Days 44 & 45

Day44

I awoke to the sound of a happy infant, babbling to herself.  I dunno about you guys, but to me that's a pretty pleasant way to wake up.  I got a very slow start to the day using the hostel internet access to TCB, so I got a very late start - rolling out by noon.  Campbellton is right on the sea, and the old highway that follows the coast is quite nice.  I ended up riding through a closed road where a parade was about to go through, the cop waiving me on as bicycles don't count as traffic - so I got to ride down a street lined with people waiting for a parade and not entirely sure what to make of me.  :p  Not a lot of hills, though there was one NASTY sucker that sneaks up on you as you make a 90degree right hand turn first, and don't see it until you're stopped at the signal - so there's no time to gear down. 

It was WINDY.  WINDY WINDY WINDY WINDY WINDY.  Just think - in a couple of weeks you'll be back at work.  Enjoy it, dammit!  More wind, more wind, more wind.  I love this.  Truly, I do. 

About 40k out of Miramichi it got hilly.  Pretty significantly so, actually.  It was dark again, so although I could see the road very well I had no real sense of perspective - but they were definitely hills, and not small ones.  One just outside Miramichi I swear was a 10min climb - and that was me climbing well, not grinding. 

I had made arrangements to stay at another hostel this morning.  Hosteling gives me a different perspective than does hoteling/moteling, or camping.  In this particular case the hostel was owned by a Donald Sutherland lookalike, who was very friendly and tried very hard.  It turned out that I was one of two customers, and the only one he liked.  :p  The other, my roommate, was a drunk guy who got up on occasion to ramble and then would wander off - or pass out again.  He's from Miramichi but was staying in a hostel for reasons unknown to me.  Remember when I said that I was having a hard time understanding the French out here?  Now I'm having difficulty with the English...


Stats:

Total Elapsed Time: 10:40
Actual Ride Time: 9:47
Total Distance: 199.58 km
Avg Speed: 20.3 kph
Max Speed: 60.1 kph




Day45

Today should have been a very easy day.  A large part of the route followed the coastal highway, so it shouldn't be terribly hilly.  The wind is always a question, but there's not much one can do about that.  It was windy, but the larger problem was me.  I was just tired, and feeling like a Spanish Chevy ("no va").  There were some hills, but nothing significant.  I had a couple of mediocre meals (disappointng, really given that I'm finally on the ocean again) but I was pretty happy to be on the ocean again.  I'd been told that the beaches and camping in Shediac are fantastic, but when I got there I saw rows of trailers and campers spaced 4m apart, and tents about 1.5m apart.  Mostly in fenced in fields.  Maybe the campsites down by the water are much better, but that sucks if you ask me.  I found a halfway decent motel and checked in hoping for an early night. 

I was also fortunate that I spotted and resolved a fair sized scheduling issue before it royally messed things up for me.


Stats:

Total Elapsed Time: 8:15
Actual Ride Time: 6:34
Total Distance: 136.49 km
Avg Speed: 20.7 kph
Max Speed: 39.7 kph


The last "round number" milestone...