So last night when Carmen was checking into our campsite she asked the caretaker if he'd heard a weather forecast.... The best he could come up with was "it never rains here", "only 2 times this summer". Well, summer is over buddy! A major storm kept us awake most of the night. Carmen and I sat up staring at the tent ceiling as it twitched and writhed in the wind. Meanwhile, baby Emma slept soundly except when waking to feed. She would look up at the roof of the tent and make googley noises expressing her delight with the entertaining sounds and movements of the poor tent.

At one point I went outside to "batten down the hatches" as a pool had formed on the roof and the pegs had been dislodged by the force of the wind.

Needless to say, in the morning after listening to a forecast of 70-90kph winds in the morning settling to 50-70 in the afternoon, we (except for Emma of course, who was bright eyed and bushy tailed) were a little apprehensive about the day ahead. Carmen and I agreed that I would set out and she would wait for 20 minutes and drive up to see how I am doing with the wind and all. Around 8AM I left camp, the wind was at my back! I cruised along the highway for 70 kilometers until I reached the turn off for #289. I enjoyed views of the St. Lawrence to my left, as it seemed to widen with every kilometer.

At the intersection for 289 I met up with Carmen and Emma, I sat in the car for a bit (to get out of the wind). Hwy 289 goes southeast to the New Brunswick border. After a few minutes of eating I set out. Incredible crosswinds blasted me for the 1st 10-15 kilometers. I had to lean into the wind with most of my weight as I rode along. Eventually the coastal farmland gave way to maple forests, providing shelter from the wind.

I stopped in Riviere Bleue at a "Chip Truck" where I had a large order of poutine! I met Carmen again in Edmonston where we found a hotel for the night.

After a fine sleep I awoke to a cool October morning. I followed Hwy 144 to St Leonard then onto Hwy 2. Hwy 144 was nice, it follows the St. John River across which lies the US (for some distance out of Edmonston).

Day 55 Oct. 7/02
Florenceville – Fredericton NB
Route: Hwy #2
Dist. 139.50 km
Odom. 5934.8 km
Tm. Riding 6h 36m 57s
Avg. Spd. 21.0 km/hr
Max. 44.0 km/hr

Tired... I battled strong headwinds all day. I took Hwy #2 along the SW side of the St. John River I realized quickly that this was a mistake. Although I saved about 7-8 kilometers of distance I would not have had to climb nearly as much. Throughout the day as I crested hills I'd look to my left and see that the road on the other side of the river was FLAT.

When I reached Fredericton, Carmen and I drove for an hour down to St. John to visit her friends Bobbi and Rob. We had a great dinner and apple crisp for dessert (I had seconds). I tried to update journal entries but by 12:45 I was getting really tired............

Day 56 Oct. 8/02
Fredericton - Moncton NB
Route: Hwy #2
Dist. 173.86 km
Odom. 6108.7 km
Tm. Riding 6h 40m 28s
Avg. Spd. 26.0 km/hr
Max. 54.5 km/hr

After a late night of typing madly on the computer I arose to the smell of maple bacon frying in the pan (mmm). After breakfast, we said goodbye to Bobbi and Rob and went out on the road. Sadly today was the last I would see of Carmen and Emma on the trip. They dropped me in Fredericton (where I had finished yesterday). We said goodbye and off I went, alone...

It was after 11AM by the time I got going and it was a long ride to Moncton. Except for a bit of roadside munching, I rode non-stop for the entire distance. By ‘roadside munching’ I mean standing on the roadside with the bike between my legs long enough to rummage through my bags to find some munchies! The terrain was similar to the previous few days, long-rolling hills (they do seem to be relenting somewhat). I suppose I am out of the Appalachians by now.

In the morning Bobbi called her parents in Moncton and made arrangements for me to stay there! Around 6PM I pulled into the drive. Bob and Norma treated me very well feeding me roast beef dinner and preparing a lunch of roast beef sandwiches, which would last me the next 2 days! I felt rude going to bed so early but I was very tired.

Day 57
Oct. 9/02
Moncton NB - Charlottetown PE
Route: Hwy#2, 15, 955, 1
Dist. 149.61 km
Odom. 6258.4 km
Tm. Riding 6h 34m 43s
Avg. Spd. 22.8 km/hr
Max. 53.0 km/hr

Again I awoke to the smell of bacon frying - ohhh what will I do the morning I don't smell bacon? Will I be able to get out of bed and make it through the day?

Bob and Norma fed me a huge breakfast! And off I went. I started my day on Hwy#2 and joined Hwy#15, which I followed until #955, which provided a short cut to the Confederation Bridge to P.E.I. #955 was a great route a small road following the shoreline. In fact I had a couple nice views of the Bridge but figured I'd wait until I was closer for any photos. This was a mistake and in the end I captured no photos of this amazing structure.

In the morning I had a flat tire and discovered a problem - one of the tires that I had replaced in Ottawa was in poor condition, and for some reason I have only one spare tube (dumb). The rest of the morning I felt pretty anxious about the tube/tire situation (probably another reason for no photos). Every few moments I'd look down at my tire to see if it was still ok. My worries and anxiety grew and by the time I reached the bridge I was feeling a little homesick. It has been almost 2 months since I left Vancouver.

When I reached the bridge I had to wait 1 1/2 hours for a shuttle (bicycles are not aloud on the bridge). There was only one other person waiting, her name was Kelly and she'd seen my bike outside. I was telling her a little about my trip. We also talked about cancer, as her father had recently had a brain tumor removed and is doing well. It was nice to talk to a friendly person, it seems that whenever I am begin feeling down that something will happen to lift my spirits and keep me going.

During the "shuttling process" the flag advertising my cause was blown off of my bicycle. This was a disappointing loss but I don't think that I will have a chance to replace it before I reach Newfoundland.

From the bridge to Charlottetown was about 50 kilometers, this was tough going and after all of the waiting around it had gotten late. I arrived in town around 630PM, found the B&B that I had called earlier and went inside. The cost was only 24 dollars which is pretty reasonable considering I had paid nearly that for a campsite earlier. I cooked my dinner on the back-porch and ate inside. The evenings are getting colder now.

After dinner I walked about ten minutes into town. I stopped at a used bookstore that was still open and spoke to the owner for a few minutes. I asked him if he had only one evening in Charlottetown what would he do? He directed me to the 'Confederation Center of the Arts' where I might see an Anne of Green Gables show... I wandered down the road to have a look. There was a show happening, however it was not Anne of Green Gables, which was fine by me. Instead I saw "Ceilidh on the Road" it was really neat, lots of fiddling, bagpipes, drumming, Gaelic singing, highland dance etc. The performers were all of world-renown pretty good considering it was such a small venue.

Arriving about 5 minutes before the show started I found a seat beside a two ladies who happened to be from Kelowna. I told them how I'd ridden my bike from Victoria. Once the show started the group was doing some "interactive" stuff with the audience asking where folks were from etc. One of the girls next to me pointed and said "he rode here on his bicycle!” this gained a round of applause from the whole theater. The lead performer asked if I was doing it for a cause and I replied. This got another round of applause. Heehee. I just sat there all red faced. After the performance I went out for drinks with Jennifer. She led us to a place called 'off Broadway' a neat little lounge off of Broadway. We had a great time; Jennifer is a massage therapist and has offered me a free massage when I return to Vancouver! The thought of a massage at the end of my trip has given me greater resolve to push harder and get home sooner!