Quebec 2004

Quebec 2004

Trip Day One (Sorry No GPS Data)

After meeting in Brookline NH, at 1:00am, six WPR Racers traveled in a convoy to St Foy, Quebec. Kyle and Adam suggested moving up the departure time so we would not miss too much football. After quickly unloading at the exquisite Motel Collabri at 9:30am we were ready to embark on a ride Northeast up ITS 3 headed for the Casino de Charlevouix some 146 miles away. It was our intent to get there by 3:30pm for the AFC Championship game. As Pats fans completly put off by all of the nausiating Payton Manning worshiping going on all week, we wanted to see if that freak hillbilly could play some football in New England in January.
Duane and Bill joined the group shortly after we arrived and we headed up the local trails to catch ITS 3. We had not eaten, but were more hungry for some riding. Reports had indicated that the riding was good to poor. The reports were not accurate. The riding was fantastic. A 7 out of 10 at the beginning of day one. Mother nature decided that the 8 dedicated riders needed a brand new surface to ride on. The snow came down hard enough to accumulate several inches on the trek to Charlevouix, but not too much to hinder our vision. We kept a torrid pace with the Trail Boss leading most of the way. We had passed two warming huts on the way and voted against stopping for breakfast both times. Most of the way, the Pres was just behind the trail boss so the two could confer on direction, pace and need for fuel. The next group had Dave, Kyle and Adam in no particular order. The rest were No. 1, Duane and Bill. Bill did not have picks on his sled, but was equal to the task as he brought up the rear of the pack right on our tails. Bill was on his first ride with us up north and never kept us waiting. Understandably, the trail boss can be a bit chippy if you pick up your hood too often. We were there to ride and we rode. After 73 miles, without a fill up, we stopped at the warming hut on Route 3 where there were Christmas Lights last year. We gassed up and ate tiny cheeseburgers and French (Canadian) fries and then were off like a prom dress. The snow was coming down pretty hard by this point and we wanted to get to the Casino for game time. The snow fall, along with the snow dust kicking up, made my sled ride a little rough, but it was not really a problem. The Trail Boss' idea to tape up his vents was laughed at at first but was copied by most by the end of the trip. Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
We rode this memorable section of ITS 3 for I guess 30 more miles, I swear some of that section must be paved road under the snow. We then decided to get off ITS 3 and take 378 which was a (green) local trail over a huge mountain. This trail was twisting, turning, up and down just exactly what we were there for. I loved that part of the ride. We switched over to 378 to finish the last leg of the journey. We arrived at the golf course which we new was right next to our destination. This Golf course would be a struggle in chapter two, but was a sight for sore eyes in chapter one. We arrived at the casino at 3:15pm and checked in by 3:45. We missed most of the first quarter of the game, but were happy to see a 7-0 lead by the good guys. We watched the rest of the game over some cold frothy Labatt's Blues. The final tab was not bad for post riding football. Duane actually fell asleep in the bar in front of the big screen. We were going to leave him there as a little joke, but Bill (nice guy that he is) said come on Duane - time for the buffet dinner. We went to the jacuzzi after purchasing suits for $11 Canadian. These suit were obviously made by the Huggies Corporation. Memorable moment...Dave, already wet, walking over to a snow pile an making a snow angel in frigid conditions then jumping back into the hot tub. We went to the casino for more beer and gambling. A great ending to a pretty damn good day.
Who's righting chapter two? How about loading the pictures from the digital cameras.
WPROTY and # 1

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four