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New England Bob


Yamaha Jim
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There used to be a guy who called himself New England Bob who "specialized" in running a sled tours through Quebec. He used to have a booth at the New England Sled show in Springfield MA. I have not seen him at the snow show for years. Just curious, is he still in business? Thanks!

Merry Christmas to all and I hope for a wonderful sledding season for all in the New Year.

Jim

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I've wondered the same thing, he realy got our interest started in riding in Quebec.

Are you looking for tour company for people going to Qc?

Get ahold of Gary at Bonvoyage Snow Adventures gary@bvsnowadventures.com

He goes by Mached on the forum here.

Later

GutZ

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NE Bob stopped doing tours years ago, i would guess 5+. He became a horse whisperer for a while on his ranch in MA if I recall correctly, not sure what he's up to these days. My first trip to the PQ, and a couple subsequent were with Bob. Learned a lot, and you're right, he got a lot of people riding up there, and its how I hooked up with all my PQ riding buddies too!

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NE Bob was the Guru.

Ever since seeing the "Quebec Adventures" ad in the Mass club paper winter '98, he showed me and my crew the ropes for our formative years.

Fortune cookie stuff like "Keep right NO MATTER WHAT" and "Have your own ride" has kept us happy & alive for many many miles.

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I remember the story about him (actually a couple). He was leaving on a tour out of Victo and he arrived early in the morning. He didn't want to rent a room for only a few hours so he decided to catch a nap in his suburban. He woke up and his suburban was going down the road. The thieves had stolen his truck and trailer with him in it. They promptly threw him out of the truck and drove off. He never ran a tour out of Victo again. Another problem he had was paying the Quebec guides after a trip. I almost went to work for him until I learned of this problem. He owed so many people money he couldn't come back. Another story had him and a group of sledders in the city of Gaspe, pouring cats and dogs. He deserted them, leaving them to get back from where they started on their own. They ended up hiring a semi for the sleds and they all took the bus. I personally have been in a few season enders myself and it makes you really wonder why you didn't leave the day before. It seemed like if this guy had any luck it was always bad.

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Thanks for the info.. I was just curious. I think New Englan Bob's actual name is Bob Sadowski. The other day I got a message from Linkedin that a person named Bob Sadowski wanted me to link him in as a colleague. That got me thinking about what happened to him. I never went on a ride with him, just know of him from the New England Sled show in Springfield. When i met him in 98 or 99, I had already been riding in Quebec for 15 years. He gave me his email address and cell phone number so I called him a few times to get updates on trail conditions while he was on a tour. he seemed to be a nice guy although some of the "tales" he would tell about the riding in Quebec were a bit over the top. I hope he is doing well.

Thanks,

Jim

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I just looked him up on Goggle. He is listed as the owner of Peace Haven horse farm in MA. There is a video on the site with him in a few shots, can't get a clear view of him but the voice sounds very familiar. Hopefully he is doing OK.

Jim

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New England Bob....now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time, I used to work for him as a guide in the early 2000's and I can personally tell you all here's a guy I can tip my hat off to. While most of the groups going back home with a thousand or so miles under their belt and boosting of how terrific the trail network is in Quebec to all their buddies back home, they didn't talk about their belly acheing of aches and pains that came along with the trips after riding a sled for days. Bob on the other hand would have to do it all over again the next morning week after week all winter long living out of hotel/motels, now there's something to say about a guy when it come to snowmobiling.

You see Bob would schedule his trips out of the Gouverneur in Shawinagan, he would arrange the returning group coming back to the hotel early enough to have supper with the next group leaving the following morning to exchange stories and adventures. This was a terrific idea as the new group would have an idea of what's ahead of them for the next few days but on the other hand this would leave Bob with no rest for the next ride other than the nights sleep and this would go on all winter long group after group week after week, he was a real die hard for the sport.

Before meeting bob I used to treat the trail network as a formula one track and I can speak for most my fellow Quebecers most of us ride this way too, Bob showed me that the challengeing part of riding on a formula one track is staying on the right hand side all the time, this is something I took away from riding with him and am very grateful for it.

As for paying the guides I personally never had a problem and never heard of the other guides having one either.

One year his wife(a Quebecer) gave him a digital video camera, state of the art at the time, looked like a VHS recorder but digital technology and he would use this camera on trips to record rides and give the CDs to the groups later. His last trip took place in the Gaspe, I was not with him but from what he told me on the phone of what happened, he was riding with the camera strapped to his helmet(early GoPro technology Lol) and as he was arriving to a bridge crossing(such a ditch) the camera shifted so as he was trying to adjust it, taking his attention off the trail for just a moment the bridge came up and only one of his skis was on it, the inevadable happened, the sled was beyond repair and Bob was in bad shape. Another lesson to be learned here, with all the technology available for sledding GoPro cameras, GPS's,Spots etc, etc....our attention to the trail is being taking away more so every year. Keeping right requires our attention as well.

It,s too bad we don't see Bob on the trails anymore, he will be missed.

JG

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There is another guy out of Pennsylvania that does this sort of thing as well. He is getting up there in years but I believe he is still touring. He does something different every year, day trips and 7 day saddlebag trips. Occasionly he will do trips in Ontario and Labrador. He told me all that goes into these trips. The planning, working with the different clubs, etc that goes into it. It is an immense amount of work, both in the summer and winter. And of course backup plans need to be made as well for all the obvious reasons. But I learned alot about riding in Quebec from him. He knew NE Bob as I asked about him. But didn't have much to say good or bad about the guy. But the experience these guy's bring to the table for inexperienced riders and the prices they charge are well worth it for American riders who want to go to the next level of snowmobiling or just go snowmobiling at all for that matter these day's.

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There is another guy out of Pennsylvania that does this sort of thing as well. He is getting up there in years but I believe he is still touring. He does something different every year, day trips and 7 day saddlebag trips. Occasionly he will do trips in Ontario and Labrador. He told me all that goes into these trips. The planning, working with the different clubs, etc that goes into it. It is an immense amount of work, both in the summer and winter. And of course backup plans need to be made as well for all the obvious reasons. But I learned alot about riding in Quebec from him. He knew NE Bob as I asked about him. But didn't have much to say good or bad about the guy. But the experience these guy's bring to the table for inexperienced riders and the prices they charge are well worth it for American riders who want to go to the next level of snowmobiling or just go snowmobiling at all for that matter these day's.

Jim Jammison I've done a lot of work with him all over quebec. and much much more. Yes he is one of a kind. He doesnt do it any more. The last ride I worked on with him was in 06 I think he did 2 more years but the following wasnt the same. There is one more that does groomers area only he works through trumbaurs lawn and rec in Quakertown Pa

Jim never liked the comp of Bob but if your know Jim close he never had a bad thing to say about him other then the speed he would try to lead a tour. Jim never went over 40 but the group that would be in the bac with me would be flying to keep up.

I was off the opinion N bob had a bad wreck few years back 03 ish and that was the beginning of the end for his tours.

Edited by rmk
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Sorry to hear that about NE Bob. I never knew why he stopped touring in QC. I can see him standing their in his furry boots and talking in his "hey dude" type voice. In fact he told a member I was with that " your cheating it to much in the corners dude...be careful out there". Always good advice. I got a kick out of him, but never rode with him. Anyone who put on the miles he did is okay by me...

What ever became of Old Yellow boots? That guy toured all over the place by himself and of course always had on, yep.....Yellow Boots.

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Went through my files and found some literature from him and have confirmed the Yamaha Jim to be correct. Site used to be snowtours.com

Been on 1 tour with NE Bob as a noob and had no issues with his guidance. He offered a good tour and taught me alot during the ride. Had a great time...up to the point where I blew my engine. Luckily, was able to get back to the hotel after a 90 mile tow through the pipeline trail. Good times.

Guess I could learn something from his 4x4 riding school...

Edited by hparaptor
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Pipeman asked about Yellowboots. He is Ken Casey and retired from sledding a few years ago. He is in his '80's, and upon hanging it up, said it was a 'great run'. His wife was pressuring him to no longer go out and she wanted him home more to keep her company and did not want him to take the chances of riding anymore due to his age. He had been riding since the 1960's and started out on Boa Skis. He has thousands of pics he took over the years. He rode around the Saguenay area for years then moved on to the Gaspe area after thinking Saguenay was too full of hotrod riders. He is still living in Maine. I could never get him to post on the computer, but heard his kids bought him a computer several years ago so he could read everyone's adventures. Mike

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The other guy out of PA, Trumbauer's is Don Kellner. I did the PA Snowmobile Show this year and he was in his booth not far from me. I usually run into Don every couple of years and I run into Jimmy at a relais about every other year. In 2003 NE Bob wanted me to go into a 51% him, 49%me partnership.. Decided it wasn;t for me.

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Jim Jammison I've done a lot of work with him all over quebec. and much much more. Yes he is one of a kind. He doesnt do it any more. The last ride I worked on with him was in 06 I think he did 2 more years but the following wasnt the same. There is one more that does groomers area only he works through trumbaurs lawn and rec in Quakertown Pa

Jim never liked the comp of Bob but if your know Jim close he never had a bad thing to say about him other then the speed he would try to lead a tour. Jim never went over 40 but the group that would be in the bac with me would be flying to keep up.

I was off the opinion N bob had a bad wreck few years back 03 ish and that was the beginning of the end for his tours.

I may have ridden with you then. I didn't want to name names though. I rode a saddlebag tour with Jim in 06 I believe from Les Escoumins, over trail 93 to Amos and back 83. Jims sled blew up on 83 just after relais 22. Towed it to Roberval. Big snowstorm that night, picked up a couple feet of snow in Alma. The group went on the next day, but I heard they didn't make it over Valin and flat bedded their sleds back to Escoumins. I stayed back with Jim the extra day, they brought his other sled down from Escoumins and we rode back to Escoumins. The pelchat trail had not been broke open yet, but we started down it anyway. I thought he was absolutly out of his mind even attemptinbg that but off we went breaking trail in some 2 to 3 ft of fresh snow on top of the ridiculous amount they already had. We got stuck several times, I had a shorty and he had a renegade, but somehow we made are way through there. We met some French riders who spoke no English, coming the other way on wide track Yamaha's and a GPS breaking the trail open, I'm assuming, for the groomer to follow. When they got to us we were stuck big time. They helped us out, turned around and we followed them back towards Escoumins. I will never forget that 40 or 50 miles though of breaking trail in all that snow. I think back on that now and wonder if we would have even made it through if not for those wide track sleds helping us out. It certainly an experience I will never forget. I tell that story to riders who have never been to Quebec and I'm not sure if they believe me or not. But that whole trip was incredible. Big mile day's, -40 degree temps up in Matagami, that railroad bed trail was cold that day, lol. I believe he is still riding Quebec, not sure though. I talked to him last year for advice, as I was going up to St Zenon to ride, and he told me he would be riding up there too, but I think it was in the St Anne du Lac area, and he was going north towards Clova. That was the only tour I did with him but rode late March rides to, just me and him for a couple of years. But that tour I did was an unforgetable experience.

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I met Ken Casey (aka Yellow Boots) in 1991 at the Motel Richeleau in Jonquiere. He told me he was riding 10,000 miles per year back then. The trails were not what they are today. He also related a story about getting stuck off trail for 8 hours trying to get his sled out. No other sledders came along to help him. I couldn't believe the amount of stuff he carried with him but understood why he did carry it.. The day I met him he had a one piece well worn suit and a open face helmet with no shield. He also related a story about SD asking for one of his sled, tearing it down, replacing any worn item. They wanted to see what items had worn out in 10,000 miles. They did this on condition that he ride it one more year. In 1995 I met 2 couples from ME, that knew Ken and they related a story to me. Ken and 3 other guys flew their sleds and themselves to Vancouver touched the skis in the Pacific and headed back east. About a 1/4 way back Ken decided to go it alone as the other 3 guys wanted to party at night. He came back the rest of the way by himself. so the story was told to me. I heard from daughter several years ago. He gave me his business card that day and I still carry it with me everyday. He was my hero

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The other guy out of PA, Trumbauer's is Don Kellner. I did the PA Snowmobile Show this year and he was in his booth not far from me. I usually run into Don every couple of years and I run into Jimmy at a relais about every other year. In 2003 NE Bob wanted me to go into a 51% him, 49%me partnership.. Decided it wasn;t for me.

The guy I'm talking about was Jim Jameson. He told me about you though Bill, and said if I was up in Valin to look for you at the HI/Delta and you could give me any info I needed, and you knew the area well. But I saw you won't be up there until the 10th or so. I will be up there tomorrow night, hopefully, if I can make it. Booked this trip when it was looking like no snow in the states. Pretty good storm rolled through NY last night and today. Looking like the southern part of Quebec is going to get it today and tomorrow. Another foot or so. The ADK's got all of a foot and then some. I don't care much for tug hill/old forge on the weekends, but they should have around 3ft on the ground on the hill now. It will be very busy in NY this weekend. With no frost in the ground and all the rain the trails will be beat right in to the dirt by Saturday evening. So I'm not missing anything by going to Quebec. I'm bringing my girlfriend up, she thinks we are crazy for doing this, but she has never been to Mt Valin either, we will see what she thinks when it is all said and done next week. She liked the St Zenon area. She should really like this area. And hopefully the traffic will be low on Valin with all the snow in the south. We will see. Looking forward to it, that's for sure

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met '' yellow boots '' one early morning on my way down to st fidele cb...i was fixing a curve and he was taking pics!!

saw him a few times at the dealership...my oldest brother know him well.

not 100% sure..i think he was doing a bit of ''business '' with b r p in cabano !!

remember seeing him with a grand touring ,i think ,with tons of stuff on it !!

on the pic ,he was riding a 4strokes artic cat !!

i was talking with those guys and after a few mins ,noticed the boots..i said to myself ....geez i know that guy!!

pic....feb 7th 06 !!!

jean-guy

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Wow, now that is a name I have not heard in many years, Yellow Boots. I met hem some years back on a ride across the Gaspe. I had breakfast with him at a hotel in Mt. St. Pierre. Nice guy who certainly did a lot of riding. I hope someday I get to do that kind of riding........ ride for a month or two all throughout Quebec and perhaps west into Ontario. I hope he is doing well, he must have thousands of stories to tell from his adventures. By the time I put away enough money to ride for a month gas will probably be $15 a gallon.

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skip do are you the one that was on leave from the army during that trip. If so your like to ride standing up and you had a black and white sled. I was on that tour but the day arfter jim sled blew (It was his wife realy jims sled was blown back at his trailer as well) He held that info back from the group my sid renegade had wire issues again. I stayed back to have the wire work re performed again . Then Art and I made it back to you 2 days later your were 3 days ahead of us but I took a short cut a trimmed a day off.

We rented a4 door d max and drove up to the rigs and brought them back to the holiday inn and left from there to go home (carl t came with me in my rig). We knew what the conditions were going to be so did Jim but he can be hard headed about that. That was the trip the main group had a big falling out with Jim. Most off use had words the night we cought back up with you but keeped it from the rest of the group. Most never rode with him again including myself. He has called a few times I may meet up with him and missy this year and see what he has to say. ( do miss time with his wife she was the glue behind the front)

What riding have you been doing? I'm doing a ride on Feb 15 if your looking to go back

Edited by rmk
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I met Yellow Boots on the trail a couple times but never had the opportunity to talk to him, he is certainly a snowmobile legend.

We have another snowmobile legend on our board right now, Sageunay Bill!! There are not many on this board today putting on the miles every year that Bill is!! I can only hope that when I get to Bill's ripe old age (LOL), that I have as many miles under my belt as him and have the health and wealth to still be going like he still is today.

Bill you are the man!!!

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I met Yellow Boots on the trail a couple times but never had the opportunity to talk to him, he is certainly a snowmobile legend.

We have another snowmobile legend on our board right now, Sageunay Bill!! There are not many on this board today putting on the miles every year that Bill is!! I can only hope that when I get to Bill's ripe old age (LOL), that I have as many miles under my belt as him and have the health and wealth to still be going like he still is today.

Bill you are the man!!!

+1 GREAT THREAD :acute:
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