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Note: Each way. Round trip 216 miles. A nice day run with a good lunch stop. Jack & Sandi

Hi guys. I forgot to mention, Sandi has a 2024 Ski Doo MXZ X. Of course that is one of the sleds that has the potential defective left ski. The Ski Doo bulletin states not to drive the sled unless the ski has been replaced. Yuk! I had borrowed a used ski from a friend yesterday just in case. I took the ski off and checked the mold number. The mold number is cast into the ski, under the rubber block that is between the ski and the ski leg. One bolt, easy removal. Sandi's mold number is AC1. The bad mold number is AC2. Yea! So, Joe, you can come up and pick up your ski. It looks like we won't be needing it. Thank you. I attached the bulletin but I don't know if you can open it. I don't have very good luck with attachments. 2024 MXZ X left ski.zip

We are here at the Delta. It was a nice drive up. An easy border crossing. As we approach Drummondville, a little rain sprinkles on the windshield. Temperature, 37F. Not good but there is snow. All the way up route 20 the temperature fluctuates but always above freezing. The highway is wet but not frozen. Not much for traffic and I don't see many snowmobile trailers in either direction. In Quebec, we get on route 175. As we climb in elevation, the snow off to the side of the road gets deeper. The temperature is now below freezing. Not the typical February snow depth but so much more than what we had at RDL last week. We pass L'Etape and where the trail runs along side of the road, we can see the red stakes. Looks like a good 2' of snow here. The sprinkles before Quebec City have turned into a light snow now. I'm smiling. I wasn't sure of what to expect but this looks promising. We pull into the Delta and the parking lot has snow. Not deep but there is a couple of inches here. That is all were hoping for. All we need is enough to get out of town. From the FCMQ trail map, it is showing decent snow north of the river. 3 other sleds in the lock up when I park ours. A lot of hockey kids here tonight. A tournament in town. As far as snowmobilers, 1 two place trailer and 4 four larger trailers. Ours being one of them. There is a grey Proline that looks like the Gutz entourage but I don't see them. We ate in at Boston Pizza. I had the "Big Dipper" sandwich in honor of one of my QR buddies. It was just as good as I remembered. Sandi had the smoked meat sandwich. I never ordered one for years until recently because I didn't know what it was. Now I have learned it is a Rueben and they are always good. That is it for now. A ride to St Felician tomorrow. We will report back. Happy trails to all. Jack & Sandi

Sandi and I are planning on heading to the Delta Feb 1st via truck. We are doing a one nighter to St Felician for Friday night and then will be back at the Delta Saturday night. I'll report on conditions. From what I see on the FCMQ site is most trails are OK. The exception is in Saguenay which of course is around the Hotel. Fingers crossed! Jack & Sandi

Welcome to QuebecRider. One of the best sites you will find for Quebec info. Sandi had read about a truck stolen on Facebook too. I don't have any more details. Theft isn't as bad as it was many years ago but it can happen anywhere anytime. Take precautions so your equipment isn't the easiest to steal. It does take awhile to get the passes so order them as soon as you can if you haven't already. Caveat, the snow this season is not as good as it normally is. You may already have found this link but if not https://fcmq.fcmqapi.ca/carte-motoneige/indexen.html#map has a wealth of info for the trails. Click on the snowflake in the top right. It will show snow depth, trail conditions, grooming info, etc. The area you are looking at is very popular. Two other areas that we like to ride are Lac St Jean and the Riviere du Loup. Take your time and enjoy the sights. The trails are much different than anywhere else in the USA or Canada. Get trail maps from where you are staying or download the app. You will find snowmobilers at most hotels and most will be glad to assist you. Be safe. Jack & Sandi

Looking good. We had to wait so long this season but the snow is finally on the ground. Have a great ride George. Jack & Sandi

Sandi isn't going to like this single control for thumb and hands. I hope BRP comes up with a software fix. Why on earth would they think that we need the same heat for both thumb and grips? Jack & Sandi

Looking good on the trail map. Not everything is open as of yet but so much better than a week ago. It might be time to make a phone call to the Universal? Jack & Sandi

You should be able to right click on the page and then click on "Translate to English". It should work on any page you want to translate. Jack & Sandi

Hi Steve. The surgery to replace the radial head went fine and healed in two weeks. The torn ligament the doctor and physical therapist put the fear of God in me saying how easy it is to tear again. I still worked while wearing the brace but worried about the ligament. So far everything is good and I think I'm over the hurdle. Jack & Sandi

Still no big snowfall. The grooming map shows just part of Mount Valin is open. The rest of Quebec is in the 5-10 cm of snow if any. We need to do our snow dance and get Mother Nature back on track. We missed our annual trip to Lac St Jean. The forecast is for cooler temperatures. Let's hope it brings the snow with it. Jack & Sandi

Hi George & Shannon, Good hearing from you guys. I just called the Universal in RDL. No snow! The forecast shows a little snow tomorrow and Saturday but I don't think it will be enough to groom or ride. It is suppose to stay below freezing which will be good to get the ground froze. The season is off to a slow start. Jack & Sandi

Hi Don, Oh if I'm in the second seat, that is only asking for trouble. I don't see anything good coming out of that. Lean? Which way? Oops! Health insurance > I am so glad that Sandi and I are covered. I would be sleeping on a park bench if I didn't have it. When I add up what the insurance company has covered for me, it scares me. I didn't use the insurance much before I was 60 years old. Just the normal check ups and colds. But since then, the list is longer than my broken arm. See you soon. Jack & Sandi

Hi Jim & Gemma, A broken elbow might slow me down but it won't stop me. The surgeon was very pleased with the way it is healing. The surgery was Nov 8th so I'm almost back to normal. Well, whatever my normal is. Jack & Sandi

Hi Gary & Pat, Our reservations are made at the Delta. We will be waiting for you. If my arm feels good enough, tell Pat I might make some fudge! Looking forward to some good riding. Jack & Sandi

Hi Jay, Thanks. I'm hoping for some riding but Quebec needs snow. The weather isn't in our favor yet. Jack & Sandi

Hi Mike, Getting back for Happy Hour in one piece is very important. I'm ready to ride even though my physical therapist prefers me not to. The season is too short and this year is even shorter with the lack of snow. If the snow comes, we are thinking about RDL the week of Jan 8th. Right now it doesn't look too promising. Jack & Sandi

Hi Steven, Snow would be wonderful but not too heavy. That can bring many more issues. Just a nice dump of snow once a week would be my pick. Enough to keep the trails in shape but not so much that we are snowed in or battling drifts and white outs. Getting too old to fight with Mother Nature. Jack & Sandi

Hi Jim, The bone grew around the replacement part in about two weeks. The torn ligament is what is taking so long. It looks like the ligament has attached itself to the bone now so I'm hoping I'm over the hurdle. The dealer that I purchased the truck from and has been doing the work is Blasius in Waterbury. The sales manager that I purchased the truck from I've known for 30 years now. He has been at different dealerships over the years and I have followed him. I've done research on the GM forum and I haven't seen much for catastrophic events like this. Maybe a flaw, air bubble, in a casting or a part that wasn't installed quite right originally. Who knows. Jack & Sandi

Hi Mike, It has been a long year. A lot of unexpected things happened and we are tackling them as they hit us. The winter season seems to be coming later each year. Jack & Sandi

Hi George, That two up seat is the living room couch at the moment. The bottle of wine might be a big bottle of scotch. Jack & Sandi

Hi Alex, I have to keep my head up looking forward. Worrying about the past doesn't get anyone anywhere. RDL is on the list as always. I'll post when we are heading that way. January 8th is the week we are thinking about. I'm leaning towards RDL as opposed to Lac St Jean. Ford, Ram, Chevy they all break once in awhile. I just had it worse with the auto strike and dealers don't seem to care about customers like they did years ago but I'm dating myself now. Jack & Sandi

Hi Everyone, We hope a Merry Christmas was had by all. We were with family and had a great time eating and drinking and seeing everyone. Another season of snowmobiling has arrived. Although the snow gods apparently don't know it. Sandi and I have been making our annual first trip snowmobiling the week from Christmas to New Year's for over 30 years other than Covid year. This year we are breaking tradition. Last year we cut the trip short due to the lack of snow and warm temperatures. This week we are not going to Quebec to be disappointed again. After last week's rain, the FCMQ map is very grim. The Grinch is in the skies holding back the snow and giving us warm temperatures from down south. Obstacle number 1. Yuk! We had been tossing around whether to make the trip or not and the lack of snow is one culprit. There have also been a few other things that have come up. I won't bore you with everything but but picture this. It's the end of October. I have a small work trailer with a drop down rear door like a snowmobile trailer. The door is open down to the ground and I'm standing on the edge of it with my back to the trailer. I step to the side and my left foot is caught by the cable that lifts the door. Down I go face first. I broke my fall by hitting the ground with the palm of my hands first and then my head. The hard Irish/Polish head survived but my right arm was pretty sore. After a week my arm is still hurting and Sandi and my sister talk me into to having it looked at. I go to a local walk-in clinic that specializes in orthopedics. The right arm, wrist and elbow are x-rayed. Sure enough, a compound fracture of the radial head at the elbow. This is the top of the small bone that connects the elbow with the wrist. The surgeon looks at the x-rays and says to me, "We will have to replace the radial head. Lets hope you didn't tear the ligament too. If you did, that will extend the healing time. That we won't know until I'm doing the surgery." So the surgery is done. Of course I did tear the ligament from the bone up at the bicep. I now have a piece of titanium that replaces the radial head and an anchor for the ligament that re-attaches the ligament to the bone. Now up to today. The brace is off that was limiting my mobility so I didn't tear the ligament again. I have physical therapy twice a week. More x-rays and everything is looking good. When I ask the physical therapist about snowmobiling, she said a big NO. She said the brace is off and the repair looks good but it isn't 100% yet. So that is obstacle number two! Next up. Back in June, my 2021 Chevy 1500 diesel pick up truck blew the motor at 42,000 miles. The connecting rod for #1 cylinder put two holes thru the bottom of the block. I can tell you a long story about that but that was around the same time that the auto workers were on strike. Yea, parts not available. Three and a half months later, October 5th, I get the truck back. Great, we will have it for snowmobiling. 3,000 miles after that, the dreaded check engine light comes on. Back to the dealer it goes. The dealer checks it out and it needs a DPF, diesel particulate filter. The dealer tells me that happens sometimes. When the motor blows it can contaminate the exhaust system with oil and debris. They don't have a DPF on the shelf of course. They order it from the warehouse and yep, it's on back order. No shipping date available. They gave me a Malibu for a loaner. I wonder how well that will pull the snowmobile trailer? Obstacle number three! A few other things have happened this past year. Work and family related. It has been a long tough year for Sandi and I. So our plans are to still go snowmobiling but I don't know the time frame right now. We hope to see some of you either at the Delta Jonquiere or the Universal RDL. Cheers to the New Year. I hope it's better than 2023. Jack & Sandi

Hi Mike, We are going to be twins this year. Mine is now at the dealers waiting for me. Sandi

Sounds like you had an interesting trip. It makes us think about saddlebagging again. Have a wonderful summer and we hope to see you next year. Jack & Sandi