wng-2 Posted February 15, 2023 Report Share Posted February 15, 2023 (edited) Myself and two friends completed a Clockwise Gaspe loop this past week. The three of us first did this trip in 1997. Hard to believe it's been 26 years. 300 mile days were the norm then, 200 is appropriate now. We unloaded in Monticello, Maine Tuesday the 7th, and rode to Fort Kent. Wednesday morning we crossed the border into New Brunswick and headed West until we grabbed the Quebec 561. This trail hadn't been done in a while, but was good going. We hit the 35 and made our way to Mont Joli, and stayed at the Quality Inn. Good trails and weather all day. The next day we continued East and stayed in Mont St Pierre at Le Delice. Good trails all day. This place seems to have declined a bit over the years. I never stayed at the other hotel, but I have understood that the Delice is nicer. Friday we continued East in light snow, trails were great , but the weather blocked some of the most beautiful scenery of the peninsula .As we got out to the end of the peninsula, the snow became heavier, and visibility was poor. The snow became deeper in the trail. We headed into Riviere Au Renaud for fuel. The trail through the long field is not staked and was invisible. Fortunately I had been there before, and my GPS showed us the trail. The trail into the gas station was completely drifted in. We decided not to risk that, and took the stump trail to the Caribou Inn. We were able to get a room, so we stopped there for a short day. We took the road up to the gas station for fuel and essencianial beverages. The food at the Caribou is very good, rooms are just ok. The next morning it was still snowing. It appeared that a total of pretty near a foot had fallen. We hoped that the crew of big sleds would break trail back out to trail 5 for us, but they weren't moving. We decided to try it around 0900. We got out of there without issue, and trail 5 had been broken. We quickly rode out of the snow into Sunshine, and the trails were great. When we reached Chandler, my 2021 Viper threw a "C1600" alarm. We pulled into the Motel Chandler. It looked deserted. Beatrice came to the door, and I asked if I could use the wifi. A quick google search revealed the code had to do with an open circuit for the thumb warmer. Everything else worked , and all fuses were good. I was satisfied I could just run it. In the meantime, Beatrice called the dealer, who was closed on that Saturday afternoon. She was making other calls for us. By this time it was after three O'Clock. We had already determined that there were no rooms at two hotels we called in New Richmond. We decided to stay there. While we were enjoying a "Pepsi" in the room, Beatrice came to the room with information from one of her call backs regarding the thumb warmer, and to run it. The restaurant at the hotel was closed. Beatrice drove us to and from the Dixie Lee for supper. Very nice lady that went out of her way to help. We tipped her well. One other note about that Saturday. We rode into the Skidoo dealer in Gaspe around 10:30 to find it closed. No store hours were listed on the door, and three vehicles pulled into the parking lot apparently expecting it to be open. This suggests that this is not the norm, but it wasn't very convenient either. We were able to get some Skidoo oil at the fuel stop in Grand Riviere. Sunday was breakfast on the trail at a club house, and spectacular trails all the way to Pointe-A-la-Croix. There is a poorly marked intersection just East of the city that can easily put you on the orange trail bypassing the city. We had a nice room and meal at the Interprovincial, and fell asleep with the Stupid Bowl tied at 35. Mundles towing took across the bridge after breakfast. New Brunswick 17 was perfect for an hour or so. 37 Klick East of Kedgewick , the trails turned to junk for a couple hours. Disappointing after a nice week in Quebec. Probably just bad luck, but New Brunswick never seems to fail to disappoint. We crossed the border at Van Buran Maine, and zipped down to the Hampton Inn Presque Isle on good trails. An Hour flat to the truck Tuesday morning . Stopped at the Yamaha dealer in Topsam, a Tech came out and separated the plug in the center of the handle bars, and determined no power going to the thumb warmer from the switch. This makes the switch suspect, with all fuses good. If anybody has ideas on that, I would appreciate it. Overall great trip. I don't get tired of that region. Some photos at the link below. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZV7t71fobf8xD1r89 http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_02/IMG_20230211_112053478_HDR.thumb.jpg.f36d6ca9de10625ca7ebefaeacb447c4.jpg http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_02/IMG_20230211_112117742_HDR.thumb.jpg.a47ad492f05631160c4343fdd40124d6.jpg http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_02/IMG_20230211_122832758_HDR.thumb.jpg.31cc159607cf6beb7a47e1543638489f.jpg http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_02/IMG_20230211_122839865_HDR.thumb.jpg.0c335b6633ef15480043ffb456bfc504.jpg Edited February 15, 2023 by wng-2 quebec bob, GT Rider, dooright and 15 others 17 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P Hardy Posted February 15, 2023 Report Share Posted February 15, 2023 Great report and pics, thanks for taking the time! PLAYHARD, wng-2 and Snohorse 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastMark Posted February 15, 2023 Report Share Posted February 15, 2023 Great report ! wng-2 and PLAYHARD 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smclelan Posted February 15, 2023 Report Share Posted February 15, 2023 Excellent report and pictures, thanks for sharing. wng-2 and PLAYHARD 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wng-2 Posted February 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 I found some pictures from the 1997 trip.... Tour De La Gaspésie 1997 PLAYHARD and P Hardy 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quebec bob Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 Super report and pics. We are leaving Sunday , 3 of us for a couple days in New Brunswick and then the Gaspe, same thing you just did, 8 days of heaven. Florida Snowman and PLAYHARD 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wng-2 Posted February 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 4 minutes ago, quebec bob said: Super report and pics. We are leaving Sunday , 3 of us for a couple days in New Brunswick and then the Gaspe, same thing you just did, 8 days of heaven. Cool! I hope you have nice weather and trails! I would be interested to know the places you stay. Lodging and gasoline are much more of an issue today than they were twenty six years ago... PLAYHARD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quebec bob Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 Yes last year food was an issue, I felt like we were on a weight watchers tour, we all carry Linq gas cans PLAYHARD, P Hardy and Pipemaster 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wng-2 Posted February 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 7 minutes ago, quebec bob said: Yes last year food was an issue, I felt like we were on a weight watchers tour, we all carry Linq gas cans LOL! I felt like I put on ten pounds! P Hardy and PLAYHARD 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quebec bob Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 We kept showing up to places after the covid lock down and nobody was open or had limited kitchen help...Hotel and Cie had almost nothing, we had candy bars and beer from package store across the street after a 300 mile day, not very impressive, they should have told us they had the restaurant closed when we booked it, same thing happened at Hotel Francis in New Richmond but there were restaurants a mile away there, things are slowly getting back to normal. PLAYHARD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wng-2 Posted February 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 31 minutes ago, quebec bob said: We kept showing up to places after the covid lock down and nobody was open or had limited kitchen help...Hotel and Cie had almost nothing, we had candy bars and beer from package store across the street after a 300 mile day, not very impressive, they should have told us they had the restaurant closed when we booked it, same thing happened at Hotel Francis in New Richmond but there were restaurants a mile away there, things are slowly getting back to normal. Where is Cie? As i mentioned, the restaurant at Motel Chandler was closed. I suspect they are also still recouping from the effects of covid. A snowless January did not help... PLAYHARD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quebec bob Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 West of Murdochville about 100 miles on north shore by capchat PLAYHARD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florida Snowman Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 57 minutes ago, wng-2 said: Where is Cie? As i mentioned, the restaurant at Motel Chandler was closed. I suspect they are also still recouping from the effects of covid. A snowless January did not help... PLAYHARD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wng-2 Posted February 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 27 minutes ago, Florida Snowman said: http://quebecrider.com/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_02/933A443D-FACA-47FE-BDB0-A31ABF20FD36.thumb.png.4bd035c7644b50ea85c3a5cf1265e188.png Thanks very much. I have saved that in my contacts for future reference. PLAYHARD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeusand Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 3 hours ago, quebec bob said: We kept showing up to places after the covid lock down and nobody was open or had limited kitchen help...Hotel and Cie had almost nothing, we had candy bars and beer from package store across the street after a 300 mile day, not very impressive, they should have told us they had the restaurant closed when we booked it, same thing happened at Hotel Francis in New Richmond but there were restaurants a mile away there, things are slowly getting back to normal. Don't forget Hotel Copper closed for lunch quebec bob and PLAYHARD 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeti62 Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 Did The Gaspe Tour Last Week Hotel Cie Restaurant not open but they deliver muffin & egg burrito & coffee to room/ Copper had lunch served till 2:00 / Motel Chandler restaurant open 😊 zeusand, quebec bob, PLAYHARD and 2 others 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcstar Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 Regarding Hotel & Cie. Website says restaurant closed Sundays and Mondays! wng-2 and PLAYHARD 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smclelan Posted February 21, 2023 Report Share Posted February 21, 2023 I was there the first wknd in January the Pub/restaurant was amazing, great food and atmosphere. PLAYHARD and GT Rider 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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