Bay of FUNdy

We were still tired from our long 180km day into Moncton and a wiser group of cyclists would have taken a day off but that we are not and we had already planned on being in Alma the next night, so we instead took a chill morning. We slowly packed our things, had breakfast at Hynes Family Restaurant (which doesn`t look like much from the outside, but has great food) picked up some stuff from the local bike shop, then just when we were about to leave realized that the World Junior Track and Field Championships were being held in Moncton for the week. We made a small detour via the ticket office to pick up tickets for when we returned to town and by the time we had finished all errands combined with our lazy morning we finally headed out of Moncton around 3:00pm. The 90km to Alma in theory should have been relatively easy, but with our late start, relentless hills, and fatigued muscles, it felt like a VERY long day. We finally rolled over the last hill into town around 8:30pm, just as the sun was setting. We pulled into Cleveland Place B&B, where Jane had given us a place to set up our tent through warmshowers, we made some dinner (pesto pasta), showered, and fell asleep. The next morning Jane made us delicious waffles with fruit, and bacon. Mmmmmm. During breakfast we began to chat with her B&B guests, Julie and Adrian, who offered us a ride to Hopewell rocks in their rental car, which worked out perfectly for us, as it was pouring rain outside. Hopewell Rocks is a collection of flower pots along the Bay of Fundy. During high tide most look like tiny little islands that you can kayak between then as the tide recedes you can walk on what seams and is referred to as "walking on the ocean floor." It is a perfect spot to really see the amazing tides of the Fundy Bay. We also later did some hiking around Fundy National Park, just some short little walks to water falls, old mine sites and historic covered wooden bridges. As we came back into town we stopped to see the Alma harbor with huge docks and fishing vessels literally sitting on the ground. The fishermen can only leave or return while the water is high enough for them to reach the docks, this means timing departure and arrivals based tides which change everyday making each workday different than the last. We spent our last night in Alma learning the fine art of drinking black russians and playing euchre, our gracious teachers Adrian and Julie even "let" us win the final winner take all game. The following day was a beautiful sunny day and we made the 90km trek back to moncton stopping to grab the low tide pictures of Hopewell rocks (your admission is good for two days.)

Campbellton to Moncton

In the morning we watched in amazement while the family of 6 packed up all of their belongings into the back of a truck and a trailer. They were in a bit of a hurry to get to Quebec City, where they had family from France waiting for them already so they were getting a bit of a boost ahead.

After saying our goodbyes, we packed up our own things and hit the road heading for Bathurst. Less than a kilometer out the door I looked back to see Joanna sitting down next to her bike on the side of the highway. More then slightly curious I turned around and rode back down to where she was, her chain had broken. With a slightly useless emergency multi-tool chain breaker I removed the broken link then re-assembled it only slightly shorter. This took over an hour of

fumbling around with tiny chain pieces before success. Then with the increased chain tension due to shorter chain the shifting performance on the old drive train was extremely poor. So rather than risking the open highway we made the decision we had been putting off since we left and replaced Joanna`s drive train. This also meant one more day with our gracious hosts André and Charline. We were only able to get a chain, cassette and one front chain ring on short notice from the local Campbellton bike shop but this was enough to get us back on the road. So the following day we picked up the bike around noon and a little after one set out for Bathurst(again).

It was smoke`n hot and after about 100km we grabbed a campsite about five km north of Bathurst. It was a very nice campground with an arcade, pools, mini golf and even waterslides, none of which we used. But unfortuneatly it just so happened that we did have some young teenagers camped right next to us. So after drinking at the beach and other areas all day they brought the party back to their campsite 10 feet from our tent at around 11:30pm.

Even when people politely asked them to be quite the party lasted well into the am. So slightly groggy the next day and with temperatures in

the mid 30`s we rolled through Bathurst and headed along the coast up the Acadian Peninsula towards Caraquet. After four hours or so in the heat we came to the Acadian Historic Village but with only 30min before closing we had no choice but to grab the nearest campsite and come back in the am.

It opened at 10am so we packed up early and were one of the first people through the door. The village is set up into three sections showing Acadian life in the 1700`s, 1800`s and then early 1900`s. Each home and building is fully set up as livable areas, where you can walk into every room, watch people cook and eat their own meals, work in their gardens and create handmade projects, such as square nails, linen aprons, wool blankets, etc.

We got a nice lesson on how to weave linen from homegrown flax, and saw one of the first Irving

Gas stations, which now can be found all over the area. The park is completely bilingual, which was great for us so that we could understand everything that was going on.

We finished at the village around 3pm, and Luke noticed that his back rim was done, so instead of carrying on as we had planned, after biking over 30km to the village and back we grabbed another campground just a few km from the one we stayed at the night before, and waited for the next morning when the bike shop opened.

The next morning we went to the shop, which didn`t have anything to help us, so we rode 40km to Tracadie-Sheila, where there was another bike shop and a used rebuilt wheel that would work for us. We went out for lunch at Subway while we waited for the shop to finish the bike, and left town again at 4:30. We biked on for another 60km to Oak Point where we got a campground for the night.

Wanting to make up for a little lost time, the next day we put in 177km (our longest ride so far) to get to Moncton, where we had arranged to camp out in Vincent`s backyard through warm showers.

Percé

Halfway down the last hill into Percé, I had to stop and take a break. I had been holding on to the brakes so tightly and for so long, that my hands cramped up and I was unable to brake at all. After a few minutes of resting and stretching, I was able to continue, but not before Luke came back trying to find out where I was, thinking there may have been another crash or breakdown.

As we pulled into town, we could tell from the amount of mist in the air that w

e must be close to water, but we couldn`t see more than a few meters down the road. Stopping in at the T

ourist Info, we discovered there were several campgrounds in the area, and we opted to take one right in town, so that we could check out the area for a few days.

This turned out to be a great choice, because the next day was bright and sunny, and we finally got our first glimpse of Roché Percé, a 450m long limestone island with a hole eroded right through, and another tower beside, which was once another hole but collapsed in the 1840`s. We decided to be true tourists, and take the boat tour around the rock, and over to Bonaventure Island where we spent the afternoon hiking and sightseeing.

Bonaventure Island was one of the first seasonal fishing ports in the area, and at one time had over 150 full time residents. Now, the entire Island is owned by the province, and has been turned into a provincial historic site. As well as having historic buildings,

and hiking trails, the island is also a bird sanctuary, with the worlds largest Gannet population (121 000). On the island you can also find hundreds of other bird species, including puffins, warblers, auks, gulls... a great place to visit if you are into bird watching! The island is surrounded by steep cliffs, and there are no predators for the birds, so they are able to build their nests and relax for the summer. Around the island you can also see seals and sometimes whales.

The next morning was rainy and stormy, and we decided to hang out for a little longer. The afternoon cleared up, and we were able to do a really cool hike up Mount Sainte Anne, the little mountain right beside town. Halfway up we got more great views of Percé Rock, and had a surprise when we hit the summit...

At the top of the 4x4 road and winding trails, we looked up to see a huge statue of Sainte Anne, as well as seating for several dozen people. Apparently the top of the mountain has been used as a place for worship and pilgrimages for thousands of years, and there is a church service help on top of the mountain each year. Sainte Anne is the patron saint of fishermen, and thus played a very important role for the Catholic settlers in the area.

The next morning we woke up ready to hit the road, so we packed up, and tried to head out of town. Tried being the key word here, as Luke realised as we were leaving the tent site, that he had a flat tire. It looked like a valve problem, so he pumped up the tire, resealed the valve, and we took off.

Since leaving northern Lake Superior we have not gone any great distances without major centers. As Luke grabbed his loaded bike he noticed that there was no air in his back tire.

It looked as though the valve of the tube was not sealing properly. He pumped it up, resealed the valve and all seemed good so we headed out. After a little over 7km, we stopped to get a drink, and Luke`s tire was low again, the valve was still not sealing properly, the tube was garbage. We began to be slightly concerned as we only had one more tube and it was an older tube that was previously patched. The concern was that we hadn`t actually realized until this moment that it was possible that although towns were almost continuous

it was unlikely that any centers were going to be big enough to have a bike shop for 2-3 hundred kms. So armed with only a patch kit and using the hand pump Luke pumped up our last tube and just before he finished...whoosh...the valve stem broke off. Un-patchable and at least for us un-fixable although we did try. As we sat there contemplating our lack of options a bus pulled up right in front of us, we asked if they take bikes, they said, "yes be back here tomorrow at 2:30."

So we grabbed a b@b across the street and at 2:30 the next day we boarded the bus for Campbellton NB, where we were lucky enough to WarmShower with André and Charline, and their two sons Zacharie and Martin. They also had another family staying with them, from France, who were biking across Canada, and then heading down to the tip of South America. This tour will take them 20 months, and the 4 children are currently 4, 6, 10, and 13. What an adventure! To check out more about the trip and their family, their website is http://cyclaubertein.com/.

Gaspé

With the news warning people not to be outside exercising for extended periods of time we set out for the mouth of the St. Lawrence River.

We drove a few hours to Quebec City and stopped there to check out sights.

From the lower portion of Old QC we walked the narrow streets looking at the historic buildings before we decided that we may as well go up above the cliffs to check out Le Chateau Frontenac.

Old QC was much bigger than we expected and much more impressive.

We entered La Basilique Notre-Dame-de-Quebec to the choir singing above us and the old arcitecture brought both of us back to Europe.

We walked around most of the night just checking out the cool old buil

dings watching street performers and enjoying the atmosphere.

Quebec City was great, wish we could have had more time there but we still needed to get outta the heat so back in the car and on towards GaspÉ.

Joanna slept most of the way, no suprise.

We almost ran out of gas around Rimouski even though we passed

about fifty gas stations that were unfortunately closed for the night.

Finally while running on fumes we found a 24h gas station.

An hour or two more of driving and I too was tired so pulled over and we both tried to sleep for a couple of hours. While only mildly successful it was enough to power us through the rest of the trip.

As we reached Gaspé we began to see wind towers all along the spine of the peninsula and

the terrain became increasingly hilly.

In fact we would go up a steep incline 12 or 13% for a half kilometer around a bit of a point then back down to a small bay with a small village then back up again.

I would have liked to have rode this section but was also happy to not be riding it at the same time.

Most of the time it was socked in and raining so that made it less appealing to be out riding.

We arrived in Gaspé around 12:30pm grabbed a quick campsite and looked to drop off the rental car ASAP since it was due back at 1pm.

Everything worked out great and by two o`clock i was ready for bed.

With little to no sleep the sore throat that had been plaguing me for a couple of d

ays had now taken over.

I was sick, quite sick.

We immediately took a couple of days off to rest, it worked out well as we were in a nice campground in a beautiful area.

After two and a half full days we decided to give riding a try and loaded up in

suspect weather and headed for Percé.

I felt a little weak and at one point after it started to rain and the tempeture dropped about 15 degrees over one small hill(literally instantly) I decided it was time for a break.

In a rest stop washroom I changed into dry warm clothes, rested a bit and even got a nice hot tea from a road side vendor.

We happened to be at a stop call the La tete du Indian, which after a 200m walk turned out to be quite cool.

As we left we asked a local how far it was into Percé to which he replied not far only 10 or 15km.

To be expected about 32km later we rolled into Percé but not before climbing and descending seven or eight large steep hills culminating with the one this sign so elequantly describes.

Montreal

In Montreal we decided to spend the day doing a walking tour of the city. We started out downtown at our hotel, and headed through the shopping district (which for the first time on this trip made me a little sad that we can`t buy anything to carry with us). We visited La basilique Notre-Dame, which was built originally as a small chapel in the mid 1600`s., and later expanded to fit the needs of growing Montreal in the 1820`s. The decor of the church is amazingly ornate, and the building can fit over 10 000 people when standing, with seating for 4000. We walked all through Old Montreal, and saw many historical buildings. Unfortunately, the weather was so hot and humid that it was uncomfortable just to be outside, so we tried to be inside as much as possible. Stopping for a lunch of poutine, and smoked meat sandwhiches, was a good excuse to enjoy some air conditioning.

In the afternoon we decided to visit Bodies The Exhibition. For those of you who have not yet experienced it, they have taken real human bodies, preserved them using aceto

ne and silicone, and displayed them so that people can see how bodies work. Some are full bodies, with skin, hair, eyes, etc. fully intact, others are simply one part, such as a heart, lungs, systems of arteries, muscle fibre, etc. I had always been under the impression that these bodies had belonged to people who had donated them to science, so although looking at dead bodies seemed a little strange and intrusive, it also seemed to have some scientific value. I was quite shocked to learn after entering the exhibit, that they are actually unclaimed bodies that were found by Chinese police officers. This made the exhibit much harder for me to enjoy, as I could not help but think that these people once belonged to someone, someone who may be missing them and searching for them...

I guess that is why I study psychology, and not medicine! Although the initial weirdness of looking at thousands of body parts got to me, the exhibit was very, very interesting, and I did enjoy it a lot. I think that anyone who feels they can handle it, should check it out if it is in a city near them.

The next morning, we met up with my friend Bruno for breakfast, who had lived in Burns Lake years ago with Katimavik, and I had kept in touch with ever since. We had initially planned on cycling out of the city, but reading the weather network changed our minds. With the humidity in the air, the temperature felt like 45-50 degrees Celsius, and not only is it not fun to ride for hours in that kind of heat, it is really unsafe. Unable to afford to stay in a hotel in the city for any length of time, and the weathernetwork calling for 4 or 5 days of the heat, we opted to rent a car and head far enough out of the area that we could continue cycling.

Into the heat - Ottawa to Montreal

July 2nd, We packed up and prepared to leave Ottawa but a sickness delayed our departure for at least 24 hrs. So we relaxed and re-focused for a Sunday departure.

July 3rd, Still a little under the weather we decided to make a go of it. We left around 2pm and instead of taking the direct route we followed the beautiful bike paths through Ottawa, down the canal and then along the river. It made our trip a little longer but much more relaxing and enjoyable. The day was hot but the riding was enjoyable and after 80km and not much time before dark we set up at a campsite in Jessups Falls. This was our first real run in with French language. Although I fully expected the North side of the Ottawa river, the Quebec side, to be mainly French speaking I was unaware of the fact that many of small communities along the south or Ontario side of the Ottawa River would also either not speak much english or none at all. But all worked out and like most nights after a hot shower we ate, slept, woke up and headed out again.

July 4th, We followed beautiful back roads along the Ottawa River with no traffic seemed almost no danger, until after about 20km we came upon a horrible sound, half screech half cry. As we approached we could see that it was a raccoon and it was going bezerk running around in circles, on and off the road. I made sure to keep my distance and ride by nice and fast. Joanna slowed down not wanting to run into it or hurt it, until it started coming right for her, then she stepped on her pedals and got outta there. I`m thinking it must have had rabies or something, I`ve never seen anything like it. Anyhow minus this small moment of excitement we continued on peaceful back roads all the way to Hawkesbury Ont. At Hawkesbury we took the long bridge over the Ottawa River and for the first time in over a month we were in a different province than Ontario. Almost instantly when we crossed the river we noticed something different (other than the french signs), there were a lot more cyclists. We rode another 50km into Montreal along bike paths and bike lanes. In this 50km we literally saw more cyclists than in 5000 or so km prior. We had felt heat on this trip, many days over 30 deg Celsius but as the day went on we could tell this was going to be hotter. We arrived into greater Montreal at around 2pm and with the hummidex it was well into the 40s. With no decent cheap options for accommodations especially none with air conditioning we checked into a downtown hotel for two nights.

Canada Day

Because it was so close to Canada Day, we knew we had to stick around in Ottawa and catch the show. Janet, Tim, Luke, and I went to Parliament Hill (along with 100 000 others) to watch Johnny Reid, Marjo, Alex Cuba, Blueprint Crew, Cadence Weapon, Barenaked Ladies, and more. After the concert, there was a fantastic fireworks display behind the Parliament buildings, and the whole night was a lot of fun.

Ottawa

After our tumble, we knew we would be too sore to ride for a few days (and by we I mean Joanna (me) and the bikes, Luke somehow managed to get out without injury). Luckily we were able to make it to my Aunt and Uncles house, where we could rest up and get in some good visiting time. On our first day in Ottawa Janet and Tim took us to the Parliament buildings, where we got a tour, and got to take a peek at the Cats of Parliament Hill. The Library has recently been completely restored, and it looks amazing. Before we left since the line was small we had to ride the incline elevator up to the top of the peace tower for a stunning look out over the skyline.

On day two, my cousin Erin took us to the Canadian Museum of Civilization. It was interesting that the exhibit in the Grand Hall is based around 6 West Coast longhouses, Totem Poles, and BC landscapes. We traveled over a large portion of the country, and felt like we were right back at home. The exhibit, and the rest of the museum were pretty amazing. It had a special exhibit dedicated to horses and the horses impact on human civilization around the world. By the way, this place is huge...

The weather network was calling for rain the next day but when we awoke it was looking pretty good so we took our chances and made the trek via mini van to Upper Canada Village. The day turned out perfect, sunny, hot, and not busy at all. Upper Canada Village is a National Historic Site that contains and re-enacts an early settlement along the St Lawrence River. It has a cheese factory, homesteads, saw mill, thread mill, doctors office, tin man, blacksmith, flour mill, bakery and others that I`m sure I am forgeting. Each building has characters working to make the experience feel authentic, and they do a great job of it. There are also bulls, cows, chickens, pigs, etc., and horse-drawn carriages that will give you a ride through town.

The next day Luke and I went to the Canadian Museum of Nature, which felt a little less like museum, and more like zoo... Again, the exhibits were great, of course. It covers everything from the first life on earth, to the geology of the country, to modern

environmental concerns. There is one section full of all sorts of live insects and slimy little creatures, which was a little creepy, but fun to see.

On June 30th, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip made an appearance in Ottawa, and Janet and I left the house bright and early to get a good spot to see them. Luke was having some back pain, and decided to skip the Queen and stay home repairing the bikes. I wasn't about to complain! The Queen was there to unveil a statue of jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, cast in bronze sitting on a bench beside a grand piano. The statue was beautiful, as of course was the Queen herself, in a blue dress and matching hat.

Oakville to Ottawa

Leaving Oakville we were fully recharged and put in a 400km day. Thats right 400km( 300 thanks to the GO Train and GO Bus.) We put in our hardest work of the day trying to make the train, we of course were running late getting to the station, we did make it(of course) but only after sprinting carrying loaded bikes up and down stairs and the BOB and even with only made it by seconds. Three hours later we arrived in Peterborough and started our day of riding. We made previous plans to stay with Greg and Stacey in Tweed. They treated us to some hot food, great conversation, and a warm dry place to sleep. Thunder storms were all around us and tornado`s even touched down within a few hundred km`s so we were super thankful to be indoors.

We spent some time in the morning waiting out the last of the rain but around 1:30 we rolled out of town. We initially thought we had left too early since we were in a storm after only 5min of riding but it quickly subsided and we had great weather the rest of the day. We made good time over horrible highways all the way to Maberly. A campground was our home for the night. Luckily it had a small store and we were able to buy some food for dinner and milk for breakfast or else it would have been peanut butter sandwiches for dinner and dry cereal for breakfast.

The next morning we rolled through the historic town of Perth then took some secondary highways straight into Ottawa. We entered the city limits around 6:30pm and were heading straight for Joanna`s aunt and uncles house when all of a sudden I made a quick stop at a yellow light only to hear a, "OHH %$@&!!!" Slam!!! Joanna came crashing into the back of me, she knocked me off my bike and she fell to the ground with bike on top of her and feet still locked into the pedals. After realizing there were no major injuries except maybe to the bikes themselves we walked across the road did some minor repairs and finished the mission to Janet and Tims.

Niagara Falls

The next day was Monday, and we thought it was a good opportunity to see Niagara Falls, as the weekend crowds would have been gone. Unfortunately, several thousand other tourists seemed to have the same idea, and apparently tourist season hasn`t really even started yet!

The falls were spectacular, and we decided to make full use of our tourist status, by purchasing the `adventure package deal` for the day.

We first took a trip on Maid of the Mist, the large boats that take you for a tour right into the heart of Horseshoe falls. The mist and spray w

as so powerful that we quickly lost our vision, and stood getting soaked, imagining that we must have been very very close to the falls. After we got off the boat we checked it out from above, and realised as this photo shows, that we weren`t really quite as close as it felt like from below. It was very fun, and definitely recommended if you are ever in the area.

Next, we headed soaking wet to the Whitewater Walk, a boardwalk set up along Class 6 whitewater. The views were pretty, and the elevator ride down was fun, but the whole adventure would not have been worth the money it costs unless you got a package deal, as we had decided to buy. Next we hopped on the bus included in the package and headed back to town for lunch, and to see the rest of our attractions.

The Journey Behind the Falls was attraction number 3, and includes another elevator ride down, and a viewing platform which is really beside the falls, not behind them. Another pretty view, and more mist soaking us all over... Good thing we showed up on a very hot and humid day, making all of the cool spray very refreshing and nice. We took the elevator back up, and went to our 4th and final attraction, a 3d movie featuring falling snow, a shaking earth, rain, wind, and intense sounds, all showing how the falls developed. It was fun, and would be great for kids, as long as they aren`t too young. A few very small kids got quite scared inside!

Durham to the Big City

Joanna`s knee had began to irritate her so we stopped for lunch in Durham around 1:30 and before we were finished eating had decided to call it a day. We stopped by a cute little info center in a former water treatment center from the 1900`s. We were directed to the local campground and found our spot and got set up nice and early. With the sun shinning and day only half over we headed off on a nice little walking tour of town. We had a nice dinner and had an early night....

We planned to get up early for a big day but when Joanna woke me while it was still dark I`ll admit I was a little annoyed. She kept rolling and thrashing around, I asked her what was going on and she said, ``I have a bug in my ear.`` I wanted her to just forget about it and go back to bed after going to the washroom it was clear that was not going to be an option. After pulling out a bobby pin we were able to fish out a teenie tiny little beatle, everyone was happy and sleep was back to being number one priority, at least for one of us, the other was still a little traumatized by bugs in her ear.

From Durham we hoped to make it to Oakville in one day. We biked the first 120km and were then picked up by Pawel for the last 20km. The countryside in the area was hillier than we expected, and the road conditions weren`t great, but it was a beautiful ride. Lots of small communities with pretty little churches and historic main streets. And most importantly, giant bulls...

We arrived in Oakville Friday night, and spent Saturday cleaning and fixing up our bikes. They had both accumulated large amounts of grease and dirt, and both bikes looked shiny and great after a day of TLC.

We also felt great after being taken care of so well staying with Pawel and his family. We were treated to delicious home cooking, and really enjoyed the company of Pawel, Renata, Marta, Grandpa and Grandma. It worked out perfectly for us to have a `home` where we could leave our bikes and gear and go out exploring the area. The Toronto GO transit system worked out great for us, as we could catch the trains and buses from close to home.

Sunday we took a GO train into Toronto, to catch a Blue Jays Game. They played the San Francisco Giants, and unfortunately lost. Although they didn`t play as well as we had hoped, we still took the opportunity to drink beer, eat

hot dogs and ice cream, and the afternoon was a lot of fun.

After the game we walked around downtownToronto, and enjoyed the busy streets and the view of the CN tower. There was a free concert on at Dundas and Yonge, and just down the street thousands of young girls lined blocks and blocks of the city. It didn`t take long to discover that we had arrived on the same day as the Much Music

Video Awards, and the shows performers, Justin Bieber, Myley Cyrus, Kesha, and many more. It was paradise for 10-14 year old girls!

We had also arrived days before the G20 summit, and felt extraordinarily safe, as each street corner had its own set of RCMP officers. In fact, it seemed that the police outnumbered all of the other people on the streets, as they walked, rode their bikes, horses and motorcycles, and drove their cars, trucks, vans, etc. We had no worries about finding help if it was needed!