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Iceman and the Boss man


iceman
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Back in the saddle. This trip was my the brainchild of my boss. Hey if your boss said “do you want to go to ride in Gaspe 2 days or stay here and work?” (And you like your boss). What would Iceman do? Survey says? I’ll take go riding to Matane for $1000 Alex. You betcha. 

 

Well the plan was to leave the shop by 1pm Thursday to make the 5 hour run to Quality Inn in Matane. Well we did pretty good. We left at 2:30. Phone was ringing all morning Thursday, ching ching$$$$$$, so after it quieted down enough we left the other crew to handle things and we pinned the trailer. My sled was already at the shop as we went to get it the day before. Loaded up and off we go direction Matane. Rain all the way after RDL is started mixing and by Mont Joli all snow. Surely it rained during the day a bit but now snow. My boss can drive and we made super time considering conditions 5 hours on the nose. Tanked the truck checked into hotel unloaded sleds and gear and it’s 8pm. Lots of sleds here. I’m putting my gear in the room and getting ready to cover my sled (already locked it). Guy from room next to us comes over and asks me in French if we can park somewhere else cause he has friends coming and they all want to park together. Huh? I want a lear jet and my own cruise ship but I don’t think I’ll ever have those. This guy is wasting his breath. I aint moving. I mean come on. Anyway. I never stayed here but I like it and tge restaurant was good too. Ate in the bar. 

 

Bed early at 10:30. I only slept 4 hours the night before as I got home at 6:15 on Valentine’s day. The one year I have actually been with my wife on Valentine’s day. I figured I would take her out for a nice dinner. I get cleaned up and 6:45pm i got my hand on the back door to head out. Yeah no. My phone rings. Never good this time of night. Well its back into work clothes and off to Trois Riveres to a big shopping center there with a blocked sewer. Happy Valentine’s day baby. After doing battle there till 11:30pm. I got home just after midnight. Showered and now need to pack my gear as I need bring everything with me to leave from the shop later today. 1:30 in bed up at 5:30. Back to it. So long story short I owe the lovely lady a nice dinner. 

 

Left Matane this morning at 7:30 am. Half an inch of snow here overnight. Follow a group out on the feeder trail gang of six. Go west, Go west yes they go west. We head east for the 595. Boss is on point as I am happy to let him set the pace and I’ll take some practice riding in the snow dust. TQ5 is nice real nice. We roll. He spanks that Grand Touring he got and let me tell you I aint had someone ride a Grand Touring in front of me like that since I caught up to GT Rider and Mrs Gt Rider a few years back. Getting it done. Hammer down. Sweet ride to 595. Seen no sleds so far. Up 595 and its just lovely too. 20 km in see a Moose off the right eating some trees. Bon appetite. Maybe 20 km from La Cache i see another moose, then a group of 4 sleds. More new snow her but only 2” or so. Just a little further is a dead moose. Not even a year old I’d say. Tough to see being the animal lover I am. Not dead long. Looks like it just was sick and froze to death. Bummer. Circle of life my friends. Into La Cache for fuel and a quick break. We got all day to go not far. Met Melissa and Will who work at La Cache for the New Owner. Was another nice lady too. Dee I think but sorry if I got it wrong. Anyway as many of you know, nicely renovated there and clean. Very Vital Stop here, please encourage this new owner. After talking a bit we leave on what my boss and I know as the trail out of here. Well sorry its a goat path this can’t be right. Back we go and now I meet the new owner of La Cache, Josh. We talk a bit and he explains to me the detour due to a bad bridge. No one on QR gave a heads up on that. Wish i knew before. So it 20 km around to the Murdochville trail then back to 595. All good trail less. New snow going down to New Richmond. Just before ski place dead deer in trail. Then real live ones, this area is teaming with them. On down to gas in New Richmond and a arrival Early as planned at Motel Francis. Super trails and great temperature today. 

Great day of riding. No big miles but it was fun and nice to look around and take in the scenery. Tomorrow back up to Murdochville then MSP to St Anne des Monts.

Having a great time with Alain and look forward to riding many more miles together.

 

Until next time......ice out. 

 

Trying to transfer photos by wifi to Ipad but my patience is worn out. So have to wait for the photos i took. Yes i stopped and took pictures.

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Looking good Don & Alain!  Enjoy! The conditions are excellent in Gaspesie currently.  I was at la Cache on Tuesday & met Josh, Melissa (cutie), Dell & Lin.  All good people who speak great English.  We are very lucky to have la Cache open again!  Very very important location to be in business & sell fuel.  Let’s all support their efforts. Josh bought the place last year.  They have been putting in a lot of money on renovations. All the rooms have been renovated.  House was sided. Interior was gutted & renovated.  We didn’t eat. Just gas & go.  I suggested installing a larger fuel/gas tank.  That’s when Dell told me the story about running out of gas the Saturday before.  What a nightmare getting there on a snowmobile and not being able to get fuel! That makes for a lot of walking later that day. They said it didn’t come to that. People brought in containers of fuel by car/truck to service the snowmobiles that needed gas. Lucky sledders!!  

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Edited by Florida Snowman
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Day 2

 

Left New Richmond at 6:55, no breakfast until 7:30 and we were not waiting around. Pas Chaud cet matin. Not warm this morning. Big change from yesterday. TQ5 fresh groom headed toward the 595. Sweet. We pass two 2 ups just as we get on the 595. Bossman Alain is just like me. We follow no one. Downright cold. Frette if you will as we run up to the trail to Murdochville. Big wind here in the Chic Chocs and although the surfacer has just passed from Murdochville to La Cache its still looking not so great. Not terrible but no where near perfect. Still we push on no stopping it’s too windy and cold here. 50km from Murdochville we see first sleds headed toward La Cache. A bit further and 4 more. All good. I take the point now as Alain says go for it. I was not sure about making Murdochville from New Richmond, thinking it woukd be a stretch for me. But into the pum I cruise with 193km on the odo. Fill up and take 34.4 liters. Pretty damn good considering, sure I didn’t drive it like I stole it but was not mlking it either. We were on it. Its now 10:30 in Murdochville had no breakfast and its cold. We go to Motel Copper to visit with Jaques. We eat early lunch talk a little with Jaques and I take Alain to see the snowmobile museum under the Hotel Copper, he was really amazed by the collection and that is just a fraction of what he has. We head back out after saying goodbye and its a bit warmer now. Back to the 597 to head to TQ5 and to Mont St. Pierre. 597 to junction TQ5 tres tres bonne, at the 5 we turn left direction west MSP. Bad, bad, bad, all the way to MSP as Alain put it a “mechant vrai trail des vache” just not good, i have rarely ridden this section ever and found it good. It’s always junk. We bang through and from MSP west it showed fresh groom this morning when i looked before we left. They were not lying, awesome run all the way to St Anne des Monts. Into hotel at 3:30 happy to be here and with just shy of 375 km for today. Big day for Alain and all good. No pictures today as playing with the camera last night trying to get photos to transfer i ran tge battery down and the cold finished it off. Figures as it was a blue sky day all the way through the Chic Chocs and through MSP perfect day to get some good pics and I got none. 

Oh well. Tomorrow a short run back to the truck in Matane then 5 hours of black trail to the shop in Trois-Rivières. Awesome day. 

 

Until next time...

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12 minutes ago, GT Rider said:

Hi Iceman,

Thanks for the report. We are planning to go to Matane on Saturday.

My boss likes your bosses GT.

Last year we saw plenty of deer around Pin-Rouge. They seem to like the south side.

IMG_1503_zps1bqzma4r.jpg

Exactly where we saw most of the Deer, near the ski place. 

Have a great trip. 

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Day 3. 

 

Awesome stay as always in St Anne des Monts. Hotel Cie and its resto never disappoint. Well we did want to have 2 of the 22oz Cowboy Rib steak. But they had sold out. It is marked on menu that to be sure you get one please give 24hrs advance notice. Next Time for sure. Up early today talked to a guy from south of Boston here with his friends for their first Quebec trip ever. Helped him look over the map and give him a few points not to miss. Told him nothing will compare to this trip after. I think it’s good I did not ride Gaspe as my first trip cause it’d be hard to beat anywhere else. These poor guys had a run in with Police i think near Matane, anyway they had come through New Brunswick and into Quebec, they had bought New Brunswick passes, not knowing they needed another pass for Quebec trails. Costly error of $560 each. Police took them to a Relais to buy passes at the on trail price. On top of that the police took pity I guess and only warned them all to get mirrors as tgey each had none. Lucky there, as I believe if I’m not mistaken that’s another $180 each if he wanted to do that. Law clearly states you must have at least one mirror fixed on machine (on left side). Hand mirror on glove not legal. If you want to use it fine but you can still get a ticket if you got none attached on sled. Anyway they took it well and now they know. 

 

Sleds fired up and off we go for the run to Matane and the truck. 7am out the trail we go. Well the clubs definitely got my memo that I was headed west, freshly groomed with not a mark on it all the way into Matane. Absolutely awesome run 2 hrs 5 minutes 135km and top speed for Alain of 161 km fastest he ever seen his Grand Touring run. Great short run and back to Quality Inn and truck just as the big gangs are headed out for their Sunday rides. Loaded sleds got changed in Hotel and down the black trail at 9:30am.  Fun ride with the boss man we make a good team. Back to Trois Riveres. Big short week before we fly to Indianapolis Wednesday for the Expo/trade show. 

 

Until next time...

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11 minutes ago, Pipeman said:

Nice report ! Your getting good at it , way more patience than I have to do them.

Thanks Wes. I just need take more pictures, i enjoy writing up the days events.

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2 hours ago, SkippyDoo said:

You by chance run a Vactor ? Going to the pumper show ?

That is affirmative. Are you going too? We leave Wednesday morning. 

Edited by iceman
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10 hours ago, iceman said:

That is affirmative. Are you going too? We leave Wednesday morning. 

Nope. I’m out of that business now. I was a road mechanic for a dealer out of Rochester Ny then moved to Albany Ny. I worked on Elgin, Vactor, Labrie, Envirosight, Trackless products mainly. But also everything else related to municipal work,The company I worked for sold out to Federal Signal and then promptly closed the doors in Albany. I’m gainfully employed elsewhere now still in the Albany area. I rebuilt many a rodder pumps in parking lots across NY lol

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On 2/17/2018 at 9:44 PM, iceman said:

MSP west it showed fresh groom this morning when i looked before we left. They were not lying, awesome run

That's Yammi-Pierre's turf!

SUPER glad to hear the new bossman is SUPER cool all around!  Hauls ass and keeps right, at work & at play!  Just super.

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