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.

Today's track

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.3

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.

Today's track

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.3

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.

Today's track

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.3

Day 50 - (the high climbs, the) Grand Falls

We're in the Maritimes!

This is a big milestone for me as I'm now in the same time zone as my destination. Little hints are popping up that I'm close to home: Kent Building Centres, Irving stations, Greco pizza shops, etc. And we're now seeing both English and French on the signs.

We arrived in Edmuston, a magical land where you too can be swept off your feet by a handsome lad like this one:

Oddly, we couldn't find a Tim Horton's, but we stopped at Subway, which I prefer anyway. There was a very helpful policeman in there who gave us route advice (he's also a cyclist) and escorted us to the tourist information place for maps.

There, we discovered there was a high probability of rain tonight, so I booted it in order to get my wet clothes dried before the showers. It was fun to really give 'er for the first time in a while. I passed another group cycling from San Francisco to St. John's with Tour d'Afrique. It sounds like their tour is quite luxurious and well organized. They also do a 50 day ride through Europe that sounds awesome. Maybe I'll do that one when I retire.

Laundry update: after sitting next to the fire for a couple of hours, everything is dry!

Today's track

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.3

Day 49 - Saint Marc du Lac Long

I impressed myself this morning when I woke up at 6:30 and was ready to go at 7:45. I think I'm finally getting the hang of the morning routine, just in time for the end of the trip. People are starting to count the days now. For them, there are two weeks left to St. John's. For me, there are 9 days to Cape Breton and 11 to Halifax. For my part, I'm in no hurry for the trip to be over. I suppose my feelings are different because I'm heading into familiar territory. For the others, they are traveling farther away from home so maybe they feel more urgency to get this strange ordeal over with.

The first 48 km was along the river, through vast plains with the occasional drumlin peeking out of the landscape, with an awesome tailwind pushing us along.

Then, things got a little more epic. As we turned the corner to head east, the tailwind turned into a sidewind, the plains turned into rolling hills and the weather turned to rain. The silver lining was that, as the only one without fenders, I was allowed to stay at the back of the group to avoid spraying the others with road sludge from my tires. It's usually a little more relaxing at the back so I got to save some energy.

At around 90 km we came to a small town with a little eatery. I ordered spaghetti and a medium poutine to share with the others. Then the guy showed me the size of a medium, which was about the diameter of a pie plate but deeper, so I downgraded to petit.

The expression on Isabel's face when we were presented with the poutine was priceless. I'm not sure what word describes it best... horror comes close. Regardless, it was quite tasty and excellent cycling fuel.

For me, the drama of the day came at the campsite where I decided to do laundry even though the dryer was out of order. At that time, the sun was beating down on us and I was convinced we'd seen the last of the rain. I couldn't have been more wrong as multiple waves of torrential rains rolled over us. I managed to hang up my clothes for about half an hour between two of the waves, but it wasn't enough to get them close to dry. They're now hanging under our breakfast canopy and I'm looking forward to the commentary on my "intimates" tomorrow morning.

The silver lining in this case (there always is one, you know) was a beautiful double rainbow over the lake. Yes, a DOUBLE rainbow! Unfortunately, I was too busy saving my stuff from the downpour to get a picture. This was later on:

Today's track

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.3

Day 48 - Riviere Ouelle

Another day in Quebec, another day following the St. Lawrence north-east, but unlike the previous two riding days, this time we had a strong tailwind pushing us along. Riding at the front of the group was a breeze,exceeding 30 km/h with very little effort. With four of us taking turns, the ride went incredibly quickly. For the first time, all the riders (both groups) arrived at camp before the truck had time to check in.

Mother nature just couldn't make up her mind today. The entire ride we were in the midst of ominous looking clouds and from time to time it would sprinkle, prompting us to put on rain jackets, but it never properly rained.

When we were settled into our campsite, Chelsea put out this little jar of goodness:

Yes, peanut butter filled pretzels. We had them a few weeks ago and I couldn't believe how addictive they were. At first I was repulsed by the idea, but I tried one and just couldn't stop eating them. Isabel tells me the English term for this is "moreish".

Although the rain has mostly held off, it's getting pretty chilly in the tent. For the first time since the rockies, it might be a night for the toque.

Today's track

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.3