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2017 RDL Conditions


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On 3/13/2017 at 5:39 PM, revct1 said:

At the breakfast buffet don't forget to try the meat pie.  Yea it is a bad name to us U.S. folks but is is mild sausage in a pie shell.  Yummy!

Jack & Sandi

That's definitely on the summer-blues lust-list (with sledding & St Hubert of course).

And with Clem and the Marmite relaais gone from trail 73 by Riviere Pierre, we really rely on the Universal breakfast buffet! 

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5 hours ago, PLAYHARD said:

That's definitely on the summer-blues lust-list (with sledding & St Hubert of course).

And with Clem and the Marmite relaais gone from trail 73 by Riviere Pierre, we really rely on the Universal breakfast buffet! 

If you are sitting at your computer, staring at the groomer map, at 5:55 AM every morning hitting the F-5 key to refresh like your waiting for the stock market to open, you may have a problem!

Jack & Sandi

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Glad to see this thread back to life. W e are headed up 3/22 and staying at the Uni. I have ridden every trail on the map at one time or another over the last 10years . typically saddle bag it out of Jackman or Fort kent . This our first time making the drive up and staying in RDL. I have been inspired by those of you who drive from so far away, I 'm I S.Maine south of Portland . I can't wait to see pictures of what you guys find , I have been counting down the days to hit the trail.

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Jagman,

Thinking of Going up to RDL on Tuesday night. Going to pack bag it out of there. 1st day: RDL -Amqui. 2nd day: Amqui-Murdochville. 3rd day: Murdochville-Matane. 4th day: Matane- RDL. Prolly won't necessarily go direct to each spot, but that's what I am thinking of staying and doing. 250-275 mile days. 

Bill

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First time poster and long time lurker.

I arrived at the Universal late Thursday night for a long weekend with my wife.

Friday the trails were a lil soft with somewhat new snow on them. After a weekend of riding the trails got better and were packed down nicely. Sunday was warm with plenty of sun. In town will be dry with wheels down but the trails are in fantastic shape.

The sun is high in the sky and the days are longer which should make the temps and rides warmer. With that said, I don't believe the warm up will have a drastic effect on the trails. 

The pictures are East of Squatec on 35 and the other Is 85 St Modeste, both on Sunday afternoon. 

I'm just about to head home and back to reality.. and the rat race. Until next year...

   Enjoy 

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Hi everyone.  We haven't had a chance to post.

Sandi, myself, Don and Dave Gutz left Motel Berniers Saturday morning to a beautiful day.  Sun out, comfortable temperatures and plenty of snow.  Its mid March and there is snow at Bernieres.  That is a good sign.

Everything is going along fine until 15 miles before Relais Tourville.  I'm behind Sandi on the 35 rail bed and Sandi is slowing down.  Why?  I look in my mirror and I see the two headlights behind me.  Nothing unusual that I observe.  We all stop and I walk up to Sandi and she says "It just made a pop sound like an exhaust backfire and it went beep, beep, beep, beep.  Then the check engine light comes on and the machine shuts down."

We take a quick look at it.  No motor parts hanging out.  Nothing obviously wrong so I hit the button and it spins over.  After a couple of attempts the motor comes back to life.  No knocks, no marbles rolling around in the crankcase, no misfire!  We switch sleds and I start down the tracks.  I don't push it and it feels OK.  I come up to a stop sign in a couple of miles and the motor shuts down again.  Now there is a lot of steam coming out from under the hood and from the heat exchanger.  We open up the side panel and you can smell the anti-freeze and the bottle is empty.

Get out the tow strap and we are on our away for the last ten miles to Tourville.  Now the options start going thru the brain.  One good thing is this is the easiest place to tow a sled.  We tow the sled behind the relais so it is easier to pick up with the trailer.  We go inside and grab a table and have a meeting of the minds.

Sandi's sled isn't going anywhere on its own power.  We have to get the truck and trailer from Bernieres to Tourville.  Its going to be a long day.  So the game plan is > Sandi stays at Tourville.  Hve you noticed how short the seat is on the new 850.  Sandi would be sitting on the gas caddy if we tried to go two up.  She didn't think that was a good idea.  I'll go back to Bernieres by myself and get the truck.  Don and Dave will continue on the RDL.  They have never been on the trails this side of RDL before.  So thats the plan.

I skip lunch and fill up at Tourville.  Just before I leave, Sandi comes running out and asks me if I have the keys to the truck?  Yes I do and the keys for the locks.  I have done that before.  Ten years or so ago I rode seventy-five miles by myself back to the truck just to realize that Sandi had the truck keys in her pocket seventy-five miles away from me!  That's another story.

So I get to the truck.  Boy the sled uses a lot more gas when you ride the rail bed by yourself.  I wonder why?  I unlock the boot and club and load my sled in the trailer and take off for Tourville.  Boy is it a beautiful day and I'm in the truck.  I get to Tourville and Sandi comes out.  Boy is she glad to see me.  It was a long afternoon for her.

I go over to her 1200 and push the start button.  It fires up and sounds OK.  I load it in the trailer and tie it down.  Off to RDL.  We discuss our options now that we are back together.  Sandi is so good.  She says why don't I, don and Dave go out for a ride on Sunday like we had planned and she will sit in the Universal.  Sunday no option to rent a sled and no way to go two up.  So we agree.

We meet up with Don and Dave.  They made it safely to RDL.  We go over the plan while having supper them.  It is  a go.  The crisis is under control.  More to follow.  Time to go have breakfast.

Jack & Sandi

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Continuation.

Trail conditions are good.  There is plenty of snow.  The sections of trail that runs on the road, is very thin or asphalt.  The sun is melting the snow on the roads quickly.  The trails firm up overnight so early morning the trails are good.  Noon thru mid afternoon the trails get like mashed potatoes.  There is still a good base but the top softens like a good ex-lax.  No problem with any water crossings.  You can still ride out of Universal but 5 east has a small section that was plowed.  You can run along the side of this thru the field. Overall, the trails should be good until a big warm up or bad rain.

Until later.

Jack & Sandi

Edited by revct1
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You two live the life-another trip!   Sorry to hear about the trouble.  The seat on the 850 is definitely not a two person seat!    Keep in touch and enjoy your time up there.  It is always nice to close the season out with sun and warm weather.  

Pam and Russ

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