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Sandi and I have been following your posts and pics. Great ride and great scenery. A lot of trailers here at Universal, RDL. Many of them heading out to Gaspe I'm sure. The trails here have been excellent. It is amazing how many miles of trails can be groomed each night. Hats off to the groomers. It is nearing spring and the road crossings and parking lots are showing some melt. Jack & Sandi

Well, our last trip for the season has ended. Yesterday we did a ride east on 5 to Relais Moulin. A u-turn after a short break and down 571 to Squatec for gas and our new lunch stop Resto Chez Lelou. It was packed with Quebec sleds. I guess the locals know this place. Then a direct ride 571, 544, 44, 85 back to RDL. The trails this year had a late start but once the snow came, the clubs have been out grooming like crazy. Thank you to all the groomers and volunteers that make this sport so enjoyable! http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/emoticons/default_drinks.gif Everyone be safe over the summer and we hope to see you next season. Jack & Sandi

It makes me wonder how many times this could have happened to me or any one of us that has been on a trail we know very well and crested a hill or went around a corner . . . It gives us something to think about. Thankfully you will all recover to ride another day. Jack & Sandi

Yesterday we stopped at a restaurant over by Squatec that we have never been to. Maybe others have. The restaurant is off of trail 546 and on auto route 232. The turn off is 7 or 8 miles east of the 571, 546 and 35 junction in Squatec. The trail was groomed and somewhat marked. The cul-de-sac is just under 2 miles to the restaurant. There is another cul-de-sac a little further east that is not groomed and signed for Lac-des-Aigles. That is not the trail. The name of the restaurant is Resto Chez Lelou. The signs on the trail are not appealing but the restaurant is a appealing and a fine stop for lunch. The two ladies working there both spoke good English. The restaurant is clean inside and seats 20 - 30 people. The four of us had two chicken wraps, a club sandwich and fried chicken. The portions are good and the prices reasonable. Since the bigger restaurant closed in Squatec, we have been eating at the cantine by the gas station. Which is fine but small and a little cramped. Resto Chez Lelou is an alternate that is close by. Jack & Sandi

I think the hotels are playing with the room reservations. I originally made this week's reservation back the end of January. I was told Friday and Saturday night they were booked full. So we reserved thru Thursday. Joe JAK had the same issue. When Joe JAK arrived this past Saturday, he asked if he could extend his stay. "No problem" was the response from the gentleman at the front desk. He then asked if my stay could be extended. Plenty of rooms. Sandi and I think the hotel(s) allow Trivago and the other internet sites hold blocks of rooms for their sales. Then whatever rooms are not sold are turned back to the hotel a week or so before the date. Jack & Sandi

Hi Jim & Gemma, As always, very nice pics. We are at RDL this week and the lot is full of trailers but not many snowmobilers. I think most of them are at Gaspe. Enjoy the ride. The trails look beautiful. Jack & Sandi

Update: When we returned yesterday afternoon from our beautiful ride, the PetroCan was open. We gassed up there last night. Back to normal. St Bruno doesn't have gas. The store is open the pumps have a paper sign on them. The lady inside doesn't speak any English. All I could get was "No Gaz." The trails are in top shape right now. Terrific base, smooth with a little little snow on top. Absolutely perfect! http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/emoticons/default_drinks.gif Jack & Sandi

Agreed. And in the car or truck, most everyone is going 10 - 15 MPH over the limit and rarely a ticket. Just a roll of the dice I guess. Jack & Sandi

We had thought about an overnight this year but didn't make it to the Delta. Sandi and I were going to ride to the new bridge north of Lac St Jean on trail 373 and stay overnight in Girardville or Dolbeau. A round trip would be around 300 miles depending on your choice of trails. A stay overnight would have made for a shorter day and time to explore the north side of the Lac. The return back could be a Tour de Lac around the south side of Lac St Jean. Jack & Sandi

We heard it was on trail 85 in St Honore. Poor guy. It was the first time he was leading the pack. He was so far ahead of the other guys, they were able to make believe they didn't know the him. Jack & Sandi

We will leave Mont Valin to Zec Martin and the back country sleds. There are many trails we can ride without paying additional fees. The back country sleds are the ones using the open land of the Zec. We will step back and let them use it. Jack & Sandi

I just signed the petition. You can leave a comment with the petition. When you submit the petition, there are a few more clicks to have your comments listed in the "Signatures" tab. Most of the comments are from Canadians. Lets get more Americans to voice their opinion. Jack & Sandi

And the light has been lit to reveal the double standard. So there is a precedent between Federation Zecs and Federation Quads. Is Zec Martin trying to leverage FCMQ to come to an agreement by charging snowmobilers this daily fee? I would think there is a money transaction involved for the permission to cross Zec territory. We don't know what we don't know and what maybe going on behind closed doors. For most of us, the season end is approaching fast. Hopefully we will be better informed before next season starts so we can plan on where we will ride. Jack & Sandi

I don't doubt you Iceman but now I would like to hear how the Zec justifies charging one mode of transportation and not another? Would someone cross country skiing be charged? Jack

Hi NHsrx701. "...principal residence or private property..." sounds good but I think that is referring to a private home. The argument from the Zec for this would be the Chapel and Auberge 31 are not a principal residence. They maybe private property as opposed to public land but to me it sounds like the quote is referring to someone's home, residence, cabin, etc. Jack & Sandi

I wear glasses and have an oxygen helmet. To start I take the glasses off and then put the helmet on. Then I put the glasses back on (can't see to drive without them). I keep the shield up until on the sled and moving. After a few minutes I can close it with no fogging issues. How much clothing you have around your neck changes things also. That extra flap on the helmet needs to be over any neckwear. I usually run 2 lights on the cord. You can adjust to your preference. If you can't see a light your cord is not working. Enjoy! Sandi

We are heading back home to CT this morning. Padragon and I rode the past two days in the Artic vortex. Sandi stayed at the Universal. I was wondering if we should have too. Friday was a ride to Squatec. We stayed on what was groomed as much as we could. Trail 5, 565, 540 and 571 into Squatec. This route is mostly in the woods but the fields were drifted and blowing snow pretty good. Not many sleds out. I wonder why? 🥶 We were too early for lunch so we had to stand on the porch for 10 minutes. The shades were pulled down so we couldn't see in. A few minutes before 11:00 am the door opens. Boy does that heat feel good. Planning our ride back, I was thinking about the way we came in and Padragon asked about trail 35? I said it is over the mountain and a little further but shows groomed. So we decide on 35. I'm leading and about halfway up, I miss a right turn. One of those spots where the "road" goes straight and you see the cut thru the trees but the trail goes to the right. I ran past the turn by 20'. A little tugging and pulling and the sled backs out. Pay attention Jack. Too cold to be making mistakes today. Other than my little missed turn, it was a good choice. It was cold at the top of the mountain but all wooded and the trail is like concrete. With less wind than in the fields, it was good. We turn right on 85 and cruise back to the Universal. Not a long ride but we did ride. Saturday it is warmer but not by much. Padragon and I head out. Again we look for the groomed trails. So 5 west to the little connector over to 526 and back to 85. 526 is a nice trail thru the woods. If we time this right, we will be at Cabano around 11:00 for pizza. 85 going thru the construction is the worst of it today. It is pretty open and the wind is blowing the snow around. We take our time and make it thru. Top the sleds off at the Shell station in Cabano and over to pizza. Perfect, 11:00 am and the doors are unlocked. We are the only ones here. I thought there maybe a few locals coming in via car or truck but nope. Just us two. A couple of pepperoni pizzas and back on 85 north. The wind has finally calmed down and it must be a balmy -20 C out here. The sun is out and that makes it feel even warmer. We turn left on 544. This trail is perfect. Not much traffic on it this year due to the logging going on local 40. Saturday there are no logging trucks and the wind has blown in enough snow to cover up the sand on 40. The last mile on 40 is old school rough. This isn't getting groomed this season due to the logging. We get to 526 and it is sweet looking. We go straight on 526 to Explorer and then right on 561. The trails are set up so good from the cold and no traffic makes it a perfect ride. At trail 5 we turn right and finish the day into the Universal. It was a cold two days but it is still snowmobiling in Quebec. There is plenty of snow up here and the groomers are out every night. After a late start with the snow in January, February should turn out to be a good month. Pack up and head north. The trails are waiting for you. Jack & Sandi

You are having a great ride. We are following along. Great pics, especially the new bridge. Jack & Sandi

Sandi and I are back at the Universal. The ride to Moose Valley was my first trip. 240 miles and a very nice ride. All but 10 miles was groomed the night before. Like Mike said, low traffic during the week. Yesterday we did a ride to Tourville. Again, most of the trails were groomed the night before. What wasn't groomed only had a day's worth of traffic. Tourville had one room open. Not packed like on a weekend. Today should be a nice day of riding. I'm waiting for the grooming map to be updated. Tomorrow and Saturday are forecast to be cold days. Those may end up being shorter rides. Jack & Sandi

Universal is where most stay in RDL. Its about 135 km from RDL to Rimouski via trail 5. There is also a Quality Inn and Comfort Inn on the other side of town. A note for the Universal is the restaurant is under renovation this winter. Breakfast is served next to the restaurant in what was a conference room that has been converted for this season. Supper is served in the bar which has a few booths and tables. There are also many restaurants in town to choose from. Jack & Sandi

Prayers to his family. Jack & Sandi

The Cabano Pizza is closed Mon - Tue, opens at 4 pm Wed - Fri and opens at 11 am Sat - Sun if I remember correctly. When we stopped on a Saturday, there was only one waitress taking care of the dinning area and the bar. It was almost an hour wait but the pizza is good! Jack & Sandi

I've seen the reflectors but never noticed white on right and yellow on left. Thanks Don. Jack & Sandi