Leg 10 - Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec to Moncton, NB - Tuesday, August 21st to Saturday, August 25th

Leg 10 total 669.6 km
Grand total 6457 km

Leg 10 - Riviere-du-Loup to Moncton

Saturday, August 25th
Distance and Time: 101.5 km at 4:28
Route:  Coles Island to Dieppe (just east of Moncton), NB via TCH and hwy 106

I had another late start again today because of some fraudulent charges made to my credit card via Paypal setting up monthly payments to someone named David Whitehouse. It took awhile to sort things out with calls to the credit card company as well as Paypal.  Luckily they will do an investigation and refund the charges.  Warning - don't do any banking on unsecured networks when on the road.

Anyway, William at the Covered Bridge Info Centre got me set up in his place with electricity and internet to sort things out.  While waiting to talk to a real person on the phone I had a chance to talk to William. He's one proud guy of his operation and rightly so.  It's a magnificently restored building with an incredible infrastructure for waste, power and lighting systems as well as beautiful grounds.  The gift shop carries only locally handcrafted items and is staffed by the artisans themselves.  Gorgeous handmade quilts, paintings and carvings made it difficult to leave.  His website is worth checking out (www.coveredbridgevic.com)

William at his Covered Bridge Information Centre

I cycled directly onto the TCH from the Info Centre and stayed on it until Salisbury, then took hwy 106 which followed the Petticodiac River directly to downtown Moncton.

Mud flats on the Petticodiac River

Coming into Moncton

As we cycled through a picturesque downtown Moncton, wouldn’t you know I had another fall!  This time it wasn’t due to my carelessness or lack of coordination.  A dog got loose and charged me in the middle of traffic and I kind of plowed into him.  Luckily I fell to the right, and only ended up with a few new bruises and feeling a bit shaken.  Many thanks to Juanita who pulled over in her car and came to help and chat while her children waited, and the fellow who grabbed his coffee and darted across the street from the cafe to ask if we needed help.  I scolded the dog but really should have scolded the owners for letting him get loose on a busy street like that.  We both could have been injured.  If I had been thinking I would taken a picture of him….he wasn't really a very frightening chap unless he was coming at you full speed!

We arrived at Étienne and Geneviève’s place just in time for a lovely swim with the girls (Mélianne is almost four and Élodie just turned two) before a fabulous dinner followed by several rounds of scotch for the guys (Geneviève is running tomorrow and I’m cycling).

Salmon encrusted with goat cheese and a blueberry wine reduction (needless to say I asked for the recipe)

Dinner with Étienne, Geneviève and girls

Élodie

Mélianne

Nemo

Friday, August 24th
Distance and Time: 114.8 km at 4:56
Route: Kings Landing to Coles Island NB via hwys 102, 105 and TCH

I started the day off with a swim in the Saint John River since I didn't have the chance to swim last night due to thunder shower activity. It was warm but still quite refreshing with the sun dappling over the waves and it felt like I had the river to myself .

The cycle into Fredericton was relaxing with a tailwind and a good road. Traffic picked up as we neared the city but it's kind of a stretch to call it that. I hadn't really spent any time here and didn't realize what a small and quaint place it is. In fact, it still seemed like I was in the country only a couple of kms from the centre of downtown. Small is good, though, and it has become an important concept in these several weeks of reflection while on the bike. I would like a small house on a small piece of property, a small amount of possessions, a small footprint on the earth and a small camper van :). And large only pertains to the amount of sunshine I want in that house, the size of view in the same house, the number of grandkids I would like and another dog sometime down the road.

Even though it was only 33km into the day, Wayne stopped to check out internet possibilities downtown (since I was going to cycle right through it). Well, first of all the city provided free RV parking all day and second, a huge downtown free wifi zone. How cool is that? So we sat outside the info centre in a beautiful spot and got carried away with work stuff and e-mail (Wayne) and banking and FB (Lori).

Visitors info centre in downtown Fredericton

It was almost 3:00 before I finally got out of the city, cycling on a bike path and pedestrian bridge across the ever-present river.

Lighthouse cafe on the river bike path in Fredericton

The speed limit on the bike path here is 15 km/h, compared to 10 km/h in Calgary (duh, it would take 3 hours to get to work from the suburbs) and 20 km/h in Quebec City. I can't help but draw an analogy to the politics across the country: conservative and cautious in AB, anything goes and a little loose in La Belle Province and a happy compromise in the Maritimes.

I left the river valley route about 50 km past Fredericton as it veered south to the Bay of Fundy and I continued east toward Moncton on the TCH.

Tranquil cycling along the floodplain area of the Saint John River east of Fredericton

Even though there were many trucks and the speed limit is 110km/h, I had a full, well paved and clean shoulder to myself. And as the westbound lanes are fully divided and you can't see them most of the time, it was relaxing - so much so that I paid no heed to the traffic and was lost in thought most of the way.

TCH signpost. Now I want to go to Sussex!

Although I was worried about getting in a good distance today with the late start from Fredericton, the weather, wind, and roads cooperated and we pulled into our overnight spot just after 7:00 p.m. Thank goodness for the time change and the extra hour of daylight!

This spot belongs to the owner of the info centre (the municipal ones are privately owned) and we're staying here courtesy of him (and a small fee) since Wayne arrived just before he left for the day and asked about overnight parking. We are barricaded in with an open padlock! It is pretty meticulously maintained and I'm looking forward to browsing around inside tomorrow and talking to the owner about the cycling route advice to Moncton.

Our rest stop tonight

We are looking forward to seeing former CG College colleagues Étienne and Geneviève and their girls tomorrow evening at their home just outside Moncton. In the meantime, the night is cool, the sky is clear and the stars are brilliant. Sleep beckons.


Thursday, August 23rd

Distance and Time: 130.2 km at 5:57
Route: Bath to Kings Landing, NB via the River Valley Scenic Drive on hwys 105, 165, 2 and 102

I had another great ride today, despite a few patches of rough pavement and some wicked hills! All in all it was a pleasant mix of varying winds, varying terrain, mostly sunny and warm weather except for a thunder shower at the end of the day, and quiet rural areas interspersed with a few towns. I pretty much followed the Saint John River most of the day, crossing at Woodstock and not through the bridge at Hartland as I anticipated. I had my lights ready, though, since it is the longest covered bridge in the world.

The famous covered bridge at Hartland

The "other" bridge across the Saint John River at Hartland

We estimated taking 12-14 days from Ottawa to Sydney, based on our driving experience. However, the distance is turning out to be somewhat more, having taken the Route Verte in Quebec and this route in NB so far. So our new estimate is more like 16 days, but I have no complaints. After all, a few more days on the bike can only be good! We're staying the night at a secluded campground near Kings Landing. We have electricity and water but no internet so I'm relying on Sam again for my updates.

On a side note, I'm paying more attention to my nutrition on these last legs. I used to let myself get quite hungry before I would stop for a snack, or I would push to keep going to reach the RV if it was near lunchtime. I still have a light breakfast as usual (I've never felt comfortable with a real full belly first thing in the day) but now have a substantial mid-morning snack at the very first rumblings of hunger. This typically will be some fruit and a peanut butter and banana wrap or a heavy-duty power bar. I eat a big lunch, always with a good portion of protein, and then a carbohydrate treat type of snack late in the afternoon with tea (like ice cream today). I always carry snacks with me on the bike, such as figs or dates or nuts just in case I'm cycling longer than anticipated.  Supper is always a good big feed :)

As for fluids, I'm carrying two 16 ounce bottles with me, one with water and the other with a sports drink. I usually go through three refills of each on a hot day and less when the temperatures dip.  My favourite drink is the Nuun fizzy electrolyte tablets. I also like an electrolyte replenishing drink powder I found at MEC called Ultima. The other one in the cupboard at the moment is Hammer HEED which is OK. My least favourite is Gatorade. And of course the best hydrating drink of all is pure coconut water, Vita Coco being the tops on my list. We brought a couple of cases (most reasonable price is at Costco) but it is still a bit pricey to be drinking three bottles full a day. I usually have a few ounces cold from the fridge every time I rendezvous the RV, especially if it's a warm day.

On another note, if anyone knows how to get rid of helmet itch, please send me an e-mail. Every time I wear my helmet now it feels like things are crawling through my hair. I guess it has to do with the accumulated sweat, salt and grime on the pads inside. I have soaked, washed, and disinfected it, but it only brings temporary relief. This must be a common problem for other helmet related sports such as hockey or football, so there should be something on the market. My next step is to try vinegar but I really don't want to be smelling vinegar mixed with sweat while pedalling.


Wednesday, August 22nd

Distance and Time: 124.0 km at 5:53
Route: Edmunston to Bath on hwys 144, 130 and 105 along the NB River Valley Scenic Drive

Super day! Following the Saint John River valley on lightly used back hwys has been very pleasurable. The roads have generally been good and the weather has varied from sunny, windy, and warm to a bit wet and cool and then to warm and muggy. I cycled south most of the day with the river and Maine on my right and pastoral forest and farmland on my left.

Some scenes from today:

Look at all the flowers in this cemetery!

Church in Saint-Leonard

Saint-John River Valley

I don't have a clue what this sign means

Interesting signage in the village of Perth-Andover

Today I finally used my nano on the road! I've been carrying it for several weeks but needed the right combination of road, traffic, weather and relaxed state of mind to try it out. It was cool to listen to my playlist and croon along with my favourite tunes. I even sang along with Sam's recording of "The First Cut is the Deepest" in between Patsy Cline and Van Morrison :).

We hit a bit of a snag at the end of the day with a few km of gravel and a flat for Wayne. The calm and sunshine after some earlier cloud and rain coupled with the scenery pretty much made up for it though.

Reflection off the glassy river at the end of the day

We are stopped for the night in a rural parking lot of an old garage, now converted to the workshop of a couple of electrical contractors (with their OK). Maybe we'll actually find a campground again tomorow!

Tuesday, August 21st 

Distance and Time: 119.1 km at 6:27
Route: just south of Riviere-du-Loup to Edmunston, NB via Route Verte 8 (old rail bed also known as Parc Lineaire Interprovinacial Petit-Temis)

Notice my time? It was a pretty slow day because I decided to take my touring bike on the hard packed gravel trail afterall. I started out for a few km on the TCH (hwy 185) as suggested by the R-du-L info centre, and yes, the shoulders were fully paved. I would have been over the moon if we'd had those shoulders in Ontario, but today I kept thinking about how quiet and relaxing that pathway might be compared to the heavy traffic, and that I really should check it out since I had my touring bike precisely for this kind of situation. So I veered off the hwy and never went back! Some parts of the trail were a bit loose but oh my, it was peaceful and had a superb infrastructure of signs, toilets, picnic tables, lookouts and camping spots complete with fire pit, bbq, wood and tent platform. Wow - our jaws virtually dropped (yes, Wayne even took his road bike on the trail)!

Facilities along the bike trail

Picnic and rest stop overlooking Lake Temiscouata near the town of Cabano

We passed through the towns of Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! (an actual incorporated name), Cabano, Notre-Dame-du-Lac, and Degelis before crossing the border and continuing onto Edmunston.

I've always wondered how this place got its name

I cycled by a lot of cottages on Lake Temiscouata and the Madawaska River. Even though it was a cool and overcast day, the scenery was still quite a treat compared to the TCH and all the construction going on to widen it. Good-bye Quebec! Our experience seemed to be ever-changing as if the province itself was a bit of a chameleon. Hello NB!

Welcome to New Brunswick!

We're in our last time zone with two more provinces to go, unless.... Whenever I bring up the subject of Newfoundland Wayne gets a funny pained look on his face. Perhaps the lustre of the trip has worn off now that we're back in familiar territory and not discovering new sights everyday? Or maybe he's a little tired of the grunt work involved in supporting Lori day after day?

We're doing the Walmart thing again tonight, having driven around the parking lot trying to situate ourselves between the other dozen or so RV's, the overhead lights and the nearby TCH to minimize the noise and light coming in the bedroom window. Finally we gave up - I will fall back on some good earplugs and a comfy eye mask (the best investment I've made on this trip).

Tomorrow we'll likely cycle on the "River Valley scenic drive" recommended by the info centre folks at the border. It pretty much parallels the TCH on older hwys. There may be a few more hills and km but more relaxing without all the truck traffic. It's a treat to have options :)