PLAYHARD

For sure it's not about the belt or the machine, it's about the customer service, and this place doesn't sound like the MANY other places (or all brands) around QC that do backflips to make riders happy. Too bad. But at least it's the exception.

Good news! Thanks!

The trail report & photos are always greatly appreciated, but the rare shot of the happy couple together is AWESOME!

We're looking at going to "the end of the line".

Maybe he did make Pierre mad (which would explain the pads)? Rhockin' I had him put warmers in mine, I was surprised we didn't need them last week, but it's a confidence builder to have them.

Hey, you too enjoy Rhockin', but tell your right thumb to be a good boy.

360 was all good! Aside from the occasional icy corner to keep you honest Maurice & Lanaudiere are everything you could want.

Yup we knew it would be cold this week. So we got ahead of Murphy's Law and put in block warmers. And of course we didn't need them! (May be cold in two weeks?) We've seen only perfect trails this week. Except a 10 detour in St Felix to fix fuses/shield wires at that VERY professional Yami dealer. Then last night the 63 north of St Michelle to Lac Touro was pretty lumpy. Not the worst, but not as smooth as the rest of the region. Then when I was noodling about posting, I was going to write that the trail would probably be groomed by the time anyone reads this, and around the next corner?... THE GROOMER! Gotta love Quebec. Auberge Lac Tauro back to Shawini today. Hopefully the 360 over Mastigouche isn't too beat up.

Call: 819-523-8181

Just did 63 from Bazinette to Glacier. It's a frickin Indy track.

Donger, if Mrs. Ice isn't working Fri we could be coaxed to do a cocoa run in the am before hitting the black trail home. The only drawback may be prying her off the spare Vector. After that we'll probably stop off in Louisville for a peek at the snow cross.

Timbo, if you spot 3 sloppy Americans by the pool, or in the dining room at 7:30 it is us. Nice joint Coupee! Can`t wait to ride a nice warm-dry garaged sled in the am. Trail 23 from Shawini was 8`s (some hard-frozen berms in some corners, that`ll be fine after a scraping) until we dropped down M10 to 345? then all 10`s, over to Cabanon for lunch, a bit more traffic near there but no where near what we expected from the amount of trucks in their lot, then down 23 to Mtn Coupee. There`s nuthin like the bourbon from a trail-frozen saddel bag! But we`re still wondering what`s with the jug screw?!

Jug screw?! We're headed that way tomorrow, but I don't think the Mrs. (who's in Aruba) approves of me doing that.

Not perfect, but VFG for sure. Just took a spin to Sud to take the gas, across the Maurice river, behind the bowling ally, 23 up & across Grand Mere, back down M3. All groomed flat & wide, very hard snow base with a couple/few inches of cream cheese on top, rivers have plenty of lube with some bare patches & a few ruts from the melt/rain. BUT VERY GOOD! Definitely "9", but if you don't have a cushy Vector w/EPS & 136 & Tuners you might think it's an "8".

My avg mph/kph for the season so far is zzzzeeeeerrrrrooooo. Whahhhhhhh.

Watch out for Pinky in the side-by-side up there! Did you put on the front scratchers? They throw mad crumbs, until they fall off. I guess being gentle backing up when they're frozen/brittle can extend the life. We need a way to tuck them up when not in use. (Damn that reminds me of PINKY!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8lT1o0sDwI

True that. Small changes, track spin, "bonus rides", make the on-line stuff a general estimate. Having a spare gallon strapped on is a real confidence builder.

http://www.viaexplora.com/snowmobile/index.html?attraits=&unit=mi&lat=47.791944&lng=-73.579247&zoom=9&force=1&ewaypoints=4759084,-7414501,44471,98980&cst=1.0,1.01,1.05&csts=1.0&cstr=1.01&spd=50000,50000,50000

Hopefully first ride's in a couple of weeks. My brain's already crossed the border, now I just need the rest of me to catch up.

Thanks for the report! Great loop. I love my Garmin Montana & I love ViaExplora especially when I'm supposed to be doing work at the office: http://www.viaexplora.com/snowmobile/index.html?unit=mi&lat=48.211241&lng=-72.006489&zoom=7&force=1&ewaypoints=4657121,-7278236,21608,13647,124831,-50958,48943,91855,33848,-3939,-45178,106465,-84810,-1683,-67866,-59085,-31710,-95890&cst=1.0,1.01,1.05&csts=1.0&cstr=1.01&spd=50000,50000,50000 I gotta check this out (I hope it's ADD-friendly)... http://adventures.garmin.com/en-US/

Cool. Thanks! Maybe 'cuz I'm now over 50, maybe the buddies voted, or maybe there's a (very) slight chance that the bride might wanna join in, but I find myself less likely to stay at the Relais 22 type places these days.

Damned good to hear the groomer is OK! That looks like a 5-ticket ride. I'm sure they got the ribbons up pretty quick too. That'd be interesting for a sledder to deal with when dropping down off the river bank. It sure explains why so many clubs do a 180 at river banks and have the next club take over, unless that's not really an option.

Looks like 160mi between LacFaillon & Parent. (Maybe OK for a Vector, but not an Apex!) I'm down with the notion that "there are 3 sides to every story". And I've had nothing but decent experiences at the gas & resto. With a few other choice places around the province for sale there are other opportunities to set up camp.

Bernard would be proud indeed.