint Laurent areas regularly and some of best riding are the local trails. Most people who are doing a Gaspe tour are on the main trail and don’t have time to ride the local trails, but after your first big trip, check-out local trails. Have a good trip.