markusvt

Nice run!

:clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

Bring your checkbook for Manoir Richelieu.......

There are enough recent examples of useless posts with no real direction except for getting your post count up.

Spot on!

Sleds and trucks have been stolen from At-Agathe, St-Zenon, St-Michael, Quebec City, Grand Mere, Shawinagan, Val-D'or, Mont Laurier, Jonquerre, and more I am sure too. It's hard to get anywhere in Quebec without passing through these places, unless you are being dropped in by helicopter?

Seeing how quick and bold they are, you are never safe. In the ATM, paying for gas, what ever. They will not deter me, we just have to amp it up a bit. Don't go into the dealer on your sled to get oil, don't let your stuff out of your sight if you can help it.

Last time we will ever stop there, and I know ever is a LONG time. Everything fully insured, no problem there. Remember to pay the $25 to insure your trailer for theft, your car and sled insurance in the USA does NOT cover it.

Nice ride guys! Perfect time of year heading way north, In January that run can be brutal!

The Police said thefts are very high this year. For me, at least I have another sled to finish out the season, and no lives were lost, yet.......

Yes it’s true! On Friday night, at about 8:30 PM, my girl for 2 years left me alone at the restaurant. It’s hard to believe for me too. You hear about things like this, but until it happens to you, you don’t believe it. The drama and impact is incredible. I’m in stages 2/3 of the 5 stages of grief, so I have a ways to go. I may get stuck in stage 4 for a while……… Denial (this isn't happening to me!) Anger (why is this happening to me?) Bargaining (I promise I'll be a better person if...) Depression (I don't care anymore) Acceptance (I'm ready for whatever comes) I’ll get to the details in a minute, but first I have to start at the very beginning. We met in November of 2011, (I think). I took her home after the first time we met, and she had been here ever since. I had known of her well before then. I made up my mind on her months before, but we never actually laid eyes on each other until that fall. Up until this Friday, we had been loyal to each other, no fooling around. She never spent a night with anyone else, until now. I took excellent care of her, (she was a goddess to me after all). I greased her well before every ride, with only the best lubes. Sure, I rode her hard, but I never put her away wet, ever. I always made sure she was warm and comfortable. I never let her get dirty or salty. She had high respect for herself, and so did I. I always kept her covered and protected. In the beginning, like every relationship, I spent a ton of money on her. Got her everything she wanted or needed. I showered her with all the toys to stand out from the crowd. I have to say, when she was ready to go out, she looked dam good. I think she secretly liked the admiration, even though she was really shy. She had previously been rock solid dependable. I would have loaned her out to my buddies, no problem. She did not mind being ridden hard, as long as you took good care of her . She had no idea we were going to part ways this upcoming fall regardless of her opinion. Like most men, you get bored, and get drawn to the idea of trading her in on a newer, younger model. Everything is a bit tighter on the newer models with fewer miles on them. Yeah, they don’t have the experience, but they make up for it with being new and shiny. They know when to put up and when to shut up. A real bonus is the newer models also have so much less junk in the trunk that really accumulates over the years, (you have seen this I’m sure). I was going to break the news to her, but why rush, we still had a few months of quality time together, (or so I thought)? In preparation for the week-end, I had detailed the heck out of her. After all, I thought we had more than 1 night together. She got greased and aligned like always. I needed to make sure she could go the distance with no break downs. She even got a new pair of shoes. I was after all hoping to get a few more months out of her. With the days getting longer, I could ride her more now. She was eager and ready, like most week-ends. She was really meant for week-ends, and loved to travel. I polished her up nice before the trip. She really loved it when I gripped the throttle and leaned in to her, she would really let out an addicting growl that I will miss. So we loaded up, and headed north for another great week-end of snowmobiling, (2800 miles this year so far). Heading up the 40, right before Joliette there is the gas station and the chicken place, (Benny’s). We decide to stop for a quick bite to eat, 20 minutes maximum. We parked the 2 trucks and trailers just to the left of the entrance in the front lot against the snow banks. The trailers were locked to the truck and the gear bags were in the truck. We were under the main light pole with the security camera on us. Mine was in my buddy’s trailer with his sled. We went in, and got in line to order. We were in line 2-3 minutes, and my other buddy with the other truck remembered he forgot his money outside. He quickly went to get his money. Outside everything was normal. We ordered our food and sat down. While in line, my buddy noticed a black Chevy Avalanche drive by slowly. It raised his awareness, but not enough to do anything, vehicles can drive slowly if they want too no problem. We quickly ate, because we wanted to get to our destination about 45 minutes more north. I was the first one out the door and noticed the trailer was no longer on the truck, and the lock was on the ground. Immediately I felt the emotions and the impact of it all, 2 of us were going home early. Yup, she was gone, swiped out from under me. I didn’t even get to say goodbye. She was sleeping, and then, stolen, gone forever! I had her keys, so good luck getting her started and revved up, only I knew how her buttons worked. She could be finicky, and a real pain to folks she didn’t know. I hope the new men in her life get a taste of that side of her. The provincial Police came and filled out a report for us. We watched the video. It was actually worse having to watch the abduction in slow-motion. They drove in, (the black Avalanche) and drove to a few spaces ahead of us and parked. One guy got out, walked up to the hitch and cut the lock, (15 seconds). He then got back into his truck. They waited a minute; and then drove around the restaurant and parked next to our truck. They waiting while a bunch of kids crossed in front of them, (they might have even waved). Then one guy got out, hooked the trailer from our truck to his, got in and drove off, (45 seconds). They were nice enough to leave the cut lock on the ground for us. So now the insurance hassles start. Both a 2012 and 2013 XR1200 gone. Mine had 7000 very enjoyable miles on her, with more to come if I had it my way. The 2013 had less than 2000 miles, and of course the trailer. To make lemonade out of lemons, we drove home and I loaded my spare sled into the trunk, and headed back up after only 3-4 hours’ sleep. I then rode it almost 500 miles over the week-end, and had a ton of fun. I was spying every sled I passed, but in my heart, I knew she was gone. The moral is the same as always. Take the best precautions, and make your stuff harder to steal than the other guys. But in the end, these guys do this for a living, and they are better at it then you. If they want your stuff, they’ll get it, with or without you. Happy trails! Mark.

I have different coordinates depending on the services required.

No gate, No gate, No gate, No gate. There are tons of ways on/off the water. The main one we took, as picture above, No gate. If you pop off in someones back yard, all bets are off. Dogs, cats, gates, angry land owners, naked woman, rabid foxes are all possible. Mark.

Of all the times I have been there, I have never seen a train on the tracks. Most of the time, the tracks are completely covered, and they are recessed into the road to my recollection. Now as Iceman says, there are really big signs there, and as Viper says, there are a tiny bit away from where you normally would park. Maybe we can take away something positive, no one was hurt, and we all need to be careful out there. I have seen trains at the crossings in the middle of the woods, in the middle of nowhere, and the trains are going very, very fast. Trains, log trucks, and the occasional dirt pile and tree is out there, ready to get you at any time.

If you take the right trail, no gate, no yard. Best with a GPS, the track above get you the correct way.

Easy.

Trail was all good 2 weeks ago, not sure why it would be closed. It's a short run, no need to ride the road.

Love the groomers in QC, if there is snow, they run!

Really nice trip, some day a super long trip like that would be a blast!

La Tuque at least has a Canadian Tire and a McDonalds and a few hotels and resturants. Parent has, um, a single gas station with a combined store with EVERYTHING you will ever need in a 20x20x20 foot space. Twinkies, fishing hooks, gloves and drive belts. They don;t have it, you don;t need it.

Fuel is $1.35 a liter in town, and up to $2.25 in the bush. Most Outfitters are at $1.50-$1.75 a litter this year. We have done the ride both ways, not sure I have a preference.

Yup, you are looking at very close to 380 miles to Lac Faillon, more into Sennetere. A very big day, but doable if you are into 400 mile days and $150+ in fuel.

Parent is the place to stay over sleeping on the trail, and even then only by a bit.

Pourvoirie Lac la Truite is 37 miles by trail, 20 miles by road, or do like we did, 11 miles of trail and 14 miles of road, (all completely snow covered), for a total of 25 miles from Belleterre. Awesome place, no need to stay anywhere else. Ask again in March, conditions can change for the worse quickly then.

Looks like another nice trip!