Quebec part Deux!~

Just when you think it can't get ANY better!!! SNOW!!! and lots of it!!
Day two promised to be just as great as the first! Today.. flurries.. no wait! LOTS AND LOTS OF beautiful snow!!! The expression- the sky is puking... comes to mind...

We drove from the lodge to Evasion Sport in Chicoutimi to meet up with Steve,(yamaha) Nancy Donnelly (tourisme saguenay-lac-st-jean)and the President of the Snowmobile club, for our day of riding...

Denis was not going to be joining us today, but he has a great location, friendly helpful staff and services to any make and model just incase you need to get back on the trails quick!!

READY SET ....RIDE!

Our starting point for our ride to L'Anse Saint-Jean, was Rivière-Éternité. Since 1988, the tiny village of Rivière Éternité , has held an annual international exhibition of Christmas crèches.

From mid-November to mid-January, this exhibition displays artistic works and collective projects of three different kinds.

At Rivière-Éternité, huge granite walls carved by once roving glaciers stand some 300 m tall...

... and plunge 276 metres into the obscure waters of the Saguenay Fjord.
The trails here were just as amazing as the previous day... this time we were treated to some tighter, twistier trails.. but still very very wide trailsLook up.. WAYYYY up!

I only wish the day was a little bit sunnier so we could have seen the view of the Fjords!I think another visit is FOR SURE on the list!!! ;) also with the ice just getting solid the "fishing villages" on the fjords weren't all set up yet.. they apparently have everything out there, huts, convinience stores.. hotels anyone!?

All this riding and scenery was making me hungry! and Luke and Kyle Cranky! ;) Lunch STOP!

okay late late lunch!! it was nearly 4pm! Time really flies when you are enjoying your ride! Luckily we were near the end of our ride... and L'Est Anse Ciel served us up some fantastic snack.. HA! snack.. more like 5 meals in one!!! the boys named their Tortiere - MEAT INJECTION! I think they got through most of it! Certainly they don't believe in small meals!!

But wait.. what would a trip with lots of snow.. massive snow drifts and banks without a "digout"

nope not yours truly.... LUKE!!! I saw this beautiful sidehill , and thought to myself.. ooo that looks like fun.. but we've been riding all day... it's been a good trip.. naw.. leave it prestine.. then from out of nowhere i see this little blob out of the corner of my eye! WOW Nice one Luke!!! perfect sidehill.. oo wait no , no no!!! ya.. end result.. couple minutes of diggin.. sorry Luke i could only get my camera out AFTER the Beautiful sidehill shot had passed...

Onwards to where we will rest our heads tonite.. Les Gites du Fjord, Located in L'Anse Saint-Jean. We were so late arriving that we had to miss the most anticipated stop of the ENTIRE TRIP!!! hence I will be making it back out.. maybe an entire trip around Edouard Les Bains!!!

It looks soo inviting!!!

The evening at Les Gites des Fjords was fantastic..the Snowtrax Crew even CRASHED the Christmas Party! HA!

Thanks so much for having us!!!

To sum up our trip to Saguenay-Lac-St.-Jean region..

C'était une magnifique expérience! Je suis inquiet de rendre et monter plus de pistes de motoneige immaculées!
Grâce à chacun pour avoir l'équipage snowtrax!

Quebec! Episode Un!

I was thrilled at the opportunity to ride before Christmas.. Even more thrilled when the destination was Quebec, Saguenay -Lac St. Jean region.. a trail system in Quebec that has over 3,300 km of marked trails and one of the longer seasons of riding...close to 22 weeks of snowmobile paradise. I'm ready to make tracks!

Day 1- ROAD TRIP

the drive there went fairly quickly- well if you take out all our stops to get camera guy kyle a bathing suit for the much anticipated soak in the nordic style hot tub at Edouard Les Bains We made a pit stop overnight in Chicoutimi for a break and some sleep before we headed out on the trails.. thanks to Hotel La Sagueneene... a great location, with fantastic hospitality, good rooms and most importantly we all got a good sleep.

Day 2:

Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, generally called “Royaume” – meaning Kingdom or Realm – stands apart with its amazing Fjord, a deep cavity in the rocky bed of the Canadian Shield, and Lake Saint-Jean, a genuine interior created by the glaciers. http://www.snowmobilersparadise.com/default_an.asp

Okay, when you look at these trails.. do you see something wrong??? When we met up with our guides they started apologizing for having a "meltdown" where they lost a lot of snow... umm okay!?what!? the banks are only 1-2ft high.. the trails were immaculate!I guess i'm used to Ontario meltdowns.. ie- ALL GONE!

Our guides, Steve Bolduc - DSM for Yamaha, Denis Gagnon of Evasion Sport and Richard Gaumont of the Mont-Valin Snowmobile club treated us to some fantastic trails.. it was a chilly morning but properly geared up we headed out. (ahum ok all of us except my face..stay tuned for how to ensure you don't get frostbite on your face report)

The ride was to tour the Mont Valin region...honestly I thought I was in the mountains out west... the hills, the heights and the views all lead me to believe we were "out west" o and that meltdown .. ya right! there was plenty of powder to get stuck in.. Denis was the first dig out.. and second.. ooo and the third! HA!

The trails in the region are truly rider friendly, I'm sure everyone has heard that before... but these trails are wide, groomed every day on the main trails and at least every 3rd on the offshoot trails. Honestly families,couples, guys rides..I would recomend this area for anyone... you can set your own pace and do as many miles or as little miles as you would like.

Lunch Anyone!? Auberge du km 31 served up a HUUUUUGE lunch.. I am really surprised we were able to move after that! below is the view from the Auberge..








It was a chore getting dressed and getting back on the sleds... ok who am i kidding!? I was excited to get back out and ride... even if i had frostbite near my eye.. but thankfully Luke helped me out and blocked up all the vents in my helmet with gaff tape..and blocked all the holes in my ahum MX goggles and "ported" my faux fog..yes more on that story later... imagine being able to see and not being fogged up! Now I was really ready to hit the trails!
With most of our shooting in the can..we were really able to see what these trails had to offer... a little bit of snow dust from the front of the pack... but beautiful FLAT wide trails the entire way back to the trailer...I don't think i stopped smiling the whole ride back.. I was even getting used to the Ski doo ETEC 600 yes fun is about the only word I can sum up our afternoon ride with.
But the day didn't end here! We had reservations at Cap Au Leste, nestled in 3 national parks these individual cabins are so rustic and comfy, but have all the amenities.. our own fireplace and common room to relax in and we even enjoyed a locally brewed beer, ok or two...

Dinner at the lodge was something we did not expect! I think the pictures will speak for themselves! Marilou... your dishes that night were superb!

The meal was amazing... Cap Au Leste incorporates local produce and Quebecois cuisine together to make something unique to their restaurant.. Blueberries are popular in the area and we were treated to some for desert.. yummmmy! before bed we had a "fire camp" just outside the main lodge.... Cap Au Leste caters to the outdoorsperson , it's quiet , peaceful and has a fantastic view from any of the lodges.. ours "Montagnais" yes you guessed it a mountain to climb to get to it, but well worth it for the sunset and sunrise.

INSPIRATION 7c

This past week end at The first ISOC races blair's absence was missed.. however with Chad Harris of HCP designs, Ashlee Painchaud & Steve Taylor's Inspiration 7c concept, Blair's presence was certainly felt.
The idea was to custom paint a helmet with Blair Morgan's 7c, superman and his favorite colour .. blue and then auction it off.. overnight it went to 20 helmets.. one for each pro to wear for the week end... complete with an auction at the end.
And if you can't wear a helmet there are bracelets, tshirts, stickers and flags..
The first auction is over.... DJ Eckstrom, Shaun Crapo, and Willie Elam's helmets were at the event on auction and then on Ebay as well....
This is everyone's chance to give back to Blair what he has done for us and the snowcross/ motocross sport/s.
Check out http://www.inspiration7c.com/

Yamaha EH?

I had a chance to catch up with the boys in blue in Duluth at the first ISOC race.....It had been a long time since I have seen Steve.. and STEVE... YOUR interview rocked.. I still remember the first interview EVER with Steve way back with BMRT.... his answer went something like.. "hi my name is Stephen Taylor..." err ok!?

Iain , well I have had the pleasure of interviewing and "hanging" with iain quite a bit while he was with the CSRA. He's still just as dedicated to racing and is getting used to his new ride .
Two racers for Yamaha- both Canadian... neat "eh"? it gets better.... The team Manager, Team trainer/ personal guru/ truck driver/ mechanic... WOW I think in total there is many one lonely American.. GO CANADA GO!!! :) Way to Represent in ISOC in ONE TEAM!

Andre Laurin- Team Manager- yes you know Andre-OTSFF is one of Canada's premier sports marketing groups. The company has operated a number of successful factory teams in Canadian National Motocross, Canadian and American National Snocross, and American National ATV racing since 2002...

Drew Robertson- Mr. GURU man.. o ya and look out he gives whirlie rides until you nearly puke.. ! he has these boys FIT...mentally, physically and emotionally.. RIDE RIDE RIDE.. that's what it's all about..

Keep your eyes peeled on Snowtrax for the boys in blue...