July 11, 2019
Day 78 Sussex, NB
We did it!
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We feel great about our ride today. It was the longest planned route and the one with the most ascent expected. (We have had a longer ride - the 74 mile ride to Norfolk when Kerry refused to turn around on the gravel/sand road until it became impassable. I don't plan to let him forget that one :))
The route was 71 miles with 2800 feet of climbing - the largest part of it in the last 30 miles. It was not nearly as hard a day as we thought it would be. The first 30 miles were along the St. John River - flat and very scenic.
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There were things to see on the other side of the road as well. This is Harvey's Big Potato, a popular spot for tourist photos. We didn't stop.
We had to ride 3 miles on the Trans-Canada Hwy near Jemseg where a bridge is out, but that was no problem. We had a nice wide, clean shoulder to ride on. Bikes aren't supposed to be allowed on this road, but it was our only option. A police car passed us and didn't pay us any attention.
Our first food stop was at a little convenience store/diner at Jemseg. I ordered a bowl of beef stew which was so salty neither of us could eat it, and we love salty food. The waitress took it back and when Kerry went to pay, the cashier said he was only going to charge us half price for the stew. We thought that was pretty cheap of them since we only ate a few bites, but Kerry didn't argue. Some things you just accept.
Our next stop was in the community of Cambridge Narrows. It seemed like mainly a camping/fishing area on Washedemoak Lake.
Kerry spotted this in a pond along the road. I almost missed getting a picture.
We haven't seen much livestock recently. These are some pretty horses we saw.
With 17 miles to go, we stopped at Connell's Grocery on Long Creek to fuel up for our upcoming six mile climb. We had some delicious ice cream and a great time talking to the employees and other customers. People are so surprised to learn that, yes, we really pedaled this bike all the way from Florida and we're still going. We appreciate all the words of encouragement and wishes for our safety that we get. This stop was full of both.
We left ready to tackle our big climb. It wasn't difficult at all, just long. The downhill on the other side was a little nerve wracking, but the brakes did their job and my captain controlled our descent admirably.
We checked into our motel just after 5 PM happy that the day went so well.
Today's ride: 71 miles (114 km)
Total: 2,990 miles (4,812 km)
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"A varied river this, but never a crowded one except when the logs come down in the spring drive. Most of the logs these days are cut in the forest near the headwaters and they have an adventurous journey of about 300 miles before they reach the plants at the river's mouth. They tumble over Grand Falls, they are shepherd past Beechwood and finally they come to a stop in a jam three miles long against the great boom stretched between Oromocto Island and the eastern shore by Maugerville (pronounced "Majorville"). Tugs tow mats of them downstream in barrel booms, and behind the drive come the Wangan boats, which are house-carrying scows powered by outboards and crewed by about 20 men. Within three weeks the Wangan boat men clear the river of stray logs all the way from Beechwood to Maugerville, a distance of some 200 miles. Thereafter the stream is clear for pleasure craft."
5 years ago