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October 16 Sunday Bicycle touring from Point la Croix Quebec to Campbellton, New Brunswick While we were eating breakfast the other day, Sharon saw a cyclist go past wearing an orange hunter's vest and carrying a shotgun. So that is how the cyclists in Quebec deal with cars that come too close to them. That shattering glass of your side window was just a warning! It would have made a classic picture, but he was already cycled down the road before I had a chance to get my camera out. We cycled across a bridge into Campbellton, New Brunswick. We cycle down main street, looking for a buffet breakfast. No luck. We soon cycle out of town. Campbellton is not as big as we had hoped. I pull my fully loaded touring bicycle to a stop at a grocery store and ask if there is a smorg in town. Nope. Crossing the road back to where Sharon was waiting with our bikes, a couple in a Vanagon came alongside and stopped to ask us some questions. Roger and Suzanne were on their way to church. Their Grade 11 daughter, Frances, plays the organ there. They invited us to stay at their house, saying they would be home in about an hour. Sharon and I headed for Tide Head, a point where the tide stops becoming a bore, looking for the Islander Restaurant that Roger and Suzanne had given us directions to. We passed the Villager, a little greasy spoon coffee shop. We didn't think that was where they were giving us directions to, so we cycled on. Shortly, we were at a highway junction on the way out of town and we hadn't come across any Islander Restaurant. We pulled our bikes to a stop near a convenience store. We were now famished as it was after 11 AM, and we had been up since 6:30 without having eaten a thing. I left my bike with Sharon and went in and bought a quart of milk --noting the prices had taken a sudden jump now that we were out of Quebec -- and a box of chocolate chip granola bars. We stood outside the store alongside our fully loaded touring bicycles, trying to keep out of the wind and ignore the barking dog who wasn't too happy with us being so close to his property. At noon we cycled back towards Roger and Suzanne's. We put our bikes in their garage and brought in our handlebar bags and our laundry at their kind request. Roger ushered us into a basement suite, complete with bathroom, fridge, stove, table, TV, bedroom, and laundry room. We went back upstairs and sat down to fried egg sandwiches on Kaiser buns. Roger and Suzanne's daughter, Sonia, is at school in France, attending a university for political science. She is planning on coming back to New Brunswick for law school. Roger and Suzanne are going to visit her at Christmas and invited us to come and stay with them on the French Riviera. Their other daughter, France, was at dance practice, so we hopped in the van and went to watch her and her group. Then Roger and Suzanne escorted us on a scenic drive to Sugar Loaf, a local ski hill. It is rather like a large bump, but supposedly impressive for us flatlanders from Alberta. There are two red and white crosses painted on the rock cliff where a mother and daughter died trying to climb up the rock face. Roger climbed it when he was 16, but only once, and he was worried in one spot where he couldn't go up or down. They showed us the Restigouche River were thousands of people canoe in the summer. Roger says it contains the biggest salmon in the world. Roger is a psychiatric nurse at a local hospital. Suzanne is a nurse also, but she has taken time off since April when she fell on some ice and says she doesn't miss it one bit. Their house has a fantastic view overlooking the river towards Quebec. Roger finished the house himself with extensive wood, brick, and ceramic tile. They have a suite attached which is rented out. Roger says it is a great way to pay the mortgage. Supper was a giant chicken from a farm near here. Suzanne served it complete with mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, a mixture of mashed squash and carrots, and red and yellow tomatoes -- all from their garden. Dessert was apple pie. The apples were from a neighbour's tree and Suzanne made the crust with a secret recipe of margarine and 7-Up. No greasy lard for her. Roger showed us the large garden out back. He plants three seeds in one hole. One seed is corn, another squash, and the third is string bean. The string bean climbs up the corn and then tangles together to keep the wind from blowing the corn down. The squash grows on the ground and helps prevent weeds from growing. It also helps keep moisture in the ground. Roger says he got the idea from what the Incas and Mayas used to do. The shower felt fantastic. It is nice to be warm and dry and clean. Imagine. All three at the same time. We had washed up this morning at a roadside stop in Pointe a la Croix that miraculously was still open. Actually, they were just in the process of locking it up. My new Kombi long sleeved shirt wicks perspiration away from me quite well and I don't feel cold and clammy in the wind anymore like I did with just a cotton shirt. The sheets on our bed are fleece. No more cold sheets. Potpourri fills the air with a delicious scent. The bed is comfortable. There is no traffic noise. Now this is what I call bicycle touring! |
