Day 71 - Rivière Verte, QC to Edmundston, NB

July 23 (Thursday)

Start Time: 6:15 am

Stop Time: 4:30 pm (3:30 pm Quebec time)

KM Travelled: 115.4 km

Elevation: +988/ - 1,023 m

Special Stuff: Through the 'mystery zone', New Brunswick, Time change

I'm worried about today's ride. Like the last couple of nights, I'm awake at 2:30 am, and up by 3:00 am. I don't mind being up at this time - more quiet, reflection time. I look up what "du-Loup" means - and it translates to "of the wolf". This surprises me as I thought it meant "loop", and I'm glad I now know.

As I'm sitting having my coffee, I listen to the wind blowing with the strong gusts - recalling the strong wind that Brian and I witnessed last night. I imagine myself biking in that wind with those southwest gusts - which could blow me into traffic. It is cold - like so cold that I think it is necessary to wear long pants - which I have not done for well over a month.

Anxiety starts creeping in and I think that maybe I need to take the Route Verte trail in the bushes as opposed to the secondary road which is more direct - but I don't like the idea.

I have a bit of a meltdown and I tell Brian who is starting to wake up that I don't think I should ride today. He doesn't say much (mostly because he's still half asleep). When he does say something, it's like,"Well, if that what makes sense."

In my monologue I realize that I'm making this situation into a bigger deal that it needs to be. I realize that I've been through all of this before and I need to draw on my strengths. I've ridden in the cold, I ridden with uncertainty and I've ridden through strong winds. I know how to make secondary plans - and if everything goes haywire, I have everything I need onboard my bike to sustain myself for 24 - 48 hours. I have the experience, competency, equipment and supplies to get through this.

I get to work re-planning my approach. I decide that I will bike to St-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! which will take me through the first section of the ride and through the 'mystery zone" (about 40 km). When I get to St-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, I will decide on next steps.

This is an approach I feel comfortable with and I'm off on the road at 6:15 am. On account of the cold, I have on my raincoat and a pair of long pants over my biking shorts.

Out on my bike I'm ecstatic to find I'm pretty much the only person on the secondary road for hours. The wind is continuously blowing, but it is cooling me off. I'm exerting a lot of energy biking against the wind and riding up some very long, steep, challenging hills. Underneath my outer shell I can feel that my wool shirt and biking shorts are soaked with sweat. Thankfully it's overcast and I only have short moments when the hot sun is shining directly on me.

Around 8:30 am, I'm on the top of a big hill anticipating the 'mystery zone' (which I can see up ahead) when I hear an encouraging honk from the highway which is over a hill, down below me. I think to myself, "that must be Brian". I wait for half a minute and I see the truck and trailer emerge from behind the hill a ways down the highway - he's entering the 'mystery zone' (which is no mystery for vehicle traffic). That guy really has amazing timing.

I enter the 'mystery zone' and notice the road I'm hoping to travel through is a "cul de sac"(a dead end). I take the overpass and cross the highway to check out a frontage road that I see on the map. The frontage road is blocked off - there is a construction site worker standing guard at the entrance to this road in his white pick-up truck - I consider riding the 1 kilometer to ask him for guidance, but I choose not to. Below me is the new tunnel that has been built for bikers, it looks like it leads to the cul de sac area. The gate to the tunnel is appears to be closed. I'm not exactly sure what to do, so I cross back over the highway to the entrance to the cul de sac and study my map a bit more. I decide that I'm going to go down the cul de sac area - I may have to haul my bike through the bushes a bit, but I don't see any other alternative.

Just as I've decided on my 'flight path', a white pick-up truck with a business logo on the passenger door pulls up beside me. A bearded middle aged man asks me something in French, he quickly switches over to English when he realizes I don't understand him. He asks, "Are you looking for the bike route?" I let him know that I am. I ask if he is the white pick-up that was standing guard by the frontage road on the other side of the highway - I'm relieved to find out that indeed he is! He tells me he'll take me to the trail head and lets me know that it goes though a construction zone - they have allowed for bikers to travel through the construction zone. I dismount my bike and follow him down a steep gravel hill. At the bottom of the hill, I know exactly where I am - on the other side of the new tunnel! I thank him and I follow the trail to the construction zone. Through the open patches of forest to my right, I see a white pick-up truck driving along a side road. As I enter into the construction zone, I see a paved meandering path through the torn up earth. I also see a white pick-up truck parked up a ways to the right. I ride up to the white pick-up truck - and am happy to see that it is the bearded middle aged man who is just here to make sure that I've found my way okay. I thank him again for his help, and I make my way up the bike path.

I am once more so grateful for the kindness of strangers - arriving at just the right time and place. This fellow went the extra mile to help me out - I acknowledge this and truly appreciate it!

With the 'mystery zone' behind me, I feel like I'm sailing! After all my worry and fussing about today's ride, I'm also super motivated to have a rest day tomorrow.

I get to St-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! (great name for a town), and find Brian parked a kilometer down a hill (that means up the hill when I leave - boo!). When I get to the trailer, Brian's busy on a call. He takes his headphones off for a moment so I can update him on my plan to keep on riding to Edmundston.

The ride goes smoothly. There are sections where I am on Route Verte (translates to 'Green Route' - a network of bike trails across Quebec). This particular stretch of Route Verte is exactly that - green. All I can see is the trail and trees. It's probably great for people who are inside all the time - for me, it is a snoozaroo! If my whole ride across Canada was like this...it would not be worth the effort. I love seeing neighbourhoods and the landscape.

Just outside of Edmundston, I cross over from Quebec to New Brunswick. This time there is a welcome sign, which I very much appreciate (thank you New Brunswick). Crossing this provincial border means that I have biked across 6 provinces in 2 months and 9 days - cool.

I notice right away that the stop signs are in both French and English.

The also notice that the time has changed - I am now on Atlantic Standard Time - 4 hours ahead of B.C. It's going to be interesting to see how that affects my departure time in the mornings.