Phil 1

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posted 6 hours ago by Relais 22.

The big change this year is insurance related... i'm not sure if it have already been discussed here but here are the facts
There is an increase of legal proceeding against snowmobile clubs in the last years, especially this last spring there is one that ended up with a $3 000 000 settlement against Rouyn Noranda snowmobile club and there are others pursuits pendings... https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/practice-areas/personal-injury/snowmobile-club-negligent-for-a-tree-stump-that-permanently-injured-a-man-quebec-superior-court/376167
It not only increase the insurance fees for the clubs/FCMQ to get covered but also tend to be an insurability problem and if no company want to insure... no snowmobile clubs will take the chance to open a trail. It's not a joke it is a very serious issue.
So this season each snowmobile club have to follow some new security rules for trails opening, all the signs and opening work on trail need to be complete and they have to fill up a form that they sign and send to fcmq before activate the dozer GPS and the trails can show up open in Imotoneige. They need to do that to make the trails safer and protect insurability of the system in the future.
Other than that are the usuals bugs and delays that can happen with Imotoneige system and the clubs volunteers those lasts days are more on trail work than the web for sure!
We were almost on dirts just a week ago and there are between 2 and 3 feets of snow to the ground right now after this second storm yesterday in my area and many others. Imotoneige picture will change a lot in the next week...
 

About 70 miles south on the 73.
http://www.viaexplora.com/snowmobile/index.html?attraits=Hébergements

Day#4: Matane/Forestville
A day that started early to be on the wharf around 7:15 a.m. for boarding the 8:00 a.m. ferry to Baie-Comeau

Once boarding done we go upstairs in the passenger section for a 2.5 hours to relax. We had plenty of time to visit this infamous boat which has caused so much talk for the wrong reasons, but in our case everything went well.

It is therefore a little before 11:00 am that we begin our snowmobile ride on the north side of the St-Lawrence river.

and we went west on #3 trail

The Manicouagan River footbridge is very impressive

Very high in the air, it offers us a very nice view of the surroundings (to be seen in the video)

We stopped at Chute-aux-Outardes for lunch and then continued on #3 trail, which we kept for the rest of the day. Being a mountains, lakes and rivers lover, I really like the north coast.


The famous section of #3 trail in the Pessamit sector which was closed for almost 2 seasons is now reopened and apart from a few 50km/h signs we barely recognized it and realized that we had already passed when we arrived at the Betsiamites river bridge

We continued to Forestville where we arrived around 4:00 p.m. with 181 km on the clock to spend the night at the EconoLodge
I put together a fairly complete musical video memory of this fourth day that I share with you below. Set sound on and quality to 1080 for best viewing.
 
Day#5: Forestville/La Malbaie
We start our ride at 8:00 on the trail from the Econo Lodge in Forestville because we had a good day ahead with a gray weather and a little snow.

Beautiful mountainous and wooded sections on trail #3

We decided to not going down south to les escoumins to keep the day's milage reasonable and cut through by the local trail bypass

Approaching Tadoussac

We ate there before taking the ferry of the Saguenay River.

Here, leaving Baie Ste-Catherine

It was more snowy in the afternoon but it was riding well

We took trail #378 which goes further north instead of keeping trail #3 which went down along the river. The route is beautiful but it was more bumpy on the 2nd half, we regretted it a bit.
Arrived at the petit Manoir du Casino around 4:30 p.m. with 290 km on the dream meter

The services on site are very good and the 2 spa areas, especially the Spa O'Quartz with its tropical decor and its many pools and waterfalls, is an exceptional place to relax after a good day on the snowmobile.
I put together a fairly complete musical video memory of this 5e day that I share with you below. Set sound on and quality to 1080 for best viewing.
 
Day#6: La Malbaie/Quebec
An outstanding sunny day awaited us for the last day of our trip, seen from the hotel on our way to breakfast...

We stayed closer to the St-Lawrence river to continue west taking the locals and trail #378


Here's the view at Baie-St-Paul

We took #3 trail further west. The trails were all very nice.

We took a lunch break at the Relais Ste-Anne, happy to see that it survived the covid's time well.

We resumed after lunch for the last segment, still on trail #3 west

Here crossing the Montmorency River on the west side  of Quebec city

As we expected a little, the trails were more bumpy when crossing Quebec city, especially west of this small bridge (St-Charles River I believe) where my wife seriously think of just walking through it !

But it got back to normal maybe a 12km further just after Val Bélair and we quickly returned to our starting point a little after 3:00 p.m. with a little less than 220 km for the day.

We were impressed to see the foot of snow accumulated on our van and trailer and had a good snow removal job to do, but despite the 2 hour drive to do, we came back home for dinner very happy with our trip and to relax in our stuff.
So an another very nice trip for us without problems which filled our heads with beautiful memories that I try to keep even more present with the help of my videos that I put together for each day.
Here's the last one, Day#6 La Malbaie-Quebec which is very nice with the beautiful sun we had. Set sound and quality to 1080 for best viewing.
Hope you enjoyed the ride!
Alain
 

https://www.lequotidien.com/2023/03/08/des-motoneigistes-boycottent-les-monts-valin-8b9a64bcb39ee55126b5ec6b83324c1e?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR07FSF4kOV9YLBusqGwGKaDDKqUfVD_f3xrRJl2NCBR0A8s8MnenxBIFj8#Echobox=1678237750
Snowmobilers boycott Monts Valin
CHRONICLE / The Monts Valin are being boycotted by snowmobilers and tourism businesses are paying the price. The saga of the "$400 tickets", given by the patrollers of the Martin-Valin zec to snowmobilers who have not paid their right of way, has spread like wildfire.
"We announce that there is currently a boycott of the Valin Mountains and we are paying the price. Tourists are talking to each other on social networks. There are petitions from customers who are also circulating against these ways! No matter how many tickets are issued, the damage is done! The snowmobilers BOUDENT the Monts Valin", wrote the owners of the Domaine l'Or-Piste outfitter and snowmobile relay in an email addressed to the MRC du Fjord-du-Saguenay
Cry of the heart
"The diplomatic line and the correspondence with the MRCs, the ministers and the tourist associations are over. Nothing is happening, the clientele is boycotting us and the Martin-Valin zec continues to give $400 infraction tickets to snowmobilers who travel on their territory. It doesn't make sense, my dining room has been empty for two weeks. On Saturday, I had two customers sitting at a table when usually there is a line outside", denounces the innkeeper who shares his distress with the Auberge du km 31 and the Relais La Chapelle, which manage tourist operations under a cover of more than 10 feet of snow.
"Two weeks ago, I had four snowmobilers sitting at the Inn and they were depressed. They had come in from the North Shore and they had each received a $400 ticket [for riding without access rights]. I didn't know what to tell them, they ate soup, it spoiled their appetite. They left saying they would never come back to the Valin Mountains. The word went out on social networks, the snowmobilers launched a boycott of Monts Valin, it will hurt the tourism industry," says Charles Marchand, innkeeper at Domaine l'Or-Piste.
On the one hand, the Ministry of Tourism invests in the Valin Mountains for the development of winter tourism and on the other hand, the Zec Martin Valin under the reign of the Ministry of Wildlife and Parks, harms and puts obstacles to tourists. Ministers Caroline Proulx and Andrée Laforest should discuss this with Minister Benoit Charrette! and this, urgently!", wrote the owners of Domaine l'Or-Piste to the MRC.
"We are a start-up business that has lived through two years of pandemic and we have just opened the restaurant Le Saloon in the middle of the forest in January 2023 with all the issues of being on an unorganized territory (TNO), we can tell you that this saga initiated by the Martin-Valin zec is too much! Finally, we could see the light at the end of the tunnel, because our restaurant has experienced an excellent start with a satisfied clientele from Quebec, Ontario, France, Switzerland, the United States and we see ourselves as a trigger for adventure tourism on the Valin Mountains during the winter, "he denounces in his letter.
 
It has to stop
The people of Domaine l'Or-Piste, Auberge du km 31 and Relais La Chapelle are right to say that enough is enough. Frankly, the tourist industry of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean invests considerable sums of money to attract snowmobilers to the white gold paradise of Monts Valin and the management of the Martin-Valin Zec scares away tourists by issuing infraction tickets to tourists who cross their territory.
It's time for a minister to stand up and tell the administrators of the Martin-Valin ZEC not to respect the law, to let snowmobilers ride on federated trails and to launch a national appeal on social networks and in the media in general to let people know that this practice no longer exists and that tourists are welcome in the snowmobile paradise, without fear of being double-billed
No reaction
At the office of Tourisme Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, the general management has indicated that it will not grant an interview on the subject. "Tourism Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean is aware of the situation and has been working with local partners since the beginning of the winter to find a solution. The ATR is aware of the comments made by clients and is concerned about the long-term effects on the destination, particularly on businesses in the sector. However, they are not in a position to know the impact at this time. It is wrong to believe that the client will systematically choose another destination, since the region offers many other alternatives, sectors and tours that are very interesting for the snowmobiler, which is why it is still too early to make a decision at this stage," said the organization by email

That’s a cool rig !

the FQCQ (quad federation) publish how the right of access fee is spend with percentage for each spent and there's no ZECs fees appearing, I had not found any official sources confirming that it is money involved but some unofficials sources let me think it is possible.
I want to explain a bit why FQCQ have this agreement: first, you shouldn't think that quad riders had it easy, their trail system network began to develop in the 90s and it's just in 2017 they managed to get this agreement with the ZEC federation, more than 20 years later!!! They had the problem with the ZECS every summer, the quad riders had to pay their right of acces in several zecs to arrive at their destination and start over again the next day when returning back home if they sleep on the trip. It terribly limited tourism and the development of their trail network.
To get the 2017 agreement, there were 14 months of intense negotiations between the 2 federations and the Zecs federation had consulted the 30 concerned Zecs (the one that federated quad trails crossed) before reaching an agreement.
In the case of snowmobiles trails, we have been crossing many ZECs since the 70s and the snowmobile clubs had always managed to get along with the ZECs in the last 50 years, until this year with Martin-Valin...it's a first case , it is perhaps normal that it was not at the top of the list of concerns for FCMQ, but that has just changed.
The reason that lead to FQCQ-ZECs agreement also apply to us: federated trails are the main drive belt that transport tourism(read $$$) between regions through all the Quebec province, especially the snowmobile trails in many remote areas but don't expect the FCMQ-Fédération ZECs agreement process to be quick, easy or already win... 
At least actually the cat is out of the bag and sledders are starting to understand what is really going on with this ZEC and the possible impacts on our entire trail system. I hope that the public pressure will lead to some political pressure to support the FCMQ in their requests to solve that issue... I think they will need it.

Gimping through the work week. It helps that I got a 37 yr old I work with that saves me out a lot of the time on physical stuff. He's really pulling the load this week after hearing/seeing the story last week. Better buy him lunch soon...LOL
Wanted to give an update on things. We are all doing better albeit Jeffrey will take a little longer. My leg is only two colors now and feeling better. Have the house and deck/driveway cleared of tree's and awaiting insurance guy this Saturday. It's gonna be ugly. 
An update on machinery:
Andre is dropping off his sled at Performance NC soon and after looking at it before we left last friday it might be fixable. That 2013 year had the hood just pull off and his did and was not damaged. He has some plastics, radiator and spindle/ball joint ripped off but all else appears straight. Might change after dealer goes through it. That thing has near 40K kilometers and runs like a champ. Well cared for. So time will tell.
Jeffrey is taking his Sidewinder to dealer for insurance guy to look at but he can see multiple tunnel compromises and quite sure it's totaled. Steering post and handlebars bent too. 
Picking my sled up from Jeffrey's this weekend and quite sure it just needs some TLC and $$$ and will be fine. So what appeared to be 3 totaled sleds might only be 1 1/2 ....LOL
Another tidbit.....Andre told me the groomer operator told him he wasnt out to groom the trail (because TRUST ME it didnt need grooming) but to take the groomer to some other town to help the VTT club out with some event they had and their groomer was broke. Good to know someone could have lost their life over that. 
Fire chief from Degelis called Andre this week to check on Jeffrey's condition. Trust me....if you ever have some serious shit go down the closer to Degelis you are the better off you will be. Ronnie....(newbie guy) told me asked one of the fireman "does this stuff happen often" and the guy told him "once or twice a week"....Now...I'M SURE he just meant snowmobile "incidents" in general but the fact IS...they dont take this stuff lightly up there. They ARE prepared with all necessary tobagans/track vehicles and everything you can think of to help people out. My hats off to all of them and EVERYWHERE else they do such a good job for us all. 
So happy to see other QR's still enjoying the beautiful trails and region. It was my last scheduled trip and I was hoping for a "not so dramatic ending" but you take what life throws at you and do the best you can.  I know (a week later now) something changed in me when I crested that hill last Thursday. I had thoughts of bagging the snowmobile thing going forward but know deep down that's just NOT me. It's part of me and one of my biggest passions in life. I will (God willing) be out there again but things will be a little different which is a good thing. Plus....I have more food porn pics I want to take....LOL
 
 
 

Moose Valley is a  fantastic day trip from Riviere du Loup.
In a nutshell,  #85 south,   left   on 44 and follow signs to St. Cyprien, then signs to Squatec. At Squatec get on 35 east for about 15 miles and take a right which is well marked for Moose Valley.  About 25 miles down you will come to an intersection.  #135 is marked for Moose valley, but #150 also goes there. Both end up at Moose Valley driveway and you can see the cabins. Big nice restaurant, great service, but can be very busy. We go counter clockwise, 135, return 150.
Gas both ways at Squatec. Any thirsty sleds should also gas at Moose Valley. (Padragon's 850 Doo need some from his can returning to Squatec, but we were running  really hard and fast the last 50 miles into and out of Moose Valley.
mike
 

Today from Lac Failon to 100 Lacs was unreal, best I have ever hit it , no one’s riding apparently. Also there is a new warming hut before Balbuzard.

At Fer Cheval now for lunch. I ordered the Chicken Caesar salad. 10 minutes after l ordered friend hands me his phone with the above on Twitter.
Will report back later. Gathering napkins off table at the moment.

SMDS up to Windigo today,  various conditions but all pretty decent early season riding . Nice lunch at Camp de  Casey , Norm is no longer there but the new guy Rafael seems a excellent addition.  83 has a reroute east of Wemotaci , passing by a nice lookout over the river and village.  Apparently we're the first overnight guest here at Windigo for this season Martine tells us ! 

😏
 

We did the loop August 2013, very interesting to see the Gaspésie in the summer...

I did not say just China, you took my remark out of context. I don’t believe ANY news...

July 1, 2020. 🙏🏻 Got riding to do...
 
 

I did not say just China, you took my remark out of context. I don’t believe ANY news...

If not 18 months, those wheels turn slow.
Look at China, Italy, Spain, France the virus spread stops relatively quickly. 

I did not say just China, you took my remark out of context. I don’t believe ANY news...

There have been similar viruses over the years that were luckily contained fairly quickly, except ONE biggie:
The SPANISH FLU of 1918.
The Spanish flu went global very quickly due to WWI,  troops deployed around the world by various countries.  (Global Travel) One theory was it started on a Kansas Army base.
It attacked the lungs, illness and death caused by pneumonia or drowning by fluid of the lungs.
Scientists, researchers, and doctors felt the cure was aspirin, which was invented 20 years earlier. Mega doses of aspirin.
Poor record keeping, but estimates of 20 to 100 million people died from the Spanish flu.
 
STARTING TO SOUND FAMILIAR,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
 
Several months into the Spanish flu, it mutated and became even more deadly.
The rush to the cure of mega doses of aspirin ended up killing possibly millions. It was the wrong cure!
While quarantines and masks and social distancing were becoming the norm, the mayor of Philadelphia allowed a parade to go, attended by tens of thousands.  In days after,  10,000 parade watchers were infected.
The Spanish Flu got its name only because Spain was neutral in the war.  All involved in the war had news blackouts concerning the flu. Countries involved in the war did not want peoples' attention diverted from the war effort. Thus world leaders never mentioned the flu. But Spain had freedom of the press and was not in the war. The Spanish press reported on the flu, but Spain was named for the flu, although the flu did not originate there. They just had honest and fair and truthful reporting.
The Spanish flu died out about a year and a half later. It is believed to have died out due to herd immunity, with estimates that over half the world was affected.r
Again, 20 to 100 million people are believed to have died from the flu and the aspirin cure. 
Also to blame were many leaders putting other world events ahead of this pandemic, news blackouts by leaders and misinformation by world leaders, and the rush to a cure.
We must go forward, but cautiously. truthfully, and with wisdom.
mike
 
 
 
 
 
 

July 1, 2020. 🙏🏻 Got riding to do...
 
 

sunny and - 13 c at 6 am !!!

Our friendships go across the border both ways, they endure on QuebecRider and they endure on the snowmobile trails of Quebec. Let us not let politicians or the things they do come between our common bond of these friendships or the hope we all have that we will overcome this pandemic.  I can't send Canada FN Masks, but I send  Canada my best wishes for the coming days.
mike
 

OK then.
I am probably wasting my time but I got lots of time anyway so here goes.
picture it like this. Forget USA, Canada.
Let’s say for fun, you have four people in your house, you and the wife and two children. OK? You have masks for your family of four. Say you have 12 masks. You don’t know when or if you can get more.
Now your neighbor has 6 people in his house that need masks as they have none. And your neighbor on the other side of street needs 6 for his family. Are you giving up your only masks to your neighbors or keeping them for your own family first?
It is no different then what the USA is doing. They are taking care of their own first. That is the presidents job, to take care of Americans first, before anyone else.
simple as that.
Ask Justin why he sent all them masks and supplies to China a few months back. 
Sorry but you have to look out for your own first. 
Don’t believe everything you see on the news. If you don’t believe there is truly alot of fake news. You need to take off the rose colored glasses.

I feel weird posting this, but everyone needs a little support right now.
No-Hair told me that CrazySnow posted on the FaceBook that his father has passed away due to the C-19.
Many of us remember him on here and if anyone knows him on a more personal level, reach out and let him know we all feel for his loss.
Be Safe! Stay Home as much as possible.
GutZ