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October 19 Wednesday Bicycle touring from St Leonard New Brunswick to Monticello Maine Strip search. Okay, not quite a strip search, but the border crossing guards on the other side of St Leonard searched through our bags and we had to go inside for an ID check. The guy wanted our passports, believe it or not. "Best proof of Canadian citizenship," he said. The outside guy asked "Any switch blades?" "Aren't those illegal?" I ask. I try to answer properly, but my head is filling with odd thoughts. Maybe that's what happens when one is on a bicycle tour too long? "Any ammunition?" Naw, maybe when they make it lighter. What is your purpose in the US? I want to see if you're cutting trees as fast as New Brunswick. Why are you coming to the US? I haven't seen enough disposable diapers in the ditch lately. Okay, park your bikes around the corner and go inside. Gee, did I win a prize? While we were in there I quizzed the guy where the best place to eat in town was. Where can I get a lot of food for a cheap price. He said John's on main street. The special was roast beef for $3.25. We got two thick slabs of roast beef, smashed potatoes with oozy gravy, a blob of mashed turnips and carrots, a mount of yellow beans, and two hot buns with butter. Not bad. Delicious. Filling, hot, and fast. What more can a touring cyclist ask for? My gas now is unbelievable too. I should sleep outside the tent. Pass the country garden plug-ins air freshener. At Sharon's insistence, we bought extra medical insurance in St Leonard for the time we're in the States. We bought nine days worth for $14. Sharon pesters me so much when we don't buy it that I thought the price was worth the non-nagging. It is a beautiful day for cycle touring. Another clear blue sky. It hit 25º C in the sun. I took off my fleecy jacket for the first time in three weeks. It felt wonderfully warm. The trees have leaves again. We are starting to see some orange ones, not just yellow ones. We have cycled a fair ways south on Hwy 1 to Monticello. A bit farther south and then we will cycle west. The terrain is flat to rolling. There is no wind. The miles go by easily. Two litres of Coke cost $1.19 plus a nickel bottle deposit. Six plump and juicy oranges are a bargain $1.29. Sharon's bicycle tire suffered a flat just before Monticello. A hole in between two boots on her tire, if you can believe that. We put on a new bicycle tire along with a new tube. We kept her old tire as a spare, just in case. Vicky is bringing new ones in four weeks when she comes to cycle with us in Portugal and Spain. I phoned Aunt Marg in Tulameen BC. I tried Aunt Myrt in Princeton BC, but there was no answer. Aunt Marg had a gall bladder operation six weeks ago and was in the hospital twelve days with lots of infection. Her son, Bob, and his wife, Barb, are building a new house after subdividing their 11 acres. Their other son and daughter-in-law, Tom and Kelly, are building on a lot at the end of Tulameen's Otter Lake. They are expecting their second child in April. Myrt's daughter, Sandra, and her husband, Rob, are due with their second, the end of October. We are camped at the Monticello's town campground. We asked the store owner if there was any place around here and he gave us directions. We met a couple of guys at the turn off. They had been partying down there. There was still a toasty fire going when we got there. We sat outside at a picnic table and had a ham and turkey sandwich with lettuce on rye, cinnamon cake doughnuts, all washed down with a quart of milk. Bicycle touring sure is great for big appetites. The door of the cookhouse was open, so we pushed our bikes inside and set up the tent inside the cookhouse. It is great to be sheltered. It shouldn't feel as cold. And it will give the tent time to dry out from all the condensation. Earlier today, a dippy school bus driver followed behind us for a long ways, then he finally passed us on a downhill, went about 500 feet, turned on his flashers and came to a complete stop. Meanwhile, we're barreling full tilt down this hill in hopes of coasting a bit up the other side. I had to slam on my brakes and barely stopped before hitting the end of the bus. Some people haven't got a clue. Or maybe they do? They just don't like touring cyclists? |
