Day 85 - Sussex to Hopewell Rocks

Surprise! Today was rainy day again, as I rode my bike through the Fundy National Park to Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick. I didn't actually get a chance to see the rocks themselves (that would be tomorrow), but they were very close to where I was camping at the end of the day. 

Keeping with the pattern that has been presenting itself since I got off of the main highways in Fredericton, there were some scary hills, but the road through this section of the road (see yesterday's post for contrast) was okay with nice shoulders.

I would say that the hardest section was entering the Fundy National Park. Also, I really wished at that time that it were a little bit better weather because I was feeling a bit chilly. And then there was the view. As I was on my way down from the Fundy National Park to Alma, I came across a viewing point, but it unfortunately hadn't cleared up enough to do the majestic place that it was any justice. I had to snap a couple of pics and then give up for the moment as I continued down the road.

I made it down the hill and ate another delicious, but overpriced meal of seafood and then stopped at a small café called "The Octopus's garden". The weather didn't relent during my coffee, so I just slogged along in the rain until eventually later on in the day it subsided.

Actually, it was a nice moment for me to experience the rain easing up and the sun starting to shine. There's always a moment when the steam rises up from the pavement and suddenly its like a sauna for a little while. I like natural saunas I suppose (haha). There's also something special which I have trouble describing in this blog about the way the nature around me also changes with the shifting weather. Nature was a constant for me, and I both enjoyed it and learned a lot from it, like in this case to be flexible and adaptable in life.

The rain had ended and I warmed up to the glow of sunset as I rode into my 40 dollar campsite. If only the shower had a nozzle.

Anyway, the campsite wasn't so bad, and I made some friends who offered me food and wine.

As always I'm filled with gratitude by the people around me offering their kindness.

Rainy Sussex!

On the road to Fundy National Park

Up and down

If this were a sunny day it would have been a really nice view!
From the top of Fundy National Park 

Welcome to Alma

Alma Chowder

These boats can only leave at certain times of the day because of the tide changes

Swimming in the rain, I want to go to the octopus' garden for a coffee...

Following the weather up the coastline

Some beautiful views to be had for sure...

Looking good

You see this guy everywhere in one form or another in Atlantic Canada.

Flowing down the road

Little glow of sunshine

Fields and water in the background...

Shifts in the clouds. Sunny day tomorrow

Almost at my campsite!

Day 84 - St. John to Sussex through St. Martin

Today I took the scenic route through really beautiful countryside along the coast line, in an area which some locals described as "New Brunswick's secret". A word of warning: some of the hills on the pathway were really (insanely) steep, and it would have been hard for me to get a regular bike up, let alone one with all the gear that I had on it. Heck, I think that some of the hills would have been a hard climb for cars too. But before I get carried away with the story, I want to relate something that happened to me in the morning before I left St. John.

As I had mentioned, I stayed in UNB St. John up in the hills which happens to right next the regional hospital. I went to the hospital to have some coffee and breakfast, and was inspired to ask where the palliative care unit was. I went there and was floored by the warm reception that I received. Before long I had ginger snaps in one hand from local volunteers and ice cream in the other. We all took a picture together and having a chance to tune into one of the great purposes of my trip was really a great experience for me.

As I was saying, I managed to stumble on "New Brunswick's Secret" on my way through the countryside. It was a really nice place called Gardner Creek along Road 825. The hills were really steep and the roads were windy (in both senses of the word), but it was certainly a pleasure cruise in paradise. Also while I was on the way through, I saw a man outside playing with his dog and stopped to chat. In another one of those moments which I have spoken of so many times on this blog, the man told me that I had seen him before when he was at the hospital earlier that day visiting a very sick relative. Here I was in the middle of nowhere, meeting someone from a place I had just come from.

About half way through the hilly coastal route, there was a house converted into a shop which sold a variety of ice cream--it was the best ice cream of my life. I felt like I had arrived in paradise. It was gorgeous.

From there, I continued and easily made it to St. Martin's where I saw the sea caves. The caves were stunning, but the food, however, was not. I don't necessarily think my meal was so bad, but I felt like it should have been about half of the price for the quality. The only thing that I can say was really good was the chowder and I'd get it again although the portion was small.

After St Martins I went towards Sussex where there were some epic hills along the road as it was approaching dusk. Despite the hills, all was well until I reached a point where there were some construction signs and pavement ended. At that point, the road looked like it had just been ripped up and had stopped being pavement. Usually in cases like this, they leave half of the road or groom the road in some kind of rudimentary way, but I was shocked to find soft silty gravel just like on the KVR with only a narrow band of packed dirt in the middle of the road which was dangerous to ride on.

I was having a hard time with the back of my bike swaying back and forth, barely able to stay on while having to move over to the edge of the road to avoid getting hit every time a truck came, and it was starting to dawn upon me that it was going to be a long night indeed. These were some of the worst road conditions I had seen on my trip and I didn't know what to do.

And yet, even amongst all of this difficulty, a kind family who had driven past me in their pick up truck stopped and backed up to ask me if I needed a boost past the difficult part.

It was terrible terrain and already 9:00pm, so I decided to accept the offer, and they even offered to drive me to Sussex Junction which would save me cycling through the night, so I accepted.

After riding in the pickup for a little while, they let me off in a park near Sussex Junction where I could stay the night in the park.

Thank you to the Palliative Care Unit in St. John, NB!

St. John Regional Hospital  

On the Highway again 

Fields heading towards the ocean

Old roads to the Ocean 

Great Icecream-- and view

Ok, ready to go!

Beautiful views on the Bay of Fundy

Small towns...

Wild blueberries...

Got a flat tire here, but all is OK, up and running again!

Made it to the caves at St. Martin

Tourists at the cave

Closeup

I thought these caves looked even more interesting...

Nice area

Good chowder

Not worth the price, but also delicious

The sun sets and I move on

On my way to Sussex

Facing hills and worsening road conditions

I eventually made it here and set up my tent in the park!

Day 83 - Fredericton to Saint John

Despite the weather, today was a pretty straightforward day riding south down towards Saint John from Fredericton. I woke up to rain and left early to make it to Saint John in good time. I always wanted to get to St. John's on this journey, but I suppose St. John will have to do. I looked online and found a room on the local university campus in St. John for $35 dollars--same rate as it cost for me to stay in Quebec City. I'm telling you, if you want to have the privacy of a hotel with the price of a hostel, university campuses are the cheapest and BEST accommodation you can get in the summer. I never realized what a resource they were, but they are much cheaper than even most campsites.

Anyway, people say that hindsight is 20/20 and it was clear to me that the previous day was actually not too bad in comparison, but this day wasn't too bad either. Once the heavy rains subsided and I had a breakfast sandwich in me, the little drops of rain just glided off of me like... how does that saying go again? What I mean is that I felt motivated and the morning wasn't so bad, just a little refreshing--that's all. 

Later on in the day, the highway I was on cut through a military training ground and the sun burned through the clouds. It was a pretty long stretch of road with constant signs not to stray from the highway, but after awhile, I made it through. I remember when I saw a little sliver of blue in the distance and felt like crying. Even though my trip hadn't ended yet, the blue symbolized the Atlantic Ocean which I vowed to dip my front tire into, so no matter what happened after this point, I knew that I had reached my destination in some way. Entering St. John, I made my way down through the highway and to the Reversing Falls and then gradually saw the get closer.

I took the long hill up towards the UNB Saint John Summer Hotel on the UNB campus in the mountains. After arriving, I couldn't resist going downtown to check out the sights and sounds. There were several live bands and I had some delicious food while I was there.

I went to sleep that night secure in the thought that I had reached the Atlantic Ocean. What a day!

Rainy bridge on the way out

Goodbye Fredricton

Clearing up...

Much better...

Clouds

Beautiful field

Water... is it the Atlantic?

St. John around the corner

I can smell the ocean

Narrow line of blue ocean in the background 

Reversing waterfalls

St. John 

St. John boardwalk

LittleLighthouse