Remember how week 6 started off in a rather dull manner and ended with a long ride that I had to abandon because it was so challenging?
Week 7 was no walk in the park either but lord was it full of fun adventures and moments that I will forever cherish as you will read in this update.
The day before Week 7, a Sunday, I had abandoned my ride in Pokiok a small town in New Brunswick due to fatigue that was caused by high cross-winds, a distance that was too much to cover in one day and a bicycle that was too heavy to what I was used to.
However, I still had ridden 156km which is not bad considering the factors! At least, that is what I told myself to feel better about everything…
First order of business?
I had to finish the ride to Fredericton. A quick look at the map showed that it was a flimsy 60 km on a beautiful sunny and windless day. In my head it was a routine ride that I would get done in no time at all.
Thank to Mr J, the father for driving to Pokiok to resume my ride.
I was soooo confident that I did not even bother to eat properly and packed light as you can see in the photo below.
See how I was all smile and full of confidence?
Well, within the first 20 minutes the smug face disappeared and I wondered what the heck was going on. Why?
That ride was cocktail of hill after hill after hill. And these hills were not short either. I would climb for 20 minutes at a time and have a little downhill and climb again for 70 km!!! The route way over 60 km because the GPS miscalculated the distance.
I really should have taken a day break and attempted that ride on the following day but I had to take that day as on the Tuesday there was a crazy snowstorm that was on the weather predictions so Monday was the best day!
That was the first time, I rode such crazy hills that I was praying, almost crying, used foul language, ran out of water, ran out of excuses and just wondered why life was being unfair.
But what a sigh of relief when I saw the sign telling me that there was indeed a light at the end of the tunnel.
That ride was extra special because since the day I started The Big Journey, I saw the first cyclist. He or she zoomed past me as I was taking that Fredericton sign photo so by the time I saw him or her it was too late but I caught a blurred photo.
It was a big deal for me since for two months and a half or all of 2016 so far, I had not seen anyone on a bicycle as every single cyclist was hibernating except for trail riders who have fun on their fat bikes. I am talking about road and touring cyclists.
After overcoming hills that looked like mountains, I finally got to Fredericton tired and confused.
By the way, you hear me complain about hills a lot and the reason is that I am in fixed gear. Basically my bicycle only has one gear and I chose one that allows me to go fast on flats but I pay heavily on the hills as I am climbing them with a strong gear.
My advice is to read the fixed gear entry on Wikipedia to understand what my fuss is all about.
Why fixed gear across Canada? If you know me you already know the answer: why take the easy way when there is the hard way?
After a day of pedalling up and down hills as if I was on a roller coaster, I had to get my after-ride treat: chocolate of course.
I also did some stretching using a foam roller to soothe my muscles and it was the first time ever and I did not anticipate this level of extreme pain!
I hate pain so I bailed out and will try another time when I am in a better mood. But I do understand that if it hurts, it means that my muscles are very stiff and actually really need this weird contraption!
On Tuesday, the skies opened up and that snow storm really did fall fast and furiously and within hours everything that was snow-free the day before was covered in exactly 20 cm of this white powdery stuff!
Crazy huh? And to say that in some of parts of Canada not far from Fredericton, people were already in their shorts and t-shirts!
Eventually the snow stopped and surprisingly melted as fast at it fell and I hit the road again towards Saint John, New Brunswick and this was one of the most dramatic ride, yet again!
I will not even complain about hills anymore because it’s fast becoming a tired song for you dear reader but you have to understand that they are worse than the foul weather!
I would rather ride on a -30 C day without wind and hills than a beautiful 25 C day with hills or crazy winds.
I tried to be smart and take a shortcut and promptly got lost in a forest. I was so petrified because it was in the middle of nowhere and I expected at any time for some wild animal to pop out of nowhere and eat me alive!
And as you can see from the photo above, there was no more paved road but mud and mud and mud. In some instances I had to dismount and push my bike as I was stuck. And then my feet got stuck and I had to run as I was scared to get permanently stuck!
Notice how I am my own worse enemy. Or should I say my mind that plays tricks on me and comes up with the world’s worst case scenarios?
And out of nowhere, two samaritans appeared out of nowhere and were surprised to see me lost but resilient.
Evan and Corey, thank you so much for bailing me out from that forest and giving me good directions and a ride to the closest paved road. I owe you a lot!
I kept on riding and of course, there were more hills and hills… This time I walked them because I was just sick and tired of them LOL
At one stage, I was so thirsty and had run out of water and I prayed for water and out of the blue appeared a fountain of fresh water and its owner invited me to fill my bottles which I did! Talk about a miracle!
Eventually, I did get to Saint John way into the late evening and it was pitch dark. I don’t like riding after sunset but that adventure in the forest cost me two good hours.
I was tired and hungry and just wanted to get it over and done with.
But I got the world’s best welcome in Saint John thanks to my hosts!
And when I got inside their home, I even got a bigger welcome surprise!
I should mention that the ride to Saint John was my last ride in New Brunswick as I would have to cross the body of water into Nova Scotia another province after this journey.
New Brunswick is full of wonderful people and I had a warm welcome and amazing moments and I will write about this at a later stage but I was also looking forward to Nova Scotia and its adventures.
And thus ended Week oo7 🙂
Of course by eating I also mean indulging in chocolate since I am allowed to given that I am the one suffering everyday cycling across Canada, right? 🙂
By Sunday, the weather had calmed down or so I thought so in Grand Falls (Grand Sault in French) I got back on my bicycle on my way to Fredericton.
Here I am looking all futuristic and stuff without knowing that I was about to suffer like never before.
Naturally I was covered from head to toe as it was a freezing day and in such conditions, no part of my body is exposed to the elements as it could get bitten to pieces.
The most important landmark on my Grand Falls- Fredericton ride was the world’s longest covered bridge. I tried to cross it but the wind was so strong that I did not even bother.
The bike was rolling along smoothly with the wind on my back so I felt good and powerful
And to make matters worse, one road turned into a snow trail (in Summer it would be a gravel trail) and I had to dismount and walk for a good hour in deep snow.
The fact that my bicycle was heavy and that I had been riding for over 8 hours did not help. I was just exhausted.
I held my head down in shame although deep down I knew that I had been way too ambitious to try and ride the longest distance ever 200 km (my average ride is 100 km so I attempted double that) on a very windy day and with a lot of new weight that I was not used to.
In the van on the way to my host’s home, I kindly asked him if we could stop by a supermarket so that I could get myself my favourite brand of chocolate since in victory I celebrate with chocolate and in defeat I get over my shortcomings with chocolate.
I even rode by McCain, the number one maker of frozen French fries in Canada.
But look at this…
During the ride, I encountered a pain that’s always there when I cycle. I asked the Internet what was that all about and it turns out that my seat is too high therefore my leg gets over extended hence the pain.
To kill time, I watched House of Cards and watched all 13 episodes in a weekend since I don’t know when I will have access to fast Internet again to watch shows and movies on Netflix.
I was pleasantly surprised by the way this mayor is looking to the future to attract young people and keep locals in town. I wish him well.
After I left city hall, I crossed the street and went for a quick interview at Le Madawaska, a prominent weekly newspaper. I spoke about my tour, the reasons behind it and my thoughts of the city so far even if it had only been 48 hours!
These two ladies are probably the most fascinating people I met in Edmundston. They’re Stephanie and Kristine. Stephanie founded Rehab Night, an events promotion agency that organises dance parties that attract over 3000 from all over the Maritimes.
We talked for hours and we go hungry so they took me to a restaurant to try out a local pancake called ploye which is eaten with meat or brown sugar.
Another day, another chain problem. Joey, a mechanic at Jessome’s La Source du Sport looked at it and put a chain tensioner that should keep the chain in place.
This week the weather has been terrible. Everything all at once: rain, snow, freezing rain, fog and unsalted roads which makes a very dangerous travel cocktail.
I ate this for dinner. It’s a regional delicacy and it’s basically tender beef. Meat without any steroids. Organic meat as locals call it! I am not the most adventurous person when it comes to food but I have to get used to it!
France, my wonderful host and Chantal, her friend took me on a road trip where there was an ice hockey meet on a frozen lake! I had a great time there and drank the world’s most disgusting hot chocolate. I could not believe how bad it was. Luckily, it was cheap.
On the other side of that frozen river, probably 2km, is the United States!
France D’Amour, my wonderful host, is not fan of photographs but I managed to take one with her.
And that was week four! No cycling at all and a lot of tourism. I don’t mind, it’s part of the trip. That is why I gave myself an extra three months of this Canada bicycle crossing.
So I left from Québec City where I had been stranded for almost a week.
The best feeling in the world after a long freezing ride is no longer a very hot shower but to sit in front of a fireplace that warms up the mind, body and soul.
I am not a big eater but I had no choice. I had almost 100km to ride and I did not know if I would come across decent places to eat and so at the first restaurant, I had what for me is a mega breakfast!
The sun was out but so was the wind. The temperatures were so cold that I had to stop every hour and seek shelter in any sort of business if I was lucky to come across one to give myself 3 minutes to warm up again because it was just that cold.
I also had my bicycle looked at by Cyclo Expert, a local shop and they gave me a new chain as the new one that I had was already worn from all the salt and dirt which makes me understand why few people cycle in winter and why the few that do ride bikes that are easily replaceable!
Thank you Serge! 🙂
My Rivière-du-Loup hosts were amused at how I washed dishes in my cycling clothes. It’s a personal principle for me to wash dishes when someone offers me food. That is my contribution. It does not matter if I am some famous DJ, it’s just good manners!
I even got a private concert from one of my hosts but she will kill me if I post the video so you’ll have to do with the photograph. She sang me her own rendition of “Stand By Me” 🙂
(Aurore took the above photo as I was leaving. She was amused by how I had a banana in my back pocket)
From the corner of my eye, I saw the flags of Canada, Québec and USA on a bridge.
In a deli along the way in a town called Pohénégamook, after I ate lunch I wanted something sweet and I stumbled across a M&M chocolate bar. I did not not know that they now made them and I had to find out about it in the middle of nowhere!
Eventually, I crossed into New Brunswick the ONLY Canadian province that is bilingual. What is also cool is that I entered a different time zone and my phone adjusted automatically.
You’ll notice that this photo is taken from the wrong side of the road. Sometimes, I do that since it’s better for me to see what’s coming in front of me than what’s coming behind me. I do that especially in the wind since I can’t hear anything.
As I rolled into Edmundston, I saw another bridge. I could not believe that the border was right in the middle of a city!
Tired, hungry and amused by the border incident. I had made it to Edmundston 160 km (100 miles) later.
Stay tuned for the latest updates. For now, I am reworking the plans and cannot wait to get back on the bicycle.
After this yummy lunch, I was full of energy so I raced towards Québec City and not even 20 minutes later, I was gathering speed to climb up a hill and not even two seconds into it, I heard a funny noise coming from the chain and I immediately knew something was wrong.
