Teet F8SP

Father and son, riding partners for life, I love it! 

Great report and videos.  My father got me into this sport 35 years ago. Now at 45, I still cherish all of the times we spent on our sleds. I miss the times when he was picking up the tab...haha. Conditions appear to have been great. Thanks for sharing!!

Forestel Valdor Sat PM
Phil, JOHN, Eddie, Dave, Greg, George, Greg, and Dan
Phil1, Crazysnow, Eddieskidoo, Skidoo420, Doonali, Jemesouviens, Apexyoungin, Greg??
Fantastic🍻Conversation
What a great time seeing old faces and meeting new!
BJ Scranton1
 

This past week my father and I spent a week riding around the Lanaudière & Mauricie regions.  We have been regulars of the area for a good amount of time but life got in our way and we haven't been back until now.  We stayed at Real Masse as this has been our home away from home for a good amount of time.  We haven't been to Real in roughly 10 years so it was freshing to walk in and have everyone remember us as we were there yesterday.  I can't say how amazing this place is, no matter what they will help you with whatever you may need.  So lets get onto the import part of the trip the riding....
Day 1: 2/4/17 
We arrived at Real around 2:30pm, checked in, changed and took a quick ride. My father had to break in his new sled for the first time so we though why not.  The ride wasn't long but we rode out to La Glaciere then up to the intersection of 23 and 350 then back to Real.  Trails were good, bumpy in the corners but that is what you would expect for a Saturday.  

Day 2: 2/5/17
Sunday's ride was a relaxing 175 miles.  Left Real around 8AM headed up towards the dam and then over towards Lac Taureau.  After that rode the reserver down to Saint-Michel-des-Saints and then over to Koubek for a nice ride.  Trails were great even by the afternoon they were smooth and didn't pass much traffic for a Sunday.  Also dinner at Real I believe we were the only people there for about 2 hours until another couple showed up.



Day 3: 2/6/17
Monday's ride was a nice trip of to St. Donat and then south from there.  Trails were fully groomed the night before and were flat and fast.  Another 175 miles done for the day with passing maybe 8-10 sleds all day.


Stopped for a rest before heading towards St. Donat at Coin Lavigne

Stopped for a little rest in Entrelacs.
Video from the day.
Day 4: 2/7/17
Tuesday's ride is a familiar one with almost anyone who rides the area.  We took the trip up to Riviere-Matawin and then back since the trails were so smooth.

Took a little break at the river crossing.  

As you can see the trails were smooth.

Video from the day.
Day 5: 2/8/17
Tuesday into Wednesday they were calling for snow and ice, we received way more snow then ice.  Received about 6-8 inches with a very thin layer of ice on top.  Decided to head into the Maurice region and down to Lac Blanc then head up towards Saint-Alexis-des-Monts.

Took the 23 that comes out above Le Cabanon back.  Trail was good, needed to have the fresh snow packed but passed 2 groups of sleds.


Enjoying the fresh snow on top of the great trails.
Day 6: 2/9/17
Thursday we took a look at the grooming delay and realized everything was bright green so we took the best run possible back up the river again.


Woke up to an amazing view from Real

Stopped at Le Cabanon for a break in the afternoon and got to watch a plan take off on the lake.
Day 7: 2/10/17
Friday was our last day, we covered over 1,000 miles already so we decided to have a nice ride and take in some different area.  We headed south towards Saint-Gabriel to view the look out and run through the fields.



 
 
Overall what can I say, my dad and I had an amazing time again and we look forward to heading back.  Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I will continue to post videos from the week.

Father on the left (Mike), mrgrumpers on the right (Kyle)
 
 
 

So Wednesday night we are Sante Plein -Air in Pohengamook . We all forgot to take photos of this place but it's very nice. They have three and five bedroom log houses to rent . Well equipped and very nice. We have dinner in the dining room it's just us. Well the food was outstanding. The duck pizza and wings were fantastic! So we had to ride our sleds up to the dining room I never gave it much thought but my sled temp reach 125 degrees on that 1500 foot ride. Well it does the same thing back. I never really looked all day at the temp gauge because we were riding powder . So Thursday I go to load up Nora's sled the battery's dead and I've lost the tool package along the way so I have to find the maintenance shed to see what I can get for tools to get the seat off. I also check my overflow bottle on the 850 and it's empty so off to the store to get antifreeze. I get the tools and the antifreeze and get Nora going next me. Well , crap fill the bottle but antifreeze is leaking out the bottom of the sled but where? This is where Sans Plein Air shined . There was a language problem but they got on the phone and started to make calls but unfortunately no dearler had time or a free trailer to pick me up. Also no one could guarantee that they could even look at it. So we are at 10 o'clock and they don't have the kitchen open today but they call call in the cook to make us breakfast while we plan out what to do. Funny thing is while I'm eating breakfast I get a call from BPR and I think holy Sh@" what great service . How do they know I'm broke down! Well it was a lady from head office and I say wow this is great service what dealer called you? She says what do you mean im calling doing a survey on how you like your new 850 and what other accessories could we offer you. Well I said you are not calling on a good day to ask me that!!! Any way she try's to help but we have already called all the dealers she suggests. 
So I don't want to get trailered back and I know our next stop looks really nice and it has a steak house and I don't want to miss that! So I figure let's go for it and if it over heats in the first five minutes I'll head back and the rest goes on. I lower the scratchers and put Nora ahead of me to chew up the trail because she is fresh groomed and hard packed .I pay attention attention to the temp gauge the first ten miles she stays below 150 has long has o keep it under 50 mph . We are on the 35 railroad bed so it's hard to do . When she reaches 175 I pull over and add coolant. I do this all day and the next day too. About every 15 miles I do this . This sled ran on Ram antifreeze, no name what ever I could buy and store in my saddle bags. We got to our destination on Thursday and it was a good place. The sister hotel to the new one in Thetford Mines . The hotel was in Scott near Saint Marie . Beautiful place large rooms,  king beds and a great steak house. They also have 2 bedroom cottages with a pull out sofa you can rent. Dinner was in the steakhouse and the cook over wood charcoal . 

The third day was to RDL and this area would be a first for me. It was an IB day as Bill would say . Clear, cold , sunny and every groomed to perfection. Took 5 all the way . Made a quick trip of it to RDL so Nora and I took a little tour around . I can see why Mike loves this area! Wide trails , nice relais and great grooming! On Wednesday we woke to fresh snow and knew we would have a great ride to our next destination of Lake Pohenegamook. We took the side trails made a nice loop and pretty much broke trail all day . It was perfect!

This trip was one of the more stressful trips that I've put together due to The impending farmers strike . It was then it was off , places canceled , area change , then we ended up staying with our first plan and I'm glad that I did. We are home now , I was sick for the first part of the trip and almost bailed but didn't. So daily reports weren't an option because I just wanted to eat and go to bed. It was well worth sticking out ! I will tell you that all the trail conditions were great ! So with that being said this will be mainly a picture sriryvwith a little commentary. This trip is with three couples  , Nora and myself , Rob and Sherri who did the Quebec trip last year with us and Giff and Gail . When planning this trip mileage wasn't much  of a concern but we wanted good food and nice accommodations. We arrived early on Sunday at Lac William and decided to take a little tour around the area for lunch. All the trails had pretty much been groomed the night before so we made a quick trip of it and got back to the hotel to enjoy what it had to offer.
to be cont

Hey Bon Jour Dr. JG!
We're headed out your way this Sunday the 12th!  Maybe we can hook up some Bacon Pizza for dinner in Causapscal?  
We're doing the loop counter-clockwise, to hopefully be in the right places at the right times with this dump coming in!
In the meantime, pics of your winter office, from last week at the hotel du glace!...

 

 
 

Already rich in way most of us don't understand!!!

Here we are the 2 of us at La Bernieres, original planned out to be 5, 1 dropped out due to business the other 2 dropped out due to medical injury, boy it's getting tougher and tougher to get a group together these days. Just Neksledr and I, ohhhh we are gonna cover a lot of ground just the two of us.
The plan..... 2 days up, 2 days down.
Bernieres, shuttle to the north side, run up la Fleuve to Baie Comeau for the 5 pm Friday evening ferry crossing, go visit groomer then run down la Fleuve back to la Bernieres.
Lots of snow fell here yesterday gonna be very interesting day tomorrow,lets see how things work out.
Stay tuned

Getting in truck to go North in 5 minutes. Wooo Hooo
Hold my beer and watch this...

All of guidance apps took us 81 up and back stating as much as 2 hours calculated advantage to the 87 route. We have taken 87 almost all other times to Quebec. We rolled in to Carling at 11:45a and I was home at 10:20p  
Absolutely worth the trip. As is often the case for me one of the four was a first timer. We rode sections new to us, ate great meals, saw awesome scenery and had a blast and have a great new option for safely leaving our truck. 

Use Bing translator, I could not find it in English either.

Nice, sounds like it was still worth the trip!  Which way you drive up from MD, rt 81?
Nothing like a good fix in the Bush!!  Been there..

Not sure how much I'll get to Quebec this season in a year when I have a new sled and season pass but 4 of us left MD Thursday at 6a for Lac Carling. Good driving distance for us to reach good riding and the garage for the truck. Met Marc when he rode in on his sled. We got to the hotel a little before 6:30p after getting the passes in town for those that needed.
Just as Iceman described it's a huge beautiful facility, nice rooms, ambiance etc.  Pool and hot tub, and indoor sports amenities. The place was virtually empty I hope they have the ability to stick around. Great place to start a tour. Oh the service was excellent but there was little competition for the staff's attention. The food was excellent.
Rode the choppy p'tit train through Laurier up to Devils mountain and Windigo for a good dinner. A mixed bag some good some bad but hey we're riding. Gas in La Minerve and  lunch at a new bistro with good pizza. 319 and 323 in this area was fairly rough groomer was parked at Gaz in La Minerve.
Rode over to Comfort Tremblant for Saturday night. At the connection to the local trail to La Conception we discovered some yellow snow and soon found the hole in the coolant crossover tube 06 Apex ER. 20 mile tow. Lucky timing. Too late on Saturday for ANYWHERE for pieces but on the way to the pool we asked to speak to maintenance and found enough gear to Macgyver it up after a dip in the pool. Taxied to the resort for an awesome dinner and had the cab stop at a depanneur for anti-freeze. Good lunch in  Nominingue at the Auberge.  Trail passes got checked down the hill after Mt Diable.
Filled up the coolant this morning at 6a elbowed the skiers and sliders for breakfast and scooted 65 fun mikes back to Carling to head home. Band-aid spit a small amount of coolant but held up for the entire ride. 

http://www.pourvoiriewindigo.com/

Nice Ride, we saw a Lynx in same area week before.Also saw a stuffed one at Le Fer Chavel, really cool.

Left Maniwaki at 1:30 on Wed. 19th hit devils mountain and on to Mekoos for the night. 
Thur. up 53 to 33- 13 to 83 trails freshly groomed and fast. Saw five different Lynx on 53 pretty amazing! Lunch in Parent and onward across 83. Just before Windigos turn off we saw two moose.. What a day! Windigo for the night.
Fri. 83 to Relais 22 faaaast! fuel and head down 73 -355 -360 -345 to Le Cabanon for the night. Overall trails held up good. Esp. 83-360. LaTuque was wet with water holes.
Sat. 63 groomed to perfection after SMDS through the reserve. Half way through my buddy noticed a bearing race/ring on his foot board.. not good.. Inspection found it to be the jack shaft bearing.. 2017 Pro S Switchback.Decided to try to ride it out hopefully making it out to the west side at Red River a lot closer to our rig than heading back to SMDS luckily he made it to the RR grade and finally she let go shearing the jackshaft completely off!! Dropped a pin and left the sled and onward to Maniwaki on a mushy 53-local-324-63. 1.5 hr trip back up to retrieve sled and back in town by 7:30. Could have let go in a lot worse places.
830mi. 3 days and change.

 

This storm will be icing on the cake for these trails. We have a trip scheduled up here in couple weeks.

Just think if you had helmet communicators....  Would have saved a lot of BS... 
I would ride without GPS before riding without communicators.  

Just think if you had helmet communicators....  Would have saved a lot of BS... 
I would ride without GPS before riding without communicators.  

Enjoy Shane!  I am 36 and still enjoy every ride with my dad.  We put on just about every mile together every year as we are each others favorite riding partners!!!  We often sit and crack up about all the fun rides and crazy moments over the years.  Only difference now I like to pay for everything..
Your son will forever remember these moments and all the fun rides through the years, not to mention all the sleds and working on them together.  Keep in touch! Ride safe!

Enjoy the new rig Phil!!  Ride safe 

421 miles is epic for sure!!
Sounds like he needs to have his clutch aligned?
 

Thats what its all about!  Enjoy the adventure, ride safe!  Thanks for the pics