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| Day 57 - August 23 - Causapscal to Petit Rocher 178km |
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| Glenn and I take our time this morning - we're the last to leave camp. Sometimes I like a little extra time to wake up and get my things together. The hot weather we had in the prairies is a thing of the past. These days I quite enjoy the slower pace in the morning since we always make up time on the road. Glenn likes to keep a fast pace, so we can usually leave a bit later and still get to camp before supper. |
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| I head out with Glenn and Rob straight into the wind. We start drafting right away with Glenn doing the pulling. A mere 20km later Chris joins us when we pass the group with whom he's riding. Some of the views on this stretch remind me of BC. The hills and valleys along the winding road take me back to June in an instant. I miss the mountains. Hopefully I can go back someday. |
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| We stop for pictures at the New Brunswick sign. It's hard to believe I'm finally back on home turf. It's great to be here, even though Rothesay is hundreds of kilometres away. |
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| Campbellton is a nice spot for a lunch break. We're all famished after covering 85km to get there. We're only half way, so we need the fuel. Especially if we're going to continue with the fast paceline. I like the way we rotate positions every few kilometres. It gives the person in the front a break and it keeps the rest of us from getting sleepy at the back. In a stiff wind it's important to share the workload, but today is more for practice than anything else. |
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| We choose a place on Water Street called Something Else, which serves hefty portions of pasta and fish. The guys order cheesecake for dessert. I prefer carrot cake. It's a fantastic meal to say the least and we leave with full stomachs. That in itself is no small feat. |
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| An hour and a half later it's back to the bikes. Rob gets a flat on the way out of town. Note to anyone doing this Tour in the future: Bring a good bike pump. You'll appreciate it when you're a long way from camp. |
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| We stop for Powerade a few minutes later and the paceline keeps its form for the next 50km. Chris isn't feeling well, so he and Rob drop back and take it slow. Glenn and I keep going until hunger strikes in Nash Creek. Just as we're pulling into the Foodland parking lot, the rain starts coming down hard. We walk the aisles and pick up some blueberry fritters to go along with my grape juice and Glenn's V8. The rain doesn't let up. We sit there for 45 minutes chatting with the locals and wondering how late we'll get into camp. We still have 30km to go. |
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| The nice women at Foodland supply us with plastic bags to keep our feet dry. And they work surprisingly well, even with clipless pedals. The rain stops 10km from the store, but it's still just as wet because I don't have fenders and I get a lot of spray from the road. It's getting dark. I'm not looking forward to setting up the tent tonight. |
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| When we get to the campsite, Aggie mentions that there's a room with tables, a couch and a fireplace for anyone who wants to sleep there. It's free, so I don't see any reason to stay outside in this weather. But I guess most people had their tents up by the time they heard about it, so it ends up being Chris, Rob, Glenn, Rupica and myself. We open the bottle of wine we bought in Quebec City. Beaujolais is one of my favourites. I sleep comfortably on a picnic table knowing that I won't have to take my tent down in the morning. It's totally worth it. |
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