Freeze Your Nuts Off Ride 2014

Last year I organized the Freeze Your Nuts Off Ride. It is the last group ride of the year before most people store their bikes for the season. This year I just never had the time, so Tom Vihvelin stepped up and took the reins. The weather gods cursed us this year and the ride was postponed twice, and finally went ahead last Sunday in freezing temps. I unfortunately had to work and missed the ride. To make matters worst we received a dusting of snow and ice the morning of the ride, but luckily it melted early enough for the three brave souls to get out.

Here is Tom's account of the day

FYNOR 2014 Ride Report (November 23, 2014)

Only three brave (foolish?) riders turned up for FYNOR 2014.  We had unexpected icing conditions overnight that was cause for concern this morning and resulted in us delaying our departure by an hour.  However by 11 AM the ice had melted and nobody experienced any loss of traction despite moments of trepidation when crossing shiny, dark spots on the side roads.

Our hats are off to Steve M. who drove his Yamaha Super Tenere all the way from Shediac just to ride FYNOR 2014!  I think Steve must have hit the road around 7:30 AM to get here in time.  The weather was even worse in Shediac this morning.

Total trip distance for Peter and me was 331 kms but I figure Steve put on almost 700 kms since he rode down and back home to Shediac

We departed the Irving in Saint John at 11 AM and followed the coastal route, enjoying the scenic fishing villages along the way and watching the big breakers that were crashing on the rocks with spray almost reaching the road. We stopped and had some delicious cherry cheesecake and coffee in Pennfield and then headed north up the 785.  This was new territory for all of us and it’s a great road.  No problem doing 110 kph on this road.

At the intersection of 785 and 101 we went north all the way up to New Maryland and then jumped on the TCH to the Gagetown exit where we said bye to Steve.  By this time the sun was getting low on the horizon and the temperature was dipping so we tucked in and tried to make time on the old river road through Gagetown all the way to Grand Bay-Westfield.  This got tricky however as many parts of the road were very wet and with the temperature falling, we had to be extra careful.  By the time we made it all the way through to Grand Bay-Westfield we decided to race the sundown home and jumped onto route 7 for a quick, dry-road run back home.  We got back around 4:15 PM.

All in all it was a great ride with what turned out to be pretty good weather considering that it is late November.  Despite temperatures that hovered at +2 to +4 all day (with a temporary spike to +8) nobody got cold thanks to dressing in multiple layers.  Peter and I both felt and looked like the Michelin Man with all our layers.  Steve with his electric suit was a much slimmer looking rider.

 

With sun and blue skies for most of the day coupled with scenery that ranged from ocean vistas to picturesque farmlands and the serene waters of the Saint John River it was a fitting way to end this year’s riding season.

I have attached a few photos and here is link to our route if anyone wants to take a gander at it.  https://goo.gl/maps/9rHCR

The only question that remains is; “Who will step up and organize next year’s FYNOR?”

Cheers,

Tom