Goodbye to Meghan and Julien: Hello to New Brunswick

July 18, 2016

I had pitched my tent next to the trail, and at 5:30 a.m. I heard several bikes pass. Phil had told me that they planned to make an early start in order to make up for the lost distance. The summer camp were ahead of us once more!

Where I hid my brand new bright red Arkel pannier. I retrieved it in the morning. It was untouched by any bears, but now had quite a smokey smell to it

We ourselves got up around seven, and continued towards Temiscouata, where we would say our goodbyes and go our separate ways. It was an overcast morning, with occasional light rain, but it was alright really, and quite nice to have a break from so much sun.

"What did the beaver say when he found himself in the River Styx?" Meghan asked.

"I don't know."

"Dam it all to hell!"

She had gone too far.

We arrived in Temiscouata. From here Meghan and Julien were going to go north and explore a National Park before looping back to Quebec City. For me, it was time to start pushing hard east for Halifax. I was practically on the home straight, but I needed to sprint it now. It had been such a fantastic few days riding with these two friends, that I did not relish being alone again, but that was certainly how it had to be. It was time. It was also time to compare our bicycle gardens. Julien's was flourishing. Meghan's was struggling. Mine was wilted and yellowing. I couldn't work out why, but I think it was because I had forgotten to water them for three days.

Congratulations to Julien. I didn't take a photo of mine. Not really worth it.

Before going our separate ways we stopped for one final break in a big park in the town and I was delighted to the point of ecstatic to find a beach volleyball court. Here was one last chance to have some fun together. I started by challenging Meghan to another game, which I won. Then Julien stepped up to play the winner, and I also dispatched him with a comfortable victory. In the final, enthralling contest, my dominance of the beach volleyball arena was challenged as I took on both Meghan and Julien in a single match. Two against one, they had a big advantage, and clinched the first set. It was best-of-three though, so I still had a chance. I was determined, I was focused, I was agile, and most importantly I was hungry. I was sure I had more desire to win than my opponents and perhaps that was why I was able to save match points in the second set and come back to an incredible 9-11, 14-12, 11-8 triumph!

I think it was probably for the best that I won in the end. Meghan and Julien accepted the loss with far better good grace than I would have, and we parted on good terms. For some reason as we were saying 'goodbye' and 'see you in another six years?' Meghan asked if I had yet learnt any Danish. I told them that I had not really, but I mentioned the one three-word phrase that I did know, and so then as I cycled away from them it was with us shouting back and forth to each other, in Danish, "I love you!" "I love you!" "I love you!"

Now I was alone again. My time with Daniel and Lucy, Meggie, Simon, Marie-Claude, Meghan and Julien had made the past week really great, but now I was on my own and without distractions. This was a good thing, because I was behind schedule, and making sure I reached Halifax in time to catch my 'ferry' back to Europe was now the only thing that mattered. I really had to hurry, so I stopped and swam in a lake.

Okay, now I had to hurry! After drying off I got back on the bike and started cycling more seriously. A positive sign of my progress soon came when I caught up with the summer camp one last time. I was pleased to see that Phil's impressive handiwork was holding and the tyre was still good. They were nearing the end of their trip, with plans to arrive at their destination of Edmundston the next day. I, on the other hand, wanted to reach Edmundston by evening, so this was our last encounter. I wished them well, and pressed on.

A little later I was passing by a campground/small village when an old man on the trail called me to a halt. He was an interesting looking old timer, leaning on a stick, his shirt unbuttoned to reveal a wrinkly chest. He looked like he was old and wise, though he soon proved otherwise. "Vancouver, that way?" he asked, pointing east, as if he were after directions.

"No, it's the other way."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I've come from Vancouver."

"Oh. How long did that take?"

"Two and a half months. I'm on my way to Halifax."

"Halifax is further than Vancouver?"

Was this man really from Canada? He was, he told me he was from Quebec. He couldn't have traveled much.

"No, Halifax is closer than Vancouver."

"Well how long will it take you to get to Halifax?"

"One week. I've got to be there in one week."

"Oh, you'll have to take a bus!"

Determined that I would not take a bus I continued, making steady progress until I reached an information centre. I got here at the right moment, as a huge thunderstorm appeared and rain lashed down once more. I hid out the worst of it in the building. I was approaching the border with New Brunswick and I needed a map of this new province, but unfortunately I was in the Quebec information centre, and they had no maps of New Brunswick, but they told me that the info centre in Edmundson would be open until 7 p.m.

The trail had become slightly less cycle friendly

I battled on through the rain until I came to the border. I was extremely sad to be leaving Quebec. It had been my favourite province, thanks to the great cycle paths and the friends I'd been able to spend time with. It had carried me almost effortlessly to within range of the finish line. Now I just had the relatively small maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia ahead of me. The welcome sign on the bicycle path was underwhelming, but there was a plane to make up for it. What was New Brunswick going to be like, I wondered, as I strapped on my helmet, and cycled on past the plane.

It's an underwhelming New Brunswick sign

The cycle path continued all the way to the information centre in Edmundston. I hurried to make it before the 7 p.m. closing time and, after racing all I could, I arrived just before the hour, only to be dismayed to find the place closed up. After wondering why this was for a moment, I then realised that I'd crossed another time zone at the border, and here in New Brunswick it was already almost 8 p.m. This was almost a disaster, because I really needed a paper map as my broken laptop screen was no good for such things anymore. Thankfully the Edmundston information centre was a great, great, great one, because they had the foresight to leave some free maps outside overnight for people like me. It was a lucky break. Relieved, I cycled on out of town to find somewhere to camp, passing a baseball field on the way, and thinking: 'Ah, I'm glad they make you wear helmets here!'

Today's ride: 101 km (63 miles)
Total: 54,902 km (34,094 miles)

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