This gentleman was a very interesting character. He took up cycling at 60 years old on the advice of his son, who was watching his Dad deteriorate before his eyes. He was quite overweight at 180 lbs (I wish), and was taking a variety of drugs including Lipitor, to treat a variety of conditions. He said it took a while, but he committed himself to riding, and over time he transformed himself into this older, really fit guy, who might take an Advil once in a while if he overdoes it on the bike. Two years ago he decided to try and ride every day, and was out in every weather condition imaginable, but for a 12 month period, he logged over 20,000 kilometers. Quite a story, and a great guy who got us back on track today.
Highway 185 in New Brunswick has the reputation of being one of the most dangerous highways in Canada. We found out later that this was when it was strictly a two lane road, and with weather, the hills, and many curves, it was a recipe for disaster. We found the road improved to 4 lanes with a big wide shoulder, giving us plenty of room. I have to tell you I haven't missed the sound and feel of semi's passing you on the highway. It has been so nice not to have to deal with that for a while, but either way, had to do it, so we dug in and started climbing.
Leaving the St.Lawrence valley, I was expecting some climbs, but holy crap, it was like we were back in BC again with some of those long graded climbs I didn't think I would see again on the trip. The countryside changed very quickly to resemble both BC and Northern Ontario, and even the watch out for moose signs started as we got a little higher. It was absolutely beautiful, with many distant views of hills and valleys, and brought back a lot of memories from the western swing.
As luck would have it, the highway has yet to be 100% transformed into a four lane divided highway, and we ran into a lengthy construction zone that slowed things down, and made riding quite tricky in spots. One of the workers told me this was a three year project that was getting close to completion, but not until they would have to close the entire highway in October to finally finish it off. It is a huge improvement to the highway system and will make things a lot safer for travellers. The New Brunswick border is just 18km from Edmundston, but no sign for pictures when we crossed, so will have to do the leaving NB trick on the other end.
Funny Name
Edmundston is a small town, but it stretches for quite a distance along the St. John River, so when we thought we were close to camp, we actually had quite a ways to go. My bike had been acting up all day, so after calling around, we again found that great local bike shop, family owned for untold years, and headed in to their service department. True to form, the mechanics dropped what they were doing and started to work. Diagnosis.......I needed a new chain.........6,000+ km on this one, and that was enough. Although he suggested changing my cassette at the same time, he didn't have a replacement in stock, so I will be careful until I reach Moncton, and see what can be found there.
We planned to meet Bill and Janet at their hotel that night for a bite to eat, as they are travelling in the Maritimes, and were on our route today. The repairs kept us late, but we still managed to make it to PJ's for their famous 12oz burger and a whack of onion rings. B + J were in good form and looking forward to being at Janet's brothers cottage the next day. We will stop in there for an overnight in a couple of days ourselves, and might just get treated to a real bed! It was great to see them.
We are off to Perth Andover tomorrow, riding along the St.John River Valley, and very close to the USA. I had no idea the border was that close. Will be in touch from there.
LYJ
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