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Haven't heard much news about QuebecRiders getting new sleds this year. Bought mine today. Last four sleds were 900 ACE's, needed something different. Maybe at 70 I needed one more hot rod before I get too old. '24 MXZ 600R two stroke short track (129).

Finally, here's the report of our first ride of the season did yesterday January 20, 2024 We could have ridden last Sunday but it was an after a foot snow storm day with mild weather and we knew well that the trail conditions would not hold and be hard for us 2up so we waited until yesterday and were not disappointed . The cold of the last few days has been very good for the trails and the ice... it's about time! We were able to start directly from home in St-Thomas near Joliette, the trails are open and there is more than 2 feets of snow and it increases over 3 feets in some spots on the route that we did. Here in the fields near St-Norbert. The sky was very gray with a little snow at times which makes the pics less attractive but it still allows you to see what it looked like. We strategically chose to do the wooded northern section to start the ride and to return via the fields to the south which remain nice for longer under the effect of traffic. Here north of St-Gabriel de Brandon. And here at #23/#63 junction in St-Damien 5 km north of the Renard Bleu outfitter, the trail turns 90 and takes a new route to connect to #350 this year due to logging in this area. there are a couple of kms to go on a plowed road but it ride very well Then we are on the road path which is snowy for a long section it ride really great, I really appreciated this new path groomed wide After the #350 west junction there is 1km where the trail passes either next to the plowed road or a new path in the woods that the club is at finishing but it is very short then we return to the usual #350 path which was really very nice and fast We quickly passed in front of the Koubec And we went up #345 towards the north which was as nice and fast And we continued on #23 towards the east which was just as beautiful, just the last 2km which goes up the mountain before reaching intersection #350 which seemed to still be on the first dozer pass... This #23/#350 junction(Gaston's trail towards Lac Blanc) was our expected meeting point with our friend Snowcruiser who was leaving from Trois-Rivières airport to meet us with the plan to eat together at Lac Blanc. It's a bit ambitious to arrange meetings in the middle of the woods like that... especially on the first season's ride. We had 140km to go and he had around 70km to get there but we had agree that we would wait a little and at worse we would crossed each other while riding, but we were lucky with our estimates that were spot on. I was stopped for less than a minute when he showed up! After a bit of chatting we got back in the saddle to try to get at Lac Blanc before noon to beat a bit the lunch crowd. The #350 going back down to Lac Blanc was still very beautiful, just a little worn in its big hills and very panoramic in terms of snow, it's impressive We arrived at the Lac Blanc Auberge at 11:40 a.m. with 165km done from the morning. We obviously weren't the only ones who had this idea! Given the size of the crowd we wondered how things would go for the meal inside but I have to take my hat off to their extremely quick and efficient organization which was ready. We didn't wait a second to be seated in the dining room and we had our meals in front of us less than 15 minutes later! I was impressed. After this good meal break and a refueling we left under the snow a little after 1:00 p.m. towards the southeast on trail #350. The view from the lake when we left! This trail was starting to get pretty beaten up by traffic but was not that bad on our side of the trail heading south. We tested our suspensions up to the #63 junction where we took a break. I was able to chat a little with Jonathan Doucet from Randonnée Motoneige au Québec on Facebook, whom I had recognized and briefly meet as I left Lac Blanc auberge The trail condition came back nice on the #63 and we were able to ride good trail all the way back home. Snowcruiser left us to return to his trailer via St-Léon/St-Sévère and we continued on #63 and #3 for the return The Bayonne River is already solid and the trail passes over it without problem near Berthier We got back home early around 3:45 p.m. with 272 km for the ride, very happy with this season's opener which had been a long time coming. The trail network is pretty much open and connected in Lanaudiere and Mauricie minus some rivers that are not ready yet. The cold we just had in the last days helped alot for this and I hope that mother nature will continue to cooperate in the next days to complete the puzzle. Have a great riding season! Alain

Going to give you a bit more. Then bedtime. we are going nowhere it’s out n back 2 days from here Universel.. Got some new hardware and trying it out while getting mrs ice some much deserved seat time. (She gets very little) nature of the game. Sena 50s awesome. Group mesh and love it. CKX Mission Carbon helmets. Why I waited till now i do not know. Game changing comfort and vision. Badass. Wheels down February 9 at RDL. This is a special year. That’s it. It is what it is and if you want to ride you can make it happen simple as that. Bitching about it or wondering how it will hold up is a waste of energy. Close to hotel is boney i have seen worse and rode worse returning here before. Not far out much better we left with no set plan. Following what felt good. 526 to TQ85 to First orange we can find. Let’s Go. early morning TQ85 nice and then orange fresh groomed. Beautiful. up orange to 544 another beauty very few sleds and great trail. new helmets are sweet. now 571 and another stunner. Real nice. Then to TQ5 to the trail of the day 518. WOW WOW WOW, never rode this it is spectacular east n 518 to local orange down to Fabien sur mer. To a scenic overlook just niot the best day for the views. But awesome riding. Gassed on the orange there right on the 132 been by on the road never on sled here. to be continued

Figured I’d post on here in case anyone wants to follow along or is curious of conditions. Trucked up from PA up to Amos at the Amosphere 14hr run but bluebird day made travel easy. Pretty good amount of snow here considering how crappy a year it is grooming map shows lots of activity, so should be some excellent riding. Just doing day trips and big loops each day from Amos might head to Mattagami tomorrow will post report and pics.

Yesterday Sunday February 18, 2024, we rode from St-Michel des Saint to Marineau Mattawin round trip for a 306Kms total After the last weekend thaw(11-12 feb) the south of my area was very thin and some clubs had stop grooming waiting for new snow. It was still possible to start riding from home but we wanted to ride some nice, wide and faster trail so we did a trailer run and dropped at the village of St-Michel des Saints. In St-Michel village it's thin but rideable and we directly reached the Taureau reservoir to take the trail toward auberge Taureau. The ride on the reservoir is rather rough, there was traffic when it was slushy and it refroze like that. If you have the heart strong enough to move between 100 and 200 feet away from the stakes it is very nice and flat and a new path formed there with many tracks but there is an associated risk and I cannot officially recommend it to you, the safe option is close the stakes. The reservoir is not at its lowest yet but must be lowered by a good 25-30 feet already Trail #33 past the Taureau Auberge is a little brownish in the short section that is near the beach but when you enter on the forest road just a little further it is very nice There are some short spots with dirty snow or a few rocks but 95%+ that's it We went around the Taureau reservoir on the west side and continued on #360 towards the east. The trail base was very hard with a thin layer of loose snow and new snow, very fast conditions but icy enough to have to be careful in some curves The Mattawin River has decreased in flow a bit but it hasn't been very cold this year and there are still long sections at clear water We took a break at 440 halt, my prefered break spot. Beautiful view on the river The whole old path of #360 is very nice. When you enter the woods at the height of the old M20 there is some dirt in the snow on some curves but still beautiful overall, the same thing on the fast sections of the detour further on which come to join the edge of the river before the point of view The section in the woods after the viewpoint up to the bridge was a little less beautiful but OK. The bridge was quite dry so we took out the rouskis We left St-Michel at 9:30 a.m. and arrived at Marineau at 12:30 p.m. with 153km on the dreameter We had a very good big meal there, love this place! As luck would have it, I also met a retired work colleague and his wife who I hadn't seen for ten years! they live on the south shore of St-Laurence river and were passing there by car, a great unplanned encounter! We took the same exact route for return, The sun had hidden and it was snowing a little. Here the point of view. We went at the edge of the Taureau dam for a short break and we started it again towards St-Michel We came across the St-Michel dozer which was starting its grooming run a few kms north of the Taureau Auberge. I have to take my hat off to these snowmobile clubs, in this case St-Michel and Mattawin who work hard and do miracles with the little snow they have to give us beautiful trails... Thank you!!! And we were back to the trailer around 4:45 p.m. with 306km for the ride, very happy with our run. It had a bit of new snow yesterday there and at home as well, and even a bit more in Mauricie where my partner Snowcruiser told me around 6 inches of new stuff. We would need more than that to optimize all the trails but at least it help to greenish the trail map on Imotoneige! We were hoping for better at mid february but it's hard to argue with mother nature! We still hope for more snow and cold but in the mean time the groomers do miracles with what they have and it's still possible to do some great sledding. My video camera cooperated very well during the ride and I should be able to post some video footage from this ride soon. Alain

Day 6 Saturday Cold this.morning. Not sure what was the temperature but a cold start. Cold makes white asphalt. I happen to admire white asphalt quite a bit and we saw lots of it Exception being the local trail from La Dore to TQ83. But the local orange was still ok. Just not perfect. Joined up with the TQ83 and at first was not liking it. Quickly changed at intersection to local trail south. Fast run down as the top of the TQ83 they are grooming the road as the trail for a god part of it and it’s fantastic. Gas and Late lunch after the rush at Relais 22. Out of there we got places to be. More sleds out today, but duh? It’s the weekend. Even so, we only caught uo to 2 sleds we easily got by. Only the second pair we had to deal with in front of us in 6 days. Sweet. Quick burn to Windigo and wrapped up a stellar day with a stellar night reminiscing and breaking bread with our brothers Team Vermont. Always great fo be at Windigo with Martine Stephanie and Daniel….even better on a Saturday night……and even better with the plan coming together to meet up. Lots to catch up on and that we did. Sure wish we could do this so much more often. Great times with Great people.

Day 1, word of the day….Thin! Got 2” overnight made it nice leaving RDL. Never seen it so thin here in February. Trails pretty smooth, not enough snow to be rough. Snirt is gone with the fresh snow. Get out of town and take 5 East. Rimouski Club says stay on 5 for best conditions. Hasn’t been our experience but let’s try it. Away from town coverage not bad. Once we get to Trois Pistoles it’s actually pretty nice. Continue on 5 to the 35 outside of Rimouski. Traffic is light all day groomers are doing their thing. Meet back up with 5 East to 587 short cut to 5 at Padoue. Took the 5 all the way to Matane to the Riotel. Very scratchy in town, basically blacktop and dirt.

Day 3. Escoumins to Baie Comeau. 175 miles. Another sunshine day made for mild temperatures in the high teens. Trails were very good, except for about 30 miles, which were OK, but had chop in all the turns.The building by the water in the last picture is our hotel for the night. Le Manior

M&M Tours is off. Left Oliphant Sunday March 17th, pulled into the Best Western Premier Hotel Aristocrate in Quebec City around 8 and had a fabulous dinner at the in house restaurant, La Fenouillière. Off Monday morning and checked in to Complexe Hotelier Escoumins then spent 3 hours trying to find places to stay for them next 5-7 days. Rode loops for the first 3 days in a variety of conditions…good, bad & ugly mostly due to the new, wet snow even though the groomers were out. Des Bouleaux Blanc clubhouse is a great stop 40 km from town. Thursday morning rode most the day through storm conditions to the ski village Valinouët and stayed at a local rental house, Auberge du Yeti. Rode up 373 as far as we could then spent the night in a cabin at Auberge 31. A quick lunch at Piste D’or was tasty and the owner was entertaining-he sort of reminded us of Bernard Then back to truck and trailer, 93 did not disappoint-smooth, fast trails. Loaded up and drove to Forestville.

Day 2 Saturday Noticeably warmer this morning after a cold night. We headed out after breakfast in no hurry to go no particular place. We decided to follow the groomer for a bit. So from here down the TQ93 then to the 373 all of it mint. Groomer has broken up the majority of the ice and yes still some icy spots and the usual south and west facing full sun areas starting to melt through. This is end of March conditions on the 2 of March. That is this season. 373 across to TQ93 then down to orange trail through Site d’ours and over across river to Relais Buttes. Spent time talking with Gaetan there. Did you all know that the Relais closes all off season. It opens December 1 and he does Christmas parties for businesses then that carries him through until trails open. Then when trails are done so is the Relais. Interesting. Mrs Ice had the tomato and stars soup and she loved it. 2 other sleds here. So far we have seen about 15 sleds all morning. We say goodbye to Gaetan sadly I won’t be back this way (not in the plan) as it’s noticeable the difference just a little bit further south here. I am bailing back north. The good stuff is shrinking must stay north. Not un rideable at all, just not what we are looking for. Up 373 to TQ93 took the gas just to take it at La Dore’. We did not know it until Mrs Ice saw on FB we crossed paths with The Snow Traveler from FB as our radio conversations were intermingled with the open mesh. Wish i knew I would have loved to meet them. Maybe another time. Debated on next move but ran back on TQ 93 then over the famous bridge from last weeks run (Mark and Phil sr love this crossing) lol. Complete the loop passing orange trail again and its TQ93 to the river lookout. Had to take the paddle boarder to see this river. Nice break here coats off its warm but there is a cool breeze. Back up to the TQ93 and still great trails all good softening up now and real nice. Run to Lac a Jim here a late lunch. Took time to ask about summer and paddle boarding Lac jim is 10km so small by my Mrs paddle board standards. Few other sleds here but been pretty tame for a Saturday. Straight shot back to Home sweet home Girardville. All alone again private accommodations. Great relaxing day. We aint here to set no records. Going to take time to look around and see. Plenty of time for the mrs to take lots of pictures so enjoy them. Tomorrow we go on an adventure. Stay Tuned.

Truck to Lac Bouchette to Auberge Eva. Not viable to leave from Shawinigan. Monkey wrench right out of gate, Got 5 strong this run. With snohorse, nhmoose, Mark and Phil. We had complications with the 850etec backcountry. No fire, turned over no go. Recalculate. Tough decision. Got spare bullet in my garage 3 hrs by road 3 hours back. Freeride is there ready to run. Or go for DRC Sport in Alma and try to get in on Monday morning for a diagnosis. Snohorse is adamant we go to dealer and try it. Arrive there in Alma at 7:26 am 2 guys already waiting outside. I go over to talk with them and service manager opens door says we can wait inside but don’t open till 8am. We get acquainted and he assures me he will get us in and looked at. We get in and by 10:15 we are good changed 2 fouled plugs. Truck back to Eva to catch up with NHmoose and crew. Left Eva noon. Icy straight out from Eva but very good. different kind of year this season will keep you honest. Further north we go the better. 355 to 83 to local orange past St Hedgewich. Then local orange to La dore then 93 up to 373 junction then u turn back down 93 to orange to chef then to 93 and to Pouvoirie La Dore. only 5 here tonight private party just for us. Stephane, Cynthia , Alex and Meti. Great gang here. Love it here. get here and encourage them. First year on I motoneige second winter open. Well worth tge stop. Trails very rideable and it’s now or never. Get out or miss out.

Day 6 final day 230 miles. Headed out over to LaSarre this morning the first 35-40 miles was pure white carpet the type of thing snowmobilers dream about with the fresh snow from last night the sun coming out, and the snow covered trees made for an unforgettable ride. Did a couple of the loop trials north of LaSarre all of which are totally awesome then headed over to La Reine which is right on the Quebec/ Ontario border you get there by running about 10 miles of rail bed, which again was pure white carpet. At the end of the rail bad we ventured into Ontario for a bit via the same rail bed which is unmaintained into Ontario side but still a fun Boondocking experience. Then made our way back to Amos via TQ 93. Another epic day to finish out an epic riding week. Anyone who wasn’t up here missed out on some amazing conditions. Hard to believe the weather for the next 48 hours which looks downright horrible Hopefully this area makes it though. I hope everyone enjoyed following along, and I just made a few people jealous along the way!

More…..

Day 7 Sunday Great night at Windigo, drinks, conversations, stories throw in the nosh on the wings and smoked meat sandwiches. Oh yes. To Team Vermont….looking forward to next seasons rendezvous. After saying our goodbyes and loading up. Everyone ready to go. My sled loves it here so much it doesn’t fire off on the first go. Never good. This will take extra effort. Get coolant heater plugged in. Decided to hook up Daniel’s big jumpbox. Spins over real nice this go round and finally fires. Maybe 15 minutes of giving it attention, For what its worth by far not the coldest night out this week, but is the one night i did not cover my sled. Maybe nothing maybe something, Up driveway out of Windigo. TQ83 magic carpet ride back all the wsy to Relais 22 . Bridge still unsafe for groomer straight out back of Relais 22 on TQ83. 83 west this year is just north of Relais 22 its 30 km longer then going out the old trail and over the bridge. Gas n go and quick conversation with Christine at 22, knowing full well that many sleds are bearing down on this place from up the TQ83 coming for lunch on Sunday. Up we go and as expected busy trail. But all well behaved. Love the new Sena 50 really top shelf. Nice ride back up TQ83 then secret trail to 355 from TQ83 was a stunner. Said goodbye to our trail mates as they were headed to load uo and haul south today. Great guys NH Moose aka “bullwinkle” anytime anywhere goes without saying. Mark ditto do not get to see him enough. Great guy. Phil sr newest member of Team Iceman. Another rider. Gets it done solid. Loved spending time on and off trail with you all.. Until next time boys. Snohorse and I continue on TQ83 junk. And junk. Seriously not good. Big difference in conditions here. We suffer on to local orange to Saint Andre. Ok but best up. Went in another local trail tour then a retrace of our route back to 355 and Auberge Eva. Only people here tonight. Private hotel and restaurant. No one else. We stitched it together as my partner in trails Snohorse says. Successful week stellar trails with excellent company. Some new discoveries and some new memories on long cherished sections of trails. Some of our favorites, Is it the last ride? Stay tuned

Day 6, last day left Valga and doubled back south to 5. When we get to 35 we take that, some of the trails around Rimouski are showing red again and since we took 5 on the way out we will try and stay more inland. Stay on 35 to the 546 cutoff and take that, it’s in really nice shape. Local traffic is starting to pick up now but everyone is acting nicely. We take the 571 when we hit it then the 544 into St. Cyprien and have a good lunch at the St. Cyp. Continue on the 544 to the Orange local, think it is 44 but not positive and take that to 85. 85 still in good shape and covered well but icy. After the Adventiers clubhouse things get pretty bad. Mostly dirt and gravel with a little snow here and there to the 526. The 526 is no better and pretty much no snow the last 2 or 3 miles into the Universal. We had a great trip, the clubs are all out doing their best and trails are mostly good. All towns are bone dry getting in and out, even Murdochville is dry blacktop at the gas station. Many areas WILL NOT survive the warm up and rain this week. It will take a good dump of snow after Wednesday to open it all back up. 142 miles for the day 1050 for the week

Day 1: today went from Amos up to Matagami total miles 253. Great trails the whole way fast running made the miles go by very quickly. Had lunch up there at a nice little restaurant. Met a couple from Ontario heading up to Matagami as well so we all rode up together got to love the snowmobiling community!

Day 2 Tuesday Woke to beautiful cold morning after awesome night at Pouvoirie La Dore. Great stay had great conversation with Owner Stephane super nice guy. Big chalet with four bedrooms nice fun. Terrain here is big i think their territory stretches 20 miles. 18 chalets and big fishing and hunting for bear, moose and caribou. Lake trout and brook trout. 8 miles out trail to TQ93 trail groomed into pouvoirie with small drag but real good. TQ93 has been groomed north he has not returned south. It’s beautiful all the way to local trail to Resto du Chef. Saw 2 sleds north bound direction Chibougamau. Been very little traffic few here and there but very spread out. Bingo that is the plan. Good old fashioned trail bingo. Here in the honey hole. I got all day to go nowhere. Destination St Felicien tonight and we will be in the vincinty all day. And now please stand by for a Public service announcement. Everyone please continue to circulate only on the Blue federal trails as you are now. We thank you all for you continued cooperation in helping us enjoy the other trails privately without undue, unnecessary, excessive traffic. Thank you for the support. Say it with me or even better sing it out loud. B I N G O……B I N G O Up down over back up down over up back around all that. And is awesome. One after the other Please sir may i have another? Yes you can. Late lunch Resto du Chef then then another 80 miles into hotel the BINGO way. Saw Mother Lynx with kitten. On TQ93 west of Lac a Jim. Leisurely strolling together right off side of trail. We will keep on going. One day at a time. Headed for Otis Nature via 373 and some bonus honey hole action. Well oiled machine here. Great bunch of riders. 206 miles of 8/10 to 10/10 all damn day (r.i.p. Big) Corral full and overflowing here at Du Jardin. Hotel full tonight. Ordered dinner from Restaurant Mikes.

We are back from today's ride. We went out 383 to St Bruno and then the local trails to the bridge in Alma. From there to Relais du Lac and back to the Delta via 93. Most of the riding was still OK but it was warm. In the woods, it is still good but the road crossings, the fields and the south facing hills are turning from snirt to dirt. Any road running is pretty bare. It is forecast to stay above freezing overnight and thru tomorrow. Then the temps are suppose to drop but still no snow or only a centimeter or two. A storm is what is needed after this warm up. There are still areas that have decent snow and very rideable but you may have to go thru some bad stuff to get there. The groomers are still out and managing to do the amazing with what little snow they have to work with. I don't think they will be out tonight since it is going to be warm but they may prove me wrong. We are loading up and heading home tomorrow. We were going to head home Sunday but decided not to ride tomorrow and take the black trail instead. If we don't come back up again, we wish everyone a happy, healthy and safe year. Jack & Sandi

Well, 6 of us reluctantly headed up on Saturday, the 3rd. Being that is was free weekend, we wanted to try and avoid heaving traffic areas, so we parked off 322 between Mount Laurier and Maniwaki and headed North on the local trail towards Le Pensive. We continued on for a stop at Club Gatineau. Trails to this point were 9/10 with good snow and little traffic. Went on to Club Notawissi and then down the cutoff to Club Fontbune for the night. This was my first time staying there and let me tell you, awesome little place. The team there works their butts off to make sure you have an excellent experience. Fun staff, nice cabins, awesome food. The next day we headed back the way we came and up to Le Pensive and Lepine road to Clova. Very little traffic and even though Lepine wasn't groomed, it was a real nice ride. The logging at the end wasn't even very problematic, sort of looks like they are done there and other than the last mile or so, there was plenty of snow on the road for lubrication. Clova was exactly what you would expect, although I did overhear it being said Dominique may be considering hitting Lepine with the groomer. The next day we headed towards parent. Clova to Parent was pretty tuned in. They are now working you around the logging there, so other than some stretches to cross water run offs and some crossings, you weren't running the bare road. I give it a more than acceptable work around. Parent to 345 intersection was total dog shit. I think they may have groomed one time, but I needs hit 2 or 3 times before it comes into shape. There seems to be enough snow on the trail for grooming. I was thankful the new bridge was in. We were prepared to cross, but after seeing with my own eyes, I understand why those who have crossed said it was an adventure. 345 down to Kanawata and then down to Repos was freaking awesome. 11/10 for sure. Fast and Fun. We continued on down 33 to Auberge Taureau for the night. Snow is definitely thin as you get down that direction, but groomers are doing a great job keeping the trails in as good of shape as possible. Next morning we head out 360 to 345 and head back north. This section of 345 was almost as good as the northern section. They had it tuned up real nice and it was quite enjoyable. From Repos, we head west over to 53 and down to Meekos. I give this whole stretch 8.5/10. A few obstacles to be mindful of hear and there, mainly water wash outs, but all and all, pretty nice ride. Half the group jumps in the lake at Meekos, we have a good meal and wait for the next day wondering how it might be getting back to the truck as we decided to man up and try going down the St. Anne Du Lac, Devils Mountain, etc. picking our way back to the truck. Well, this ride had lots of ups and downs. There were sections that you would have felt like full on winter conditions and sections that would feel like the end of March with lots of rocks, gravel, etc. That being said, sleds never overheated and we made back to the truck at 11:30. We were all super happy we came up and it ended up being a great trip. I would say 900 total miles, 50 or so utter dogshit, 200 ish 8/10 and the rest were classic Quebec. Now for the real question..........What's it gonna be like in say a week or two

Someone loved her first time ever to a Pourvoire

Day 5 Friday Woke at Pouvoirie La Dore. I like it here. Snowing again. Not super cold as my gatorade aint frozen on porch. It’s cold thought This will hold me over until getting some coffee. Boys are stirring around looking like the warm has lost the battle this go round. Wind picking up still snowing on and off. Enjoyed talking for a long time with Stephane last night. Quite interesting as I learned alot we all did asking hunting and fishing questions trying to get an understanding on how they do it all year. Great place and super hosts. Go and stay they have one big chalet with four bedrooms So 8 singje beds max, only chalet insulated for clients thus winter. Next year probably 1 more. But this will remain an intimate place. More personal to stay here. For lunch they have been doing well. Many clients. They make their living May to November. Like i said before there is just something about this place. Stephane met us after a great breakfast and we took a ride out and up the lake and back. He took us out the back over the bridge and showed us the way to join up with the local orange trail branche ouest. Interesting. But not as fast as the TQ93. He showed us another nine mile loop around the lake by the lodge. This has Team VT written all over it as he said no problem go and explore, their are trails everywhere. We had to say goodbye for now and bailed out the backdoor to La Dore. Still snowing on and off temps already noticeably colder, wind is biting. TQ93 to Gas n go La Dore. Trail mint. Been 95% all week. Very little traffic. This being the “Tour to nowhere” we got nowhere to go to. All day to do it. Now those of you that pay attention know what is next……if you guessed trail bingo = winning. 👍 Stayed in the sweet spot. All around above lake. St Felicien to Dolbeau. To 373 then back across 373 searching for red sticks with wind howling in the fields. One of those days you think about where to stop for a break and finding somewhere tucked in the trees to block that wind. Temperature has plummeted and with wind not great for the hands being out of the gloves too long. Only real rough spot few KM between middle orange trail and TQ93 up near Lac a Jim. Everything else very nice. Likey likey. Bingo card full it’s time for early happy hour. Into Girardville. Happy campers.

Today we started a eight day 1500 mile saddlebag trip with Myself, Eric, Ken, Dan, Randy, and Kurt .Started in Saint Raymond and on to Sept-Iles. First 10 miles was snirt but not real bad. Got much better after that. All the way to Mount Apica. Rough for 20 miles after their then Pretty good almost all the way to the Delta. Was not bad getting into the Delta with wheels on the skis. 185 miles for the day.

Yesterday we rode from Delta to Otis Nature. First 8 miles until you cross the second bridge were lots of rocks, snirt and dirt. One of the Sidewinders kept overheating. After the second bridge a Huge improvement. Flat smooth. Couldn't go WOT as there is ice beneath a thin layer of snow, corners very icy. Goof smoked meat at Otis Nature. 110 miles. Today took 83 S to Auberge du Ravage. Much better getting out from the Delta. Lots of open straight trials where you could go WOT. Nice lunch at the Ravage. 87 Octane gas at the Ravage is 2.50/liter. Was a great day for 160 miles. Tomorrow we're going to head North again and shoot for Auberge KM 31. Will post tomorrow. Overall, it's still better then work. Sled wheels are a really nice to have in the Delta parking lot. Completely bare asphalt Fred

Today rode West on 83 to Auberge Presbytere for breakfast. 83 West was awesome. Spent the day just riding 83, 23 and especially 383. Stopped at Relais La Genouille, pretty good sled club. All trials awesome. Unfortunately, when we got back to the Dela it was 35 degrees. Snow getting soft and bare spots worse, Calling for rain on Friday. Not sure I'd rec coming up this weekend. Was 4 days riding worth 2000 miles drive from Pittsburgh? YES. Heading home tomorrow.

I'm here/there, last week there were TONS more trailers @ Escoumins and trail traffic, this week very few of both, mostly locals, and they're grooming more than they're showing on iMoto, that plus the rock hard base could be good for a while if temps stay low...

Day 8 Monday Trucked it to chez Ice, touchdown home 3 hrs from Lac Bouchette. Snowing up there messy to La Tuque almost 3” new snow overnight there. Less as we drove south. Yamaha off the Snohorse trailer and Freeride back in. Unloaded gear and said goodbye to the Snohorse and he headed on south. Timing is everything and the timing and planning were on. The rest of the team had a smooth run back to USA Sunday. NHmoose said he was home by 10:30. Nice until next time mes amis

Day 4. today we traveled 180 miles from Baie Comeau to Sept-tiles. Last 125 miles was slot, car fast and smooth. Had about 15 miles of rough stuff 25 miles east of Baie Comeau. Woke up to bright sunshine again this morning. Tomorrow we start heading back on similar route that got us here.

Here's the ride we did on Sunday February 4, 2023 Here in the fields near my home We tried the brand new #345 trail path to St-Félix de Valois which had been closed for several years due to a loss of right of way in Notre Dame de Lourdes sector and also in the village of St-Félix de Valois the urbanization had taken over the old route which was no longer possible to use. The new trail connects St-Thomas/Ste-Élisabeth via the east side of #131road to St-Félix. Here next to Benny in the fork south of St-Félix. The trail goes around the village of St-Félix on the east side to connect with the old trail north of St-Félix near the small narrow bridge which connects the Guillaume Tell snowmobile club in St-Félix and the St-Gabriel de Brandon Snowmobile club There is a bit of roadside and shared trail but it is still a great realization for the St-Félix snowmobile club to have succeeded in making this new acces of 15kms to connect south/north... personally I was no longer believed it! I take my hat off to them! Here on the Black River in St-Jean de Matha near Gero Brp dealer We went up the #63 trail, passed through Coin Lavigne in St-Côme and went up the #33 trail towards St-Donat. The mountain just before arriving was frosty like I had never seen it There is a new meal option in St-Donat, a St-Hubert! we had our lunch there, it's just a counter with a small dining room but it was full and we had good, fast service and there's a gaz station just in front to feed the BRPs! We then took Lake Archambault to go towards the Montagne Noire In the middle of the lake there was a big puddle of slush with a snowmobile deeply stuck in it... When in doubt, throttle out! Unfortunately the Black Mountain area was under clouds when we arrived there. The rising trail scenery was heavily painted with snow Once on the top was just as beautiful, too bad we didn't have the sun But the gray jays were there as usual Having still a good run to do to return home we continued towards #33 south And here on Lake Esterelle I didn't remember how winding and mountainous the #33 section south of Estérel was, a real roller coaster with a zipper! We felt the snow cover a little thinner when we reached St-Calixte. We took a break in St-Lin to then have our dessert at the driving level with beautiful long fast fields towards the south. As weird luck would have it, we crossed #125 road just few minutes before a fatal accident occurred there, a snowmobile with 2 people have been hit by a car at the road crossing giving no chance to the 2 sledders, we found this out the next morning in the news. On the ride we just seen the police cars on flashes going up towards St-Esprit on #158 while we were just a few kms away near St-Alexis(next village). From what we read, it was the 3rd sled of a group of 4 and some people told the icy trail approach to the road may had contribute to the accident. The 2 peoples were a couple that now leave a 9 years old child orphaned. Road crossing are no joke guys, be double careful when you cross them... this kind of impact rarely forgive.... Sympathies to the affected families and friends We were finally back home at 7:30 p.m. with 359km on the dreameter. It's ultimately a pretty big ride, not just in terms of mileage but also several winding, less rolling trail sections. We left at 8:30 in the morning and did a good ride. Good conditions overall with the cold we had during the night before and the majority of trails which were freshly groomed. We closely watch the forecast for the next weekend, hoping for the best! Alain

Here are some pics from last weekend. Another 600 miles of smiles. The most snow I have seen so far this season, but still not quite enough in spots. TQ83 is really having a rough season.

It's after breakfast and the decision was to make a small loop and come back up thru La Baie and see the fishing village. 83 south it is. A few miles out and 83 crosses autoroute 175. Straight thru the intersection and the trail goes into the field. A change here. The trail keeps going straight instead of left into the woods. It runs a good mile and then goes thru a couple more fields. Nice and open. We come to a stop sign and this is where the cul-de-sac for Chicoutimi joins. A little easier running. You don't go behind the houses any more. That is part of the cul-de-sac now. Then we are back on the old 83. Good running along and we turn right onto 368. The trail has been a little bumpy but enough snow. No trouble with dirt. A few miles in and the groomer for Laterriere made a pass from here last night. We turn left on 383 still following the groomer's path. We are first tracks now. What a nice ride this is. Crossing back and forth over the quad trail. The quad trail is on the old road that went to the old Relais Boullanaise. I know I must have missplet that. The trail gets cranky after the old Relais. Still groomed but tugging back and forth on the handlebars. We pull into Ferland for coffee break. A few sleds and quads outside. Sunny day and mild temps. What a great day for riding. We continue south on 383. Just after Ferland, wow has this area been logged. Much of it has been clear cut. A lot of nice scenic views. The trail has been changed around here too. It's following the access roads for the logging operation. Nice gentle sweeping turns. The up and downs are too big for big trucks. Maybe its access for the smaller equipment. 383 now cuts back up to 83 on what was the old local 22 trail. It joins 83 near the spur to St Felix. 383 no longer goes straight south to 83 where there was a warming hut. 83 is used but in decent shape. We haven't seen too many sleds today. I would have thought there would have been more traffic for such a nice Sunday. At the little bridge for the cutoff to La Baie, Trail Security is checking sleds. They have 3 sleds stopped and the younger riders are pulling out paperwork. Oh oh for them but good for us. One of the Security workers motions for us to continue on. Into La Baie and gas up the sleds. We cross the road and get on the local trail that runs on the walking path. Slow going here of course. In town and it is narrow and bumpy. We jump down onto the bay and see the fishing house scattered all around. A lot of activity but as we approach the north side, we notice no fishing village! The signs are up and the lot markers are here but no fishing huts. The only thing I can think of is the bay was so late in freezing thick enough, the trucks and tractors used to pull the houses onto the ice weren't allowed on the ice. I don't know. A disappointment because it is really cool to see the village. We get off the ice and back on the trail. Oh my is this bumpy. I don't think this has been groomed this year. The red stakes are in the ground and the stop signs are in but no grooming. Rough is being polite. About 8 miles of torture and we finally join back onto 83. The rest of the ride back to the Delta is nice once again. We get back early enough to trailer Jason's rental back to Evasion. Overall it was a nice weekend for them. Tomorrow they drive back to Connecticut. Sandi and I are here for the week. Can't wait to see Pat and Gary. They should be on a plane right now coming across the pond. See you tomorrow. Jack & Sandi

Waking up at Le Montagnais in Chicoutimi this a.m. boy it was some kind of fun getting the machines in here last night we rode around the lake yesterday and it was quite an experience. Would go on conditions ranging from 8.5-9 and back to 2-2.5 in a blink of an eye and just constantly kept changing all day. And it wasn’t t just woods were good and fields bad as some fields were mint and others long patches of snirt. In any event it was a good day. Like most places they NEED a more snow. It was nice waking up to this awhile ago. We are heading off to Windigo for the night and will update conditions at the 22

Shot north today to the Marineau Mattawin Had a nice shake down loop east of the hotel . Temperature around 0 f° at noon 360 , 355, 351, 23, 360 ..for a 112 mile ride. Some really good and some not so much . Just happy to have the track back on snow ! Tomorrow we'll ride west of here .

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Good evening ladies & gentlemen! That's it, today was the first ride of the season. A big 315 km! For me, as my first ride of the year, it's a lot. With a late departure from home, we arrived at Les Escoumins Tuesday evening around 5:15. We had read on some posts that it was necessary to take the trailer up to Hydro Qc to start riding, but when we got to the hotel we saw some sleds coming from the trail in the back, so after a little chat, lover unloaded the sleds and we left from the hotel Escoumins this morning. Departure was at 7:40. The first km all to hydro Quebec are terrible, very little snow, bumpy and rocky. After that, it's much better. We took trail 3 until we passed Bouleaux blancs, then continued straight along the river on the orange trail. It was nice and all groomed but icy in some turns. Then, we arrived at the green trail 330, we turned right. Unfortunately the groomer had turned left. Next was left on trail Pelchat. It wasn't terrible until we reached the Domaine Or Piste. Then, lots of bumps, bumps, bumps and more bumps!!! A roller coaster! 😳 It was my first time to La Chapelle, I'd heard lots about Mont-Valin this, Mont -Valin that, but I was disappointed with all these bumps. We had them for a good 20km before the relais. I know, I know, there are lots of people here, understandable it's the only place people can ride on. I would not like to see it with more snow, I can only imagine the bumps being much bigger. Not to mention the fact that the off trail riders are very limited if any. So the total number of riders here is still not at its highest. We had a quick break, ate a snack and left within an hour. To go back, we rode on an orange local trail to the 93. Again bumps, bumps and more bumps for a good 30 km this time. 😒 We were back at the hotel at 3:50 pm. Now I'm sore but happy to have seen it. Check! Been there, done that!✅ Snohorse's favorite trail didn't disappoint though! 👌🏼 Might go back to La Chapelle one day as a waitress, they must make a killing with all these people! There definitely making more than me teaching high school kids! 😜

Put close to 1000 miles on last week on the loaner, my sled came in a day affter we left for the the trip, oh well, its home now.

Brought it in the garage to change some clutching and install my “Quebec” windshield instead of the 3 inch tall one that came with.

I haven't seen it yet, but I'm told it may look like this.😏

We rode motorcycles through that area the first week of September and saw no fire damage anywhere. We were on our way back from a James Bay-Trans Tiaga trip. We rode the dirt roads from Senneterre to La Tuque passing through Parent, Clova and Casey. We even camped at the old radar site in Parent with no sign of any recent fires so I believe all is good to go in that area.