Day 60: August 27 St.-Louis-de-Kent to
Murray Beach 83 miles (134 km) Climbing
(meters): 533 up, 570 down
Picture (left): Chef Bruce, Carol,
Karl and Jeff in the grasp of the Big Lobster's claws
Picture (right): Brook's
surprise party, with her new bear
Boy
am I relaxed. The day started with our crew making making blueberry
pancakes. There was no chopping, only a little bit of water to boil for
porridge, and no stress. With four of us it was a snap.
We had time to pack up our tents and get out at reasonable time.
Jeff and I rode together, as we've always done on the days we cook. The day was warm and sunny. The predictions for the next three days are the same. We rode south and east. The destination for the day was Murray Beach, a provincial park in southern New Brunswick.
It was a flat ride with the "usual" scenery, countryside and small homes. Jeff and I remarked that we could have been just about anywhere, there was no distinctive tone or style to the area. It's when you stop and talk with the people that you really notice the differences. At dinner last night somebody said (I think it was Big Bruce) "Americans are proud of their country. They fought for their freedom and are proud of being rebels. Canadians aren't as patriotic. We just sort of fell into this Confederation." I'm not sure how true that is, but it's interesting.
Jeff and I spotted a bunch of bikes in front of a restaurant in Buctouche
so we stopped. It was Sunday morning and the place was packed.
Dave, Chef Bruce, Isabelle, and Carol were having their second breakfast.
On Dave's recommendation we ordered the Chef's Special -- 2 eggs, 2 sausages,
2 pieces of bacon, home fries, toast and coffee. It was first-rate.
Even though I'd eaten five or six pancakes two hours before, I was able
to eat everything.
We set out again, still moving pretty fast in spite of the full stomachs. We made the extra turns that Brook had warned us about this morning (the route maps had missed an important couple of instructions). We made it to downtown Shediac, the biggest town on today's ride, at the same time as Chef Bruce and Carol. What luck, we were able to get a group photo at the Big Lobster on the way into town. It's Shediac's claim to fame. It's huge, weighing 50 metric tons, and sits on a base that weighs another 32 tons. In my book it ranks up there with the dinosaurs in Drumheller, the goose in Wawa, and Mr. Potato Head in Revelstoke (that's what I call it, check it out in the photo gallery).
I just had enough time to get my tent set up and take a quick dip in the ocean before the rain hit. We're fortunate. There's a shelter that we can eat in and congregate under. For dinner we had a surprise party for Brook. She's been a huge part of our success this summer. Her upbeat attitude, ability to handle stressful situations, and willingness to help anytime have been far beyond what we could have hoped for. We had balloons, candles, wine, and a special cake. (Carol and Craig did most of the organizing.) We even had Brook's favorite dinner, Mac & Cheese. Carol made a teddy bear for her (now that's talent). Everyone got to say a few words of thanks.
Day 61: August 28 Murray Beach to Brackley
Beach, PEI 61 miles (98 km) Climbing
(meters): 842 up, 875 down
Picture: Confederation Bridge,
connecting New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island
I learned a little more about Canadian history today. I visited the birthplace of the Confederation, Charlottetown.
The first thing we had to do today was take the shuttle service across the Confederation Bridge. The bridge links New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island. It's 8 miles long and is closed to pedestrian and bike traffic. The shuttle was free, but it was as quick as you'd expect a government service to be. (The bridge is run by a private contractor, but it's still nearly a government entity). The first group was still waiting when I arrived at the departure point. It took about an hour per trip, longer as the day progressed and the traffic got heavier. The last group didn't make it across until after noon.
PEI, the eight province of the trip, was picturesque. It was full of rolling hills, well-kept farms and not a lot of people or cars. The official route would have sent us around all major cities with an optional side trip to Cavendish to see the Ann of Green Gables house. I rode with John and Karin and went into Charlottetown, the capital. The town itself was pretty small, around 34,000 people. Nonetheless it holds roughly one third of the island's population.
We found the downtown area and looked for a place for lunch and cappuccino. We found a restaurant with an outdoor patio and had a nice, tourist-priced lunch (fish and chips). The waitress recommended the italian restaurant across the street for coffee and dessert (chocolate almond cheesecake for me). Afterwards we wandered down to the waterfront. That's where I read about the town's history and the Confederation Conference of 1864. The Maritime provinces were planning to discuss banding together but representatives from Upper and Lower Canada put forward a bigger plan. Interestingly, although PEI hosted the conference, it didn't join right away.
We met up with Alan and Jules in the shops next to the park. We joined forces for the ride to camp since it was going to be into a stiff headwind. A local told us about the bike path that took us out of the city. It was a converted rail bed with crushed stone. We couldn't go fast but it was nicer than the roads. The final 9 miles (15 km) were on highway 15, straight into the wind. We tried a paceline for a bit but gave it up. The hills and our personalities made it difficult. Alan took off on his own with a smile. I decided to do the same. It was great. At times I was doing 19 mph (30 kph) on the flat into the wind. My legs are stronger now than they've ever been.
Camp was a national park with limited facilities. It's best feature was the ocean a short walk from the tents. A few of us went down and played in the waves. With the wind, they were 3-4 feet high.
Charles, a driver from one of the other tours, joined us for the night. He's going to drive the truck while Brook rides with us tomorrow. He built a grand bonfire. If it weren't for the bugs, I'd have stayed up later to enjoy it more.
Day 62: August 29 Brackley Beach to Lower
Barney's River, NS 92 miles (149 km) Climbing
(meters): 928 up, 872 down
Picture: Another day, another
province. Entering Nova Scotia: Ron, Brook, Carol, Bruce, Jeff, Sue,
Dave, Jon, and Robert
This
was the day Brook got to ride. We'd given her lots of advice and
some biking clothes. She was ready and excited. She even had a PB&J stuffed in her back shirt
pocket. Sue, Robert and I rode out with her. The first stop was Charlottetown; it was on the
route this time. They let me be the tour guide since I'd been to town
yesterday.
We wanted Brook to have the full experience so we stopped for a second breakfast, went to a bike shop, and looked around the stores by the waterfront. We rode with Neri, Jon, and Jeff for a while on the way out of town. To leave PEI, we had to catch the Woods Island Ferry at the eastern end of the island. It would take us to Nova Scotia. About 12 miles (20 km) from the ferry Sue reorganized us, putting me and Robert in front with herself on Brook's right to block the crosswind. It was a good move. We arrived at the ferry with 5 minutes to spare. More than half the group made the same ferry. All the others, except for Neri, were on the earlier ferry. Neri was talking with the women at Tim Hortons and the Tourist Information office and had to take the later one.
The ferry ride was 75 minutes long. We had lunch and listened to a couple of musicians.
We docked and disembarked in our ninth province, Nova Scotia. The feel was immediately different from PEI. It seemed emptier, not as developed or settled. After pictures at the Welcome sign we rode off en masse. Having 15 bikers proved unwieldy on the narrow, curving roads so we eventually split up. Our group, with Brook pedaling strong, was seven people -- Brook, Sue, Robert, Craig, Tacia, Kelly, and me. We refueled at Tim Hortons in New Glasgow before finishing the ride.
I think Brook experienced everything in her one day. I can't believe that she rode 92 miles (149 km) on a mountain bike with no training to speak of. She arrived tired but happy. We'll see how her legs feel tomorrow.
Day 63: August 30 Lower Barney's River
to St. Peter's 98 miles (158 km) Climbing
(meters): 1,319 up, 1,310 down
It started out cold and damp this morning but it turned out to be a
pretty day.
I rode by myself, wanting to find a comfortable but fast pace. My butt was sore after the long day in the saddle yesterday. I heard a lot of people discussing taking highway 104 all day instead of the scenic route that was on Bud's map. They were worried that the secondary roads were going to be bumpy. I hoped not because I didn't want to ride with the traffic all day. It turned out that only the last 9 miles (15 km) were bad..
The route took me up and down quite a few hills. The climbs at the end of the day were slower than the ones in the morning (big surprise there, eh? I can almost toss that "eh" in like a Canadian!) The road was lined with pine trees all day. There were a few small towns and the occasional home sprinkled throughout. There weren't as many farms as in New Brunswick or PEI. Along the coast I saw more people, probably due to tourism. The villages inland were tiny, maybe 6-10 buildings with one of them a church.
I stopped early in the morning at the side of the road to take a picture and shed a layer of clothes. Ron, Sue, Craig, and Robert came by and did the same. I took off again at a fast clip. Five minutes later I heard a bell behind me. It was Ron and he was smiling. I'm not used to being caught by anyone in the group, remember. I figured he wanted to ride fast with me for a while. He just smiled and said "No, I just catch and release. I'm going to coast back and ride with Sue again. Bye." I had to laugh. A few minutes later I looked back and saw a couple of riders, probably Craig and Robert. Not wanting to be caught again I sped up. No one else passed me all day so my ego survived with only minor scratches.
The most uncomfortable part of the day was crossing the Canso Causeway onto Cape Breton Island. The road was narrow. There was no shoulder. And traffic was heavy. I rode the white line and tried to keep my arms tucked in. It wasn't fun, but I had no problems. Just across the Causeway I saw one of the more unusual sights. It was a McDonald's sign advertising a McLobster sandwich. I heard later that Jon and Big Bruce stopped to try it. They said it was lobster salad on a bun Expensive and just so-so.
We're clearly winding down. Tonight was the last time we'll cook and eat as a group. Tomorrow we meet up with the other two groups for the finish. At dinner we all had a chance to say a few words. There were two common themes. The first was how amazing it was that we started out as 24 strong (not shy) personalities and blended into a cohesive group. We haven't split into factions as we've heard other groups have done in the past. Second, we'd like to get together to ride again. One suggestion is to tour New Zealand in 2005. Craig appears to have accepted the lead on organizing it.
We started to gather snail mail and email addresses. (Eric, who works for Canada Post, objected to the term snail mail.)
Day 64: August 31 St. Peter's to North
Sydney 65 miles (105 km) Climbing
(meters): 1094 up, 1103 down
Picture: Brook, Jen and
Margot working on dinner for 60
It
was our second to last riding day. It's almost over.
The day started poorly. It sprinkled lightly for the first 30 minutes of the ride. John, Jules, and I were planning to ride fast and "naked" (no packs, just what we could carry in our pockets). It was only a 65 mile (105 km) ride. We needed little more than water bottles. The rain changed our plans. Jules kept his packs, loaded with rain gear. John and I dumped ours and took a chance that it would either dry up or at least stay warm. Instead of going fast we rode at a reasonable pace all day.
Robert had told us "it's flat". Catherine had said "there's more downhills". There were a lot of hills on the route. So much for the locals knowing the terrain.
The first stop of the day was at Rita McNeil's Teahouse. Rita is a well known singer in Canada. She used to live in the area and would have people over to tea. The three of us had a "civilized" morning tea. It was labeled as afternoon tea in the menu, but they let us order it anyway. Both the tea and the food were excellent. We ended up having 7 pots of tea. We spent an hour and a half sitting there contentedly.
We rode another hour and then stopped at Catherine's mother's house outside East Bay. Her Mom had ham sandwiches and homemade blueberry pie waiting for us. She was very sweet and made sure we were well fed. Herb's mom was also there to greet us.
Finally, stuffed, we rode out and finished the ride. At camp we met up with the riders from Mike's group and Jen's group (remember, the groups are named for their driver, hence we're Brook's group). Mike's group had a rest day today. Jen's group was doing the 74 day trip and was just finishing the Cabot Trail around Cape Breton.
The big chore for the afternoon was getting all our stuff organized. It had to come out of our truck so it could be loaded onto Mike's truck. His is the only one going over on the ferry to Newfoundland. I had to decide what I needed for tonight, what I needed on the ferry, and what I could put away until Newfoundland. What a pain.
I called to confirm my flight home since it'd been three months since I'd made the arrangements. I opened up the ticket and realized I had a problem. Instead of St John's, Newfoundland (NF) the ticket said I was leaving from St John, New Brunswick (NB). I'm sure I looked at it before. With my new knowledge of Canadian geography I realized I'd be spending some time on the phone. An hour later I had a flight confirmed. The only reason I got it was Jules. He gave me the frequent flier points to book a new flight. What would I do without friends?
Dinner was prepared by Bud, Margot, and the drivers. There were 60+ people in line for food. And we didn't run out. After dinner entertainment was a fashion show featuring all of the TDC clothing we could buy - T-shirts, sweat shirts, and jackets. Neri was the model from our group. What a ham.
We're sleeping on the water again; the shoreline is 10 feet from my tent. Also, there are train tracks right next to us. Around dinner time we had a big train go by with it's whistle blowing. I'll miss this.
Day 65: September 1 North Sydney to Argentia
4 miles (6 km)
Picture (upper left): The ferry to Newfoundland
Picture (lower right): Jules, Karl, John, Karin, and Alan somewhere in the Atlantic
This was
the longest and slowest day of the trip in terms of hours. I wasn't
looking forward to the day for a couple of reasons. First, it was
chaotic because we had all three groups and only one truck. Everyone
had to be up early and down at the dock between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.
for breakfast and to board the ferry. Second, it meant that we had
only one day left.
I got up at 5:15 in order to beat the rush for the bathroom and the confusion at the tuck. It was still dark. I needed to use my headlamp for the first time in the morning to pack up. Wearing jeans and a T-shirt, with my PC on my back, I joined Big Bruce on the 4 mile (6 km) ride to the ferry terminal. He was smart, having kept his tail light on his bike. We needed it in the early dawn light.
The boat took off on schedule at 8:00 a.m. Then we were stuck. Fortunately entertainment was provided -- non-stop G-rated movies, live country music in the bar, a pay movie theater (with really bad movies), and lots of food. I worked on updating my web page for a few hours. Keith looked over my shoulder to read the sections I was typing and offered a few technical corrections (thank you Keith). John also read it cover-to-cover when I was done. (I was nervous having the folks in the group read it.) I also read for a while, watched parts of three movies, and wandered around the boat. Seeing all the stars was pretty cool.
At dinner we sang Happy Birthday to Catherine who had tried to hide her birthday from us. Too bad we'd left the streamers back on Brook's truck in North Sydney, so she wasn't going to get to ride with them on her handlebars into St. John's.
The ferry ride was calm. It was a large ship and had computer
controlled stabilizers, fins at the side of the boat under the waterline that were used to minimize
roll. The only bad part of the stabilizers
was it slowed us down a little. Combined with having only three out
of four engines in use the ride took almost 16 hours instead of 14.
We arrived in Argentia, Newfoundland at midnight local time (Newfie time
is 30 minutes later than Atlantic, 1:30 later than Eastern). Our tenth
and last province.
In an astonishingly short amount of time we unpacked our bags from the truck and sacked out on the floor in the ferry terminal. No tents, just sleeping bags and pillows scattered among the molded plastic furniture. I think all of us were able to find space in the carpeted areas. At 12:30 a.m. they shut off the lights. I was asleep in minutes.
onward >> St. John's, Newfoundland: The last day
backward >> Quebec and New Brunswick: Following rivers to the ocean