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2019 Jack & Sandi's trips


revct1
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Hi MidRange,

There is also a section of 93 between St Ambroise and St Honore that is closed.  It is between trail 367 and 134.  I don't know if it is temporary because of swamps or permanent due to permission.  That re-route is quite a bit longer.

Jack & Sandi

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8 hours ago, revct1 said:

Hi MidRange,

There is also a section of 93 between St Ambroise and St Honore that is closed.  It is between trail 367 and 134.  I don't know if it is temporary because of swamps or permanent due to permission.  That re-route is quite a bit longer.

Jack & Sandi

thanks for the heads up Jack...we will be fine. Leaving La saguenéenne we will take TQ 93 in St-Ambroise then head westward.

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You guys won’t  be disappointed with the Ice Ripper, I’ve been using those tracks for years, gave up on the studs for obvious reasons, in my case the tracks were ripping on the outer edge. I recently had to change my original Ice Ripper on my Enduro so I opted for a 1.6 lug in a 16” width. If you do the calculation the 16” x 137” has more square inches of coverage than a 15” x 144”. For a 137” it does quite well off trail and gives you the grip off the line on the trail. Good luck and happy trails.

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11 hours ago, Trailblazer said:

You guys won’t  be disappointed with the Ice Ripper, I’ve been using those tracks for years, gave up on the studs for obvious reasons, in my case the tracks were ripping on the outer edge. I recently had to change my original Ice Ripper on my Enduro so I opted for a 1.6 lug in a 16” width. If you do the calculation the 16” x 137” has more square inches of coverage than a 15” x 144”. For a 137” it does quite well off trail and gives you the grip off the line on the trail. Good luck and happy trails.

what was the reason for the change?How many miles were on it?

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Hi JG,

I didn't think of a 16" width.  Years ago the Renegades did come with a 16" track.  Oh well.  Maybe next time if it ever happens again.

 

Hi Jim,

A stud tore the track and poked a hole in the heat exchanger.  The track has 10,000 miles on it.  My dealer told me that the one ply tracks don't have the longevity that the older two ply tracks had.  Sandi's sled did the same thing a couple of years ago.  I like the grip of studs but I'm not up to replacing a track every other year.  No more studs for us.

Jack & Sandi

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30 minutes ago, revct1 said:

Hi JG,

I didn't think of a 16" width.  Years ago the Renegades did come with a 16" track.  Oh well.  Maybe next time if it ever happens again.

 

Hi Jim,

A stud tore the track and poked a hole in the heat exchanger.  The track has 10,000 miles on it.  My dealer told me that the one ply tracks don't have the longevity that the older two ply tracks had.  Sandi's sled did the same thing a couple of years ago.  I like the grip of studs but I'm not up to replacing a track every other year.  No more studs for us.

Jack & Sandi

I want to say 16" is the only width for the 137" skidoo ice cobra, so you may get it by default. Mine is 3 years old, so maybe they have both now...

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41 minutes ago, scorpionbowl said:

I want to say 16" is the only width for the 137" skidoo ice cobra, so you may get it by default. Mine is 3 years old, so maybe they have both now...

I had the option of 15 or 16 last winter.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sandi and I are back on the trail.  We drove up to the Delta yesterday.  We saw Bill, Danielle, Colette, the Gutz boys, Glen and others last night.  Quite a few rigs out in the lot.  Plenty of snow cover here.  The trail crossings at the road looked really good.

On the way up we could see that Drummondville to Quebec City received some freezing rain from the last storm but it didn't hurt the snow cover.  Coming up thru the Park the snow banks were high.  The travel lane was clear and the passing lane had a dusting on it.

It is cold, -25C this morning.  The groomer map shows that the clubs were out in force as usual.  Not sure where to ride yet.  Being a weekend we will stay off the mountain.  So many choices.

Jack & Sandi

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Great to see a post from this location.  

  Say hi to Bill for David and me.  Let him know we will be at the delta the first week of February for a few days. 

  Have a great next week.  Be safe. 

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This morning it is cold.  We are taking our time before we head out.  A lot of grooming last night. 

Sandi and I are heading towards the north side via the two bridges.  We cross the bridges and get on 367 toward St Ambroise.  Boy this is nice.  During our December trips this trail is always rough and today it is so smooth.  Thru the area where the short scrubby pine trees are and we are at Le Geant Trailer.  We turn left onto  93.  Still so smooth.  It is mid season and the snow is good.  No more snirt in the corners.

Sandi decides to stop at Relais Montangarde.  She doesn't feel 100% today and it is nasty out.  We relax for fifteen minutes with a chocolat chaud.  We get out on the sleds and a couple of red 900 Doos pull up.  Its Danielle and Collette and there is Bill too.  They are off to Relais Jos Bonka.  We chat for a few minutes and they take off.  We are heading to Relais des Lacs.

93 here we go.  We turn onto local 544 north and keep on riding.  Still so smooth.  We pull into Relais des Lacs.  A good number of sleds and a few ATVs.  We go in for a couple bowls of soup.  Soup is good on a cold and windy day. 

We take off and take a look at 328 that goes back to Begin.  No, we will pass on that trail.  328 west looks much better.  Sandi is off and running.  Some nice long runs in thru here.  All was groomed last night.  The wind is picking up a little and some minor drifting.  We get to L'Ascension and no we don't need gas so we keep on going.  Now we realize how windy it is out in these big fields.  It is getting harder to see the next pair of red stakes.  It is only a couple of miles to get back on 93 but you can just barely see the next set of stakes.  Slow down and take our time.  No sense in falling off the trail.  We poke along hunting for the next pair of stakes.  Every once in awhile and there is only one stake.  Oh what side of the stake should we be on.  We get to 93 and this is still pretty open.  The next 5 miles are tough.  A few sleds coming at us and they are just poking along hunting for red stakes too.  We finally get to Alma.  Neither one of us fell off the trail.  Good!

From here back to St Ambroise is good.  The only rough section, and it wasn't bad, was around St Charles.  We turn right onto 367 and run back thru the scrubby pine trees.  Looking up at the tops of the trees and you can see them blowing back and forth in the wind.

Back across the two bridges and in a few minutes we are back at the Delta.  We are in early today but that is OK.  Good trails but tough for visibility in the open fields.

Jack & Sandi

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It is fine.  It has plenty of grip.  Acceleration is fine but I don't hammer it from zero.  Fresh hard pack it hooks up good.  I got the 1.6" lug.  The only thing I did notice is on early morning hard pack the slides were sticking a little back in RDL and Sandi's 1.3" wasn't.  I guess that is just because the track is a 1/4" taller.

I think the only time I will notice a difference is on glare ice.  I will say that we have joined the ice ripper club.

Jack & Sandi

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It is cold again this morning.  The groomer map is good.  Sandi, lets try Mt Apica or L'Etape today.

We finish up breakfast.  No buffet as you know but the food is good.  Brandon and friend are saddle bagging back towards Maine, the GutZ boys are making a short day and loading up to drive home tomorrow and others are heading north of the river.

We get on the sleds and head out 83 east.  Going thru Chicoutimi there is a train slowly coming down the tracks.  Plenty of time and Sandi scoots across.  I follow.  Around the corner we stop at the road and the gates come down for the train and stops traffic.  That is nice and we cross and go.  We are running about the same speed as the train and I notice the engineer is looking over at us.  I bet he wishes he was on a sled instead of at work.  I give a wave and I see him smile and wave back.  The trail breaks away from the train tracks and we both go on our way.

83 was groomed last night and Sandi is putting down the first tracks.  Here is a good spot to take a pic.  Sandi didn't notice that I stopped.  This will only take a minute.  Oh her phone is on Quebec Rider.  How do I get rid of this.  The print is too small to read.  What does this do?  No that is Facebook.  No that sends a message.  I Wonder who got that?  What does this icon do?  I hear sleds coming towards me.  They are going to cover up the near perfect trail.  Finally.  The camera icon appears.  There, I got a picture.  I never said I was the fastest photographer! :rolleyes:

 

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The snow dust is just hanging in the air.  OK, now I have to catch Sandi.  Off I go.  It isn't windy today.  That is good.  Oops.  I see a headlight coming towards me and its slowing down.  Yep.  Hi Sandi.  Just trying to take a picture.

She spins around and we continue on 83.  We turn right onto 368 and it is groomed!  Hmm.  The map didn't show this being groomed.  What a nice surprise.  368 is one of Sandi's favorites an she isn't wasting any time.  I know its cold because the inside yellow shield has sparkles on it from the frost.

368 is so nice especially where it is on the old road.  Sandi just holds a steady speed and leans in and out of the corners.  Whee.  This is a fun ride.  We haven't seen anyone except that group earlier in the pic.  We are only a few clicks from the intersection with 23.  I lean right into a corner and oh oh.  There is a sled off in the poof!  It isn't yellow and black.  Good its not Sandi.  There are two guys digging it out.  Sandi stopped just up the trail.  I pull over.  Its a big Cat Pantera two up and he is six foot down. :help:

Is GutZ Towing Service available?

They have the sled turned half way around.  Oh, I hear more sleds coming.  Two more guys pull over.  That is good.  This old guy didn't want to be tugging a big two upper around.  I get out my tow strap.  One of the original guys speaks English and French.  The other two guys only speak French.  They beat down a path in front of the Pantera and try getting it out.  Nope.  It only digs a deeper hole.  Too steep to get any movement out of it.  I show the strap to the first guy.  He takes it and wraps it around the front suspension.  I back up the 850.  The strap is just long enough and the trail is wide here.  Sandi is playing traffic cop in case a sled comes around the corner.  We have the Pantera hooked to the back of my 850, I put a little tension on the strap and go!  One of the other guys throttles the Pantera at the same time and it pops up out of the hole.  That was a lot easier than trying to manhandle it.  The Cobra track really bites in.  Big smiles on everyone's face.  We get on our respective sleds and all take off.

At trail 23 we turn left.  This was just groomed last night and very few tracks on it yet.  This is the best I have seen 23 in a long time.  The cold temps have kept the trails in great shape.  Sandi is buzzing right along.  As we near Apica, a group of sleds pass us heading north.

We get to Apica and Sandi asks me if its open?  Not a sled here other than our two.

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Do they close on Mondays?  I don't know.  Lets check.  Its 5 of 12.  The door is open and the workers are inside.  Wow.  I don't think I have ever seen no sleds here.

We order up lunch and have a seat.  A few minutes later, lunch is ready.  It is cold out but beautiful.  The trails are fantastic, very little traffic, the wind has died down and the sun is out.  As Bill would say, we are in paradise! ☺️

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A shot of the ridge across the street from Apica.  The picture doesn't show it good but the snow on the trees is glistening in the sunlight.  So pretty.

We have been at Apica for 45 minutes and not one sled stopped in or even went by.

We decide to skip L'Etape and u-turn instead.  Back up 23 we go.  This is lovely.  Just sit back and enjoy.  Don't get too relaxed Jack, Sandi isn't waiting for you.  Just cruising along.  Not one sled heading south.  We have the trail to ourselves.

We make our way up to Hebertville.  Time to gas up the sleds.  We turn around and go back a few miles to 83 and turn left.  This is still fine.  We cross Kenogami and stay on 83 but now the trail isn't quite as pristine.  A little bump-pity bump.  Hmm?  This showed groomed on the map.  We push on and about five miles in, there is the drag parked on the side of the trail.  That is why it isn't groomed but the map showed groomed.  The tractor made a pass but left the drag behind.

The trail does get better as we get closer to Jonquiere.  We pull into the Ultramar and fill the sleds up and get back to the Delta.

What a good ride today.  We also did our good Samaritan deed.  Only a short section of 83 was rough.  The rest of the day was near perfection.

The forecast is saying 10 cm of snow tomorrow and a warm up but not above freezing.

Until tomorrow, be safe.

Jack & Sandi

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On 1/27/2019 at 8:41 PM, revct1 said:

It is fine.  It has plenty of grip.  Acceleration is fine but I don't hammer it from zero.  Fresh hard pack it hooks up good.  I got the 1.6" lug.  The only thing I did notice is on early morning hard pack the slides were sticking a little back in RDL and Sandi's 1.3" wasn't.  I guess that is just because the track is a 1/4" taller.

I think the only time I will notice a difference is on glare ice.  I will say that we have joined the ice ripper club.

Jack & Sandi

Jack, not 100% sure but I think the ice ripper has a lot more studs in it than the ice attak 

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I didn't know that.  I just thought all the tracks would be the same.  It does make sense because each track would have their own mold.  Hmm?

Edit > I just looked up Camoplast and the Ice Ripper has 256 studs and the 136" has 288 studs.  The first one must be the 129".  It did say 136" and not 137".  I don't see the stud count for the Ice Attack.

Either track does have a lot more studs than the 96 picks that we had before.

Jack & Sandi

Edited by revct1
Add stud count
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11 hours ago, revct1 said:

Sandi just holds a steady speed and leans in and out of the corners Whee.  This is a fun ride.

What are Sandi’s thoughts on the MXZ now that she has ridden it for a while?    Does she miss the long track?    Seems like she is having fun on it.

Pam

(Headed up to LSJ in a few weeks.   Looking forward to seeing Bill and the crew.)

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Hi Pam,

I like the MXZ 600R better than the Renegade 1200 but the track length isn't the only difference.  Going from the 1200, which was heavier on the front end, to the 600 gives the sled a different feel.  Less weight on the skis makes it easier to turn the bars. 

The 129" vs the 137" is obviously 8" which means there is only 4" difference on the ground.  Not Much difference.  Maybe the track length would be more noticeable on tighter trails, i.e. New England vs. Quebec?

The 137" does allow for two Linq set ups vs one setup on the 129".

I haven't decided on the next sled track length yet.  Jack leans toward the 137".  He thinks it should have a slightly better ride without giving up much in handling when riding in Quebec.

Sandi & Jack

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