Andyman Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Feb15 We rode from home in Riverview to Serpentine Lodge to visit our old friend Alyre via Chipman and trail 58. 338 miles no sleds on the trails. Feb16 Today we rode through Moose Valley and out to Edmundston and when we crossed the NB/QC border I checked my odo and I had 522 miles and we had passed ZERO sleds on the trails amazing! We stayed overnight in Cabano at the Royal this was an early day but we wanted to set ourselves up for a good start in the morning 552 miles so far. Feb17 Up early and on the trails when they opened at 6am. There is a curfew in this area on the TQ85 from midnight to 6. We may have even been a couple of minutes early. LOL We rode the TQ85 to RT526 then TQ35 then RT547 then in to the Berniere to catch the shuttle. Both Mubs and I blew a belt on the 35 just a bit too much of the long straight running!!! When we unloaded on the north side we were back on the trails in a matter of minutes as we knew there was a big warm up coming in the evening and the next day and we wanted to be in the hotel rather than get caught in the rain. We crossed the St Maurice river and pulled into the motel 10 just before the rain started. A long day 12:37 on the sleds and 324 miles. Feb18 We awoke to a very warm morning with everything coated in ice from the freezing rain. At this point we were very glad we had made it to the other side of the river and only had a short day ahead of us as we were heading to St Donat to meet Timbo. We rode in the fog and plus 10 degree C 50 F weather. We arrived at Tims with big smiles on our faces and 1020 miles on the odo. Feb19 Today we were headed to the Gouin Reservoir. To leave St Donat we had to cross the lake and that was not without its challenges. Even though it had turned cold during the night there was still a lot of standing water on the lake and about a foot of slush. You have to run about 5 miles on the lake and let me tell you the sleds got a real workout I thought my belt was going to blow for sure. We made it safely off the lake and hit the trails to St Michel des Saint for breakfast then on to Gouin arriving at 5:30 275 miles. We had never been to the Gouin before and let me tell you it sure can get windy and cold there!!! Feb20 We had a very pleasant evening and delicious meal and look forward to another visit to the Barrage Gouin. Our plan was to ride the reservoir to Obedjwan but the conditions were terrible as there were many spots of bare ice and ruts from the mild weather so we headed west on the 83 for a 227 mile day staying at Lake Fallion. Another great meal and lots of laughs. During todays ride we rode through the area that burnt from that huge forest fire. From Balbazard we rode for miles through a landscape that is as barren as the moon. There has been some reforestation but for the most part there is nothing not even a chickadee. No animal tracks zero signs of life. I believe the fire consumed 54000 acres. The trails in this area are very bad as with no trees to stop the wind the snow just blows away leaving rocks lots of rocks! Feb21 Departed Fallion a bit late as it was very cold and we had some sled issues of the starting kind! LOL Rode to Senneterre for a bowl of soup and fuel then off to Lebel. We decided that we would ride into the James Bay region and visit Matagami. What an awesome ride beautiful trails and the sky has never been bluer. The temp was minus 27C with minus 34 forecast tonight! Mubs negotiated a warm bed for our sleds and we were very happy to put them inside for a change at the Esso across from the hotel.220 mile day. Feb22 We headed south through the Abitibi region on the orange trail to Amos. If you ever get to this area ride this trail it is absolutely awesome ,smooth fast and beautiful scenery. The trail goes through St Dominque and there is a great diner and gas stop there on the trail run by 2 sisters. Try the pea soup superb! Carried on to Belleterre and stayed overnight at a very cool place above a restaurant. This is a neat little village that was built in the 30's because they found gold but the mine was depleted and closed by 1957. There is a population of approx 350 now. 255 mile day. Feb23 Up and on the trail for very interesting day. Shortly after leaving Belleterre the TQ63 disappeared on us. Our gps showed the trail making a 90 degree turn so we followed what was to soon turn into a real mess. Downed trees and no trail. We turned around as there was zero chance of getting through this mess. I looked at my gps and saw that there was a road that would take us to the original trail so off we go and after 20 km or so rejoin the trail and low and behold there is a sign showing the 63 again! If only there were some signs on the other end!!! 269 mile day staying at Mt Laurier over night as I had some brake issues that I needed to get checked at the Doo dealer in the am. There are lots of very low snow cover areas riding in to Mt L from the west. Good to the east. Feb 24 Short day back to St Donat 140 miles Feb25 Hit the trails heading for St Raymond 227 miles. Roquemont was full and we got the last room at the Alexis. Locked our sleds in the corral and settled in for the evening. In the morning I noticed that instead of 2 Yamahas parked in front of the building there was now only one and a very upset French Canadian lady! Lock it or lose it! Feb26 Left St Raymond and headed to the Colibri on very snirty trails. There is not much snow near the city and lots of traffic making for poor conditions. Took the shuttle and headed toward Cabano. South of the river the trails are great. We get checked by the police near St Gervais for the first time on this trip that anyone had checked our passes etc!! 2711 miles before getting checked! We then were checked twice more in 50 miles! 248 mile day. Feb27 Rode through Moose Valley on nice trails then 19 to Popple Depot. This being a beautiful Sunday afternoon I expected to have to wait for gas and a burger at Popple Depot. We pulled into the yard and there was ZERO sleds there. Mark told us he has had a terrible month of Feb as with snow in NS and southern NB everyone is riding at home. Remember that without our support these outfitters will not be there for us and this includes Serpentine they need traffic. 11 hour 313 mile day staying in Miramichi. Feb28 Short day 161 miles back to Riverview via Salisbury home by 1pm. 3360 miles for the trip and just shy of 100 hours of run time on the sleds. A couple of facts: Most expensive gas $1.88/lt Temperature range we rode in 44 degree C... minus 34 to plus 10 Miles before we passed a sled 552. Blew one belt per sled and I have brake problems that I will get solved here at home. No other issues. Number of times stuck zero. Off trail excursions zero. Number of crash locations observed hundreds!!! Best deal on beer $26.35 for 24! Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vt_bluyamaha54 Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Nice report and great pictures Andy! Definitely beautiful Feb 22-24 (Tue - Thu) with some of the bluest skies of the winter. We were riding on the south side of the St. Lawrence 2/19 - 2/24 and also found low traffic and some signage issues. Not sure if it is due to the late start to the season, the uncertainty caused by the farmers issue or a combination but most of the (few) sleds we did see had Quebec registrations - very few US. Most of the places we stopped commented that business was way off also. Many of the clubhouses close early and/or stopped serving food earlier than in previous years. (Albertville's hours changed to close @1600 during the week) Some have stopped serving food at all during the week. Secondary trail signs were generally missing from intersections so if you weren't familiar, knew for sure from looking at your map what it was, or had GPS, it was sometimes a bit of a craps shoot. Like you, I absolutely want to support the clubs and business and sincerely hope the businesses come out whole on the other side of this. It is absolutely the BEST trail system in the world and we are all incredably lucky to have the privalege of using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revct1 Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Great report and pics. Glad you had a good time. Jack & Sandi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groomer Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 great report as usual andy !! great pics too !!! groomer !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeusand Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Awesome report Andy! How were the conditions in NOrthern New Brunswick? Stan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyman Posted March 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Awesome report Andy! How were the conditions in NOrthern New Brunswick? Stan Hi Stan Northern NB has great conditions and there is no one on the trails. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeusand Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Hi Stan Northern NB has great conditions and there is no one on the trails. Andy Thank's Andy, me and 4 buddy's are coming up this weekend to do the Gaspe and N. Brunswick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid Range Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Tip of the hat to you guys...That's a hell of a trip.Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smclelan Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Great report and pictures Andy. Sounds like you three had one hell of a trip. To go that many miles and be vitually incident free is a true testament to sleds today, especially the Polaris!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scranton1 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Great report! Awesome trip! Interesting to see if anyone out there can top that mileage total on one consecutive venture! Maybe worth a new topic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldsmoke1 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 looks like a great trip you had there i have to say im a bit jellous lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Great report and pictures Andy. Sounds like you three had one hell of a trip. To go that many miles and be vitually incident free is a true testament to sleds today, especially the Polaris!! Now Steven There is no need to turn ungly! My new Rush 800 Pro R was the talk of the town everywhere we went on this trip. lol. Actually, it was the subject of a number of photoshoots along our journey. :blink: We had a great time......sorry you were not able to join us. timbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceman Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 What do you use for saddle bags on that Rush 8 hundie?Does not seem like anywhere to put them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 What do you use for saddle bags on that Rush 8 hundie?Does not seem like anywhere to put them? I've got the new, 2 piece Skinz luggage that sits on top of the plastic "shelf" in front of the rear bumper (over the rear exchanger). Those two bags hold normal emergency stuff like rope, a little isopropol, spare track wheel, plugs, flares, spare elec cords, flashlite, space blanket, my beloved crown royal, extra bungies, leatherman, cable lock, etc. I actually had more room there than I had planned on cuz i took the spare litre of oil out of the bigger bag (this 2011 800 Pro R gets nearly 300 miles to a litre of VES Gold poo oil. With a 3 1/2 litre oil res I can find decent synth oil on the trail when I have 1000 miles to find it) I use the new poo Rush semi hard bags that fit on the metal loop-extension at the back of the seat and I'm good to go for an 8 - 10 day loop. I carry an extra fleece, balaclava and gloves in my backpack. timbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceman Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 THX TIMBO NICE SET UP FOR SURE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momojohnny Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 looks like a great trip you had there i have to say im a bit jellous lol +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Je me souviens Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Andyman, Sounds like one hell of a great trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailblazer Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 Nice trip Andyman, amazing how many miles you did without incident, hats off to you. I wish i had of seen and replied a little earlier to your post on the Monteregie board, i could have saved you a shuttle and help put more miles on your trip. Once again great trip, wish i had the privilidge to ride that much time on a sled at once. JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longriderss Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 As always, great job on the trip report. Good to see the new sleds doing well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCCDOO Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 sound`s like an awsome trip & nice pic`s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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