Days 69-72 back to island life

Fredericton -> The middle of nowhere

I really enjoyed my stay in Fredericton both with Jessica and Anne. Big thanks to you both for welcoming me into your homes! After my rest day I set off feeling revived and especially energetic thanks to a hearty breakfast of wheatberry cereal and yogurt. I set off under drizzly skies and with the wind in my face. It was slow going but on the plus side the storm was getting pushed behind me and there were sunny skies in sight! I rode alongside the river and enjoyed the relatively flat road and the stunning fall colours! Just over half way I stopped for lunch at one of those convenience store/restaurant/gas stations that constitutes as a town in New Brunswick! There is where I began my overindulgent day with 2 slices of thickly buttered homemade delicious banana bread. Back on the road for jut a few minutes and I noticed a sign for homemade icecream coming up at the next exit. I deliberated stopping as I approached...I told myself if I could see the shop from the highway I would stop. If not I would continue on. When I reached the exit, no shop in view. So then I said to myself "well I will just take the exit and if I can't see it before the on-ramp I will just keep going" the on-ramp came and went and I was still on the quest. It was clear I was losing a battle with my tummy and so I turned the corner and just a few hundred metres down the road I saw the sign. It was homemade and it was delicious. I should have known I wouldn't have been able to pass a sign for ice cream! An hour after my impromptu ice cream stop and I had reached my destination of the day, another convenience store/restaurant/gas station only this time there was a motel too! Almost a city! Since I arrived so early in the day I treated my bike to a good wash down and even cleaned my chain! By the end I was filthy with grease but my bike was shining! I had a quick dinner and then headed over to the restaurant for dinner where the only vegetarian option was an egg salad sandwich. Less then satisfied with my dinner I had a large slice of carrot cake for dessert to make up for the fact and thus finished my day with another spot of indulgence but ohhh how it was worth it!

Middle of Nowhere -> Moncton

I took my time getting ready that morning as I had a short day ahead of me. Although, I was rather rudely awakened at 8 that morning by someone trying to barge into my room! Luckily I had deadbolted the door and after a few tries they gave up and I was able to go back to sleep for another hour.

It was drizzling again that morning as I set off but the torrential storm held off for the time being. About 30km down the road I noticed a distinct wobble on my bike which never warned of anything good and sure enough when I looked down I noticed that my front tire was flat! I pulled over and started pulling out my tools. As I did the heavens opened and it began to pour! Great timing! Then, to make matters worse I discovered that my pump was missing. I quickly threw everything back in my panier so it wouldn't get any wetter and started walking as I contemplated what to do. I hadn't seen an exit since I had started that morning so I thought there might be one coming up and fingers crossed it would have a gas station. 20 minutes later I was still walking, soaked to the bone, and no gas station in sight. That's when I noticed a car on the shoulder backing up towards me. When we were parallel the man inside unrolled his window to ask me if I wanted a ride. He probably thought I was nuts as I stood in the downpour and considered his offer. I hesitated and then asked how far it was to the next gas station. At this point the rain had reached monsoon levels and the drops were stinging as they hit my skin. He figured the closest gas station was about 30km away. I realized with a sinking sensation that unless I wanted to be walking till way past dark I was going to have to get in his car. I had to break my vow of a car free journey and take the ride. It was amazing how fast the distance was eaten up by the car. Travelling for so long by bike and a car felt unreasonably fast. John dropped me and my soaking gear off in Salisbury where I fixed my flat and had lunch while trying to decide if I had time to ride back to where I got the flat and then turn around and make it to Moncton before dark. Sadly I realized it was unfeasible and that I would have to forgo those 36km.

It continued to pour as I made my way to Moncton. I pulled up at Vincent's (my warmshowers host) looking very much like a drowned rat! A shower and the use of a dryer and I felt human again. We went to the Pumphouse Brewery for dinner and I had my first experience with blueberry beer, complete with real blueberries floating in it!

Moncton -> Sackville

First thing first! I went straight to a bike shop to buy a new pump! I did not want to have a repeat of the stranded situation of the day before!

The ride to Sackville was uneventful and slow. I was battling a ferocious headwind but at least the sun was shining. I arrived at Emily's (my couchsurfing host) around 2pm and the two of us spent the afternoon cooking a vegetarian moussaka for dinner that night. To be honest Emily mostly cooked and I mostly talked but I will take credit for the custard which I diligently stirred for an hour straight before it finally cooperated and set. It was fun to be in a houseful of students again and I missed school just a little bit until they all dissapeared back into their bedrooms to work on papers while I popped a movie in the DVD player :)

Sackville -> Charlottetown

The ride started with a few dead ends that morning thanks to my GPS misleading me. Eventually I found my way across the highway and onto the road heading north towards the bridge. I stopped for a second breakfast in Port Elgin, the last town before the bridge. I ordered the breakfast special but made sure to let the waitress know I didn't want any meat. When my plate arrived strewn with bacon I quickly called the waitress back to let her know there had been a mistake. She looked over at me and started to say something along the line of "well can't you just push...." and she trailed off. Probably because she had noticed the look on my face. So she went into the kitchen and returned with a side plate, she then proceeded to pick the bacon off of my plate with her fingers right in front of my face! I was shocked and figured if that's how things worked around there I better keep my mouth shut. I obediently started to eat my breakfast under the pitying looks of the other customers. I ate quickly to escape the restaurant and was thankful to get back on my bike!

In no time at all I could see the big confederation bridge looming in front of me. I pulled off at the last exit to look for the shuttle that takes pedestrians and cyclists across the bridge. I pulled into the parking lot and was surprised to see 8 other touring bikes already there! I soon met their owners, 8 friendly women who were setting off on a girls weekend which they told me included, PEI tip to tip on their bikes, good restaurants, good wine and good company! Sounded pretty good to me! We chatted as we waited for the shuttle and soon realized that one of the ladies and I had a mutual acquaintance, Margot with a "T" from Pender. What a small world!

As we crossed the bridge and I caught my first glimpses of PEI I knew instantly I would love it! Maybe it was because it's an island, maybe because it's so pretty but whatever the reason I could tell right away it was going to be a great couple of days. I said goodbye to the ladies on the other side and took off to get a few pictures of the bridge before heading towards Charlottetown. About 15km later I stopped, partially because I had seen a sign for ice cream and partially because I wanted advice on directions. Both were given freely! I left Anna's kitchen with my instant love of the island reconfirmed. A free double scoop in my belly and route advice in my head I set out again. I was surprised to encounter hill upon hill upon hill and I was very happy to reach Nancy and Gareth's and finally be done with the hills! I was warmly welcomed and we enjoyed a delicious dinner while getting to know one another. Later that evening while chatting we discovered that the friendly gentleman who had given me route advice was none other then their good friend Charlie! Proof again of what a small world it really is!

Days 67 & 68 Those cold and frosty mornings

Grand Falls -> Woodstock

Woke up shivering in my tent, it was freezing out! The rain overnight had cleared and therefore there was no longer an insulating cloud cover and it was chilly! and windy! I finally forced myself out of my sleeping bag and shedded the many layers of clothing I had worn to bed to get dressed. Tearing down camp was not fun as my fingers were soon numb and I couldn't get my tent undone with no feeling in my hands. Finally I was all packed up and ready to hit the road, I couldn't wait to get moving and hopefully warm up with some exertion. I didn't have to wait long, as soon as I left the campsite I was climbing a huge hill. My body was quickly warmed and just my feet and hands remained chilled. Broke out the gloves for the first time that morning!

I had a great tail wind for the most part of the day so even though it was cold at least I was going quickly and it wouldn't be too long of a day. My spanish podcasts kept me entertained until lunchtime at which point I couldn't take anymore of the cheesy intro jingle and had to take a break. There weren't really any towns to speak of for most of the day and since I was down on food supplies lunch consisted of a muffin and power bar. Gone are the days when we used to have a big spread for lunch and dinner!

I've noticed a few interesting things about New Brunswick so far, things that are different then any other province we have come through.

1. They all have these big wooden trunks at the end of their driveways. I thought maybe they were for packages in the post or then I thought of dowry trunks but after having asked a local I found out they are just garbage storage trunks. Much nicer then the big bins the rest of us use!

2. There are sooooooo many churches! Every little town has at least and Anglican, Baptist and Presbyterian church and some of them have even more!

3. Lots of the houses have metal stars on the outside, usually attached to the siding near the front door. I had no idea what this symbolized and again thought up many different reasons they could be there but when I asked it turns out they are trendy right now and solely decorative. So much for all my crazy ideas!

4. Lots and lots of dogs which really like to chase/bark at me. I'm sure most of them mean no harm but when two big dogs are chasing you as fast as they can run and I can pedal it's a little frightening! It's happened a few times over the last couple of days and i'm paranoid they are going to bite me and/or get caught under my wheel and cause a big accident both to me and them. Luckily most of the dogs are tied up so the most they can do is bark.

Anyways getting back on track, I got into Woodstock pretty early in the afternoon and had time to go to the library before checking into my "hostel". Note the quotation marks around "hostel" what a wierd place it was. There was no reception, you had to call to be let in, instead of some young foreign person working it was an older local woman, all the rooms were singles, it was in the basement of an apartment building, when the other residents heard I was a "traveller" they were surprised. Apparently it was more of a residence for people in between houses, in between jobs, or recently immigrated to Canada. I spent most of the time in my room. I must admit though, wierd as it was I had a fabulous sleep!

Woodstock -> Fredericton

Another very cold morning on the road but this time it was clear and sunny and warmed up fairly quickly. I decided to take a back road into the city instead of following the highway. I thought it would be a short cut. In distance it was for sure but time wise I'm not so sure since it was not very well paved it was pretty slow going for the first 40km and lots and lots of hills! Again almost no towns along the way but at least this time I had bought groceries in Woodstock and had food for lunch! The ride was pretty uneventful, I think I may have seen a moose but not quite sure, some sort of large animal from quite far away can be anything if you use your imagination a little :)

I got into Fredericton around 4pm surprised to see how little it really is! Apparently the population is only around 60,000. I spent last night at Jessica's, a girl I contacted through couchsurfing.org. We built a fire and hung out telling stories and making s'mores, a good Saturday night! Today I'm taking my first rest day since Ottawa and then tomorrow it's back on the road again!