KeepRight

Amazing Trip.    Thanks for everything Playhard!!!!!!!!!

blackjack1 the front shocks on my sled make a big difference too. 

 

I'll let ya know Monday! If the trail to Perce's is rough I'm commandeering Blue Thunder to run a Gaspésie Freshman in for the photo of the rock!

Day 3 Saturday
  Light dusting of snow overnight in Amqui. Out of town we retrace the run to Groomers clubhouse. TQ5 is very nice. Groomed overnight from Amqui to where Groomer takes over. Trail to clubhouse still excellent, we get the gas just next to clubhouse. Quick stop to beautify the clubhouse. We are off. 587 is the choice. It does not disappoint. Although not groomed for a long time it did not need it. Giddy up here. Love this run one of my favorites for sure in all of QC. Down to Matapedia and more gas. Then onward on 587 to JCT 5. We go left on TQ5 back west. 5 is good but everyone uses it and it shows with the hills a bit chewed up and the corners a bit bumped up but nothing serious just you can tell how many more sleds run the 5 compared to the regional or local trails. Good stay on 5 everyone. It's the best way to go. No doubt. Disregard whatever I say stay on 5. Merci.  Up to local orange trail we turn right toward the clubhouse in L'Alverne. Ahhh this trail. Let's just say we have history here. Last year it was mint like it is now absolutely amazing but don't take it, no no no. Stay on 5 merci.  This trail was quite a bit different 2 years ago on our march run. We arrive at clubhouse on other end it's snowing like a bitch and blowing. We are headed to Caupsacal. Through Pointe a la Croix much longer. The guys take off over the road and i'm wondering what the giant snowbank is all about? Well this trail was closed. No grooming deep deep snow. Two weeks earlier it was perfect but not so now. Well i did not learn it was closed till we reached the 5 (which everyone needs to stay on please, merci) there i see the Sentier Ferme' sign. That was quite a workout, but we made it.  Today none of that, blue sky and big sun and white asphalt. Sweet.  To JCT5 and we stop for lunch in L'Alverne. Nice break and we are off. Surprisingly very few sleds out even though its saturday. Very light traffic that we have seen. Hey perfect. East on TQ5 through the hilly parts here. Trails are super. Pinch me is it really almost April? Somebody stop me! We run to the suspension bridge in Nouvelle and turn left to go get gas. Then its time to backtrack. We run back a few miles and take a hard right onto the local trail, through town a bit on the bare pavement. These other guys have wheels. I am not into that. I can do just fine without. We find ourselves another gem here. This trail is a goer and despite dodging the scattered remains of a deer or three, I'm guessing torn up by coyotes? This is awesome it runs us up north of Carleton where we arrive at a warming hut and find tge Trail to La Cache but its marked as a quad trail says 87 km to La Cache. Also just through the woods there up a short trail we find what we believe was a dragstrip groomed six groomers or more wide, but it's really an airstrip i believe. Whatever it was boys will be boys so lets race. We have a ball running back and forth and the head back down the Local Orange checking out the windmills near Carleton on the way in. Into Baie Blue in Carleton  240 miles i think.  Full house here. Many sleds. But sure did not see them on the trails.    Want wish Mrs. Ice and her hockey team luck tonight in the Coupe Burrows tournament in Trois Riveres. So far 2 wins 3-0 and 4-0. Going for win number 3 tonight. To move on to Sunday. To win it all.  Let's go Ladies kick some ass.    Tomorrow to Murdochville. 

What else did we learn today: Orange "local" trails don't necessarily mean they're small!...
 

Cut across the 5 to Club Mont Arctique in L'Alverne.
WAY more fun with blue skies vs seadooing in a 3' blizzard eh?

What did we learn today: White trails on the FCMQ updates might mean they just don't need grooming!...
 

 

 

Chemical/Biological Warfare courtesy of the hockey team kids?

No Merci! 

Radar lookout to spot Radar golf ball? Too overcast...

On the hill behind Ski St Irene?...

Uh huh!...

Getting closer!...

Ah hah!...

Actually, it's less like a golf ball & more like a soccer ball...

Been a while since this was taken...

Check the box!

Picture perfect trails:

 

 

NHmark, not just an experienced Groomer... He fixes 'em!

 
NHmoose (MacGuyver) etc:

 
Thinking, thinking, thinking...

 
Yeah OK, whatever, let's RIDE!

Natural beauty doesn't need a thing:

 
But man-made beauty can always be enhanced by an Iceman sticker:

 

Only one thing could make this better: Longer stretches between gas stops! Wait a minute. What's this?...
These Maine'ers fixed up some serious range for their "unconventional" riding. Nice plumbing 1500HD!...

 

It's March 24?! Really really?!

 
Pinch me. Was that white asphalt or what?!

 

Day 2 Friday
  Left RDL on a beautiful white asphalt 526 more like early February here than end of March. Unbelievable. Join up with TQ5 and no surprise it's the same. Frozen hard and wicked fast. Only complaint is the flat light and it is pretty windy, but could always be much worse. Just past Trois Pistoles we stop in a relais parking lot to talk about how frigging awesome this is. Arriving just behind us a few minutes after we meet two guys from Maine. 1500hd and his friend. Obvious from their machines and the auxiliary tanks on the rear, these guys roll with Rob and Roadrunner but decided to pass on the Forestville run this week as the snow was excellent closer to home. Can't say i blame them. Chatted for a few minutes and they rolled on. We followed on out and headed for our gas stop in Rimouski. Perfect trails, very little traffic. TQ5 all the way into Rimouski. Gas and go. To 579 and still very nice. We roll to the 587 and still great. A few places along the roads here on these two trails will be not so nice soon. Kind of not much there now. But just a few parts. Down we go and up to the lookout tower. No mummy's this time of year, no daddy's either. Then we turn our attention to our main objective for the afternoon getting up to the radar. i've never been there. Playhard has been wanting to get up here since forever and we surely tried our best to get up on the spyders this summer only to be denied. But today is the day. We arrive at the Ski area and NHmoose guides us up and the orange trails are super nice. Up Up we climb and there it is. We saw it from afar mocking us almost seemed to be taunting us with a "here i am, now try to get up here" damn you golfball. But we win today. We crest the hill and there it is up close and personal. Success. Victory.    Leave here and take orange local down and across lake to rejoin TQ5. Direction Amqui.  It's too early to head to hotel so off to Albertville to the clubhouse for a late lunch and bonus ride. We PM JG but he has been grooming all day and is tired out. So until next time JG. As always your trails are super. We left you a note with the waitress. Back out of clubhouse and bactrack to Amqui. Jammed hotel with Hockey Tournament, I Just saw 6 sleds pull in only to be turned out because both hotels here are full.    Great day awesome trails. Good to be us.  230 miles

Day 1 Thursday, 
Travel day today, Black Trail. NHmoose and NHmark were northbound to RDL they were overtaken by Playhard who was sans trailer and headed at warp speed for chez Ice. Right on schedule David was in my driveway at 3:30pm. I loaded my gear as he chatted with the Mrs. I've enjoyed my 2 days home the two nights in my own bed were awesome. But time to be going. Like Metallica says "anywhere I roam, where I lay my head is home" well not exactly but good enough. Time to go riding. Playhard tosses me the keys as it's my turn to pilot this ship. Off to Moto Thibault, my sled is already in his trailer and we pull in, pin trailer and take a quick visit with Pierre and Alain inside. Out of there and off to RDL AT 4:30pm. Hit the highway 40 east bound and down. I drop the hammer. Confident in the detection abilities of this rig we got places to be. Slight bit of traffic just at the merge on the Pont Pierre Lapointe in QC. No problems we breeze right through. 20 east now and hammer down. Smooth sailing to RDL in to hotel at 7:30pm. Unload sleds and gear. Put up a few stickers and get settled in. Had a nice dinner and now here we are. Locked and loaded. Off to Amqui tmmrw. Still a good amount of trucks and trailers here. Very busy with a hockey and swimming tournament in town. 
Groomer was just passing hotel as we were unloading sleds. Like he knew we were coming. 
Gonna be on the Lookout tmmrw for Scranton1 and Phil1 and their crew. I know they are headed this way. 

This was the mantra throughout the mission!

Can't seem toupload video to YT onYtube from Caribou wifi, outbound speed is  s l o w.Some stills from today.. 
Anyone want to play bridge?
Iceman wants to play
As if you haven't seen a pic of the rock....
 Mark made it to the rock on his maiden Gaspe trip
John (NH Moose) obligatory rock photo
 From the lower lookout pull off up Chemin Mt Ste Anne
Further up Chemin Mt Ste Anne, new lookout looks like a diving board
Trails terrible into Perce, whooped, not recommended.  Some sections of 5 out this way are amazing, but mot is pretty lumpy, feel right at home....just like the New Hampshire trails I remember ;<)
 
 
 
 
 

No Ripper for Black in stock, not "feeling it" on field service of Blue's secondary slider puck. So, out of the short haul and into the long (RDL) haul. Anybody around Tuesday for breakfast @ Universel?!

 
Still beauteous by black trail:

 
Can't roll by MSP without stopping to say hey to the legendary Pierre Colombe!

 
These guacs are gone by the way. "Pour Une Duree Limitee" is OVER. Damn. Just remnants here n there...

And now!...
 

Nice RDL Welcome Wagon!...

 
VID_20170323_200505.mp4

Where are we now?...

Our Freshmen are liking Quebec sledding!

Well that explains the waist line...

Wrap up on Tues was the carnivore mayhem, it must be a thing when the guy in white presents them himself?...




 
Tomahawk for REAL!...

 

That Hammer sure does the job !