Distance: 141km
Elevation: 1.400m
I had my alarm set for 5:30 because I knew it would be a long day. I had an invitation from Michèle, a Warmshowers host, to stay with her in St. John, New Brunswick, which was about 130km away.
I compensated the pricy motel room with eating more for breakfast than I should and was in the saddle around 7:15.
It was still cold and foggy but the rain had stopped and great weather was projected.
After an unsuccessful trial with the TransCanada Trail, I took the NB102 and was just amazed how beautiful the landscape was, especially when it did not rain.
After 2 hours the sun finally made it through the deep clouds and it became warm and enjoyable.
However, New Brunswick does have some sick hills. I needed to push Rosinante more than once up a hill with a double digit slope. Who does something like that?
All day long, I followed the Long Reach River, which I had known for several days meanwhile. There were many stunning sights.
Around 2pm, I got a little tired but the Atlantic Ocean was already in reach. I could feel it and that pushed me forward.
St. John was situated at the Bay of Fundy and this belonged to the Atlantic.
That meant that today I would fulfill the first goal of my TransCanada, to cycle from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.
I arrived in the town St. John around 5pm and of course needed to see the Ocean at first. Then I went to Michèle’s place. Based on her profile, she had cycled in 28 countries so far and had covered 3/4th of the world by bike.
When I arrived at her place, she was about to get ready to go kayaking with John, a friend from France who was originally from the UK.
“You can setup your tent behind the house. Dinner is at 8:30. If you want a beer, there is a Liquor Store 2km away. If you want to shower, do it quickly as I will lock the house when we leave”. These were the key messages I was greeted with.
I was a little irritated by this direct style but did as I was told.
While I was chilling under a tree waiting for the two to return from their kayaking, a family of deers wandered down the street. This, ladies and gentlemen, is Canada. I just love it.
I decided to stay open minded concerning this hosting experience.
Around they both returned from their kayaking trip – totally unapologetic about the delay. I was cold and hungry.
John prepared dinner while Michèle went shopping – at 9pm. He was a former policeman who had emigrated to France to live a self sustained lifestyle on a little farm that he bought. He was 69 years old but I would have estimated him for 59.
Michèle was in her fifties, an avid cyclist with 6,000km in the saddle per year and an outdoorsy person who was teaching BioChem at a local High School and was in parallel working on her PhD on how recreational outdoor activities can be good for an ecosystem.
When Michèle returned with olive oil and a bottle of whine, she insisted that we eat outside by the fire despite the chilly temperatures. John and I looked at each other and knew that she would have it her way.
It turned out that they both had met online on a dating website three weeks ago and that this was their very first time they saw each other.
So, I was the fifth wheel at the first date of two lovebirds. We all laughed when this was finally on the table.
We had a very good and quite personal conversation by the fire. Michèle had done the TransCanada last year and we had a lot of similar experiences to share. Around midnight I was in bed. What a great day.
These Warmshowers experiences never fail to surprise me.