P Hardy

behind my sled......road for the belvedere....
just right of the ultramar sign...snowshoes tracks are there !!!
 
jean-guy

yesterday went riding with linda + friends ...from clubhouse to st alexis...st francois...matapedia...via 587 .... and up the mountains for tq 5 and back to clubhouse...
met our friends from nova scotia in albertville ....always great to talk with them ...
on 587 , they were ahead of us....met them again lower than st alexis i think ...doing some splashes in the deep snow !!! i wonder what linda is thinking on the pic ???
great day for riding ...even a bit too warm !!!
back at the clubhouse around 7 pm ..
 
jean-guy

hi p hardy !!!
thx
all  ice was from shore to half a mile + out  maybe !!! big chunks of ice at many places !!!
2 big ships far in the distance....could see north shore clearly !!!
 
jean-guy

Great write up and pictures! Thank You!
 

Beautiful sunny day and not nearly as cold as past few days. Trails were A+ except a dozen miles of the RR bed on 35 until we met the groomer.  Coffee at Karamouski Club (spelling?) then south to Frontier Chevellier club for lunch.  Still finding the morning groomer report very inaccurate.  Jak and I started the morning on a club trail for 20 miles that is a nice mix of narrow wooded, power line and fields (west on 5 past Polaris dealer, Tim Hortons/gas station, then 3rd right off 5, then keep bearing left until returning to 5).  Might name this 'Smuggler's Trail'.
Had a nice visit last night with GT Rider and Mrs. GT. Their adventure stories are incredible. Could listen to them all night.
And riding with Jak, that boy can ride. He is my partner in next year's Alaska Iron Dog Race, he just doesn't  know it yet. He came here with great hopes of getting better gas mileage with his new 600R over my 900 ACE.  Didn't happen. We went down a long hill to a gas station, I had two bars and he had a gas light on, and his sled was sputtering come down the hill like it was running out of gas. 
I know there are a lot of Valarie (the waitress) fans like myself.  She turned 40 today. I would have guessed 30. 
Got to chat with a New Brunswick crew in the bar tonight, group I see once a year. NB people are a special breed, and I mean that in a good way.  They are a hearty rugged bunch of people.
Hopefully the pic can show what looks like a hemmeroid pad attached atop the seat of an old Legend 1000 VTwin. 
When we left our coffee stop, we saw what appeared to be a 1980 Kawasaki Invader parked at the club house.  60 miles later, taking the fastest route, we arrive for lunch at the Frontier Club House. One minute later, in pulls the Kawasaki!!!   Maybe rider forward sleds are a hoax!
mike

hi preston !!!
 
merci !!! happy for you !!! very appreciated .... came back around 3 am if memory still good !!!
well , today its different , i was supposed to go grooming tq 5  tonight...but storm started around 3 pm ...very rock'n roll outside !!! not nice !!!
so , i ll start  in the morning !!!
 
jean-guy
 

Hey Jean-Guy,
We were fortunate enough to be some of the first tracks on your fresh groomed trail Friday morning and they were fantastic! Had a couple great days of riding. Thanks for all the time you put in, it's greatly appreciated!
Preston

after reading comments from 2 different members a few days ago...
in the states ...you can buy gorilla tape....
here in the gaspesie , we have '' GODZILLA TAPE ''.....bigger ...wider and stronger !!!...for pro jobs !!!
available in all great gaspesian depanneurs !!!😜
 
jean-guy

good morning !!!
back from tq  5 + ste florence 
left at 3 30pm ....-13c ......back at 2 10 am....- 34c 
talked with 2 guys north of toronto ...about 1 mile after logging road...first hill going down...they were on their way to the auberge
 
jean-guy

Great pictures, thanks for posting!
 

Just my 2 cents....
Day 3 is going to be a steady day. 300km on the north shore is a long enough day. Lots of stick handling.
Just a heads up that the section of 5 between the town of Gaspe and the trail into Perce has not always been very well maintained in the past. We typically avoid it by taking the orange trail just below Gaspe that goes over to the 597. As a bonus, it is one of the nicer trails out on the tip.
Planning for a weather day is definitely a good idea, but if you don't have to use it, I personally would run from Murdochville to la Cache to Point a la Croix. Then the next day run from PALC to the Valga. Nice running up the Matapedia Valley. If you really wanted to treat yourself on the last day, you would go to Amqui via the 587 when leaving PALC. 
Food for thought

Just my 2 cents....
Day 3 is going to be a steady day. 300km on the north shore is a long enough day. Lots of stick handling.
Just a heads up that the section of 5 between the town of Gaspe and the trail into Perce has not always been very well maintained in the past. We typically avoid it by taking the orange trail just below Gaspe that goes over to the 597. As a bonus, it is one of the nicer trails out on the tip.
Planning for a weather day is definitely a good idea, but if you don't have to use it, I personally would run from Murdochville to la Cache to Point a la Croix. Then the next day run from PALC to the Valga. Nice running up the Matapedia Valley. If you really wanted to treat yourself on the last day, you would go to Amqui via the 587 when leaving PALC. 
Food for thought

Don’t forget your tall windshield and gauntlets. An extra layer is a good idea too. That railbed section mixed with -40 makes for some new memories if you don’t have those things. Ask me how I know. 

Great Pictures, I especially like the fox!

Thank you Jim! again, it was a real pleasure to meet you and Gemma at the clubhouse, you are very kind pair of sympatics, solid experienced sledders. I admire how strong you are at riding just the 2 of you in some remote area that I would be scared to go alone, and you succeed once again this last time on the north shore. All this with real time ride report: I raise my helmeth to you two very high  and hope to have some other chances to meet you on the trails in the future. 
By the way...we had to get gaz in La Cache when we were there and had really wanted to follow your recommendation so when we had push at the fuel tank we asked for premium: they replied: our premium is empty, we just have regular!!! oups.... We had no choice and top with the regular and fortunately had no problem after... but I will make a fuel filter replacement this summer as a preventive care, I had not touch that since i have the sled and I figure it can be the accumulation over the time that would lead to a completely clogged filter. 
Take care!!!
Thank you groomer!!! coming from a good photograph like you Kristine is even more proud of those catch! 
Again thank you and keep the good work even over the trails than at sharing your beautifuls pics!
Thanks P Hardy! especially for you and groomer...



Thank you actionjack!
Was a real good trip even with rugged trail "texture". Have a good summer too, but... it's too early to talk about summer!!! lets enjoy the spring riding!
Thank you Tom! Were you in Murdochville on Tuesday 6 at noon? 
Yes your equation is right, it's part of our game, but what a nice game!!!
Thanks Jean-Guy! as for spectacular scenery, very hard to beat for sure!
Thanks smclelan! the small the Lumix is not an high end camera, it's a "bridge"type with a fixed lens of 25-600mm at F2.8 which mean acceptable zoom for near and very good zoom for 
far and lens  big enough to let enter pretty much light. We had a good "reflex" type camera few year ago but it can get expensive to play in this ball game especially with the lens and after having being unlucky with a lens dropped on a ceramic floor, I had prefered to go with the bridge Lumix that give and all around good package for us. 
Hahaha, very funny Playhard!!! I had get myself a new nick name lolll
my Pleasure Hparaptor!
Thanks!!
Thanks Quebec Bob!  I had kept the 2 last Yammies 40000kms/25000miles each which was 5 years for each, we ride a little less we are in our fourth season with this one. The Boivin rear skid have around 55 000kms right now but have been heavily maintenanced and modified. I will do an other season or two with this setup, love the setup I have, it will be very hard to replace because the boivin skid are discontinued and no more sold since many years so I will need to look at something different.
Thanks 4ws XRS! yes, I'm the lucky guy that have the best one! We realize we are a bit less tought than we were both as we get older... I remember doing 300miles rides on a Polaris XLT600 95 single place with Krikri litterally stick on my back with her legs fold in half and she was still asking for a detour before coming back home!!! now she don't ask for the detour...loll
Thank you revct1! You bet, and we have to realize how lucky we are to be able enjoy it years after years the way we do...
Thanks Grumpysanta!  yes we can have everything... but not always!!! loll
take care
 
Alain

To see the Gaspe, it is pretty hard to not saddlebag it. But, if you want to do day rides in the Gaspe, one option would be to stay in Amqui and  ride out of there. Nice area with a good mix of riding, very nice scenery, really good snow cover this year and a place where you are never really far from anywhere.
Ride Options:
 South West - Amqui to Moose Valley, NB and back - approx 180 miles South loop - Amqui, 587S, Matapedia, Campbellton, La'Alverne, Amqui - Approx 180 miles, East - Amqui, Matane via 5, to the St Paulin Relais and back to Amqui via local trails from Matane - approx 170 miles West - Amqui, to Rimouski loop - lots of local trails and zig zagging, could be anywhere from 100-200miles - La Redemption snow mummies on this route. Hotels:
Select Hotel Hotel Ambassadeur Just some options, maybe some others will chime in.
 

To see the Gaspe, it is pretty hard to not saddlebag it. But, if you want to do day rides in the Gaspe, one option would be to stay in Amqui and  ride out of there. Nice area with a good mix of riding, very nice scenery, really good snow cover this year and a place where you are never really far from anywhere.
Ride Options:
 South West - Amqui to Moose Valley, NB and back - approx 180 miles South loop - Amqui, 587S, Matapedia, Campbellton, La'Alverne, Amqui - Approx 180 miles, East - Amqui, Matane via 5, to the St Paulin Relais and back to Amqui via local trails from Matane - approx 170 miles West - Amqui, to Rimouski loop - lots of local trails and zig zagging, could be anywhere from 100-200miles - La Redemption snow mummies on this route. Hotels:
Select Hotel Hotel Ambassadeur Just some options, maybe some others will chime in.
 

To see the Gaspe, it is pretty hard to not saddlebag it. But, if you want to do day rides in the Gaspe, one option would be to stay in Amqui and  ride out of there. Nice area with a good mix of riding, very nice scenery, really good snow cover this year and a place where you are never really far from anywhere.
Ride Options:
 South West - Amqui to Moose Valley, NB and back - approx 180 miles South loop - Amqui, 587S, Matapedia, Campbellton, La'Alverne, Amqui - Approx 180 miles, East - Amqui, Matane via 5, to the St Paulin Relais and back to Amqui via local trails from Matane - approx 170 miles West - Amqui, to Rimouski loop - lots of local trails and zig zagging, could be anywhere from 100-200miles - La Redemption snow mummies on this route. Hotels:
Select Hotel Hotel Ambassadeur Just some options, maybe some others will chime in.