Monday, August 7th - Campbellton - Bathhurst - 118kmsWe left Sugarloaf Mtn Campsite about 8:15am. The weather was cool but not cool enough to wear a coat for most of us. We followed the coast to Dalhousie and on to Hwy 134 to Bathhurst. The hwy is a tourist route but there were hardly any cars and no trucks. A real treat to cycle on. We are camped tonight at Younghill Campground. It started a light misty rain in the afternoon so they gave us the barn to cook and eat in. Not a regular barn, this one has showers, toilets, washers and dryers and picnic benches. Tonight we sat down to Renaud's famous roast beef dinner with all the trimmings. It really goes down well.
Tuesday, August 8th - Bathhurst to Kouchibouguac National Park - 146kms
We started out early and the day was slightly overcast but gradually cleared and warmed up. The ride wasn't supposed to be this long, but sometimes stuff hapens. Everthing went well until we hit Tim Hortons at Miramichi. Not that anything went wrong at Tim's, just everything after. When I left Tim's (after eating 3 large doughnuts), I put sunscreen on my nose - the sun was shining and I only had 50kms to go. About 30 minutes down the road it clouded up and then IT started.
It was almost like Tropical Storm Lucy had arrived. It absolutely poured rain, but I was tough and kept on riding. I always had in my mind that I could make it. I mean what is a little rain, right?? But when the lightening started to hit the ground all around me, it was time to take cover. By this time there were a few of us and we took cover at a gas station. If we were going to get hit, what a better place than a gas station. After about an hour passed, we started again in light rain, arriving in camp at 6:30pm and very wet.
Noreen and Rachelle would like to give a special thanks to Andy for giving them shelter in the storm.
Wednesday, August 9th - Kouchibouguac National Park to Shediac - 96kms
Today we rode our bikes through the park to the Atlantic Ocean. Our ride is truly Sea to Sea!! From now on we expect to see a lot of the Atlantic Ocean. We had a nice ride today through the small villages of New Brunswick. Hwy 134 is a nice quiet hwy to take, not too much traffic. There is one way bridges, churches from 150 to 200 years old and real nice people. Tonight we are going to be sitting down to a lobster dinner. A local supplier has brought us 30 lobsters, cracked, our driver picked up small, fresh red potatoes (she helped
dig them out of the field) corn, salad, etc. I sam sure there won't be any leftovers.Dinner wasn't quite finished when we had another thunder and lightening storm, leaving us with 1 1/2" of rain. The ground couldn't take it away fast enough so a lot of tents got flooded. Shirley was outside her tent digging a trench, but someone thought she was planting a garden. It rained on and off all night, but stopped long enough for us to pack up and leave the following morning.
Thursday, Aug 10th - Shediac to Murray Beach Provincial Park - 56kms
It was fairly cloudy this morning as we set out through the lovely town of Shediac. Beautiful old houses, a well kept town. About 25kms down the road a bunch of us thought we would stop for coffee and a toilet break. When we got inside, we all had 3 sausages, one egg, hash browns, toast and two cups of coffee for $2.95. Of course, the is after our regular breakfast of raisin porridge, etc.
When we left the restaurant another storm hit - lightening, thunder and more rain. Taking refuge in a baseball dugout, we thought we had out smarted the storm, but alas the roof leaked badly. After the worst of the storm passed, we rode the last 30kms in the pouring rain. Arrived in our new camp at 1pm and by 2pm the sun was starting to shine and we were able to get everything dried out again.
August 10th - A Day with Bud
The noise was tremendous. With the rain coming down hard and the pavement awash, the noise of the semi passing close by seemed to be amplified. My glasses were steamed and spotted with water so I could barely make out the paved shoulder in front of me. My raingear was as wet inside as the outside wih the steamy
condensation I was generating as I peddled down highway #15. The morning had started out so promising with the temperature about 20 degrees and the sun trying hard to break out. We got away from Shediac at the usual time, but it wasn't long before the skies became darker. As I was one of the last to leave camp, there were no other cyclists from our group in sight when I noticed my front tire was going flat. Flat tires are not unusual on this tour, but they are for me. This was only my second - I had my first just the day before yesterday. After dismounting the tire and pulling the old tube out, I discovered the spare tube I had borrowed from Noreen yesterday was slightly larger than was needed. In desperation I stuffed it in anyway and pumped it up only to
find it wasn't holding any air. The promising morning was quietly becoming otherwise. After again dismounting the tire and pulling out the tube I had another look at my original tube. I tried pumping it up, but it was flat again
before I could find the leak. I must have spent a half hour trying to find that leak. I needed water to submerge the tube to detect the leak, but there was none by this busy stretch of highway. As it hapened I had a 1.5 litre sauce pan in one of my panniers. I was carrying it for later in the trip when I intended to leave the group to travel solo in Newfoundland. I dumped both of my water bottles into it and soon had my leak detected. After patching it and remounting the tire, I again applied the pump. The morning was turning into a disaster when again it would take no air. Repeating the process with the pot of water, I detected the second leak and patched that. About now it began to rain, but this time the tube held air and I was on my way. After arriving at Murray Beach in the early afternoon the sun came out and the day ended sunny and warm.Rumble Strips - By Donna
A little note on rumble strips - they work!! I fell asleep while cycling one day and as my bike veered to the left and hit the rumble strip I was jarred violently back to reality. Gravel on the right of the shoulder produces the same effect. One day, however, I fell asleep without a rumble strip to protect me and I found myself over the white line in the path of traffic and woke up with a start when a car went whizzing past close to my left. The driver may have been more careful if he'd known I was asleep at the wheel!!
10 Rules for Cycle Touring - By Dennis
1. Don't use a bicycle that you cannot control at high speeds in loose gravel. You might be forced off the road.
2. You can never have too many granny gears.
3. All drivers will share the road - provided they don't have to take their foot off the gas. Always have an emergency escape plan - and don't be afraid to use it.
4. Join pace lines only when road, wind and traffic conditions warant it. Most accidents occur when cyclists run into each other.
5. RV drivers are the most dangerous. They are generally inexperienced and have no idea how big they really are. Some forget to take up their steps - these will amputate your left leg at mid-calf. Use your emergency escape plan.
6. If you want and expect all the warmth and comforts at home - stay at home!! Youor favourite peanut butter may not be available in all parts of Canada.
7. Don't skimp when buying a tent. It is your last line of defence.
8. Share the work, share the credit, take the blame.
9. If you don't like what you see, lower your expectations.
10. Think carefully before throwing away a plastic bag.
go to Part Nine
Back to main journal