Day 38: Halifax - Kim Mohammed

Finally, the Atlantic Ocean! It was our shortest ride of the trip today into Halifax at around 90km. Took the ferry over to the city and walked the streets for the afternoon.

Not many pictures because this first one took 1/2 an hour to load.. But I have a story instead. 

We walked by what looked like a homeless man outside the midtown tavern. Mom, bless her soul, gave him a couple bucks. He was pretty mangy looking, said he was crippled from work, and was shaking. We didn't think anything of it until we caught the 9pm ferry back home. Right beside us there he was, pecking at his blackberry, wearing a gold ring, and nursing a six pack of blueberry ale on his lap. We still haven't stopped laughing. 

Will

Day 37: Truro - Rick & Mary McGlynn

We started off the day at the Holiday Inn in Moncton. It was a pretty leisurely morning... made short work of the buffet breakfast then started biking a bit after eight. Our stay was sponsored by John Wood. Thanks Uncle John!

Highlight of the day was reaching the Nova Scotia border about 55km in. We were so happy to see the sign that we shamelessly climbed all over it despite the park ranger glaring at us from the lighthouse.

 We arrived in Truro in good time. Will got some more practice changing a flat tire but besides that the ride was pretty uneventful. We didn't stop for too many pictures of us along the way, but we did capture quite a few of the dog.

Smuggled into the Holiday Inn

 Loose and making a break for the Nova Scotia border

 Tolerating Will

All of the campgrounds in Truro are full because of the long weekend so we're situated at the Super 8 tonight. Less than 100k tomorrow to Halifax!


Claire

Day 36: Moncton - Chad Lamont

We saved 70km by biking through the middle of New Brunswick and are BACK ON SCHEDULE! We launched the RV on an old mining road in the woods. Not much of a campsite, but it was Claire's night to pay so side of the road it was.

 It was raining at the start of the day but it wasn't windy so we were loving it. The roads were in rough shape and there were some hills. Because of that there were no cars. Made for so much more fun for us than the busy Trans Canada highway!

Once we got near the main road down to Moncton we got a little lost and biked through big unleashed dog country. It was like the running of the bulls for an hour as we raced away from the monsters like mailmen. Neither of us wanted to be the slowest today.

But their owners were very friendly. We stopped for a break and 2 people instantly asked if we needed any help. Change from some parts of the trip where you couldn't get someone to stop if you were being mauled by a grizzly.

We ended up finding Holliday Inn where we're embracing our first shower in 3 days and 30 hours of biking around. Very Happy.

The sweep begins.

Will

Day 35: The New Brunswick Forest - Huron Fish and Game Conservation Association

We are posting this from Plaster Rock just prior to heading into the wilderness.

Today we were supposed to head south to Fredericton, but that would involve a 30km/hr headwind all day. Enter plan B. We are heading east today. This means ditching the trans can for a remote back road in a forest. We will ride until dark then spend the night miles away from cities, people, and internet on the side of the road somewhere. 

Day 34: Notre-Dame-De-Loudres - Summerhill Community

We made it to New Brunswick!

But thats about all we did. We fell behind schedule today. Came up about 25km short of Grand Falls where we wanted to be. Did our best; started at 7am and punched out at 9, but the headwind was too much and we only got done 135.

My 3, yes 3, flat tires didn't speed us up. For those of you counting at home I think thats 8 for the trip. Can now change a tire faster than Jimmie Johnson's pit crew.

Still a problem with the back wheel = tonights project. Now on Atlantic time, 1 hour ahead of Ontario. Moose warnings everywhere. This picture suggested they're double the size of a car out here in NB.

Will

Day 33: Riviere-du-Loup - Brian Dupuis

After a few lousy days of biking, today was solid. It ended up being almost 200km of riding to tonight's campground a few kilometers east of Riviere-du-Loup. Things on this side of the St. Lawrence River looked pretty similar to earlier parts of Quebec. A huge church every 10km in a small town with <1000 people seems to be standard around here.

The language barrier continues, but we've been able to understand a few of the signs lately.

Near the end of today we started seeing signs for "Nouveau Brunswick". Less than 90km to the border!

Day 32: Quebec City, QC - CHSS Staff

Finished off the huge comeback to win the series last night! Bring it Montreal. 

Today was shorter than expected given the wind, rain, a broken tire, and broken up roads.

Just before we got into Quebec City my back tire blew up. Needed a whole new wheel instead of just the usual tube or tire replacement. The staff said my tire was about to explode from overuse too. Hope they're wrong. Quebec City was great riding through for the first half, with our very own bike highway.

But then we made a wrong turn or two during rush hour after crossing this bridge.

Ended up on the 132 highway and we were the only cyclists on the road after they were swarming like locusts everywhere else. Why? Because they all want to live. Tough stretch of road but we made it into Levi for the night.

Will