(6) The Untimely Death Of A Legend
(8) Groomers and Radio Beacons
Protect your assets,
Going to Quebec to ride is not without risk; I know this fact first hand,
In 1999 we lost $85,000.00 worth of stuff that was never recovered.
But lets go back a bit, In the early 80s there were thefts and they increased as the years
went on, Usually it would happen at night at the motels, thieves would come and load up
machines and off they went, sometimes they would disappear in broad daylight from
restaurants.
Today Most hotels have security and this has dampened the theft ring although instead of
stopping them it only made them improvise their tactics to get your goods, still dozens
and dozens of US owned sleds disappear every year.
In 1999 We lost a brand new Chevy pickup truck, 2 Polaris snowmobiles, an enclosed
trailer, all of our gear and tools valued over 85K and we never got it back, The truck was
driven by a friend of mine and he and his son had to take a bus home and their vacation
was ruined.
This is the deal, Nobody knows where this stuff goes and there are quite few theories but
it is deffinatly going somewhere and the Canadian authorities are not very sympathetic of
your loss, as a matter of fact they did everything but accuse my friend of stealing it
himself, so it is a bad situation to be in.
As I said choose Motels with security and you will be safer but this is the scary part,
under no circumstances stop on your way up and Eat or shop without having your
Vehicle in sight at all times or this may happen to you,
The thieves today know they need an improved plan because they can not go to most
hotels so what they do is wait along the highway for Prey, Mainly by Main exits with
Food and fuel, They prefer new trucks or SUVs towing enclosed trailers, The more
expensive looking the better, They follow you and hope that you stop for food or leave
you vehicle unattended, The minute that you go inside your vehicle and sleds are gone
before you know it. Trust me it’s not worth it; don’t stop on your way unless you
absolutely have to!
This problem is more widespread than most people know, but don’t let it dissuade you
from riding in Quebec, Just be aware of your stuff and keep an eye on it as much as you
can.
Happy Trails,
David
