Well people it’s a balmy 2 degrees out there – yup…spring is here and you know what?  It has absolutely nothing to do with the calendar date (stating it’s spring) or that it’s kind of a double whammy being sunny AND Friday – it’s all about the bbq.

We BBq all year long – except when there are 7 ft of snow burying it and reaching it with steaks in hand could be considered treacherous.  So it’s been awhile for all of you out there joining in the joy that is THE WINTER OF 2007/2008.

I digress.  Today we are having steaks – they were on sale and gosh darn it – it’s friday soooo I lit the bbq and thankfully nothing jumped out at me and no sizzling sounds were to be heard – whew!

That smell is the ultimate summer smell isn’t it?  BBQ – yum.  Enough to make me forget that I have sent my resume out to a bazillion companies over the last few months only to find a glaring error in the most recent addition (in the date no less) such a LOSER!!! GAWD I’m like the female Napoleon Dynamite but whatever, I’m over it cause it’s BBQ time baybee!!!

Yes this would be a great illustration of a person with way too much friggin time on their hands.  As well as someone looking for a diversion that doesn’t include monster,workopolis or jobbank.

All Hail The Coming of SPRING!!

This year was a HIGHLY pathetic snowbiling year for me (for a number of reasons).  So I was initially excited about the opportunity to ride so late in the season.

WELL let me tell you!!!  It was AWFUL.

I think all the groomers with the exception of Buckhorn stopped on Saturday.  

After 160 miles the only way to truly explain the experience is “Bitch Slapped To Death” but never actually dying.  Absolute torture.

Soo ends the season for me.  There are some very motivated snow seeker who will undoubtedly meander towards Quebec for the next few weeks but I for one am closing her down.  Bring on Spring and I will cross my fingers for an injure free next year with just as much snow!!!

This is a phone call I received while sleeping so bear with me on this one.

They had to wait for some work on a sled at the dealership so heading out they were delayed.

Even so they would have reached Pembrooke 2 hours before if they hadn’t been very carefully scrutinized by police on the trail (always a joy). It amazes me really because if you were to stop these guys (all with late model sleds) and check to make sure they all have trail passes and they’re not drunk – why the hassle? They’re not a bunch of teenagers up to “no good” and no laws have been broken so…. I say wave em on their way – right? Noooooooooo that’s not how it went so regardless time was lost, return home delayed due to a technicality, way to wreck the day eh?

Accomodation: Pembrooke Best Western

Tomorrow Bancroft – then Port Perry YAY!!

and no I’m not holding my breath cause this trip has been anything BUT timely!

Trails were good – all went well.

Hotel Motel Caroline: blue felt headboard, beige flowery bedspread and swag lamps (NUFF SAID!!) Other then decor – seems an ok place.

There seems to be an awful lot of ??? in this play by play of the trip – not good. I guess that means I’m a better correspondent on the scene rather then remotely huh?!!

Yay they know where they are now – no, it isn’t listed ANYWHERE on their itinerary BUT at least they got a room at the Forestel – um Forestal – ok here goes again ??????????? I can’t find the hotel they’re at online but to prove I did at least TRY I found this instead:

http://www.webclassifieds.us/index/listings/page111040.htm
Just in case anyone was interested in buying some acreage (49 acres) up that way!!

Only 120 miles today – so I guess they actually got to get to know each other a bit instead of sledding their faces off every second of the day, which is good!

no idea where I put my notes – will edit when I talk to RC again!!!

oops!!

Yes I know I’m bouncing back and forth between miles and kms but I’m just the messenger…

The hits keep coming – everyone has been hit with one kind of a break down to the next and today was no exception. In an effort to cover more ground and get back on the original itinerary their efforts were foiled a mere 100km from Senneterre.

Something about a back axle seizing up. So they had to double back to Balbuzard, Abitibi (or something). Talk about running hot and cold here was a 5 star lodge that caters to people from all over the place.

The guys they met there were from France and taking part in an Extreme Tour that sees them set up with a sled and all the gear plus 200km of trail for 5 days guess how much??

$4000 – at first you think holy cow $4000 BUT if you get everything taken care of for you and a guided tour… ah heck who am I kidding it’s expensive but I guess that’s what your into with the whole niche adventure travel gig.

The weird thing is there are no showers there – why? Good to know. Check it out here:
http://www.balbuzard.com/pages_english/price.html

The trails are loaded (over) with snow to the point that you can only see the very tip top of the trail stop signs (insanity!) This has forced the guys to run the logging roads most of the time.

Quite the adventure this is non?

RC says they’ve gone way off course (360km) are at least 600km away from Parent (original destination) and the 200 miles they did has brought them to “the middle of nowhere”.

Luckily there’s a clubhouse in the middle of nowhere with a phone booth outside AND rooms they can crash in !?

The trails are very powdery and the groomer hasn’t been through since the last time 30 cm of snow fell. Which means a good 70cm of snow and wishy washy trails.

The guys did get seperated and ended up at 2 different hotels but the details are …confusing on this end. If this post doesn’t make a lot of sense then you will have a good measure on the phone call I received!

Hopefullly the boys will figure out where they are today.

I have no idea where this is but what an awesome picture

The trails along this route were a little dicey. Not bad as far as the ride but not groomed (which can turn into a problem).

Yes we have a Sled Down people – day two!! Man do we love sledding or what? Some of us love it sooooooo much that when the dealership says the parts needed to put boo-boo sled back together will take a couple of days they ….

….trade it in and get a brand new one!!! Bye-bye Mach, hellooooooo XP 600!!

Gotta give kudos to the dealer (I will have to find out where that was) but they stayed opened 1 1/2 later to re-assemble and set-up all the needed accessories and saddlebags.

The last part of the ride (trail 93) was getting bumpy and unhospitable and everyone’s hoping that it won’t continue like that for Day Three.

The Hotel Morel Coronet doesn’t come up online anywhere and quite frankly the boys were too tired to care what it was like – they got in at 10pm and just manged to squeeze in dinner before the kitchen closed.