Day 61 – Running out the Clock! (Petit Rocher, NB – Saint Louis de Kent, NB)

Morning SKies

Per the weather forecast we woke this morning, after a rainy night to threatening skies, it was not raining, but sure felt like it wanted to. It looked like our streak of 15 rain-free riding days was coming to an end.

After starting our early on the road (7:30 AM), we logged a quick 30 miles before stopping in Allardville for a 2nd breakfast. It turned out that “I’ll have what he is having” was a popular choice – the truck driver beside me had a plate of 3 eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, toast, potatoes and coffee. Apparently he had driven by us in the Matapedia Valley two days earlier, and was quite interested to see us, and to learn of our adventure.

The route today took us across the peninsula forming the eastern tip of New Brunswick. The roads were great, fresh pavement and a wide shoulder for cycling on. With the weather (light rain, mist and high humidity) it did not make for a great day for taking pictures. After breakfast, Serge and I rode pretty much head down for the last 60 miles into camp. Our main goal was to get to camp early enough so that we did not have to wait in line for the laundry and showers prior to tomorrow’s rest day. Having seen vast amounts of salt water in the Baie des Chaleurs yesterday and this morning, we are beginning to realize that our ride/adventure is quickly drawing to an end, and there is prevailing mood amongst the riders of “running out the clock” like at the end of a game whose outcome has pretty much been decided. Despite that I am looking forward to seeing, and cycling Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton Island (whose hills are apparently some of the tougher of the tour), and finally “the rock” or Newfoundland.

Looking down on the Mirimachi

One of the more interesting parts of the route was crossing the Mirimachi River Bridge. It was quite high, and looks much higher than it felt from the river bank.

Looking up at the Bridge.

We were on cooking duty tonight, and the meal was lobster (pre-cooked, thank God, and supplied by the father of a rider from 1997.) After 3 night of white rice, and a 4th one planned for this evening, we went “off-menu” and prepared a satay noodle side dish from memory. It was greatly appreciated by the group.

A fun crew to work with after long days of riding.

Tonight was our last night on cooking duty, so “Team One” posed for a team picture, lobsters and all. Just before eating, Mark (in the yellow sou’wester hat), whose home is in New Bruinswick, gave a demo/lesson to all in how to efficiently eat a lobster (and just as importantly for some who had never eaten lobster before, what parts were edible, and what were not).





Having finished my laundry before dinner, my rest day tomorrow will be spent cleaning and lubing my bike, and trying to find and patch the holes in my air mattress. For the past 10 days, its inflatable life was around 3 hours which meant re-inflating it several times in the middle of the night so I could sleep comfortably.