After the rain yesterday, the sun was out in a clear sky and I was anxious to get on the road and kick some sweaty, cyclist butt.
But....before coming on to my buddy, Route 11, just at the edge of town I had to stop to grab a shot of this message.
Since I wasn't ready to confirm, I hit the road, well, the shoulder of the road and started clicking off the kilometers with the help of a northwest wind.
I would have to do about 40 kms along Route 11 before I could get off onto the 134 and away from most of the traffic.
At first, it was great, making good time and with a good six foot wide shoulder but this is where the NB Roulette came in. For some reason, the road started to alternate every 3 kilometers or so from the wide shoulder then to a narrow one foot shoulder and then back again to a wide shoulder repeating the same for the next 35 kilometers.
Not sure what rationale the transport people would give for this one, but it made for some moments of palpitations as I would just get comfortable in my own space and then have to sidle over towards the traffic when the next narrow section came on. And, of course, the narrow shoulder had a sharp 3 or 4 inch edge that signs showed cars should be cautious to avoid.
What about the cyclist who is riding on two wheels only inches away from that edge?!?Eventually, I came to the sign for the 134 just before Kichicoochiboohooboogiewoogiewooguac National Park and happily turned onto the quieter road.
And just after making the turn is when our self-same transport people place a sign to say the road is blocked and there is no through traffic.
Well, remembering our adventure through the construction on the 132 in Quebec, I carried on to see if I could get through as the road block was only a half a kilometer ahead.
Sure enough, the road was blocked due to a section being washed away but there was lots of room for me to get through.
Oh, my, I thought, Poseidon has ventured inland and used his powers to raise the waters just enough to undermine a portion of the road so vehicles can't pass but, hahaha..... ahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahah, heeheeheeheehawhawhawhaw..... ahem....bikes can pass and the road will be absolutely empty until the next intersection.
The trade-off with the 134 is that the road isn't in very good condition in some sections but I can live with that and less traffic.
At Richibuctou, I am looking to stop for lunch but I spot a church that I just have to investigate it is so unexpected.
I can see that the glass is stained glass and so I venture in to see what it looks like from the inside.
You can't really get a sense of the cave-like quality of the ceiling but that combined with being surrounded by all that amazing stained glass has to be seen in person.
The church was completed in 1968:
http://www.diomoncton.ca/stlouisgonzague
Near the wharf in town I found a place called GK's Family Restaurant. It didn't look like much but it had a terrace with a view of the fishing boats at the wharf and a really tasty turkey and vegetable soup.
The fish and chips were pretty good, too. Not sure why it took so long; I figure the locals probably just order pizza so they actually had to go out and buy some fish when I ordered.
Plus, the guy who took my order was obviously from some Middle Eastern country, which I thought might explain the slow service but everyone else working in the restaurant was Canadian.
Then I started wondering how the hell someone from Iran or someplace like that ends up in Richibuctou, New Brunswick?
Anyway, all this wondering wasn't getting me to Bouctouche so I hit the road and tried to digest my lunch while watching the clouds start to thicken and darken. I almost, but not quite, made it to my destination before the rain came.
Still, it was only a sprinkle and then I was there in a quiet little Auberge right next to the Bouctouche cemetery.
Sweet dreams...
No comments:
Post a Comment