mikerider

Had a great day driving up yesterday, roads were mostly dry and bare. The Saguenay fiord  was still there at the river crossing in tadoussac as well lol and we hit the ferry perfectly
 
603 Backcountry came up a day early and went out for a shakedown cruise around Forestville. They rode up to Le Chenail to see if Benoit was around, as they are not open this year. Benoit was there and glad to see them. The fire was burning nicely in the wood stove. Benoit hopes to be back open next year with a couple of different trail options for getting there
Should be a good "groomed" trail ride today to Sept Isle. We might get spoiled as we suspect groomed trails after Sept Isle will be few and far between. 
Happy trails. RR
 

Haven"t skated in about 50 years but that looks cool!
Like the idea of stopping at the slopes to find a rich old widow first.
mike
 

Good meeting you this morning and thanks for the delivery. I have been wanting one of those stickers badly now for a couple years.
Hope your trip to Amqui was smooth and fast.
mike
 

That was really nice of the Delta putting that on for everyone. Looks like it was a fun time.
mike
 

Hi Terry. I  brought a camera this time, Brandan has been pushing me too hard to stop and take pictures. 
Trail report:  We take a left, if is perfect, we turn right, it is perfect, we go straight, it is perfect..
Said Hi to Groomer tonight in Amqui, and spoke to Northbound and his wife.
We ate lunch at place  you and I ate, lodge on lake below Rimouski,  nice dog is still there. 
mike

Tonight I can say Terry and JG earned the key to the city. If the mayor can be bribed by wine, they succeeded! I will let them tell you the name of the wine. Great night was had. Finally a hotel that can serve a five star dinner. Thank you hotel Levesque. 
mike

Hey Mike, yes we did, and you were spot on! We arrived at bernieres just a little after noon, needless to say, we were flying! Trails were nothing short of amazing the entire way. I'm sure JG will be posting the details of the trip soon. That railbed may be boring to some, but when you want to be somewhere quickly, that's the only way to fly! Speedo fluttered between 80 and 102 for 75 straight miles!

Thanks again Terry and JG for a great evening, really enjoyed it.
This morning made me glad I am doing day trips and not saddlebagging. It is brutally cold when Terry and JG left the hotel and are trying to get back to their vehicles before the impending storm.  Me, I got another cup of coffee and turned up the heat in the hotel room.  Safe travels guys. 
mike

Thanks Snowfarmer. I have heard very good things about Plein Air, its just too close to RDL, usually I am going through that area around 10:00 am or 3:00 pm so not meal time. Looks like a nice place. I usually stop for coffee at the club at Pohenegamook, the ladies that work there mother me to death and I love it. 
mike

Thanks Snowfarmer. I have heard very good things about Plein Air, its just too close to RDL, usually I am going through that area around 10:00 am or 3:00 pm so not meal time. Looks like a nice place. I usually stop for coffee at the club at Pohenegamook, the ladies that work there mother me to death and I love it. 
mike

Phil is behaving very well.
i agree about the gas tank but it really is a none issue with the better fuel economy and 4 gallon Jerry.
Phil and I agree that my range exceeds his with us both having the 4 gallon Jerry can.
as a side note.  My partner in crime got me an easy pour spout for the jerry and it pours as good as a gas pump.  With the linq system it is so easy to dump in the four gallons and a bonus to bypass a non premium stop like we did at lac Fallon 
my range is 220 miles in the poorest conditions.   That usually gets u where u need to go!
 
Love the new 850
hit 109 on the GPS yesterday on an ice road headed to Goen north of Clova
if she doesn't grenade she is a winner

Light day
212 miles
did some off trail exploring to mix it up.  Still a bit colder than a comfortable level.  Suppose to warm up tomorrow!
clova for the night

Drive up to the Bernieres to meet Mr.Neksledr last night, got a little info on the Renos here, new restaurant getting built in the parking lot across the street to replace the one in the motel which will in turn will be renovated to accomadate more rooms aswell a second floor will be built after the restaurant is done to increase rooms to 100+.
Well we were a little worried last night with the groomer reports but that was to be expected the next day after a storm, we were prepared to plow though some snow in thought.
This morning looking at the groomer schedule was a game changer, all a green light up to L'Escoumins wth the exception of a short section west of Baie St.Paul about 30 k and between St.Simon to Baie St.Catherine 60 k.
After an early rise and a shuttle drive we begin out journey out of the Colibri at 8:30 am. Run into the groomer just shy of BSP then go visit my beautiful cutey patuteys at relais Micheline Where we take a little break, take gas in St.Ulbain 177 k. 
St.Simon to BSC not grooomed rough'n tough but not unmanageable, we blow through it in an 1 1/2 hr and make a new friend. In at Sacre Couer for another gas stop 194 k, running the tanks down, the only way to get somewhere. Out of the gas stop, trail is groomed now this is the one we rode in on just a minute ago so now I'm praying for groomer to be coming in from L'Escoumins but unfortunately after a short ride we run into the groomer at the 3/93 inter. Blow by the groomer and find the trail in not bad shape for a trail not recently groomed, 30 k into it the trail opens up and is groomed, after the crap we had been riding before the ferry crossing we are in hyper mode now just smoke'n it. Moments later we hit the inter for the Pelchat trail and yes sir yi it is groomed 2 groomer wide now we're in super hyper mode and blast it down to L'Escoumins, a real treat to end the day with.
Pics are limited folks, we had a grey light day, made for some tough visibility with the new snow and unfortunately even tougher for photos.
435 klms for tad day
New restaurant construction

 

 
 

Safe travels.

about 5 inches of snow last night with no ice or rain. windy today so there was a lot of drifting

Thank you Julie for checking in. I seem to remember that way back when, your dad stayed with me at my camp a few times in Eustis, until he eventually built his camp down the road.  In his later riding years I would always be so glad to catch him at his camp and see the latest Quebec riding pictures and hear the latest riding adventure stories. But not only was your dad a snowmobiling legend of Quebec, he was truly a wonderful person to spend time with.
mike
 

Thank you Julie for checking in. I seem to remember that way back when, your dad stayed with me at my camp a few times in Eustis, until he eventually built his camp down the road.  In his later riding years I would always be so glad to catch him at his camp and see the latest Quebec riding pictures and hear the latest riding adventure stories. But not only was your dad a snowmobiling legend of Quebec, he was truly a wonderful person to spend time with.
mike
 

With sadness, Ken Casey, known as 'Yellow Boots' or in French, Bottes Jaune, has passed on to the Snow Gods and off to start a new chapter in all that the afterlife has to offer, which hopefully is more snowmobiling. He was 93.
Ken started snowmobiling in the '60's on his beloved Boa Skis. After wearing out Maine's trails, he ventured into Quebec during the '70's. He eventually spent years riding the Lac St. Jean area before moving on to the Gaspe where he would spend each winter going around and around the Gaspe. Often he would do these trips solo. He had thousands of photos from his trips. He had enough misfortunes on some of these adventures to fill a book and make our misadventures often seem trite. He was so excited one winter when he found a Boa Ski museum in Quebec.
One year during the '80's I believe, He and a couple other riders left Washington State by sled and rode to Maine. What made this interesting was a disagreement amongst them caused Ken to decide to leave the group in Yellowstone and finish the trip alone to Maine by himself.
His obituary mentioned that in order to learn French, everything in his house had a label identifying it in a French term.
I remember riding with Ken in the '60's and '70's. I was 30 years younger and far faster on a sled. Ken never went over 40 mph, but never stopped. I would go off ahead. 75 miles later we would arrive at our break stop at the same time.
Several years ago I ran across Ken at a snowmobile show. He told me he was hanging up the boots. He had a great run but it was over. His wife asked he no longer ride, she needed his company during the winter months and she was too worried about him traversing Quebec at his age. It was the first time I saw sadness in his usually sparkling eyes.
Ken always wore those yellow snowmobile boots.  He knew very early on that the trails in  Quebec and the Quebec people are a part of life to be treasured.
Rest in peace, Ken. And keep it under 40!
 

Thank you Julie for checking in. I seem to remember that way back when, your dad stayed with me at my camp a few times in Eustis, until he eventually built his camp down the road.  In his later riding years I would always be so glad to catch him at his camp and see the latest Quebec riding pictures and hear the latest riding adventure stories. But not only was your dad a snowmobiling legend of Quebec, he was truly a wonderful person to spend time with.
mike
 

With sadness, Ken Casey, known as 'Yellow Boots' or in French, Bottes Jaune, has passed on to the Snow Gods and off to start a new chapter in all that the afterlife has to offer, which hopefully is more snowmobiling. He was 93.
Ken started snowmobiling in the '60's on his beloved Boa Skis. After wearing out Maine's trails, he ventured into Quebec during the '70's. He eventually spent years riding the Lac St. Jean area before moving on to the Gaspe where he would spend each winter going around and around the Gaspe. Often he would do these trips solo. He had thousands of photos from his trips. He had enough misfortunes on some of these adventures to fill a book and make our misadventures often seem trite. He was so excited one winter when he found a Boa Ski museum in Quebec.
One year during the '80's I believe, He and a couple other riders left Washington State by sled and rode to Maine. What made this interesting was a disagreement amongst them caused Ken to decide to leave the group in Yellowstone and finish the trip alone to Maine by himself.
His obituary mentioned that in order to learn French, everything in his house had a label identifying it in a French term.
I remember riding with Ken in the '60's and '70's. I was 30 years younger and far faster on a sled. Ken never went over 40 mph, but never stopped. I would go off ahead. 75 miles later we would arrive at our break stop at the same time.
Several years ago I ran across Ken at a snowmobile show. He told me he was hanging up the boots. He had a great run but it was over. His wife asked he no longer ride, she needed his company during the winter months and she was too worried about him traversing Quebec at his age. It was the first time I saw sadness in his usually sparkling eyes.
Ken always wore those yellow snowmobile boots.  He knew very early on that the trails in  Quebec and the Quebec people are a part of life to be treasured.
Rest in peace, Ken. And keep it under 40!
 

This is Ken Casey's daughter Julie.  Thank you all for such kinds words and memories about my Dad,  I think I used to belong to this organization online to check the trail conditions for him.  He wasn't too computer savvy.  When he wanted to go snowmobiling I would look up to see if certain trails were closed.  It was probably towards the end of the season and he wanted to get in every ride he could.  I knew he was a legend in the snowmobiling world and this proves it.  Again thank you and if anyone wants to contact me it is JulieMomOtter@aol.com

Thanks RoadRunner for posting the pictures.  I never met anyone like Ken who so enjoyed every inch of every journey. You could see him taking it all in as he rode along the trail.
mike
 

I believe his business card said 'Quebec Trail Inspector'

With sadness, Ken Casey, known as 'Yellow Boots' or in French, Bottes Jaune, has passed on to the Snow Gods and off to start a new chapter in all that the afterlife has to offer, which hopefully is more snowmobiling. He was 93.
Ken started snowmobiling in the '60's on his beloved Boa Skis. After wearing out Maine's trails, he ventured into Quebec during the '70's. He eventually spent years riding the Lac St. Jean area before moving on to the Gaspe where he would spend each winter going around and around the Gaspe. Often he would do these trips solo. He had thousands of photos from his trips. He had enough misfortunes on some of these adventures to fill a book and make our misadventures often seem trite. He was so excited one winter when he found a Boa Ski museum in Quebec.
One year during the '80's I believe, He and a couple other riders left Washington State by sled and rode to Maine. What made this interesting was a disagreement amongst them caused Ken to decide to leave the group in Yellowstone and finish the trip alone to Maine by himself.
His obituary mentioned that in order to learn French, everything in his house had a label identifying it in a French term.
I remember riding with Ken in the '60's and '70's. I was 30 years younger and far faster on a sled. Ken never went over 40 mph, but never stopped. I would go off ahead. 75 miles later we would arrive at our break stop at the same time.
Several years ago I ran across Ken at a snowmobile show. He told me he was hanging up the boots. He had a great run but it was over. His wife asked he no longer ride, she needed his company during the winter months and she was too worried about him traversing Quebec at his age. It was the first time I saw sadness in his usually sparkling eyes.
Ken always wore those yellow snowmobile boots.  He knew very early on that the trails in  Quebec and the Quebec people are a part of life to be treasured.
Rest in peace, Ken. And keep it under 40!
 

Watch for these!!