mikerider

Wish I was there with you Dave. Looks really nice. Enjoy! Trails and conditions look so nice, but can't say eating lunch outside sounds pleasant. mike

Really enjoyed the reports Jack and Sandi. Thank you for sharing. We need to have a go fund me and get you a camera. lol

Mark, When you post on here, you will notice under your user name, a number next to a thumb tack icon. Your number is 368. Mine is 2,100. That is your QuebecRider drinking score.

Enjoying reading this Jack. Quick question. Is Sandy's new sled a 2021 MXZ X? If so, she would have the new RMotion X suspension. It is supposed to ride and handle better. I was wondering if she noticed any difference. mike

I agree with Bob. The social aspect of the sport is very important. I really enjoy the stops at the relais's for coffee and food and rest, as well as going out to dine at night and hitting the hotel bar at night. l

Hey Jack,, Take two Advill at bedtime then one every few hours during the day. Advill will take down the inflamation. Tylenol will only hide the pain.

Merry Christmas to all. And a special wish of gratitude to the late Rob Lyons for starting QuebecRider. He gave us the great gift of meeting new friends via these forums.

RR, You have taken us along on a mighty fine adventure. Thank you for the pictures and postings.

And thanks to you Mark for mentioning River Driver's Restaurant last winter. Ate there sever times this summer and it was awesome, as was Big Moose Inn.

Some of you have contacted me about saddle bagging northern Maine this coming winter, starting in Millinocket and hitting Aroostook County. This would be my pick of riding also. I have been in contact with the hotel I stayed at last season. The owner is fine with you leaving your rig in his lot for the week after your first night stay. He is also making available to QR's a couple rooms to use if you need a larger place for your group to eat your take out food or have (BYOB) happy hour together, ie in his unused bar or breakfast room. I believe he will also be selling hi test ethenol gas to his hotel guests. Send me a message if you need any details or have any interest or need info on other places and most importantly, where to eat. The snowmobile club house also has a large parking lot across the street from the club that is probably fine for long term parking , located in a rural area outside of town. Hope to maybe see some of you this coming season. I hope to be in the area often. mike

And happy birthday also to you Andy.

Best wishes guys for a happy birthday. mike

After successfully getting into Canada and starting your week long vacation, and you test negative for Covid, you must also take steps 3 and 4. 3. Call your boss, tell him you tested positive for Covid and need a second week off for mandatory quarantining. (Tell the boss to put you down for sick time instead of vacation time). 4. Call your spouse and tell her you will be away a week longer than you planned. Optional: 5. Tell your spouse you love her. Mandatory; 6. Ride the trails for two weeks.

I believe the random test is to do at the hotel on your first night in Canada. You can probably leave the kit at the front desk to be picked up by the currier. If it comes back positive, the Quebec CDC will tell you to quarantine in a hotel room for a couple weeks. I would bet they even check on you to see if you are okay and that you are in fact staying in your room and have not made a run for the border.

Did she have the test due to symptoms or an exposure? Then the test is paid for by insurance or the gov't. I have yet to find free testing for travel in my area. Northbound, great info, thanks for posting. And as many of you may have heard, a new variant has been found in South Africa that is alarming researchers. It appears to spread faster and make people sicker. It will be 3 to 4 weeks before they have all the necessary facts on this but they are very concerned about it and don't know yet if an all new vaccine will be needed. We all know how fast the Delta variant made its way across the globe. Sure makes it tough to make plans with so many variables.

Quebec seems to be doing pretty good with a seven day average of cases matching Maine's seven day average, despite Quebec having several times the population. Mass. with almost the same population as Quebec, has about four times the case average over the past several days.

With the covid surge going on right now in the northeast, Quebec isn't about to roll out the red carpet for us.

I have decided not to go forward with this request. Thank you to all who replied. mike

I am thinking that for a paid ad the hotel owner would want equal coverage for his ad. The introduction of the new advertiser on the forums is probably a bigger ad than the ad itself. I haven't been getting much feedback from people whether some will pass on Quebec one more season or not due to the hoops of crossing the border, vaccine mandates, mandatory testing, less restaurant and bar hours and less seating etc. and the probable high price of gas. Should the border restrictions ease in the next month or two and should Quebec ease all their restrictions, I'm guessing there will be no doubt we will all be drinking beer in Quebec this winter. And for sure things will return to normal by 2023. Like I said, if there is push back from members about this, I won't pursue it. The owner of the hotel is a great person and I am sure he isn't looking for controversy. mike

Last season a Maine Hotel had an uptick of business thanks to some QuebecRider members staying at the hotel due to the border closure. The owner was very appreciative of our stays there and made mention he might like to be an advertiser on QuebecRider. With the vaccine mandates, mandatory testing and other hoops to get across the border this winter, I suspect some members may choose not to cross the border and opt instead to ride in the states. A few QuebecRiders have already made upcoming reservations with this hotel for the coming winter. I just wanted to check with members to make sure there is no angst of having a Maine hotel advertising on these forums before I contact the owner and see if he is still interested. Let me know if you have concerns. mike

Recent trip to the Boothbay Botanical Gardens. A famed Danish artist and 160 volunteers made these guardians of the forest 'trolls' out of scrap wood. (Any resemblance to my riding buddies is just coincidental).

Or sitting on the dock on a calm day.

Checking the RDL Universel Hotel website I see that they have cut back their restaurant hours: no dinners served Sunday and Tuesday nights and closed all day Mondays. I know in many Maine high tourist areas some hotels this summer could not rent out all their rooms due to lack of staff. Anyone know if Quebec is having this problem.

I tried to check on that but could not find anything about restrictions on hotels. Restaurants, bars etc. must record your personal info. And no dancing or singing at bars, restaurants and weddings if alcohol is served. . (That means you Jak).

Just done reading up on measures being used in Quebec. Hopefully I got this correct. Quebec is currently at Covid level '1' Green. Restaurants are required to have tables 2 meters apart (about 6 feet) Bars, taverns and breweriies can only have 50& capacity. All the above can have no more than 10 people or 3 households at a table. (Not sure if this means all ten people must be related to one of three households at the table). All this has me wondering if it will be difficult to find a seat at restaurants and pubs and relais's. (Many relais's have some bar seating: 50% capacity?) Same with restaurants with bars in the same room as dining. Can't imagine what it would be like if the province goes to level 2.