If it was easy, anyone could do it!

The story of the 2013 Craig Gives Back-2-Back

Cross-Canada Bicycle Tour

NOVA SCOTIA > PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND > NEW

BRUNSWICK
DAY #14 Saturday, August 17, 2013 One day, one province.

Day#14: 149kms Pictou, NS to Cape Tormentine, NB

We were up early in the morning as we could not miss the first ferry crossing to from Caribou, NS
to Wood Islands, PE which departs at 9:00am. We had a 10km bike ride to get there and we
were lucky to be joined by three cyclists from Pictou, my friend John Tetreault, my dentist Ed
Hawkins and my physiotherapist Phillip Ruiz.
Another beautiful day made me wonder if Bob was maybe good luck as we had not had rain
since he joined me in North Sydney! Andrea and Laureen had packed the car and pretty much
threw everything they thought might be of use should go in, so it was stuffed. They also packed
their bikes on the bike rack and were hoping to get some cycling in as well. Andrea and Laureen
would be going as far as Moncton before Bob and I would continue while they would return
home and to their jobs. We had asked Craig if he wanted to be in the support vehicle, but I
dont think sitting in a car for two days was very enticing, so he opted to stay behind and
continue with his training and rehabbing his ankle.
Our local newspaper, The Pictou Advocate had been a tremendous supporter of our tour and
thanks to the papers editor, Steve Goodwin had run well over a dozen stories covering our
events leading up to our departure. They were so supportive that Steve Goodwin himself was

waiting at the ferry too. He was simply going to take the trip over and back so he could get our
undivided attention for another story and we were more than happy to oblige!
Taking any bike on a ferry is a bit exciting, or maybe it is just me that enjoys it. Typically the
ferry staff knows the best locations to place the bikes and will direct you there. They also
provide straps so you can secure it in place, otherwise it may fall over or slide around if the
crossing is rough.
When we arrive at the ferry terminal in Wood Islands we are welcomed by friends of my sister
who are holding a Welcome to PEI sign. It is always wonderful to get encouragement so we
stopped to thank the welcoming party.
We would take the Trans Canada Highway from the ferry terminal straight to Charlottetown, a
distance of just over 50kms and we were moving quickly today with all our gear being carried in
our personal support vehicle. Andrea and Laureen would drive ahead, stop and unload their own
bikes so they could bike back and meet us. They were not be able to keep up once they reached
us and turned back to bike with us, as the road was fairly flat with only moderate hills and the
Janus raced along like a back-to-back tandem recumbent thoroughbred.
When we arrived at the Tim Hortons in Charlottetown we were again greeted by a small crowd
including a friend of Craigs who is also blind and a tandem cyclist. Also there to meet us was
Warren Spires from the Halifax CNIB office and it was good to see him again. A quick media
interview and now we headed into downtown Charlottetown to get lunch and we knew exactly
where we were going.
Andrea and I spent six straight years developing our love of bicycle touring on Prince Edward
Island, so we had some favourite haunts and one of them is the Gahan House on Sydney Street.
At the time it was the only microbrewery on the island and also a restaurant, and both the beer
and food is always excellent. They have a number of beers to offer, but I went with the one that
Flat Stanley suggested, a nice dark Sydney Street Stout. Yummy!
And then we were off again, but we would not be following the Trans Canada Highway to the
Confederation Bridge to New Brunswick, as we would be taking the Confederation Trail. Having
spent much time cycling Prince Edward Island, one of the most wonderful things is the
Confederation Trail. It is the old rail bed that runs across the island for a length of 273.4kms and
also there is a spur that runs into the city of Charlottetown and we would quickly be on it. The
condition of the trail is one of the best in Canada as the government took over management of
the trail and restricted access to it by keeping off all motorized vehicles. One thing to be wary of
if you have a ten foot long back-to-back tandem recumbent is maneuvering through the gates
which are at every road crossing. I had learned my lesson after the incident back in July when I
almost killed Craig by dumping him and Janus into one of the metal gates, and now I always
unclipped my cycling shoes and let my legs hang down as I steered through the gates while Bob
pedaled. You have to follow an S route to maneuver through the gates and therefore must
slow down and take your time passing through safely. We did not need any incidents today!
We had approximately 60kms from Charlottetown to Borden and we sped along on the trail.
Recumbents slow down on steep climbs, but on rail beds it is a maximum 2% grade and the
gentle climbs and gradual declines were perfect for a recumbent and we traveled at speeds
ranging from 20kms/hr to 40kms/hr. We were so quick we arrived at the Confederation Bridge
to New Brunswick by late afternoon and decided to cross over today rather than camp on Prince
Edward Island so we would have an easy day tomorrow.

Now you are not allowed to bicycle across the Confederation Bridge, but there is a dedicated
passenger van which pulls a bicycle trailer and you are taken from the tourist centre in Borden
over to the tourist centre in Cape Tormentine, NB.
The van driver had never seen a bicycle like ours before and we had to determine how to best
secure it on the bicycle trailer. We ended up placing it on the trailer diagonally and even then it
ran the full length of trailer. We secured it with at least a dozen bungee cords and then we were
off, with Bob and I in the van with the driver and the girls chasing in the car.
As we neared the New Brunswick side of the bridge the van operator offered us bug spray, which
I thought was friendly, but a bit odd. We had bug spray stored in our bags, however we had no
idea it would be so bad. There were clouds of mosquitoes which I assumed were produced in
the billions in the swamps surrounding us. We moved as quickly as possible to get moving and
were soon on to road to a private campground located right on the Northumberland Strait. It
was a beautiful evening and luckily we were a good distance from the marshes, no sign of any
biting insects!
With the change in strategy to not take our meals and cooking supplies on the bike, we were
trying to eat up all our inventory of freeze dried meals. The main course turned out great, but
the blueberry grunt was a challenge to cook on the single burner stove. The stove unfortunately
had but one setting high, and it made it a challenge not to burn dessert, but when you are
hungry you will eat just about anything.
It had been a long and busy day and we ended up eating in the dark on a beautiful evening on
right on the Northumberland Straight. Earlier this morning we had only completed one Province
so far and that of course was Newfoundland, but by the end of today we have finished Nova
Scotia and also Prince Edward Island which we did in less than one day. So three provinces
complete and only seven left to go!
We enjoyed the setting sun while we listened to music from a wedding reception at a house
adjacent to the campground. Since the campground had no trees, the music carried across the
lawn of the campground and we fell asleep in our tents listening to dance standards such as The
Bird Dance and Locomotion. My wife works for Central Home Improvements and at their
annual Christmas party they always have the same DJ and it is virtually the same music every
year and so the wedding celebration reminded me of Christmas.

DAY #15 Sunday, August 18, 2013 Bob, wheres our support vehicle?

Day#15: 104kms Cape Tormentine, NB to Moncton, NB

We awoke from our tents to another beautiful morning. It was quiet except for hundreds of
seagulls that filled the campground. I could only assume there had been easy pickings for free
meals left behind by campers. Also sometime through the night the wedding reception must
have ended as there was no more music coming from across the large lawn.
Today was a relatively easy day with just over 100kms to go to reach the reception at the
Moncton YMCA at 3:0pm. We would take our time and even stop at MacArthurs Nursery who
has been my employer for nearly fourteen years before I started at Sobeys. My sister Esther was
working there now and the staff had been following CraigGivesBack on Facebook almost since
the site was created back in January.
I like to have a shower first thing every morning so you can at least start the day feeling and
smelling fresh. While I went for a shower Andrea got the stove started and prepared to cook
pancakes for all four of us. We would have had coffee, however even though the girls had
tossed everything in the car except for the kitchen sink, they forgot to include coffee. Bob loves
his coffee, but I knew where we could stop and get some on the way to Moncton and not too far
from the campground.
When the first pancakes were ready it was not good. They were cooked on the outside, but
inside uncooked and heavyvery heavy. When I returned from the shower, I took over cooking
the pancakes as it is not the easiest thing to do with our little jet plane engine of a stove as I
mentioned before. We saved the pancakes that Andrea had cooked for the seagulls. When we

did toss it over to a small crowd of gulls they checked it over, but at first avoided it until one
brave gull gobbled it down. We joked that with the weight of the pancake brick in his gut he is
no longer light enough to take flight until it worked its way through his digestive system. Im
sure he was fine and had eaten much worse than Andreas cookingmaybe!
A great thing about a support crew is Bob and I can depart as soon as we are ready and the
crew looks after dismantling and cleaning up campsite. We first dismantled and packed the two
tents and then we told the girls we would meet them down the highway at the gas station coffee
shop, and we were off.
Bob and I are making good time, but we just needed a coffee each to perk us up. As we
approach the gas station we were hoping to meet the girls, as they had passed us not too long
ago after packing up the campsite. I did see the car in the parking lot, so Bob got out his
iPhone. If there is one thing that Bob is good at is operating his iPhone while cycling. He does
not have to steer, he only has to pedal so other than keeping himself from bouncing off the bike
if we hit a pot hole, he can do what he pleases with hands. He was quick to send a text off to
Laureen to find out where they had gone to and we quickly find out they are in Shediac, NB or
about 50kms ahead of us, so there would be no coffee. Lack of caffeine was making us grumpy,
but the terrain was relatively flat and that made us happy.
Meanwhile Andrea and Laureen were having fun together doing tourist things in Shediac. They
were disappointed they had missed being able to watch the Parlee Beach Duathlon which
happened that morning, but found other things to do and took along Flat Stanley for some photo
opportunities. Eventually they took pity on us as we had put all our extra gear including our
wallets in the car to save weight on our bike. They stopped at Tim Hortons and headed back
towards us to deliver the cups of brewed heaven and we were very happy to finally have our first
coffee of the day!
Not too long after we had arrived safely at MacArthurs Nursery to say hello to my sister and the
staff. MacArthurs has one of if not the widest selection of Crocks in Atlantic Canada and we
were each allowed to select a complimentary pair! Stanley picked out a pair, but we did not feel
right taking them as we knew he would never use them as they were not flat!
Now we were off to the Moncton YMCA and one thing I love about the city of Moncton is that it is
relatively flat! We arrived to our second largest reception and only to our home coming back in
Pictou County had more people. Global News was here with their cameras and we had to do a
few laps of the parking lot so they could get the footage they were looking for the evening news.
Next we head inside the YMCA along with a crowd of friends, well wishers and representatives
from the YMCA and CNIB. Again there was a microphone and cake! I always get to speak, but
spend so much time talking to each person that came out to see us, that I missed out on the
cake once again. It was great to arrive in Moncton as I have many relatives living here and they
were there to welcome us and we would join them again later in the evening for supper. Before
we left we were fortunate to meet one of our most loyal Facebook followers, Charlotte Flewelling!
She had liked and commented on virtually every single picture or comment we had posted on our
Facebook site, and almost was not able to make to the reception as she had just had surgery
days before we arrived. If everyone had Charlottes energy and determination what a wonderful
world this would be! She said we were inspiring her to start getting more active and was training
to run her first 5km race. She was inspiring us too!
We were also to pick up a new passenger and friend for Flat Stanley today. A client of the CNIB
had made her own flat character. He was seeing impaired and therefore came with his own
white cane. His name is Seeing Impaired Flat Charlie, but we just called him Blind Charlie. It
may not have been completely politically correct, however it was much easier to say! Just like

Flat Stanley, Charlie was to join us in our adventures and on our way back home we were to
return him so he could go on other adventures. Also just like Flat Stanley this guy was
unfortunately not going to help us pedal either!
Who would have ever thought that Pictou, a small town in Atlantic Canada would be known for
its incredible Thai restaurant? Well a hidden gem for years in the town was Taks Thai Food that
started as a take-out kiosk on the waterfront and turned into a full service restaurant. Taks
talent at cooking fresh tasty food is well known through the county and Andrea and I had
enjoyed her cooking many times. The food was so wonderful that I would resolve to try
something different every time we went, but would always end up ordering the same curry dish
as I loved it so much! Well as we know would happen eventually, the seasonal business of a
tourist town is hard to manage financially and the big city called to Tak. She moved to Moncton
the previous winter and found a vacant Chinese restaurant that she completely renovated
including authentic artwork shipped direct from Thailand. Every time I have seen Tak she is
smiling, and she is also incredibly hard working. She is a terrific host and the nearly twenty of us
very much enjoyed the food and atmosphere at her restaurant. She even treated everyone to a
serving of Thai Fried Bananas and ice cream.
Now back to my sister Esthers house to spend the balance of the evening with Esther, her
husband Will, their children Stephanie and Alex and my mother Eleanor who also lives in
Moncton. We did not do as much biking as usual today, however it had been a very bush day
and when I finally did go to bed I was quickly sound asleep.
DAY #16 Monday, August 19, 2013 Were fast, but were not that fast!

Day#16: 106kms Moncton, NB to Waterborough, NB

We awake to another gorgeous day and it was another not overly challenging day, with just over
100kms to go to reach Mohawk Camping in Waterborough, NB. Warren Spires from the CNIB
who had met us at the reception in Charlottetown also showed up in Moncton and was travelling
to be there for the reception in Fredericton. He knew our Janus was a heavy bike and offered to
take some of our gear and drop it off at the campground we would stay at tonight. He had
meetings in the morning in Moncton before he left for Fredericton, so I made it our challenge to
get to our campsite before Warren.
We said goodbye to our better halves, Andrea and Laureen and we were off again. It was pretty
much an uneventful ride, however on the Trans Canada Highway in New Brunswick they do have
the dreaded rumble strip. There is also a good wide paved shoulder, so we had no problems on
the highway.
We did stop at a weigh station for trucks as we got near Peticodiac. The staff had no issue
weighing our bike and we stood it up without any bags on it. I had never weighed it before so I
was curious, but the staff at the weigh station said their scale is more suited to transport trucks
as it can be out by 50kg. So all we learned is Janus weighed somewhere between 30kg and
130kg. I could have guessed that, but it was good for a break from the road and they gave us a
printout of our result.
We were off again and did not stop again until we reached our turn off from the Trans Canada
Highway onto a secondary road which would take us directly to our campground. Just off the
turnoff was a busy Irving Service Station with a restaurant. It was earlier than we would
normally eat, but we were both very hungry and we could always eat a granola bar if we got
hungry again later. We leaned Janus up against the outside of the building and went inside to
the busy restaurant. You cant go wrong with a hot turkey sandwich covered with gravy and
vegetables and fries on the side, except if you are Bob who passed on the vegetables. The great
news was they had fountain pop and the refills were free. Did I mention we were thirsty in
addition to being hungry? We were plenty full and bloated by the time we departed for the
campground.
So inside the restaurant we are sitting at the counter eating our most excellent meals when a
gentleman from the United States sits down next to us. He talked loudly on his cell phone and
that is how we came to learn he was from the United States, and also that he purchased scrap
metal. He had driven from Halifax today and was on his way back home in the United States.
He looks at us and then exclaimed how impressed he was with us and we sure biked a long way
today! He had seen the feature Global News did on our arrival at the YMCA in Moncton and he
had assumed it was taped in Halifax. I sure wish we could bike that far in one day, but even
downhill with a wind on our backs we would never make that distance in one day!
We were off to our campsite. We had only just arrived and Warren pulled in behind us. We only
beat him by minutes, but we did still beat him. We thanked him for dropping our gear off and
went inside to pay for our campsite, but they were not taking our money today. It did not
happen every time we stayed at a motel or campground, but it did occasionally happen and we
were always grateful as we were concerned about keeping our costs for the trip under our
budget. It is one of the reasons I always take the time to explain what we are doing and leave
them with one of our business cards. Sometimes we have paid and then when we leave in the
morning we are given a donation to help with lodging at our next stop. People are so awesome
when given the chance.
We setup camp and Bob crawled into his tent to grab a nap and I headed down to the lake. I
had been buying ice every evening when I am able, and spend as much as an hour icing my

ankle and then I would use the portable TENS unit. I did this every evening since we left Pictou
and it was working as my ankle was getting stronger and less painful every day. I would re-tape
my ankle every three or four days either when the smell of sweaty tape got too gross or it had
slipped down my calf and was no longer supporting my ankle.
So I thought it would be good for my ankle and legs to wade around in the cool lake water so I
put on my new Crocks we were given in Moncton and headed down. This is Grand Lake, the
largest lake in New Brunswick and it had been a windy day so the water was pretty murky,
stirred up by the brisk winds. Now I do not like swimming in cold water and I dont like walking
in my bare feet in water when I cannot see the bottom, but I felt my legs needed the therapy. I
bravely stepped out into the water and nervously edged myself out to over my knees. Then
something brushed against my leg. Could have been a fish, eel or it could have been a small
stone tossed by the waves washing into the shore, but it did not matter as I was quickly out of
water and headed back to my tent. I had ice back at the campsite, so who needed a lake!
Our metabolic rates were working in overdrive with all the daily physical activity, so as suspected
we became hungry again in the evening regardless we were completely stuffed only a couple of
hours prior. My mother is a wonderful baker and gave us some peanut butter cookies for the trip
from Moncton. They almost lasted one night!

DAY #17 Tuesday, August 20, 2013 Whats a fat tire bike!

Day#17: 91kms Waterborough, NB to Mactaquac, NB

Were up and we are on the bike early. As we do not have any cooking gear or food other than
granola bars and jujubes, we need to find a place to get some breakfast. Breakfast is an easy
meal to get right and we never had a bad breakfast yet on this trip. Something about eggs,
bacon, French toast, pancakes and coffee that you just cannot mess it up, especially bacon.
When you are on a biking tour you eat when you can, what you like and what you want, as you
are going to burn it off and you will wake up the next morning starving again!
We found a great little restaurant that also served as a convenience store out in the middle of
nowhere. Great breakfast again and we planned our day as we ate. We had almost 70kms to
get to Fredericton to a reception that had been arranged at Simms Home Hardware. It was a
family owned store and their son was a cyclist and was planning on joining up with us and would
lead us into the city of Fredericton.
We took the old highway #105 and the very high bridge at Jemseg. I do not like heights, so I
kept my eyes on the road ahead of me and avoided looking left or right, at least until we were
off the bridge. We were then cycling next to the Saint John River and the road was very flat and
we were travelling very fast with a wind on our back. The sky was overcast when we started out
in the morning and soon changed to a light mist and ultimately a steady rain, so we stopped and
put on our raingear before we were completely soaked.

10

We were again back on the bike and moving quickly when a pickup truck pulled over ahead of us
and on the back was a road bike. One thing I always enjoy is an escort whenever we have to
work our way through a network of city streets, as I can just relax and enjoy the ride no longer
pressured to watch street signs making sure we took the right exits. The other great thing was
that this pickup truck was headed back to the same Home Hardware store that we were headed
to and when he offered to take any extra gear we quickly took him up on his offer. We kept only
the basics including our rain gear.
We were now off again on our way to Fredericton. First we had to cross the Saint John River
from Maugerville over to Oromocto and again I kept my eyes straight ahead as it was a long way
down to the water on either side of the bridge. When the road sloped down we would quickly
catch and pass our escort and then he would pass us on the uphills. We were going fast and
were ahead of schedule so we stopped at the Fredericton Airport while he phoned ahead to let
them know of our progress. Then we were back on the bikes to an Irving Gas Station which
would be our rally point to meet up with our City of Fredericton police escort.
The sun had emerged from the clouds, the rain had ceased and it had quickly warmed up and
now Bob and I were feeling the heat in our raingear. We had no place to put it as we had put all
our panniers on the back of the truck which was now waiting for us at our destination. By
chance Brian Spragg, a friend whom I knew from work had been watching for us to arrive today
and showed up while we were waiting at the gas station. He and his son had been hoping to
meet up with us and would follow us in their car to the Home Hardware. He offered to take our
raingear and I made him promise not to let me forget to get it back from him. We were off
again, but this time with a police escort through the streets of Fredericton.
We were welcomed to the Home Hardware with a barbeque and a musician played and sang. A
large group of children from the Fredericton YMCA who were holding a large banner they had
made themselves and they made one last minute change. They had added Bobs name by taping
a large section of the banner below, and Bob was very impressed as for the first time everyone
did not call him Craig when they met him.
It was a terrific turnout and for me a bit of a homecoming. I had spent the summer of 1984
working here as a summer student working in the numerous parks around the city. I
unfortunately worked on a tree removal crew and we had the sad job of removing massive Elm
trees that had died due to Dutch Elm disease. At the same time I met many wonderful people in
the city and enjoyed my first ever canoe trips that summer, including one in the State of Maine
lasting nearly two weeks. It is a very nice city.
Again there was a microphone and as usual Bob and I spoke to the crowd spreading the word of
what was now Team Craig as it was no longer a team of just Craig and I, as it was Bob too and
included everyone else that had helped us along the way. That list got longer every day! Also
here as promised was Warren Spires from the CNIB and after the reception we would head west
and he would return back to Halifax. We would not be seeing him again until we arrived home in
November.
Others who spoke included the Mayor of Fredericton and also the CEO of the Fredericton YMCA
who was close friends with the owners of the Riverside Resort & Conference Centre, and when
we told her our plan was to camp at Mactaquac Provincial Park, she told us not to go anywhere
while she made a call. When she came back she told us we were to stay at the resort at no
charge. What could we say except thank you!

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Now before we headed out of Fredericton, I wanted to take advantage of having some extra time
by taking Janus to a local bike shop for a quick checkup. One issue that I was having was that
the rear hydraulic brakes was losing pressure as there appeared to be an oil leak. Savages Bike
Shop was just three or four blocks down the street so I told Bob where I was headed and left
him to enjoy the barbeque while I took Janus and headed down the street. Once again I did not
get to have any cake!
Savages Bike Shop is actually well known as one of the oldest family owned bike shops in North
America, started way back in 1897. Lucky for me the third generation owner was on hand and
he ensured that Janus got priority and he also did the work himself. I did have to wait as they
had to finish the bike they were currently working on, so Warren Spires who had followed me
invited me next door for a coffee. Bob had finished back at the barbeque and was looking to
meet up again so I let him know where we were. Bob is legally blind, but is able to get around
on his own without assistance, so long as he has an idea where he is going. When I told Bob we
were in the coffee shop on the same side of the street as the bike shop, I did not know there
were actually two coffee shops. Bob went into first one he came to, which was not the one we
were at. He looked around searching for us, ultimately asking an employee for assistance who
told him there was another coffee shop further down the street. He then continued down the
street to meet us as and we had been wondering what was taking him so long.
We said goodbye to Warren and he wished us luck for the rest of our tour. We headed back to
the bike shop where they had just started working on our bike. One of the bikes that caught my
eye was a Surly Pugsley which is an odd looking bicycle that has tires the size of a motorcycle. I
had seen them on the internet, but never first hand. One of the employees owned this one and
welcomed me to take it for a ride. Since we were still waiting for Janus, I took him up on his
offer and headed outside to the street. All I can say is my first ride on a fat tire bike was
definitely different. The tires have so much traction you feel like you could ride over anything. I
had always had an interest in this type of bike, but now I was even more intrigued. Meantime
our bike was repaired and was ready for the road.
The owner was not positive he had cured the problem for good, but everything was working
perfectly now and he would accept no money for the work. Fredericton was being very good to
us! I am happy to report we never had an issue with our brakes for the remainder of the trip.
When I struggled in Newfoundland my wife and sisters worked out a plan to help me get this
darn bicycle across Canada and both Bob and I were excited that my older sister Jennie, who
lived in Ottawa, ON was on her way to Fredericton the same time we had approached the city
from the opposite direction. She was planning to serve as our support vehicle from Fredericton
to the Province of Quebec to help us get over the hills of Northern New Brunswick and the Gaspe
Peninsula.
My sister Jennies in-laws also live in the Fredericton area, and everyone arrived at the resort to
have supper together that evening. We had a great meal, sharing lots of stories from our travels
and were happy that my sister had arrived and we would be spending the next few days with
her. I have awesome sisters who have always been there to help whenever needed. I am a
lucky brother for sure.
Each day my ankle was getting stronger and I stopped worrying about what lay far ahead and
began to relax and enjoy each day for what it offered. If I did end up making it all the way to
Victoria, BC it would be wonderful, but even if I failed I was still going to enjoy every day and
every moment. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I was not going to squander it!

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DAY #18 Wednesday, August 21, 2013 Bob likes dogs, but do dogs like Bob?

Day#18: 123kms Mactaquac, NB to Florenceville, NB

We were so excited that we had a support vehicle again! What items do we remove from the
bike and transport with Jennie? Everything we can, thats what! We carried four bottles of
water, our repair kit and an emergency kit that included some food, some clothing and of course
our wallets as it is important to carry ID when you are at risk of being flattened by a motor
vehicle. It is also important to have in case your support vehicle disappears and you need a
coffee in the morning! Just sayingit has happened before.
When we set out that morning we did not actually have an overly aggressive target, so I was
looking at how we could get some extra kilometers in today so tomorrow would not be such a
challenge. I do not know who made this schedule, but we were supposed to do less than
100kms today and over 180kms tomorrow. We would see how the day unfolded and decide
what extra distance we could cover before dark would force us to stop.
We would spend the entire day pedaling parallel to the beautiful Saint John River. The terrain
was rolling with some good climbs providing some beautiful vistas, but the climbs although long
were not steep. There had been much work done on the Trans Canada Highway through New
Brunswick and steep inclines had been reduced to make it easier for truck traffic and we did not
mind at all! We also had a good wide paved shoulder to the right of the rumble strip, so we felt
safe and could enjoy the ride stress free.
Jennie was the most dedicated support crew ever! Way better than our wives who left us
penniless and coffee-less on the side of the highway! Jennie would drive ahead a few kilometers
and wait for us to go pass, taking pictures of us and giving us encouragement. Occasionally she

13

would have the back door of the vehicle open and would have lunch and snacks ready for us.
We lamented that we would only have her around for just three days before she had to return to
Ottawa. No matter how we pleaded Jennie had to return home as soon as we reached the
Province of Quebec, so we resolved that we would eventually have to haul our own stuff once
again. Oh, well we would enjoy it while it lasted.
We had one reception to stop at today and that was at Stewarts Home Hardware in Woodstock
at 3:00pm, and as has been our habit since Cape Breton, we were right on time when we
arrived. We actually arrived in Woodstock ahead of schedule so we took a break down the street
using the opportunity to get some food and re-hydrate before we arrived at the barbeque and
were interviewed by the local paper. It was a small, but enthusiastic crowd!
According to the schedule we were actually supposed to backtrack a few kilometers to stay at a
campground on the outskirts of Woodstock, however I do not like to bike east when I am
heading west. It was not even 4:00pm yet so we could get more riding in and make tomorrow
an easier day. We asked our new friends at Home Hardware what route they would recommend
and they suggested rather than go back up to the Trans Canada to take the scenic route along
the banks of the Saint John River. We took their advice and headed off to Hartland and once
there we would decide our best option for a campground.
The road was scenic and for the most part fairly flat except for a couple very, very steep inclines.
One we were able to power our way up, but the second was almost like hitting a wall. We
gained as much momentum as possible towards the climb and had our legs spinning like electric
food mixers when I pulled so hard one of my cycling shoes came out of the pedal and we lost our
speed. We got off and walked up the rest of the hill as it was just too steep to get started again!
There was no paved shoulder on the road, but we were not worried as traffic was sparse and no
one seemed to be in a hurry, no one except one person that is. Even before Bob could yell a
warning to me, a car sped by us without slowing down or moving over to give sufficient room to
pass us. I just felt the passengers side mirror narrowly miss my elbow as the car flew by. Near
death experiences get your adrenaline flowing and heart rate up, so I gave a couple whoops to
expel excess energy. How crazy that after travelling so many kilometers that our trip almost
ended here on a quiet country road in rural New Brunswick.
You may be wondering how it worked with a legally blind person on the back, and I can tell you
with Bob on the back we had the safest bike in Canada. Bob has virtually no vision in his right
eye and only tunnel vision in his left eye, but even with the tunnel vision he is able to see traffic
approaching from the rear since he was facing that direction. I not only had my two rear view
mirrors, but another eye on the back of the bike. Bob would also wave his arm and get the
attention of drivers if it looked like they were not slowing down or aware that we were on the
road. We had very few close calls and this one in New Brunswick ended up being the closest of
the eighty-five day trip.
We met Jennie at the tourist bureau in Hartland right next to the longest covered bridge in the
world. We also met a couple other cyclists crossing Canada, however they had opted for the
easier route of cycling west to east. Bob and I like to challenge ourselves!
We found out that the nearest campground was a long way off of our route, which was not cool
with Bob and I as it was now getting late and we did not need extra kilometers added to
tomorrows already long distance. We decided we would head to a motel located in Florenceville,
but to ensure no more close calls on the road we opted to take the old railway trail which ran
parallel to the road and would take us right into Florenceville.

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We did gradually learn that when someone told you it is all downhill from here it only applies to
the aging process and never to an actual road and when someone tells you a trail is in good
shape, well they likely mean from the seat of a four wheeler! The trail was not terrible, but for
most of the distance from Hartland to Florenceville it was a challenge on the bike and I thought
of going back on the road, but we were in no rush and did not have far to go so we stuck with it.
The one great thing about the trail was it was almost perfectly flat as it ran along the Saint John
River sometimes almost right through backyards of local residents. In one such backyard and I
never should of opened my mouth, but we all say things we regret later, so I say Wow, that is a
big dog house! Next thing we know a very large brown dog is running on the trail and quickly
gaining on us. Again adrenaline has us pedaling like madmen to put distance between us and
the teeth with legs, but the dog continues to gain and is now inches from Bobs feet. Two good
things that day were that one, I am on the front of the bike and the dog has to go through Bob
to get to me and two, Bob has experience with this type of situation and took one of his water
bottles and gave the dog a squirt of water square in the face. The dog stopped immediately,
turned and retreated home. We laughed nervously and continued to our final destination for the
day.
Lucky for us the motel was not located near the river, which is sarcasm of course. We had a nice
ending to our day of climbing a steep and long climb up from the river, but it was either that or
camp in the wilderness and I would not do that to our dedicated support crew!
We got checked into the motel and then we needed to get some supper. Jennie had planned on
camping all four nights that she would be with us and had packed accordingly. This included a
plan to cook meals and we had to eat up some of the supplies before they spoiled. We all
headed down into the town of Florenceville and found a picnic table beside a parking lot behind a
building across the road from the river. It was not private or scenic, but it was a beautiful
evening and we had a great meal together.

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DAY #19 Thursday, August 22, 2013 And for our next feat, death by truck!

Day#19: 152kms Florenceville, NB to Edmundston, NB

We had been able to cover almost an additional 30kms yesterday and that will make today so
much easier than it otherwise would have been. Regardless, todays total distance of over
150kms would still be the second longest distance I have covered in one day on the trip, and the
longest day of the trip for Bob.
I had been regularly treating my ankle each evening and re-taping it every few days. I could
tape it by myself, but could be a challenge trying to keep the lengths of tape from sticking to
itself when I was trying to stick it on my leg. Luckily, today we had a support crew! We knocked
on the door to Jennies to ensure she was not going to sleep in and after we enjoyed our
complimentary breakfast, I got her to tape up my ankle. Now we were ready to hit the road and
the first challenge was to cross the river and climb up out of the river valley to the Trans Canada
Highway. No problem for us and when we crossed the long bridge across the Saint John River,
Jennie stayed behind us with her four way flashers on to keep vehicles from passing until we
could cross.

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We followed our similar pattern with Jennie driving ahead and waiting on the side of the road for
us with snacks and water. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was so beautiful. We made
good time and stopped at a truck stop in Grand Falls for lunch.
We did have one tense moment in the morning climbing up out of Florenceville when we had to
cross on a bridge that was undergoing construction. There were two lanes, however one lane
was closed for the construction and the construction crew had setup concrete barriers down the
middle between the lanes. There was not much of a paved shoulder for bicycles and the
concrete barriers took even more space away. It was not a short bridge nor was it an
excessively long bridge, so when I saw there was a long break in traffic coming from behind we
started across. We were however, going up an incline and before too long I could see a large
truck getting larger and larger in my rear view mirror until it was right behind us and not slowing
down. We were as close to the railing on the right of the bridge as possible and still I did not
think there would be room for the truck to pass, however he did not even slow down. I thought
we were going to die, but we did not so we just kept pedaling. I had to let a couple whoops out
to release some of the energy brought on by a surge of adrenaline caused by our second near
death experience in two days. Who knew New Brunswick was such a dangerous place!
We pedaled and pedaled and pedaled and finally in the evening reached the provincial
campground in Edmundston. We were now only a few kilometers from the border with the
province of Quebec.
We checked in to pay for a campsite, but when we gave them one of our business cards and
explained what we were doing they refused to charge us for a site. They even gave us
something much more valuablegood advice! When we said we were headed into Quebec
tomorrow they asked if we were going to be taking La Route Verte and I had been expecting to
be on it inside the Province of Quebec, but had no idea it started in New Brunswick. Even better
it ran right through the park we were camping in and followed the road until the border with
Quebec until it eventually veered off on its own course through the wilderness.
We picked out our campsite and setup all three tens and then cooked supper. With Jennie still
having good supplies on hand supper was good and filling. Poor old Bob was tired after such a
long time on the bike today that as soon as he finished eating he immediately headed off to his
tent. Jennie and I cleaned up after supper and then it started to rain so before long we were all
fast asleep in our tents looking forward to Quebec and La Route Verte.

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Top left: Day #14 Janus secured to Prince Edward Island ferry, Top Right: Day #14 Reception in
Charlottetown, Middle left: Day #15 Picking out Crocks in Moncton, Middle right: Day #16 Saying
goodbye to Andrea and Laureen, Bottom left: Day #17 Reception in Fredericton, Bottom right: Day
#18 Cycling along the beautiful Saint John River

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