. . . and The East Coast Adventure
Those of you who have been following along over the last couple of years may remember that I broke a couple of ribs at the Fundy Adventure Rally in 2016.
Left side, front, lowest 2 ribs.
That was shortly after breaking a couple of ribs in Ecuador earlier the same year..
Then I did it again in 2017. Right side, at the back that time. Hurt just as bad as the previous 2 times.
So, when it came time to start thinking about attending the FAR this year, I did exactly what I told Rally Master Eric Russell I was going to do 12 months prior – I offered to volunteer at Rally HQ, helping out wherever needed.
And preserving my ribs.
Eric and his better half, Terri along with their wise-beyond-her-years daughter Kara comprise the Rally HQ Team and they are responsible for all of the behind-the -scenes stuff that has to happen to get an event of this size off the ground and make it as successful as it is.
And when I say an event of this size, there were over 120 riders at Adair’s Wilderness Lodge in Sussex New Brunswick this year.
More than 30 teams entered the rally.
All of them excited, and as ready as one can be, to ride a 500 kilometer mostly off-road rally through the heavily forested wilderness that makes up this tiny piece of paradise in southern New Brunswick.
You can read all about the various routes and their inherent challenges here on the FAR page
There is always a lot on offer at the Funday Adventure Rally, not the least of which are demo-rides provided by BMW and Husqvarna. There were also some KTM’s and Honda’s on hand as well courtesy of Toys for Big Boys in Moncton, NB
I took the opportunity to take a Husqvarna FE450 out for a spin and I have to say it is really easy to see what all the hype is about – what a machine!
And let’s be honest – have you ever seen a more photogenic motorcycle than a Husqvarna?
I offered to volunteer at Rally HQ, helping out wherever needed
I offered to volunteer at Rally HQ, helping out wherever needed
While it may not have provided the adrenaline rush of riding in the rally, volunteering as part of the Rally HQ Team was an extremely rewarding experience. I worked the starting boxes at the beginning of the rally, guiding teams through to the gates as they hit the trails at timed intervals and then I spent the better part of the day monitoring the team SPOT devices with Kara. Each team captain wears a SPOT satellite tracking device, allowing Rally HQ to monitor progress, speeds and alerts sent from the devices by individual riders.
And yes, history has a way of repeating itself.
The rally started at 0700. The rain started at 0615.
By 0630 it was a downpour!
It takes more than a little (or a lot) of rain to dampen the spirits of the Fundy Adventure Rally riders though! Sure, there was some early attrition due to conditions, and maybe a team or two got themselves into a tight spot once or twice, but at the end of the day, everyone was mud and smiles!
The camaraderie, team-spirit and all around human-kindness that is repeatedly displayed at this event will keep me coming back for years to come, there is no doubt of that.
Next year though, I think I will once again be a rider. As much fun as it was listening to the stories told by others this year, I think I will once again want to add my own moments to the tale.
Once again the staff and purveyors of incredible wilderness getaways at Adair’s Wilderness Lodge went above and beyond the call of duty, providing excellent food, wonderful service and a good many tales of their own – it’s always such a pleasure to spend some time with Larry and Ida Adair!
We also had the extreme pleasure of listening to some wonderful live music provided by the lovely and very talented Kassie Tyres, an adventure motorcyclist and travelling musician who is out promoting her latest CD, Hope Sing Ride
Below are a few shots from the morning of the rally, at the starting line and the queue, as well as a few shots that I took in the days leading up to the event while riding around this little piece of heaven known as Fundy, New Brunswick.
Stay tuned – in the coming weeks I will be posting the highlights from the incredible East Coast Adventure that followed the Fundy Adventure Rally 2018
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As always, thank you for riding along with me,
Joe
Joe is “The Man”; I broke my footpeg clean off my V-Strom during the Mini GS challenge and he promptly offered up his own. The only condition being that I “have a great ride” on Saturday.
Thanks Joe,
V-strom kid
PS: If you need a teammate that can patch you up next year, just let me know ;p
Haha, I’m really happy that I was able to help you out Colin! See you next year brother – and yes, I’ll be riding Big Ethel in next years event!
What a well written piece
Always lovely to see you Joe
I have a video of you and someone helping me get the old 1200 unstuck up a rocky climb when I had to stop and help Nagia
Thank you Shereef. Likewise, seeing you and Nagia is always a highlight for me brother.