Ring! Ring! "Hello?""Hey, Mike, this is the editor of ATV Rider. Do you want to go to Quebec tomorrow?" I immediately gave the appropriate answer of "Yes," though I was shocked that the magazine wanted me to represent it in a foreign nation.
As I exited the aircraft, I became instantaneously bewildered. Everything was in French-not just the signs on the walls, but the words that came out of people's mouths. When the border patrol guy at the passport check station asked me where I was going in Canada, I had no clue what to say. After explaining to him I was here for work and showing him my invite letter from an ATV club in Quebec, he let me pass. I made a mental note to pay more attention when an editor dishes out an assignment. (Next time I act like a stoner in front of a border patrol agent, I will probably end up receiving a cavity search.)
I was a foreign boy in a foreign land. I wandered around the airport, trying to figure out what the little icons and weird words on the signs meant. Damn! Why did I study German in high school?
Once I passed the secured area, I spotted an older, husky-looking fellow holding a sign that had "Calabro" (that's me) skillfully written on it. I waved at the burly man as he pronounced a few French words and handed me a beer. I said, "Thanks," and he replied, "You're welcome" in my native tongue. A few beers later, I felt right at home.
I was forewarned by all my friends that French Canadians hate Americans and would be very rude to me. This was far from the truth. Sure, Canadians have some messed-up laws (see the "Another Reason why Canadians Are Funny" sidebar) and talk funny, and the country has produced some horrendous music that makes me want to grit my teeth until they crack. Celine Dion, Anne Murray, Tragically Hip, Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne, k.d. Lang, Sum 41, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Barenaked Ladies, Nickelback, Bryan Adams and the like are Canada's pride and joy, and they are the main reason why I used to hate Canada. But what Canada lacks in good music it makes up for in the abundance of ATV trails in Quebec. There are a gazillion miles-or rather kilometers, as our northern neighbors would articulate-of trails that have been built specifically for quad use. Luckily for me, the Fdration Qubcoise des Clubs Quads (FQCQ) invited the magazine to have a taste of its bountiful backyard.
In two days, I rode approximately 150 kilometers (93 miles) of every type of trail you can imagine, including forest and logging roads, technical rocky sections, soft dirt and streams. The night before our ride, we had the great pleasure of laying our heads at Gte Auberge Le Montagnard (www.gites-classifies.qc.ca/montagnard.htm). The owner of the place, Edgar, offered us a great place to stay and wonderful food. The specialty of the house is Edgar's Maple Kir. It is a drink made with a white Chardonnay and a sip of maple syrup. The special part was encrusting the rim of the glass with maple sugar. The aperitif tasted like candy, as its flavors danced off my taste buds until a giddy feeling rushed over my body.
I woke the next morning, without a hangover, to the sound of a squirrel chomping away at some corn right by my window. After enjoying a large breakfast prepared by Edgar, a group of other riders and I headed out to begin our ATV journey at Riviere-Aux-Rats, which is located south of a town called La Tuque. The trail system is huge. I think we would have become lost if it weren't for our guides. The trails run primarily through the Haute-Mauricie region.
The majority of trails in Quebec are governed by the FQCQ (www.fqcq.qc.ca); it runs a network of about 18,000 kilometers (11,185 miles) of trails and oversees 140 clubs throughout the province of Quebec. An ATV club named Les Adeptes Tout Terrain de La Tuque, located in the Haute-Mauricie region, is in charge of all the trails in the area in which we rode, and it is doing a fairly good job.