The beginning

7 August 2010

DAY 1: Moncton to Fort Beausejour, 50 km

DAY 2: Rest (!)

Three years ago Dan and I finished our cross-Canada bike ride, and I've been itching to do more cycle touring ever since. So when my friend Mike told me he was doing the trip with his sister Nicole this year, I was determined to join them for a leg of their trip. Since Dan and I never ended up doing Newfoundland, I decided to join Mike and Nicole for this final portion of their trip. I will be writing about it here! To those of you who followed my blog the first time around, welcome back! And if you are new, I hope you enjoy reading about the triumphs and trials involved in a trip like this one and that maybe, just maybe, they will inspire you to go on one yourself! :)

I couldn't have asked for a better start to this trip. I flew into Moncton yesterday, assembled my bike and met up with Mike and Nicole. As soon as we started cycling, I couldn't stop smiling: there is nothing quite like the freedom of traveling by bike! It also helped that we had a strong tailwind, making going at speeds of up to 40 km/h a breeze (ba-bum-ching!). But I think that even if the weather had been horrible, the renewed sense of novelty I felt would have made the whole thing seem amazing. We only cycled 50 km, arriving at Fort Beausejour, a historical site with a beautiful view and high winds. From there, we were picked up by Yvon and Hugh, family friends of Mike and Nicole. We stayed with the family in their cottage at Amherst Shore, NS, right near the border with New Brunswick. The view of the ocean and the red sand beach were gorgeous, and we were treated like kings. We had tasty sangria and a lobster feast for dinner. Since I've only had lobster one or two times, and Mike and Nicole had never had it, we were very appreciative of the step-by-step instructions for how to tackle the massive beasts.

We accepted the family's invitation to stay an extra day, so here we (still) are. That's right: after a measly 50K of cycling, I get a day off. I'm certainly not complaining!