Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Day 62 - Petit Rocher - St. Louis de Kent

Wow - I felt like a little kid with a super hero cape today.  I can FLY!!!!!

Although we did not have rain in the night - it sure sounded like it. Apparently it was just the wind blowing some dampness off the trees.  Yeah - what a nice start to the day although the sky did not look promising. 

Last night some of the regular campers at the camp site got out their boats and went fishing. I didn't know what was going on, but apparently they went fishing for US.   Yes - they came back with a whack of mackerel that they had caught. Apparently it is very simple - just throw out a line with a hook and presto - you get a fish.  They are that abundant in that part of the ocean or bay or whatever was there.  The fish was given to us all gutted and ready to cook up.   Of course - the guys had to whip out some flour, salt and pepper and a frying pan and cook up a piece to try.  I did have a piece and yes  - it was pretty good. You sure don't get it any fresher than that!!!!!   The rest was saved for breakfast.

I am sure that most campers at these camp sites would be a bit intimidated by us and think that we are going to be noisy.  No so - by 9 PM - the camp site is a dead zone and everyone is in their tent and most likely asleep or soon to be.

Anyway - I ended up not having any fish for breakfast - I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to handle that so I passed. Had a banana and cereal and I was fine.  It was early but I was ready and so I left.  We had 149 KM to ride that day and well - you never know what the roads and weather will be like.   I headed out alone and what a glorious day.

The first bit of good news is that we had favourable winds for almost the entire day.  And not just favourable winds but VERY favourable winds.  Like I said - I felt like a kid on my bike with a super hero cape!!!!!   Don't have my average  - haven't downloaded the data yet, but I made the 149 KM including stops in 7 hours.

There are two things that I miss on this trip. Having a LEISURELY tea from Tim's. I  mean - get a cup and let it sit for a half hour, then slowly drink it while reading.   I miss that!!!!!   The other thing that I miss a lot is a nice fluffy towel.  I brought one of those quick drying towels - well yes - it is quick drying because it doesn't really dry you off so of course it dries quickly!!!!

I did pass a couple of Tim's today, but I don't want to hurry the process so I didn't stop.  Did stop at a grocery store and got some chocolate milk and then I was off.  Most of the roads were in not bad shape so that was good although some of them were missing shoulders which isn't my favourite thing.  Still the traffic was pretty good and I guess I am just getting good at having trucks and cars whizz pass within a couple of feet of me! 

The other thing I won't miss is the damn mosquitoes.  I have no idea where they are coming from, but I have bites everywhere and they are itchy like crazy.  It is sad when you have to slather your legs with Afterbite after a shower instead of lotion.

Today we went over the bridge in Miramichi.  This is not my favourite bridge as it is high and it is best to ride on the sidewalk with just a regular railing on the side.  I just focused on where I was going and didn't bother to look down.  It helped that there was construction on the bridge. So as I went up the steep incline, the traffic was stopped. Perfect.  As I got close to the top - the traffic started and then the sidewalk was blocked so I had to ride on the road.  Then just past the blocked sidewalk part - the oncoming traffic started up towards me.  Ooops - better get back on the sidewalk.   So that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  Thanks to Neil last year - who made me do things that I wouldn't have thought I could.  This year - it was easy!!!!!

Had a quick bite on the side of the road and stopped at the Tourist Information to use the bathrooms and then I was off again.   Alec and Craig who always ride together kept catching up to me and then I would pass them.  We tagged each other all day.   I did stop in the morning to take a LOT of pictures.  The area we left was very much Acadian country and almost all the houses had some sort of red/white/blue combination of decoration on it.  Flags, decorations and a lot of telephone poles were painted in the red/white/blue with yellow star. OK - enough pictures - time to get moving.

There weren't a lot of places to stop today which was fine - like I said - when the conditions are good - you just want to ride and ride I did.  However when I left in the morning - I had no idea what to wear.   I started out with my bolero, my rain vest and my big rain jacket.   I ditched the bolero at 50 K, ditched the rain vest at 100K and had to wear the big rain jacket for the rest of the day.  I did pull the sleeves up, but if I had my choice - I would have ditched it too.  But no room!!!!!
It wasn't so bad, but at least the good news - the sun was out for most of the day.   Now the sky wasn't clear - there were lots of clouds around and in the morning, the ground was wet.

I see big clouds coming and knew that I wouldn't be able to outrun them.  I did get a bit of a drizzle, but not enough to get wet.  Yeah!!!!!    however I was a couple of KM from camp and the road got really wet.  It appears that Craig and Alec got caught in a down pour which I missed.  My feet got a bit damp from the water that was on the road.  No big deal.  Got to camp, helped unload the truck and got the tent set up.

Next on the agenda- have a shower and then laundry.  There are four washing machines and ONE working dryer so I see a bottle neck happening there.   But I managed to get everything done before it was time for cook duty.   We had FRESH lobster for dinner. It came precooked - yeah.  I made a yummy bean salad and we had some stir fry for the vegetarians amongst us.  Well I decided to try the lobster - I am not a huge fan of sea food, but why not.  So Gavin (one of our vegetarians and our truck driver) decided to share the lobster with me. Fine by me - since he took it apart. Stuart had made some yummy butter/lemon sauce and it was awesome.

Another birthday - Kirk's today.  I think I joined the tour at the exact right time - I think this was our fourth birthday?

Oh yes - let's not forget the couple of down pours we have had since we have arrived in camp.   Will this crazy rain ever go away?????   The nice thing - we do not have rain this evening although he sky is not clear, but partially clear. We have a rest day tomorrow so let's hope that we will have some nice weather to just hang out.

Had a chat with Stuart last night - the bike guru.  AFTER I cleaned my bike.   Then I cleaned the rims of the wheels as my brakes are wearing fast.  My chain was very happy today, but I think it is going to need another cleaning tomorrow.

So yes - everything is done - a complete day of rest tomorrow.  I'm on my fourth book that I swapped for the one I finished at the last camp site.

I see some of the gang is going to go lobster fishing with the fellow who brought us the lobster today.   Apparently he is a TdC vet of from a couple of years ago.   They have to be up at 4:45.  Yep - they can go fishing - I will hang out here and do nothing.

I must admit that I love to ride by myself.   I know - that makes me unsocial but I love being able to ride fast when I want, slow when I want, stop to take pictures when I want and basically do what I want!!!!!!   It is very freeing to not have to keep up to anyone, although I do miss some of the goodies we had last year.  I don't really miss them - my waist line doesn't miss them either!!!!!

That's it for today.

Have a good day!!!!!!!!!!

Ciao!!!!!!!!

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