Winding my way through New Brunswick.

I left town via the 102 and for a while I had a lot of energy and speed. But soon the hills picked up and my energy began to wane. Neary the 40km mark I noticed that my cycle computer wasn't registering my speed. I stopped the bike and traced the wire down to where I found it neatly cut. Apparently when I had stopped for, uh—liquid transference—the handlebars turned too much and snapped it. So I did a roadside repair using duct tape and a knife. Believe it or not, it worked. Shortly after that, as I was speeding down a bit of a hill, I heard a THWAP! and the next thing I knew I was being stung in the head by a wasp. I whipped off my helmet and saw the bug go flying down the road behind me. Meanwhile, the pain of the sting was beginning to sharpen. Ouch, ouch, ouch. (Fortunately, after a while, it went away.)

The terrain was becoming quite hilly, and my energy was sapping fast. I had a good breakfast, so I didn't think it was a lack of food. The heat? My temp reading on the cycle computer was registering 30 degrees. The hills? They weren't helping. Since more food couldn't hurt I stepped into a busy little café in the quaint, old village of Gagetown. After a short wait the friendly waitress sat me at a table overlooking the river and I had a sandwich and some lemonade. As I was heading out an older gentleman—a bit of a wanderer—chatted with me a while and helped me find the quickest way back to the 102.

The rest helped a little bit, but when I came to a sign that said "Saint John: 89km" I almost had a conniption. THAT FAR!?! I had figured the distance to be a maximum of 110km TOTAL, and already I had 60km behind me. I began to become disheartened, especially since my energy wasn't increasing and the hills were. I huffed and puffed to the top of them, drinking a lot of water. I soon began to realize that my mind was quite awake, but maybe it was my muscles that were getting tired—I had, after all, spend the last few days on the road. Finally, after the top of a long hill, I came to an empty roadside park with several picnic tables nestled in grove of evergreen trees. The sweat was streaming down my face and my shirt was soaking wet. I knew I needed another rest. I sat down at a table and then lay down on the bench. There was a nice breeze and with the scent of the forest I felt quite happy.

Eventually my snoring woke me up. I had such a nice nap that I instantly knew I wasn't going to make Saint John today. Even if I managed to make the distance I would be getting there late, hungry, and exhausted: in no mood to have any fun or see the city. So I decided to stop at Oak Point Provincial Park, only 20km or so away. This journey isn't about destinations, right? When I stood up the muscle in my upper leg (my knowledge of anatomy is only surpassed by my map-reading skills) began to quiver in a fascinating manner. Yep. It was time to take it easy. So I rode to the park, taking my time. (At one point a German Shepard started to chase me and I did manage to find a burst of energy to outrun it.)

Where did everybody go?

Despite the price, it's a pretty decent campground. There are a bunch of trees to give shade, whatever kind they are. I spent my time by the river reading about Sir Wilfred Grenfell (a rather intrepid fellow) and smoking my pipe for the first time since the trip began. (I think I have to smoke it three times a day from now on to make it worthwhile to have carried it all this way.) As I was reading a retired couple travelling up from B.C. sat down and talked with me. After that another retired couple that camp here all summer also stopped to chat, and invited me to their campfire if I was interested.

It's been a nice day, despite toiling up the hills. I particularly enjoyed the fragrant smell of the cedar trees and the flowers—at one point I had a whiff of cotton candy. (Anything that doesn't smell like my shoes is welcome. I'm cremating those things at the end of the trip.) And I haven't felt lonely in a few days—either because I've gotten into the swing of things, or because I've had a lot of opportunities to chat with people. It's a mere 50 klicks into town tomorrow and I'm looking forward to spending the day there—I'll probably try to stay at the U of NB. I realized today that it wasn't too late to call people last night—I'm an hour ahead here. So I called John tonight and we had a nice talk. Matt got a new job! Congrats, Matt!

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