Day 96 Tracadie-Sheila, NB

July 29, 2019

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We had a great ride today - a tailwind and good roads let us average 13.3 mph. That's faster than we've averaged since our June 3rd ride in Delaware.

We left the motel in Miramichi just after 9AM. We had planned to stop at an old farm that is a Provincial Heritage Site, but it turned out to be closed on Monday. There wasn't anything else around and we needed a break, so we rode down the Sunrise Campground on Miramichi Bay and went to the camp store. We met the owners, Edward and Ann, and they were kind enough to let us have a little rest there.

Edward and Ann Thanks for letting us hang out for awhile.

I'm sorry that I didn't get a picture of camper Molly, who is a gorgeous four year old Shih-Tzu-Yorkie mix. I was telling Molly's "Mom" about seeing the dog with the hat yesterday at Ritchie Wharf and she said, "Oh, that's Dexter. We know Dexter." I guess he's quite the man about town in Miramichi.

Part of the way today, we could see the Miramichi River. There were a lot of nice homes along the waterfront.

Part of the reason we made such good time today were the good cycling roads. We had a shoulder like this almost all the way.

There was a three mile stretch of this nasty surface where the road had been milled. We were very fortunate that the shoulder was still intact.

We were a bit surprised to find ourselves entering New Jersey this morning!

We are staying tonight in the town of Tracadie. It is very Acadian. There are banners and flags all over the place.

Coming into town, we crossed the Big Tracadie River.

Our motel (or auberge -it sounds so much better in French) is on the Little Tracadie River.

We had a very interesting (to me, at least, Kerry was not so into it) visit to the local historical museum. We learned that Tracadie was the home of a leper hospital or "lazaretto" from 1849 until 1965. Persons with leprosy from New Brunswick and other areas of Canada were quarantined here. The stigma and fear of leprosy caused economic and social hardship for this community for over 100 years.

Today's ride: 53 miles (85 km)
Total: 3,611 miles (5,811 km)

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