Day 55 - Charlottetown

The day started with a visit from our old friends the mosquitos. Ah, nothing like taking down your tent in a swarm of blood suckers.  A while ago I was thinking of writing a letter to a mosquito.

Dear mosquito,

I sense that you are interested in my blood.  I just thought you should know that the space enclosed by my epidermis is private property and I am authorized to use deadly force on trespassers.  This skin may seem like a nice place to spend some time, and yes, there is some sweet O positive underneath, but are you aware of the advanced defense system protecting it?  These eyes will see you and this hand will smoosh you. It will anihilate you. In a matter of milliseconds, you will not know your proboscis from your postnotum.  Your entire body will be reduced to an unidentifiable smudge.  Your relative mosquitos will live out the rest of their days in grief, wondering whatever happened to you.  Is that really what you want?  Do you still insist on going forward with your suicide mission?  I can't tell you what to do, but hope that this information will help you make an informed decision about your future. 

Sincerely,

Landon

The ride into Charlottetown was great. Here we are rolling towards the Confederation Bridge on the New Brunswick side:

Here are all the bikes being towed over the bridge on a trailer (after unloading the bikes, the driver confided with a coworker that the trailer "shouldn't be on the road"):

In PEI, Isabel and I took the scenic route on smooth roads with little traffic.  Some of it was familiar from my bike trip around the island four years ago.  There were fields of green, yellow and beige, gently rolling hills with the signature red dirt and the Northumberland Straight almost always in sight.  It was the kind of scenery that photos can't really do justice. 

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Day 54 - Pointe du Chene

From camp, the gang of four headed out on the number 1 divided highway. This started out well with the large paved shoulder we had enjoyed yesterday, but before too long the shoulder disappeared, and with it my peace of mind. Although there wasn't much traffic, it wasn't my idea of a good time. I convinced the others to take the next exit onto a side road and was glad we did. All of a sudden, we could see more than just trees. There were houses, fields, rivers and other non-tree objects. Something to think about besides whether you were about to become a hood ornament on the 18-wheeler approaching from behind.

Owen led the way through the Moncton area since it was his stomping ground for many years. We even rode by his old house outside of Riverview, parts of which he had built with his own two hands. I think Owen's been having a good time through this part of the trip, catching up with family and friends in the area and indulging in his favourite local cuisine: the Pizza Delight super donair.

Through Moncton, we got on the 15, another divided highway, this time with a more shoulder but also more traffic. We made good time but I confess that I didn't enjoy the riding a ton.

At the camp site we had my ultimate meal: salmon (perfect cooked) with grilled potatoes and cauliflower with cheese sauce, followed by strawberry rhubarb pie. It was my second-to-last camp supper and one of the best.

After supper I took a short ride to the beach and dipped my toes in Atlantic salt water. The end is in sight!

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Day 53 - Penobsquis

The day started well with a complete breakfast at the UNB dining hall and an easy ride down a bike path to the river. There was a table set up there by the path with a couple of girls handing out free granola bars and drinks. They really treat their cyclists right in Fredericton! Then we crossed the St. John River over this old rail bridge.

Eventually we got on the old Trans-Canada highway that follows the river. This stretch was great because it was flat, we had a tailwind, there was a good paved shoulder and no traffic. The scenery was also quite nice. I know I've driven that stretch of road a few times and it stands out in my mind. It's a shame that the Trans-Canada now bypasses that one scenic part and is now mind numbingly boring through the entire province.

There weren't a lot of services along the road today so most of our food came off our bikes. Around km 50, we stopped for a snack and I ate the Nutellaified english muffin I had snuck out of the cafeteria.

After the river, there were some big hills but with the wind at our backs it was no big deal. We got into camp around 3:30 feeling pretty fresh considering we'd just ridden 135 km.

For me there are only four more riding days left with the tour and I'm sure they'll go quickly. It's going to be pretty weird not seeing these guys every day.

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Fredericton Rest Day

I couldn't take it any longer. I quit today. Quit letting my sideburns run free, that is. My intention had been to not trim them until Halifax, but they had become just way too out of control. Here's the before (I poofed them out a bit for dramatic effect):

And the after:

Ahhh... I feel human again!

It's been raining and drizzling all day and I haven't been feeling ambitious.  I just walked a few blocks to Greco to pick up some pizza and garlic fingers with donair sauce.  It was a disgusting meal but comforting in its Maritimeyness. Sorry Fredericton, I'll have a closer look at you some other time.  Today, rest takes priority.

Day 52 - Fredericton

After the intense hills of yesterday, I was ready to join the A team who planned to take a direct route into Fredericton on the Trans-Canada. This saved us about 20 km and smoothed out the hills a lot. Whereas yesterday we would go up steeply for a hundred meters, down steeply for another hundred and repeat, today we would go up a gentle incline for a kilometer followed by a gentle decline. This made it much easier to ride together since there weren't radical accelerations and decelerations happening all the time. Also, the road had about an 8 foot paved shoulder that was in great condition. All this combined with cooler weather made for a much, much easier ride. The only downside was that there wasn't much to look at. Just trees and more trees, as far as the eye could see.


Here we are riding along with Ilan's problematic saddle clicking away. Multiply that by about 500 and you have an idea what the day was like. Ilan, who recently admitted that he "doesn't do well with boredom", resorted to singing 70's classics such as "Comfortably Numb". That was a good description of my state of mind on this day.

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Day 51 - (how many stocks would a woodstock stock if a) Woodstock (could stock wood?)

This morning I paid the price for yesterday's fun, and the time change didn't help either. It was the typical feeling of inertia after a hard day. I wasn't out of my tent until 7:15, when most of the riders were almost ready to go. Isabel was also a bit behind and waited until I finally got my act together.

In my rush to get into camp last night I failed to get a picture of Grand Falls. We passed the falls again on the way out, so here they are:

We followed the 105 along the St. John River the whole day. You might think that would mean a gradual descent down to the Atlantic but no, in the Maritimes we like our roads lumpy. There were lots of ups and downs which, combined with the stifling heat, made for a pretty tough day even though we weren't pushing hard. I was quite happy to jump into a cold shower after the ride.

A couple of highlights from the ride were passing the McCain headquarters and checking out the world's longest covered bridge. Other than that, there wasn't a whole lot going on along the route.

An interesting fact: there are four separate long distance cycling groups at our tiny campground tonight: two self-supported pairs, the Tour d' Afrique group I mentioned yesterday, and us.

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