mikerider

Gotta love those 'little' hills along the way. Nice pictures!

It's that time of year to keep each other up to date on the trail and snow conditions of the Riviere du Loup area and a way to catch up with friends staying in the area and those saddle bagging through the region in hopes we can at the very least say hi and maybe even pop the cork on a bottle of wine. Cheers, Mike

Wife met George and reminded me several times, 'only til death do us part'. Dog is a humper. George just keeps smiling. Cat hates the dog and George.

Welcome Hotel Matagami, and thanks Iceman for helping get them on board. mike

Nice, Oilman. You should be in for some great riding. mike

Hi Joe, Maybe early next week, but not sure yet if I will be able to do another trip or not. Will keep you posted.

Always great to see you too. Looked for you as well as Lance and crew after dinner last night in the bar but I guess timing was off. Hope all have a great week. George is heading home with me today to meet the family. Been an awesome couple weeks of riding and seeing friends. mike

Figured my average speed today for this year. 36.6 mph.

Must have been 200 sleds at the hotel last night, never seen anything like it here. GKW and I found a new restaurant to try in the old city last night called 'Suspension'. Duck dinner for $21 Canadian, it was fabulous. Cool place to boot. 225 miles today, freshly groomed the whole way. Back to RDL club house at 3:10 mike

Today saw soft trails but quite a bit of grooming after getting several inches of snow yesterday and last night. Far more sleds on the trail than I have seen all year. New sled rolled over the 4,000 mile mark today. mike

That first picture is really nice. mike

Maybe we passed on #35. We came 35 from Squatec to almost Cabano then 35 to Chevellier Frontier Club house and up to RDL.

GKW and I have rode yesterday and today, the first two days after the storm, and I don't remember the groomers getting the trails back to normal so quick after a big storm. Both days we saw most everything freshly groomed and riding has been fantastic, not to mention all the trees laden thick with snow mike

For a couple years Scorpion made some really nice sleds. That is a cream puff.

A coffee and reading Jack's reports. It doesn't get any better. Thanks Jack. mike

Sounds like you are describing me trying to follow you two on the trails.

Agree, that monkey picture is a classic. George (my monkey) and I think a sled monkee calendar might be a good idea

From southern coastal Maine, once on 95 it is 4 lane via Houlton all the way to RDL. But, it is quite a bit shorter in miles to get off the Showhegan exit (133?) and go via Jackman. This route is a half hour quicker.

Maybe he has found his forever home. Need to see if he can get along with the dog and cats.

It seems I thought EddieSkiDoo and SkiDoo 420 had other plans to 'stuff the monkey', not the devious one they went through with. I asked George about his weekend with these two riders and their trip together, he starts screaming 'best ride ever!'.

Was good seeing you at the hotel and having a drink together. Maybe next time we will get a ride in. Take care, glad you made it back safely. Hope your Dad is feeling better. mike

I had the same problem with my Gen 4 wide body. I used gorilla duct tape to cover the first two holes and have since covered a third hole on the running boards.Helps a lot. I also throw a hand warmer heat packet in each boot. No more cold feet. mike

Gutz, Had I been thinking faster, I'd have named the monkey 'More Hair'. The very minor liquid precip yesterday morning did not hurt the riding and conditions at all. Most areas away from RDL picked up a couple inches of snow and all is great. Rode with EddieSkiDoo and SkiDoo420 to breakfast this morning in Squatec. They continued on toward Amqui and I looped around and then went on a loop on the west side of RDL. Very windy and cold. mike

Surveillance footage of the abduction that occurred last night:

If your total trip is three days, and one full day is at the Carnival and maybe roaming Quebec City, I would leave the sleds on the south side of the river and take a taxi to the hotel. Also lots of cash is handy. Unless my credit card is different, transfer fees for using it in Canada are only a few bucks with each use. Not worth getting a new credit card just for a three day trip. I would also recommend getting Canadian cash at your local bank before you leave. Then you won't be stressed trying to find an ATM. Yes, it may cost more locally but not a whole lot. As for the sled ride, Quebec trails are really marked well. New snow with winds is the enemy, as visibility in fields can be close to zero. Get your map at the first club house. Be prepared for a sled breakdown. It happens. Don't try for a long tow. Get to the nearest house or business, have them call a flatbed. Haul the sled back to Jackman, have the rider grab one of the trucks and drive back up. Now you have transportation around Quebec City. Get a good early start. Eight people will take a while to process at the border. Just after the customs window, after you get checked, is restrooms (same building. mike