We depart Adairs and head towards to bay...




Keith wants to go to the Cinnamon Bun Capitol. I really think he's an adrenaline junkie and used to longer trips. Yes, he wants to head any direction but home. About 2 hours later, we are now heading the correct direction to cross a border.

I don't know why Blaster has the googles, he always in front of the dust


We decide to grab chow in downtown Portland again. Seafood anyone?


Blaster and I think we should just revisits J's, but Keith has other plans for us.


First, this is the pinnacle picture of the ride report!


These are called "Love locks"


This was the coolest one of the them all


It's just about time to call this Ride Report a Wrap. For now, we'll save a seat of for you for Sep 11-13, 2015. As Adairs is expanding, we were even able to reserve a cabin before we left camp.

So Rob kept telling us that whom ever won could touch the trophy but didn't get it......so being the rule breaker that I am I went to the front of the room and fondled the trophy, holding it over my head, posing with it, and hooting and hollering while holding it just for yuks. Keith thought this was hilarious, everyone else probably just thought I was a loon, and we decided to get some pictures and tell a story.....hope you liked the suspense Dave.

The sun tucks behind the fast approaching storm. Meanwhile, the riders are scurrying around camp much like zombies. Camp has an electric feel, and there are many stories about the days adventures over some cold beverages. I snorkel around the bathtub, leaving an impressive amount of grit behind.

Within no time, we are hailed over to Headquarters to tally the day. Rob has an impressive sense of humor. The sound of dinner is quickly overcome by the "Honorary" list. Yes, this is the list of 6 riders that gave it one heck of a go. Alas, everyone will live to ride another day and nobody needed serious medical attention. However, I think we took out 1 foot, 1 wrist, 1 ankle, 1 neck, and two other mishaps.

The bikes in the parking lot faired much worse. Some had bent rotors, some had bent rear luggage racks, some had nice curvy clutch levers, some had mashed up front fairings, broke blinkers, and even an errant report of a bent rim. A few Beemers in the demo fleet don't look nearly as scratch free as when they arrived!

After the "Honorary" list was announced, they announced the best GS rider. He won a BMW...well a 1/16th sized BMW. All the same really. The story (which was apparently caught on film), involved a loose bit on his bike locking up his handle bars. Not that there is ever a good time for locked bars (besides theft prevention), it sounds especially concerning while trying to navigate a steep descent.

The best crash of the day and the team with the fewest wrong turns went to the same team--Team Bogdan. Apparently the lead bike came to a stop to investigate a water puddle, and the KLR not so much. It launched over the previous puddle and rear ended the lead rider (knocking some good sense into them all while on the ground).

Since today was not a race, and trophy was entirely symbolic (meaning nobody actually gets to take it home), we decided Blaster mind as well get to rub it too. Yes that is right, we have absolutely no reason to be holding this trophy, other than the photo is fantastic....don't you think?


We retire to the room as the rain drops dance on the metal roof, but I am so tired it won't matter

Hip Hip Hooray!

It's always important to realize that the backs of few provide us with such an amazing weekend. Here's the faces that made is all possible!

Rob
The man that does it all...Bike fixing to Test Riding!


Courtney


Thanks to the other test riders and the illustrious sweep crew!

Also without saying, Twisted Throttle provided some very nice gedunk for the raffle. And BMW for the test bikes.

Now to tally up who's ahead and behind.

For bet #1, the win clearly goes to Keith. Score -2 Dorito.




For bet #2, Keith still hasn't chimed in. I am inclined to declare a victory as it looks like he's going to forfeit on time alone.
For the last bet, Dorito for the win!

I can't remember anything remarkable about the alternate on leg 2, but it was a nice inviting big bike track.


Next up was alternate 3. About 2/3rds through the tracks, the rocks start getting a bit big. Blaster and I decide that we'll probably need a break after we finish this leg to rest up for the next leg, which was not only worth the most number of points but also advised those that have 19" wheels. It's always been tough to rate trails because there are so many variables in rider ability and bike set ups. Although, I've never really thought that front tire size to be the biggest discriminator.

Honestly, alt 3 is getting about to limit of fun/skill and I am seriously considering bailing on the next alt as it was labeled as harder. So we get to the bottom of the track and take a short break. However, it seems that perhaps we were a bit remiss in our mental notes of the track. Yes, we had thrown caution to the wind and just rode the really hard section. Seems like I manage to make a mistake in the tracks at least once per year

Realizing that we've just conquered this track, there will only be easy sections in front of us.


There are two sections which are shared on both routes. They tend to be high speed dirt or tarmac. After another quick stop for gas, we need to book it. The first time check is at 1600. Aside from leg one which runs by Fundy Bay, the track runs counter-clockwise. We make is with 8 mins to spare



I was absolutely amazed on how varied the track was by topography. I mean driving in on Highway 1 was a bit boring. But this track had it all; elevation changes, landscape changes and just the right amount of challenge to keep us guessing all day long.


The element of endurance was no joke. There was no time for a proper lunch, so we had resigned ourselves to Keith's roadside café, Trademarked from the Roaming Rally this year.


However, things apparently got a little rocky after the Diet Coke detonated. Have you ever wondered what sesame seed coated twizzlers taste like? Wonder no longer!


Another funny aside, during one of our breaks another rider had mentioned how much better this Sat was than last Saturday. Then he laments that he didn't even think he got out of bed last Saturday. With that the joke becomes, only reason this is better is because it's lasted more than 90 seconds!


There is one final check point at 1730. We cruised through that one for an easy gallop into base camp. I didn't think of how good it would feel to cross the finish line. But, for a brief moment the team felt like the top of the world. For the last 11.5hrs/300 miles hours we've laughed, and shared a great time in the Canadian wilderness. Yes, we were champions in our little universe, if even it didn't mean anything.



Out of 15 teams:

• Our group has the most average engine displacement
• We were 1 of 6 teams that rode all the alternates
• We were 1 of 5 team that made the check point times
• No drops, no falls, and no crashes

If bliss had an expression, here it is.

Quotable Quote for the day is: Better than 90seconds!

I awoke at 0430 EDT/0530 AT to the chirps of this little guy on the front stoop. Who knew it was warm enough to have cold-blooded reptiles up here.



Since he's not a talking frog, he'll need to hop out of the way before we trample him. Each time will leave the staging team on 2 minute intervals. You will have exactly 12 hours from from starting time to complete, lest you become a victim of DNF. Those in late get rotton fruit thrown at them too, just for good measure. We'll not really, this was at a gas stop enroute!



SInce the rally was fully supported with 3 sweep vehicles, as well as, command center watching the SPOT trackers I can understand that the volunteers can't be up all night. However, on the other hand, I would have liked perhaps not to have a time constraint other than the one that mother nature imposes on by fading to moonlight.

The track has been well explained, or so I felt like as I left the staging area.


However, the first turn there are bikes coming at us from all directions. It seems that some have overshot the first turn, and some riders have decided to ride the track backwards . The fog is so thick that you can't see much, in fact I wonder if it's not raining. Such a shame becuase we rode the Fundy Trailway an hour before the park officially opens for the day. In any other conditions, it might have rode like a private racecourse. Today however, it's almost a slip and slide with the twisty, wet roads.

The only good thing there is no guilt about losing time to take some iconic photos. The photos today would be as interesting as crossing your eyes.



Since originally it was just Blaster and I by the closing date, we elected to ride under the moniker "Blastoff Adventures", instead of SoMD Adventure Riders. Keith was a late add, he will ride under the same monkier. However, he doesn't realize that he has to pay every time his wheels get wet!

Our ride plan doesn't vary much for this trip. Smooth is fast. We'll set a reasonable pace, take a few well placed breaks. The bikes are fully gased up, and we'll only need one gas stop to get us home. We'll try each alternate, and if need be, double back to green/basic track if it gets too hard. I don't know why we even say that becuase we never doubleback. Somehow it seems too much like a challenge, and a challenge must be conquered.

The first alternate starts off somewhat challenging with a mile or so of loose, peach sized gravel. Then we approach the most ugly, rotten bridge you've ever seen. I stop to watch Blaster cross it. In horror, the boards buckle and crack under the weight of his hippotomus-sized HP2. Keith, elects to ride a line closer to the outside of the bridge, and there was less buckling. I elect to get off and walk the bike over Keiths' line.

However, now my human needs to leap about 45" to the next rail and not drop the bike. Luckliy, with a quick tug from the front of the bike from a helping hand...the XC-A daintly crosses. Soon enough, we are back at base camp where they confirm SPOT has been tracking and wish us well for the rest of the day.

This little cove is not far from Adairs Lodge. It just seems like a kids wonderland.



Then we are off to lunch

It's been a while since I had some seafood :wink



And how about some desserts!




We finish lunch and head over to check in. We get our bike stickers, souvenir stickers and most importantly the Rally T-shirt

This guy has big ears...


Dinner is banquet style and assigned seating


After dinner, we are a captive audience for the rider meeting.


Rob starts out with known hazards on tomorrow's track. Of all the usual suspects, this one was interesting. Apparently, people see hot air balloons and then drive their bikes into a ditch. Don't do that...


Every rider get a map to make notes on each of the 8 legs. We have approx. 500KMS and a 12 hour time limit. Additionally, there are 2 check points which you must cross before a certain time. The evening ends with some final quick bike preps. Tomorrow will be here all too soon. Did I mention we depart at 0700 and somewhere the border crossing stole an hour from us (Atlantic timezone).

Not believing that 2 hot dogs is enough to fire up the grill, I happily up the previous ante. Mostly, I've decided our bunch makes for a nice social experiment. We have a candid conversation about the 4-letter type formula according to Carl Jung's and Isabel Briggs Myers' typology. My belief is that Keith is a ENTP type. However, the bet is whether Keith knows if his spouse has taken the test.

The Double tally:
4 dogs to Dorito if Keiths spouse has taken Myers-Brigs
4 dogs to Keiths if his spouse has not taken the test

Take your free test here:

The day ends with a lovely introduction to Rob, our illustrious Rally Master. His a tall gentlemen, with a widely entertaining accent. You know what's coming next right...doubling the hot dog bet!

The final leg of the bet is: Where is Rob's accent from?

The Double Double tally:
8 dogs to Dorito if Rob is from England
8 dogs to Keiths if Rob is from Australia/New Zealand

And that my friends is a lot of hot dogs!

A mere 410 miles and we arrive at Adairs, with 20 mins spare to still get dinner before the lodge closed for the night. Meanwhile, the "hot dog' bet has only double twice again.



The fueling house..How cute!


The lodge caters to snow mobiling, but I am hoping this tidbit of info will be useless for us


We find out that we are only 20 miles away from the Atlantic International Balloon Fiesta. So, we take a quick jump over to see what's going on.

The balloons only launch early morning/evening, when the air thermoclines are inverting. As such, our late morning arrival puts us looking at an empty field. None the less, this team of misfits can always find something to entertain ourselves.

The town is also known for the murals on the buildings












And as if we aren't addicted to covered bridges, we find two more for this season too!




Back at camp, BMW Canada has shown up. And shown up in style they have. A fleet of F800s which will be doing demo rides all afternoon. Yes, that is right demo rides in the bikes elements. I really think this would be a great idea for them to do in the states!

This rig is pretty much on the road all riding season (May-Sept).


It can hold upto 44 bikes. Today, only 22 F800GS's




Bringing sexy back




After the bikes get a few hundred KMs on the clock, they are rotated out of the demo fleet. Pretty much your chance to drop a perfectly good bike with no damage liability!