New Brunswick Pt. 2(2) - Urban and Between
New Brunswick was sure entertaining us. What a weird and wacky place. Also VERY pretty along the river.
We turned off the #105 after Hartland and took Cloverdale Road as a shortcut to cut over to the #104 which would lead down to Fredricton and save us a few precious kms. We were expecting the worst given past shortcutting experiences, and we braced for a difficult day.
Instead the road was lovely, as was the #104 and we had the pavement mostly to ourselves. When we were passed by an auto it was safely and respectfully. We encountered some hills. Oh yes. But we were enjoying the ride through here and we had a surprisingly almost hot summery day getting late into September.
One particularly steep riser resulted in a chain break and a forced rest stop. We had been carrying a full brand new length of chain since Thunder Bay, as a backup, but still didn't think to put it on instead using spare lengths we had in the tool kit.
It took a third chain break later that day and busted parts dragging down the highway to finally convince us to put the new chain on. So dumb. Getting pretty quick at swapping out chain bits though. Practice until you can't get it wrong they say. The bike ran so well after the swap.
With no 'warm showers' availability, the plan was to stop a little ways before Fredricton, maybe 10 or 20kms out and find a spot to camp. A suitable tent spot did not manifest and we pushed all the way into the city, making it about a 160 kilometres for the day despite the delays for repairs.
Wild camping in and anywhere near cities can be pretty sketchy. Fredricton was sketchy. We did our best to find a spot that was safe but ended up having to sleep in shifts. We met some characters that night. We managed to keep our bikes from being stolen, and each got at least a few hours of sleep soooo......success?
We heard from Sophie. She had made it to about 20kms past Fredricton for the night and found a good safe spot to herself at a boat launch on the river. She had cleverly stopped in at a bike shop on her way through town to ask about what the best route to ride to Moncton would be. They had recommended taking the #105 out of town on the North side of the river, and then connecting to the main highway, the #2, because the shoulder was well paved and wide all the way to Moncton. She relayed that plan to us, about 20kms behind her.
We scooted early and went looking for a good spot to make coffee. There were some "goings on" on the bike paths that needed dodging as we headed for the highway. Sketchy is how people usually describe this stuff. We might have been safer with the black bears up in North Ontario 😳. Let's get outta here. Coffee can wait.
Warmed up and rolling great, we made a stop to get rain gear on as the forecasted sprinkle had begun. There might be an hour or so of light rain. No big deal. You know what, we can probably catch up to Sophie today if we ride up tempo. We're what... about 15-20kms behind her? Let's do it.
There is very little shoulder on this #105 highway. Why would the bike shop recommend this route? It certainly is pretty but a little tight to the traffic. At least there were no trucks along here.
The rain quit as promised and we stopped to take off our plastic jackets. The text came in from Sophie: "Where are you guys?" She had slept in and was just getting started. Whoops! We had passed her at her hidden camp spot about 10kms ago while riding hard to catch up to her!
We waited in place a short time and around the corner she came riding up behind us. Ha! Super fun!
Pretty hilarious meeting up with our friend Sophie again out here on the side of the highway in New Brunswick. Hugs and smiles all around. We'd been in regular contact with her all along, but we hadn't ridden with her since the fateful day(s) in North Ontario, thousands of kilometres ago.
What a treat! Sophie's energy brightened our day right away. She had a hotel room booked in Moncton, (as again there were no 'warm showers' hosts) and was planning to ride the 171 kilometres even if it meant getting in a little after dark.
We've been riding some huge days, and getting some rough sleeps so we decided to book a room at the same spot. Perhaps we could enjoy Moncton a bit in the morning, and take a low kilometre day tomorrow. 171 was going to be a big one to get through today though.
More texting was coming in: Andrew's dad, Gordon, happened to be working nearby in Sussex and proposed driving over to meet us on the #2 highway for lunch. This would be the second time on the trip we could meet up like this as he had driven down from Saskatoon while we were in Regina. Fun coincidences in timing, making the geography feel.... not so huge!
We met at Jemseg, which is literally the only place with food offerings on the #2 highway between Fredricton and Moncton. The scruffy truck stop may not have been our first choice under normal circumstances, but was pretty fun on that day and the four us had some good laughs and filled our bellies before Gordon headed for the airport and we three amigos headed back to the highway for Moncton.
Setting off from our lunch break at 1pm, we still had about 120kms to go. This was going to be a looong afternoon. The weather was great, and the highway shoulder paved and wide as promised by the bike shop, so optimism reigned.
The #2 stretch between Fredricton and Moncton turned out to be some of the most unpleasant riding of the entire trip. Cars and trucks were blasting by without moving over at all. This was some of the worst automobile to bicycle culture we had experienced. The highway noise was incredible. Endless pavement with no turn out spots or rest stops of any kind. Walls of dense trees lined the side of the road meaning when we stopped for a flat tire patch we couldn't get more than 4 or 5 meters away from the highway.
We stopped for protein bars and a break at a construction site. The flashing sign offered the only spot to lean a bike and set down for a few minutes. We rode some sections on the left, facing into traffic, as that was often the only way past broken shoulders or construction blockades. It was awful.
Sophie amazingly kept her good cheer for the entire day. We had some great laughs about getting ourselves through New Brunswick without joining any of the local cults.
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