JBlavl

Yes only a kitchen at Domaine l'Ombre du Vent, however Hotel central is about a 5 minute ride across town. We ate there went back and slept then had breakfast at 4 Seasons back over in town in the morning. Not much good to say about the food there other than it got us through till lunch.

Keep us posted how things hold up!

I agree with most above that 9 is too much for one group. Just slows everything down too much. Plus the chances of a breakdown increase. To go that far for a ride then end up screwing around would ruin what should be a really good time. I like the idea of one person paying for everything if you can do that. We usually do that when it comes to hotels, and beer at the end of the night. We just put a kitty together and it works really well with just 1 person in charge of the money. The one thing I would highly suggest but I didn't see mentioned was have a GPS with all the trails already on it. I can not tell you how much time this saved us when we switched from paper maps to GPS. You waste an incredible amount of time when you get to intersections and are trying to figure out where you are on the map and where you have to go. Especially once it's dark. And then if you take a wrong turn and have to double back or re route you waste that much more time. Not that getting lost isn't fun sometimes but if you have someplace you have to get to or gas is in question you could pay a price. A GPS will show you right where you are when you are there then all you have to do is pick the right trail.

If you guys really want the Hotel Central bar atmosphere with a much nicer place to stay Domaine l'Ombre du Vent across the river in Parent is a much nicer option. Price is very reasonable, the female half of the ownership is a very welcome sight, especially after being at Hotel Central, but the beds are rock hard. Stayed there last year and would stay there again in a heartbeat. http://www.ombreduvent.com/home.html

Mid Range how did things hold up over the last week? Looks like a little warm weather coming again over the next week but nothing crazy.

This is a contest I was glad to be wrong in!

I'll take the 5th of January. Prime time hours if it's getting split. Thanks!

The fuel prices in town should not keep you from riding the wonders of Quebec. Now if you were hanging in the bush and only fueling up there you might have to think more about it. I think fuel at Balbuzzard last winter was $10/gal Can. So still $7 US! Needless to say we didn't get much.

Great thanks for the feedback.

What did you go with for a SAT phone on your trip and how did you like it? Fees come out to be what they show on their website?

Lets hope they are correct

Yep stayed here last year. Good place to get a nights sleep and free breakfast in the morning is nice. Hotel is nothing to write home about but you stay warm and dry. The bartender had a set that made me wonder how she stands up straight. Never felt like there would be a problem leaving truck and trailer there.

Our group did Clova to Louvicourt last year ~170 miles. I was running a 15 600 ETEC Renegade with a linq jerry can (which I used) and she was huffing fumes by the time I pulled into Louvicourt. The 4 strokes in our group made it without adding any extra. The 800 Cat got a full tank at Balbuzzard and still ran out before Louvicourt! It's all in the sled you ride, how hard you are pushing it, and it you are breaking trail or not. Thankfully for us it was all groomed. This should be a dooable stretch for most with a 3 gallon jerry can if conditions are right.

Wow these are some great pictures. You guys have me drooling on my keyboard. Great info from everyone. Moving the date back to do Gaspe I don't see as a problem. Getting more time to do it could be an issue. Is Sag more dooable for 3 days of riding? Was thinking Sag would do a stationary hotel and loops.

Awesome picture! Any chance there is a thread of Gaspe pics like this? Looking at this so early in the season is not good for my health!

I've read of there sometimes being a lack of snow on Gaspe. Is that a late season problem or just on the south shore, or was the person misinformed?

We've been to Quebec 3 times now and have had fun each time. Last year we did our first saddlebag tour and ran the woodrunner loop. Great time, hard to imagine it gets a lot better. This year we are thinking about another Quebec ride and keep hearing great things about the Sag area and the Gaspe. I've seen a lot of pictures from the Gaspe and it looks amazing. We had friends that rode Sag last year and can't stop talking about it. So if you had to choose one of these destinations for a 3-4 day ride, which would you choose?

I used this interactive trail map a lot when I as plotting our trip last winter. Gives you all the trails and you can set pins for destinations and it'll route the best course along with mileage. The Forestel is a great place to stay BTW. http://www.viaexplora.com/app/iframe.html?membre=PaysMotoneige&prop.motoneige=1&couche=m-pm-25,m-sepaq-60,pmn-pm&zoom=8&lat=47.1&lng=-73.9&prox=1&force=1&href=source,url&sourceCat=&parcours=&router=pmn-pm〈=en

Only have been to Quebec 3 times but so far my favorite trail is 83 between Val d'Or and Parent. Great trail with a lot of variety in the middle of god's country. And although the gas was crazy expensive, Le Balbuzard Sauvage is just a really really cool place to stop, warm up and grab a bite to eat. We did not spend the night here so I can not comment on that. Just a brief stay.

Bal Buzzard. Oh wait you said busiest not most expensive. I'll go with Repo on that one.

Lombre du Vent is a fantastic place to stay in Parent. And for the price it can not be beat. Not to mention the owner is easy on the eyes!

Either of these places will let you leave truck and trailer while gone a few days saddle bagging I assume?

lol no sorry I'm talking about doing a saddlebag trip and going through Clova and/or Parent. Just wondering if one or the other was a better place to stay or had better accommodations.

ok sounds good. Where's the best places to stay in Maniwaki? Would it be better to stay in Parent or Clova?

Been to Quebec twice in the St. Michelle St Zenon areas and did day trips. This time we are looking to run a saddlebag adventure in the west. Would like to start north of Ottawa area and run up to the Forestel in Val d'Or, then across over to Parent, probably start at the motel there, and back the third day. Looking for info on where to start. Obviously the further south we can start the better as that's less truck time and more sled time. Also any info on better places to stay is appreciated. Thanks in advance.