ÉQUINOX AVENTURE

We had the best service from Equinox. They were flexible and friendly and met all promises of service when we required assistance.

We recently rode the Veloroute des Bleuets and rented "Look" ebike models from the team at Equinox.

First, a few things about our ride:
- you may recall Quebec had historical-level forest fires in June 2023; we made our plans well in advance and the smoke hadn't been too bad leading up to St. John the Baptist weekend (national holiday ... in Quebec) so we decided to ride
- this was the first ride for these particular "Look" model 765 ebikes, and we discovered something about them on our ride

We turned up on Friday at 9:00 to the offices, completed orientation and bike adjustments, and started the ride out of Alma. Right away it was apparent that there was a problem with one of our bike/battery connection.

We were in constant touch throughout the morning with the Equinox team, and they were extremely helpful in coming to us at the first "maison veloroute" on the way out of Alma, swapping out the battery (thinking the battery itself was the source of the problem at first) and actually giving us a lift to the first non-roadside portion of the trail to gain some time on our way to Dolbeau. Anyway, the battery problem persisted but we made it to the Motel Chute des Peres at the end of day one.

So did the smoke: the air quality deteriorated significantly.

The route was beautiful.

The hotel had three types of guests: SOPFEU (Quebec firefighters from the front line looking like they'd been in an heroic battle), evacuees (mainly first nations people), and bike tourists, looking ... out of place and confused by the first two groups.

Day two - we started with freshly charged batteries from overnight, plugged them in to the bikes, and ... same problem. Swapped batteries, same problem for the one bike. We called, they drove a new battery (again) to Albanel and we ... tried again.

Over the course of the day the AQI went from "medium risk" to hazardous.

We diagnosed that the bike was the problem - each time the bike "bumped" the connection to the battery was jarred loose. And so the boost was lost.

We finished day two to Roberval. So the air made day look like night by the end of the ride, the hotel was many more evacuees than firefighters, and almost no bike riders except us. Obviously a serious situation, and impossible to take any pleasure or benefit from continuing the ride.

So at the start of Day Three, instead of riding to Alma from Roberval, we called the Equinox team and they graciously agreed to transport us and our bikes back to the start.

Not exactly a success but what I would say is, if you are thinking of riding the Veloroute des Bleuets and need support in your circuit, this is the place to get your support.

Truly kind, patient, willing to try and solve problems, the team at Equinox made a very bad situation better by continuing to try and help us. We remain grateful - of course we wish the bikes had "just worked" and that we had had "blue sky riding" and the chance to really enjoy the ride (we hope that the situation in Quebec improves over the summer), but if you want to know how committed a team is to serving, try them under stress - we did, and we know the Equinox team is!

Very highly recommended.

Sortie en motoneige geniale ! Merci pour ce super moment ! N'hésitez pas

Nous avons passé une superbe journée avec toute l'équipe d'équinox aventure !
La balade en motoneige était vraiment bien avec notre guide Théo qui nous a très bien accompagné et renseigné tout au long de la balade !
Un merci tout particulier à Laure pour la logistique ????

Super expérience pour notre première fois en motoneige. Notre guide était très sympa, très patient et clair dans ses explications. Nous avons pu faire la longue boucle, et avons vite progressé !
Des sensations incroyables et une grande diversité de paysages
Merci infiniment pour cet après midi formidable !