Day 86: Tracadie-Shelia to St. Margrets

Another morning, another day on the bikes. We rode out of the campground on schedule, but were soon distracted by the big Superstore in Tracadie (we went in for cheese and came out with 2 days of food).

The plan for the day was to ride down the southern coast of the Acadian Peninsula to Mirimichi and then head out due south along the highway and find somewhere to camp out in the wilderness around 20km outside of town. However, unlike yesterday when the coastal road was right on the ocean with pretty scenery, the road today was consistently about 5pm inland. Boo-urns!

Right outside of town we had a first for the trip - riding on a limited access highway. It felt strange cycling up the shoulder of the on-ramp with cars accelerating hard next to us, but the highway itself had a nice wide shoulder and sobriety wasn't any problem. However, with the high speed traffic and a straight road through nowhere, it wasn't a great experience. Really made us glad of our decision to avoid the Trans-Canada and other highways whenever possible, you really don't get the same experience at all, it's just passing the kms and driving on through.

However this was only a little bypass around town so a couple km later we were back to the regular rural highway. And that's what it was for the next 70km - scrubby trees, straight roads, and a constant sting of houses in the middle of nowhere punctuated randomly by a small gas/food store. The settlement pattern here in NB is quite strange and different than we've seen in most other places. There are big towns, but there don't seem to be many/any small "towns" as I recognize them (clustered communities with multiple streets and a mixture of residential and business together). Here, everything is just stung out along the one main road. "Rural sprawl" is a strange term but that's what comes to mind. It's nit the kind if place I'd want to live and it makes me wonder what everyone does out here, but obviously theres some benefit to it because it's growing, and people seem to be happy where they are. Doesn't make for very pretty riding through, just drive on through.

For lunch we took a aide road out to the coast and had a wonderful picnic overlooking the bay. Though the sun was out in force, so was the wind and so combined with a pleasant/cool temperature, some of us got a little chilled. If you didn't know the date, would you have guessed this was August?







So after a nice (bundled up) lunch and snooze, we were ready to go again, until Alan saw the biggest patch of the largest, most amazing wild blueberries ever! Needless to say, l
Leah was in like a shot, and no one else needed much convincing. In fact, what they needed convincing about was leaving - it was 1hr and 3 litres of blueberries latter that we were finally back on the move. What an amazing find though! Sorry to the bear who's had it's wye on those bushes :)






Getting through Mirimichi was pretty easy - except the hellish highway bridge. Narrow lanes, no shoulder, speeding cars and the only place for bikes was a really high and narrow sidewalk. The view must have been nice, but I was totally consumed watching the concrete in front of me because one slight wobble was all that was needed to send us falling into the traffic. The saner ones gave up the pretenses and walked their bikes across. Don't try this at home folks!






Then, after 15km of wilderness we'd reached decision time - where and how to camp. We were stopped on the side of the highway and had just decided to ask for water at the next community when we saw a biker catch up with us from behind. The panniers made us assume he was another long-distance biker, but we were only partly right. Turns out James was on his way home from work (35km each way) in Mirimichi, and lived in just ahead where we were looking to stop. And as soon as he found out we were on the big bike trip and looking to stop soon, he not only offered us water but also his backyard and supper to boot, and wouldn't take no for an answer (not that we really tried). So we pulled into his lovely house and by the time we had our tents up, he and his wife (also a cyclist - did a 3 week cycle tour of Scotland last fall) had cooked us supper and so we sat down to a delicious home cooked meal at a table with all the civilized fixings, and some wonderful conversation. So nice to spend some time with fellow bikers and share stories! It was a night we certainly won't forget - thanks so much! Just goes to show, no matter what a place may look like, there's always amazing people around!

Distance: 110.92 km
Time on bike: 5:46:25
Average speed: 19.2 km/h
Distance from Vancouver: 6904 km
Start: 8:15 am
End: 6:16 pm
Wind: north-west (tail-medium)
Condition: sunny

Cheers
- The Warpotay Team

Location:St Margarets, NB

Day 85: Nigadoo to Tracadie-Shelia (the Acadian peninsula)

We woke up to fog but we were happy because it wasn't rain! We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast with wild blueberries and a few raspberries that Leah found behind the bike store.

We were very thankful to have a nice dry spot on the ground under the tent that roger the awesome bike store owner had set up for us the day before.

Off on our bikes, we flew though Bathurst and out onto the wild rugged Acadien Penninsula.






The roadside was filled with quaint house decorated in red white and blue with a yellow star (the colors of the Acadian flag). There were lawn chairs, telephone poles, window shutters, whole houses, cars, light houses ,fences and anything else you imagine was painted in these 4 striking colors that stood out in the gray fog.











We hoped for sun so we could see more of the coastline, unfortunately what we got was a huge mass of fog. It was tough enough seeing the cars coming from the front and rear let alone our hands! Worse yet it was cold!

Emerging from the fog, we saw a beautiful beach and island...NOT! There was a $2 fee per person to use the 2 shaky picnic tables and port-a-potties and walk on the beach!





What a rip off, so we kept on moving. lucky we did!

Only 8km down the way in grande anse, leahs French fry spidie senses picked up the sent and sent us down to the quay. As if in a bible story, the sun broke through the clouds and shone down on the little canteen, nestled in the cove across from a beautiful sandy beach.












Leah has been a French fry conesiur since day 1 and though the Quebecois have pretty great fries, she was still looking for the one "mason de frite" to rule them all. The sun shining down was clearly a heavenly sign because In this small Acadian port Leah tasted the most amazing fries ever. She was literally in heaven.





Back on the road in the beautiful sunshine , we were greeted by some "mal-mannered" drivers. A slow moving truck approached us as the cars behind it began to get impatient.

The first truck passed veering out and into our lane and coming quite close to us before sharply pulling back onto his side of the road. Clearly the other trailing campers thought this was a good idea too! One by then they pull out and passed us, forcing us off into gravel because there was no shoulder and we weren't in the mood for a head on collision... What arrogance...

Still , after days of fog and rain, we were delighted with our new friend the sun, and kept our spirits up while passing through the bustling tourist town of caraquet on the awesome paved bike paths along the shore.

To make up time due to yesterday's rainstorm we pushed ahead and did an extra 25 km into Lacadie-Shelia. After a long day we settled at yet another over-priced trailer park. At least it had a good view of the lake.

We hope that this sunny trend continues and sends us safely and warmly to Moncton in a few days to meet with our friend jocelyns parents!

NBSC

(+1) best fries ever!
(-1) pay to use the beach! Ripoff
(+1) for us finally having sun!
(-1) dumb camper drivers
(+1) beautiful Acadian spirit!
TOTAL: +1 NB







Distance: 123.04 km
Time on bike: 7:01:17 km
Average speed: 17.5 km/h
Distance from Vancouver: 6793 km
Start: 8:25 am
End: 7:00 pm
Wind: North-east (medium-head)
Conditions: drizzle-fog and clearing into sun and clouds


Cheers
- The Warpotay Team

Location:Tracadie-Shelia, New Brunswick

Day 84: Dalhousie to Nigaboo

6 am... "Wake up!".... Pitter patter, pitter patter... Pitter... Whoosh, whoosh... "Yuck,"... Yelling to the next tent... "Evan, check the weather on the iPhone.

..."It's showers this morning, showers this afternoon, rain tonight, showers tomorrow. Wind is predicted 20 km from the east, gusting to 40 km (head wind) today, tonight, tomorrow... but current conditions say it is 30 km gusting to 40. Yuck... What should we do?...

Sleepy, depressing conversation between five people in 3 tents... Summary- " this sucks... We took a rest day yesterday for the rain, we cannot take two more and this is a pricey campground... Welcome to the Maritimes... Get used to it... Get up... We gotta see how far we get...

Gray sleepy breakfast in the howling wind... Still we need to go, it just seems windy cause we are right on the shore... Maybe...


... Off we go... Good news... Windy but doable, not as bad as it could be but slow going...



Starts to drizzle... Jacket on, rain stops, jacket off... Drizzle stop, drizzle stop, jacket on, jacket off, jacket on... RAIN... Stop... "Just a long shower"... RAIN, RAIN, RAIN with wind blowing it at you... cold, wet, yuck, yuck, yuck (minus two for NB).

...Need warm, dry place, need a restaurant or cafe... Town coming soon according to map.. Town does not come but rain does, town does not exist, just a power generating station and a zinc smelter... Yuck, smell (another minus one for NB).

... More rain, wet, soak, wet... Where is the town for the houses on the road?... Rain, rain, rain... Finally a church, buildings, a corner store, a town? Is there a cafe... Phew, it's the last building in town...


Walk in drenched and dripping... Friendly laughter and sympathy from the restaurant owner... Happily she let's us take over and soak the restaurant with all of our stuff... Excellent warm lunch served with a friendly spirit (plus one for NB)...

... Wish we could stay inside but need to get to bike shop before it is too late to fix two bikes today... Still feel cool and damp but rain has stopped, not the wind... Out we go...

Wind shifts, get to bike shop before it starts to rain again... Roger, shop owner, greets us with a smile... yes, will fix bikes asap, says Ginny is crazy to go across country on her low budget bike... Bikes get fixed quicker than promised with lots of good advice (plus one more for NB)...



... Still grey and wet... Late afternoon... Roger: "you can camp next to the store on the grass if you want"... Drizzle... Yes, yes, yes we say... Up go the tents... Roger comes out and sets up a huge gazebo tent for shelter for cooking and eating... Wow! (plus two for NB)...



Happy warm supper beneath the gazebo tent... Rain... Into dry, warm tents...zzzzzzzzz

Summary: Weather sucks but people are amazing. Thank you.


Distance: 74.33 km
Time on bikes: 4:32:46
Average speed: 16.3 km/h
Distance from Vancouver: 6670 km
Start: 8:25 pm
End: 4:00 pm
Wind: North-east (strong head)
Conditions: foggy, windy, DOWNPOUR!


Cheers
- The Warpotay Team

Location:Nigaboo, New Brunswick

Day 83: Dalhousie ( Downstream!)

Water!


Ah! We have returned to the Atlantic Ocean - well technically I
suppose it is the Baie de Chaleurs, but it looks and feels like the
Atlantic. ! A glorious day in New Brunswick, blustery and fresh
despite the rain showers. We are staying at a terrific campground in
Dalhousie right on the waterfront. It poured last night, with another
good thunderstorm, so we were grateful to have a dry common eating
area under a shelter. There is also a visitor's centre with a computer
available to folks in the campground, and Alan says they have the best
waffle cones and ice cream he has had in a long time. I plan to find
out tonight. But best of all was breakfast this morning. We woke to
rain showers, and WE WERE HUNGRY, so we decided to do the obvious and
bike about 12 km round trip to a dynamite restaurant on the highway
known for hearty meals. And we were not disappointed. How does 3 eggs,
2 toast, hashbrowns, bacon , and toast sound? OK we were still hungry
so we ordered two side orders of extra pancakes to share. And there
was not a morsel left on the plates. Ginny actually was so hungry she
ate a portion pack of peanut butter while waiting for the meal.

The most memorable part of the meal however was how friendly everyone
was. Part way through our meal, a lovely woman came over to the table
and said she had heard we were biking across the country. She asked if
we were raising money for something, or if there was any other reason
for our trip. "We are doing it as a big personal challenge for us -
and it has been great " we said. She smiled broadly and offered us the
$20 bill she had in her hand. She just wanted to support our endeavor
she said, and then she left. Slightly stunned, and moved by her
generosity, we continued our meal. What a lovely introduction to New
Brunswick.

The rest of today was quiet, while we waited out the showers, and took
a rest day. Gave me time to put my thoughts together however. Canada
is such a huge country,and this trip really helped me understand at a
deep level how important our magnificent oceans, rivers and lakes are
to us. How important they were in the founding of the country. Since
Thunder Bay we have been on the water...Lake Superior with its
magnificent cliffs, wide beaches and massive reach, then to Sault St
Marie and Lake Huron and the amazing Georgian Bay.

We took an alternate route across land to Ottawa, but could have followed various smaller rivers up from Sudbury up to the Ottawa River Then from Ottawa we were
within a stones throw of the Ottawa River until Montreal, where we met
the gently massive undeniable St Lawrence and followed that, again
most of the time with the river within view. At Quebec City we took
the southern shore, and hugged the shore until just past Rimouski.
What a gorgeous area that is. Taking a shortcut overland to New
Brunswick we did lose the ocean, but were fortunate that the road
followed the Matapedia River much of the way to Campbelton,
and out
into the delta at the Baie de Chaleur. Here in the Baie we have the
fresh maritime air, with gulls roosting on the islands in the Baie and
blustery winds - the kind Derek likes to sail in.


Literally half of the country we will have been on the water. My mind
conjured up images of the members of First Nations and "coureurs de
bois" who used the waterways for transportation many years ago. The
beautiful Matapedia would have been navigable in both directions by
any skilled canoeist. Seeing Quebec City one understands why the city
was built there at the mouth, (even though General Montcalm failed to
protect the city from an attack)

Now back on the Atlantic, I am
reminded again of the magnificence of the ocean, its power and its
allure. The courage and determination of the folks who sailed across
the Atlantic to explore this part of the globe is undeniable. People
and goods and ideas have traveled on our waterways since people lived
on this land. Being "newcomers" to most of these parts on this trip,
I can begin to imagine how travelers would have felt throughout the
course of history moving across this great land. And I understand
better how ideas travel along the waterways. It is no wonder there is
a fundamental connection between all the Eastern provinces.

We are so
fortunate to have such magnificent waterways, and this little group of
five is so fortunate to have the opportunity to be by water so much of
the time. I really missed that connection in the Prairies. Perhaps
that explains part of why the Prairies felt so different. The wide sky
is the paramount feature to the Prairies, and we are clearly connected
to that, but frankly something changed for me when we hit Thunder Bay.
This is an amazing country. The generous folks we have met along the
way perhaps were shaped by the gentle rivers, the welcoming lakes and
the dynamic oceans. That is what this trip is all about for me.

While riding yesterday I worked on a few more verses to the adaptation
of the 4 Strong Winds song by Sylvia and Ian Tyson, part of which
have been posted before.

Here is a bit more for Ontario and then Quebec. Here is also a verse
for BC because that was not done before. When we are all done, there
will be a section for each province, so the BC section should really
go first..


One Strong Wind

In BC we climbed to the sky,
And our spirits were oh so high!
The mountains there were a wonder for us to see,
We had rain and we had snow,
But the wind, it refused to blow
Our dream trip at last had become a reality!


In Ontario in the East
Every day was like a feast
We saw friends who treated us like royalty,
They served us splendid gourmet meals,
And offered friendship that was real,
We were touched by their profound generosity.

Going Eastward it got real hot,
Did we like it? No we did not!
One dread day it was thirty seven in the shade....
But the wind, it was from the West,
So for us, it passed the test,

Cause bad memories of Prairie winds will never fade.

C'etait parfait au Quebec,
La Route Verte etait chouette!

On traversait des kilometres sans souci.

Et le vent, il poussait doucement,

Au bord du gentil Saint Laurent,

On mangeait bien, surtout les fameuses patisseries!

Location:Dalhousie, New Brunswick

Amazing generous woman +4 Delicious breakfast +1
Iffy weather in the morning -1
Lovely blustery weather in the afternoon- +1

Rain again in evening and overnight -1
Delicious ice cream cone with home made waffle cone +1
Really friendly and helpful staff at the campground +1
Beautiful view of Baie de Chaleur at campground+1

Day 82: Causapscal to Dalhousie (The New Brunswick Score Card)

The day has come, today we spent our last few hours in quebec winding down the matapedia river valley.


The strong wind didn't make the descent easy but the view of the river and the skill of dozens of fly fishermen who fished from canoes in it's midst was great!


We all thought our good friend and master fly fisher Oak (George Taylor) would love it here. The way they balance in the middle of the canoe in strong current while repeatedly throwing out their light line was very impressive.

Finally though we hit the Baie de Chaleur. It was time to leave Quebec and enter New Brunswick.






As we talked about yesterday , our excitement over New Brunswick has waned in recent days. To evaluate the reality of the place without our subjective expectations and have a little fun we have created The New Brunswick Scorecard (NBSC) for short. Here's how it works...

If something is great during a day in NB, then it gets a +1. If it is a drag it gets a -1. At the end of each day we tally the points and by the end of our stay here we will have an objective view of the place with the scientific data to back it up.

However as humble people we realize that if left to our own devices, we might miss some of the treasures that NB has to offer and that the NBSC may suffer. That is why we offer those who love the province and know it dearly to have a say. If you know a cool spot to go, an amazing place to eat or really anything worthy of a point that is reasonably on our path you need to post it here. Places to stay are an even bigger prize because they will gain NB +2 point! To aid you in this task our route is as follows.

We start in Campbellton and will head south down the east coast of New Brunswick passing through, Dalhousie, Bathurst, the Acadian peninsula, Miramichi, Richibucto, Bouctouche, Moncton sackville and many small places in between. We hope to arrive in Amherst , Nova scotia on the 8th and spend some time with our good friend emile. So that's all there is to it our loyal new Brunswick friends, stand up for your heritage and comment away.

To get things started here is the scorecard for today.

(-1)Quebec side of Baie de Chaleur, cloudy, second we enter Campbellton NB, Rain!!!

(+1) tourist information In Campbellton is great!

(-1) Campbellton is a disappointing small and empty place

(+1) -18• ice cream shop in campbellton rocks!

(+1) farm stand in Dalhousie during pouring rain has great fresh veggies and even gives us free broccoli and onions!

(+1) Despite expectations, the road was quiet, and well paved leaving Campbellton.

NBSC Total: NB +2






(our campsite in Dalhousie, Alan takes safety while cooking seriously...)

Distance: 115.91 km
6:32:56 km
Average speed: 17.6 km/h
Distance from Vancouver: 6596 km
Start: 7:25 am
End: 6:45 pm
Wind: East (head-medium)
Conditions: Cloudy with rain


Cheers
- The Warpotay Team

Location:Dalhousie, New Brunswick

Day 81: Mont Jolie to Causapscal

We have inched out ways across 6480 km of our vast beautiful land and tomorrow will be our last day in la belle province of Quebec before entering the in New Brunswick. In fact a change is already beginning to happen.

After a bit of a rocky start to day, complete with a flat tire (due to thin wire in my tire), we changed our course and headed inland leaving the beautiful and bustling coast behind. If I recall correctly, the last real hills we have climbed were on our way to Ottawa and nothing very large since lake superior. It was thus with very fresh climbing muscles that we some of us sprinted up the ridges that run along the gaspasie coast of the Saint-Lawrence.

The towns on the inland side of the divide are drastically different than those a mere 35 km away on the coast. Houses are smaller and more lived in while the towns are less fancy and well kept in addition to having roads badly in need of repair (especially on a bike!) There is still tourism in the area but it is much more focused on travelers who have completed their vacation in the gaspesie and are now looking for a fast, direct inland return home.



At this stage in the trip it is hard to keep our minds totally in the present with the idea that our destination grows closer day by day. In this respect New Brunswick is too close to home to be to be distracted by it and too far from home to be excited by it.

And to be perfectly honest our expectations for New Brunswick are rather low now that we have experienced the luxury of bike paths galore, local delicious bakeries with the best chocolatines around every corner, fresh local organic produce and above all else the beauty of a place which takes takes good care of it's people. Quebec has been very good to us so this is a challenge to all you new Brunswickers out there, show us your energy, your spirit, your spunk and your beauty else we lose sight of the moment and just drive on through...




(Ginny is happy as long as she get her bars...)

Distance: 98.35 km
Time on bikes: 5:14:02
Average speed: 18.7 km
Distance from Vancouver: 6480 km
Start: 9:15 am
End: 6:00 pm
Wind: West (light-tail)
Conditions: sunny great!


Cheers
- The Warpotay Team

Location:Causapscal, Quebec

Day 80: Trois Pistoles to Mont Jolie (the stickum attack!)

After a standard WarPoTay breakfast we bid our gracious host family adieu and headed for the hills (literally).



We wanted to distance ourselves from the high level of traffic on the main coastal road. The early morning showers and clouds cleared as we put our backs to the St. Laurence and climbed over the first set of hills into what we expected to be a long agricultural valley. Alas, road maps are not topo maps and we found our road climbing and climbing, leaving the river valley and adjacent lakes below us. It seemed that here the farms are on the high flat ridges rather than in the steep gullies and valleys between them.


Mind you, this made for spectacular views from the ridge tops all the way out to the St. Laurence.

Alan was busy climbing a long gradual hill pondering how Quebec agricultural communities seemed healthy compared to all of the other provinces we had traveled. Fields were green and yellow, houses are well kept up, and small town infrastructure seems solid and small businesses intact. He wondered why, possibly the strong dairy marketing boards here are at the root of it.

At the half way point of the hill, the first attack was launched as a flash of blue flew by him. He was struck on the bum by a small but embarrassing "burr seed stickem". These are dastardly weapons which stick to anything soft on contact, and are lethally embarrasing when stuck to one's bum or back because one does not know they are there. Then everyone laughs at the victim (the Canadian army might consider using them in Afganistan where family embarrassment would be particularly acute and effective). The most effective shot is in the middle of one's back where one cannot reach it. Immediately following the attack by the Blue Streak (Evan), the Pink Shirt (Leah) behind him started laughing (embarrassing, but also a tip off as to what had happened). As the Blue and Pink shirts disappeared over the hill, the only sensible action was a counter attack. So Alan hunted down a Burr Seed Stickem Plant and armed himself in self-defense.


Ginny collected a few Burr Seed Stickems and joined in an alliance with Alan, but alas, as she is a slower biker, she was often behind the battle at key points so that it was two against one (however Ginny, not being part of the main battles was able to pulloff several sleuth undercover attacks later on). Shane seemed to view most of this as silliness (a reasonable point of view) and remained a nuetral party, After several skirmishes the Blue and Pink shirts charged after Alan, but he cleverly diverted into a gas station only to find the Blue Streak in hot pursuit. Unfortunately between the two, they were hard to overcome. The Blue Shirt was particualrly ruthless with the attacks while the Pink shirt was very sharp eyed and prevented counter attacks. When they could not attack directly, they attempt to hide seeds beneath the cloth on Alan's seat, but he caught on to this quickly. And so it went, attack and counter attack through the rest of the day. Alan caught the Blue and Pink Shirts rearming just before Rimuski, and they did not see him stop after them to rearm himself. Thus the battles raged on.

Luckily we avoided bike accidents in the skirmishes as we traversed Rimuski on the best city bike path to date. There was approximately 7 km of bike path along the waterfront from one side of the city to the other with a spectacular board walk along the Main Street as well as a long green wooded section. One had to be careful on the paths because there was so much biking and walking traffic.


Following Rimuski in the the later afternoon we continued another 20 km to Mont Joli along the shore on a beautiful sunny day. Clearly this was the beach vacation spot for the Quebecois and there were tons of small cottages, a submarine exhibition (go figure),


and a public beach. It was all very busy on a warm Saturday, but it still had an aesthetic sense of being a nice place, unlike Wasega Beach- the Ontario beach equivalent. Finally, tired and unable to find a camp spot on the shore, we turned inland and found a sweet camping spot in a large set of fields in the flight path to the runway of the Mont Joli airport (don't worry, there were not too many 747s landing while we were there).


An evening ceasefire was finally called. But what will happen tomorrow? Will Alan and Ginny be able to overcome further attacks? Will Evan and Leah run out of ammunition (they use their's quickly)? Will they think up more dastardly tricks? Stay tuned.

Distance: 111.25 km
Time on bike: 6:03:10
Average speed: 18.3 km/h
Distance from Vancouver: 6381 km
Start: 8:30 am
End: 6:00 pm
Wind: north-west (light-cross)
Conditions: sunny


Cheers
- The Warpotay Team

Location:Mont Jolie, Quebec