GSX800

Can your dealer assign a registration number to you ahead of time? I had mine in NY do that as it was getting close to the Dec. 9 early bird deadline on my last sled. You could use the plate number from your last sled, then do a transfer when you get your new sled? It will cost you $30, but it is an option.

Do a couple components each day on the new 2020 Renegade.Today HyGear dual rate springs and the High Beam LEDs. Tomorrow, glovebox extension, GPS, and tunnel scratchers. Quebec Pass should be arriving any day. Trailer is greased, new brakes installed, registered, and inspected. My wife’s 900 Enduro and Daughters 600 ACE were put away ready to go. A little closer each day. A few more enjoyable hours to go.

Back in 2010 we woke up to pouring rain in 100 Lacs. Our next stop was Roberval. During breakfast the consensus was to stay put for the day. We asked, and were told that there was a group coming in that afternoon but they may not come due to the rain. We could stay if they didn’t come. Well back to our nice, dry, warm, comfortable cabin we went prepared to spend the day. About two hours later we get a knock at the door...you have to leave, the group is on their way. Plan B was already decided, off to Hotel Central. As we were coming into Parent, I saw a sign for Hombre du Vent and I remembered from about 3 years earlier a guy telling me about his buddy owning them. I tell the gang, let’s go take a look. We pull into their office/shop, and we are soaked. The owner and his wife get us two cabins and tells us to pull our sleds into the shop while he strings up a couple clothes lines to hang our gear to dry out. This is great, but we have to get to the cabins and into town to eat. He says, no problem and gives us the keys to a minivan. Next day we go back to his shop where he had to have the temperature in the place at least 80 degrees. Sleds and suits all dried out. Great people, great hospitality! I heartily agree with this recommendation. The other recommendation that was good is to not go into Parent but to take 13 when you get to the junction and go to Fer a Cheval. Another good place. Another thought is 100 Lacs by jumping on 33 a couple miles before Fer a Cheval. As far as Chibougamau, Nordic is where we stay these days. You can’t get dinner there (continental breakfast in the morning)so we make that a get beer at the store and pizza delivered to the room night. There is a place about 7-8 miles south of Chibougamau, right on 93 that looks interesting. CENTRE DE VILLÉGIATURE MARINE CHIBOUGAMAU. We stayed there a couple of times under the former owner, JC Bou. It’s under new ownership now and it looks like they added a new lodge. Perhaps someone on here has stayed and can comment. Next time we’re up that way, we’ll probably give it a try. Hope this helps some along with all the other replies. One thing for certain, your group will enjoy.

Just picked up my sled today. Ingles Performance was all over it. Trip B was installed and waiting. Great dealer, especially when it comes to customer support.

La Bannik outside of Ville Marie is definitely nice. Stayed there with my wife one night on a saddlebag trip. You will score points if you are on a couples ride with your wives or girlfriends. With a bunch of guys, where you need say 6 beds, you will need to be in multiple cabins. With Truite Lake being closed this winter, we rerouted from 63 up 386 to Val d Or. Too much of a day one from Mont Laurier to La Bannik for us. Yes, 386 is a blast! Another nice loop coming back from Abitibi might be to continue on 83 then drop down to La Tuque, back to Le Cabanon. Or cross on 93 to Chibougamau then down to Roberval, back to Le Cabanon. Many options depending on how much time you have.

As you travel west on 63, you will come out at LaMacaza almost at a small airport. There will be a gas station/restaurant/bar across the road from the airport. Fuel up there. Then you will need to back track a short ways to 322 North/west as there is another thread that states that the trail is going to be closed somewhere between LaMacaza and Rivière Rouge due to a landowner dispute. This may change before the season begins? Anyways, if 63 doesn’t reopen/reroute into Rivière Rouge, back track the short ways to 322 to the junction with 53 and go south (left turn). When you get to the junction with 63, head west (right turn). This is the rail bed previously mentioned, Petit train du Nord. That will take you right in to Mont Laurier. I’ll estimate that riding at a leisurely pace, about 5 - 6 hours. As for heading west out of Mont Laurier to Ville Marie, you’ll be on 13 to 322 to 63. The last time I was on that route was the first week of February 2016. All the way to La Verendrye was good. Beyond that going the Belleterre Looked like it was only open for a week or so. It was good, just some brush here and there from a groomers first pass with a drag...but it was still good. There is no lodging available this year until you get to Belleterre where there is a Bed and Breakfast (Resto-Gîte Paquin). I never stayed there to comment, but some others on the forum may have input. One thing for sure, you are in for a pretty big mile day. To Belleterre it is about 280 miles to Mont Laurier. To Ville Marie is 330 miles. Hope this was some help, and have a great trip whatever you do.

I got this reply from Trout Lake this afternoon. Hi, Thank you for the interest showing for lodging and meals at our resort. Unfortunately as of now we will not offer package for lodging and meals without activities of fishing or hunting. Sorry for the inconvenient, Yours, Noel Thibault Pourvoirie Lac la Truite Inc.

Thank you for the bad news. Trout Lake Lodge and many others are great places to spend some time. Hope we don’t loose any others.

I have an email out to Club Trout Lake to see if they are open this winter and will post when there is a reply. They are a stop on one of our trips as well. Great place, great hospitality. I’m assuming they will be open as they still show up on iMotoneige/via explora.

So sorry to hear of your loss.

We stayed at Auberge du Faubourg twice. Once back in 2008. Rooms were nice. On site restaurant was awesome. Everyone had a great dinner. The next time we stayed was in 2014. Rooms still good. The restaurant was closed the night we were there. It was mid week, and it was pretty empty, probably explains the restaurant being closed. Oh well, pizza in the room and a biere store right across the street. In 2008 it was a Friday night.

Did you look at the Keweenaw? Nice jacket, with venting. Ski Doo’s Absolute 0 gets very a good reviews as well.

Cobra, have you tried your jacket on with your Tek Vest? The reason I ask, when I got mine, I thought sure I would need a larger jacket as I really didn’t have much spare room. Surprisingly, it turns out it fit just just fine.

The laughter at the end tells the whole story. Good fun, good times, good friends. Isn’t that the reason we love this sport so much?

The way I read this, is that the Gas station/Restaurant , across the street from the airport will still be accessible? It looks as though some part of the trail behind it is closed, shutting off the way into Rivière Rouge?

Thanks Gutz. I appreciate it. Hope we meet on the trail one day. Would like to buy you and your gang a beverage of your choice. Thanks again, Rick

Looks like just food, drink, and gas now. That part is still good. I was going to try and include them as a stopover in one of our future saddlebag trips. Perhaps it will get sorted out. I do hope that Trout Lake Lodge is open. That is a planned stopover in February.

Did you mount the microphones up above your forehead in the Oxygen? With the BV2S I had to drop them out of the cheek pads close to my mouth/breath box.

It will be nice to get this reconnected. I haven’t been through Saint Agathe or even Saint Donat in over 10 years.

I’m predicting that my Uclear communicators will work better in the Oxygen than they did in the BV2S? They worked pretty good, but you had to steal loud to be understood in the BV2S. Listening to music, no issues.

I think if you ordered the 2020 version, you’ve captured all the updates. At least I hope so, I have two that will be delivered on Monday! Looking forward to them...

In most years I think you will be fine. This past season, we rode the first week in April out of LeCabanon. As you get late in the season, services on the trail start to shutdown. The week you are proposing you’d probably be fine with snow and grooming. Some of the remote services may be starting to close down.

There are quite a few threads on DooTalk about snow trackers if you want to see others comments. The long and short of it from all I have read is, the aggresive package is the way to go.

Thank you all. We’ve been through Clova many times. Gassed up and ate lunch at the gas station/restaurant, but have never had the need to stay there. I’ve heard mostly good stuff about staying there.