I’m going to Brazil with no plans of returning in the near future.

Wow… I really don’t know where to start. I just booked my flight, with one stop in Panama-to Rio, Brazil last night. This post will probably be all over the place. There are a lot of things I want to get out!

This is quite a random post after having just completed my postings for a trip in Eastern Canada I finished, but what the heck.

To make sense of it more…

The idea to go to away for school  came from a friend who got back on a university exchange program a year or so back. Think he went to Australia and of course had a blast. He always had good marks though, and told me you needed at least B cumulative grade average. Which was true and a reason I never tried to apply for a whole year (I was about 5% off from a B)

This was something I didn’t have because I screwed up my first year like many students do! Although the last 3 years have all been over a B average.

I had never considered studying abroad, because I was slightly ignorant in thinking that my marks could never be good enough.

But anyhow, I figured I’d give it a shot, this was my last chance (with only 4 elective courses left). I went to an info session in December 2012. Everyone seemed interested mostly in Paris (I live in Quebec), and Sydney, Australia. Both uninteresting to me and way too expensive at that. PUC Rio in Brazil though, offering only 8 courses in English, fairly cheap living/food looked bloody awesome! So I was all in at this point..

So after months of filling forms, applications, letters, interviews, obtaining references and WAITING. I got it….

Photo by:  Ivars Krutainis

About 8 or 9 students applied for the university in Rio de Jeneiro while there was only one spot. I don’t think i’ve ever been so grateful and ecstatic in my life. It may not seem like I’m excited but I have no way of showing this in writing. Let’s just say everyone around me-whether I knew them or not-  at the time got the biggest bear hugs and kisses of their life!

The semester starts on July 1 and goes till December 2013. After the semester I’m going to float around Brazil surfing, eating great food, meeting interesting people and photographing and filming it all for another 6-8 months. I will be graduated from university and FREE.

Thinking I will couch surf for the first two months ( I already have willing hosts), meet people, and then find someone that I can rent an apartment with.

I hope to make a couple documentaries over the 1 year period (or more).

Some broad ideas right now are: Freight Train Hopping in Brazil, Graffiti culture, Reggae Culture in Rio, beer & food in brazil, and maybe a general one about the diversity of people of Brazil.

I’ve learned from a 30 day cycling tour that planning too extensively and in too much detail is stupid. On the contrary, I have had such amazing and memorable times while acting spontaneously and going where the wind takes me, so to speak. I am going to Brazil with an open mind and that means wiping the stereotypes of the people from my mind. I am not going to do nearly as much planning or research on the  areas as I did for my bicycle tour. I’ll let the locals teach me the ways and point me in the right directions. They are the ones that have lived in Rio their whole lives. Much rather listen to them than taking pointers on a forum from someone who stayed at an all-inclusive beach resort for 7 days. Of course, I do not look Brazilian and this may cause issues. For the most part, I don’t think anything can be done about this. And anyways I don’t even know what it means to be or look Brazilian. Like saying your Canadian? What is that supposed to mean anyway? The idea that Brazilians and Canadians look a certain way is absurd and is a product of our love for generalizations. Brazil has  a very diverse range of inhabitants. I’ll blend in, hopefully knowing some basic Portuguese by June!

My experience with  answer forums have been mixed. They can be misleading and from the ones I’ve seen so far about Brazil are outdated and quite bias.

Everyone likes to travel in their own ways. Some people prefer to sit in a pool for 7 days in a row and drink at their hotel with the friends they came with. I met some university students who enjoyed this type of thing in Mexico this past February. I tend to find happiness in little things like a train rolling by, a neat scribble on a dumpster, or chatting with grandma at her families’ chip stand. These types of activities will be highlighted in some way through my films.

Anyways, I’m rambling.

But just to make you aware! There will be some interesting photos on the way

Cheers,

A walk to the top.

It was quite an abnormally- warm and beautiful day here in Montreal. I couldn't let myself  sit in side and do homework, so I grabbed my camera and headed up to Mount Royal with a friend. It was well worth it. My grip-less shoes and the slippery slopes put me into automatic kid-mode. It was packed with tourists and locals alike, but it was still peaceful in a way and a hopeful reminder that summer is on its way :) On my way to the mountain. I spotted this. I thought the shot would turn out alot cooler. I call it "The Outlier" This is the view from the top.   A couple cool guys we met. They were visiting from D.C. Sliding down the slopes. Easily sliding 40ft+ at a time !! For those of you who try to "act your age" every minute of the day, try letting lose every once in awhile. People will look at you funny, but you won't regret it in the end!

Newfoundland- 1 Week In a Hurricane (1800km)

Well, what can I say… This is the last blog post of my 3600km, 30 day, solo cycling journey through Eastern Canada. It took place from Aug 16th- September 17th 2013 and I have been busy with school and other hobbies ever since my return. Probably why I am completing the last post now, but better now then never, right?

This is a map of the route I travelled. Definitely more extensive than what I had planned.

The tour was interesting, challenging, emotional, eye opening, and in general a real stepping stone in my life. If you want to see what I mean, just skim through the last 15 or so posts and you’ll get the idea. (I suggest starting from the bottom and working upward. This is the order I wrote them in.)

It really took alot of effort and time to acquire enough funds for the tour as well. My main source of income was obtained through recylcing cans, bottles, and scrap metal. More regularly, I worked 6-7 days a week doing exterior painting while working for a moving company on the weekends. It was rough but in the rare spare time, my friends and I managed to sneak a few beers and laughs in trackside.

I am looking to do more intense endeavors in the future both alone and with others.

If you’ve been following my posts from 8-10 months ago, you would understand that this was a first for me in terms of travel; leaving Montreal, QC on a bicycle with little experience in terms of long distance solo-touring. I’ll tell you now, there were no five-star hotels with breakfeasts included every morning. Accomodations consisted of sleeping on peoples floors and couches, or simply pitching a tarp in city parks, ditchs, bushes, beaches, and in one case, a graveyard. Some bug repellent probably would have helped on a few occasions.

Below: Organizing gear before departure out of Montreal.

I cycled a total of 1800km. Not the 2200km I planned. But, I soon realized that the plan didn’t matter anymore. Especially once it got wet and became unreadable. The most important lesson I learned was that the plan didn’t matter. I just had to make it to Newfoundland. When you set your expectations exceptionally high, it typically leads to disappointment. I learned to appreciate the now while taking in as much value as possible, and going with the flow. I try to incorperate this concept everyday. This was an ongoing experience for me. I found myself in many storms, sometimes forcing me to stay put in certain places like Moncton, North Rustico, PEI and Antigonish, NS. And you know what, those were three of the most memorable moments. Steve, Blaine and Penelope were great to hang around with and their friends were wicked too. The extended time with each gave room for relationship building. Something I only touched on throughout the trip. A big reason why most of the trip was just way too lonely. I’ll remember to leave much more time for relationship building on the next trip. The same could be said for what I will share next, and is the subject of my final post for this tour…

As a hurricane pounded Antigonish, NS I was pondering how I would continue the next week I had available till my flight out of Deer Lake, NL. Cycling was not an option, well it was, but I’m not that crazy. hah.

It was pouring, and it would be pouring on and off all throughout my desired route through Cape Breton Island, NS and Newfoundland.

To make a long story short, I was given the contact of a trucker from New Brunswick who ran fishing supplies from NB to remote fishing villages in Newfoundland. I was told Tommy was a friendly guy and that he’d most likely be able to pick me up off the Trans Canada Highway if the storm got too bad.

Well it was bad, and I bailed on cycling the last 300km of the trip. And plus, by the sound of it, this was an oppurtunity I couldn’t pass up. Screw the schedule! I called him up and he was able to meet me at 1 am in the morning at a truck stop outside of Antigonish. Of course I thought this was sketchy, but I was drunk, and figured I could handle any surprises.

He was 2.5 hours late do to some technical issues with the engine (“this is going to be a smooth ride” I said) I threw my bike in the back and there we went. It didn’t take long for both of us to realize we both liked to talk.

Below: Passing time filming myself, drinking whiskey, and listening to Bob Marley.

Below: Hanging out at gas stations was not uncommon.

We made it to the port at Sydney. We waited over 30 hours in the port gates for one of the storms to pass. Winds were blowing upwards of 100 km/h.

There was a Tim Horton’s. Thank god. It was at this time I blabbered on about my adventure to all the curious truckers from around North America. It was an interesting perspective travelling to Newfoundland via truck. Especially because the majority of truckers were aged 45+, and I stuck out like a sore thumb. Which was not neccasarily a bad thing. It was also funny to see the reactions of the tourists and families traveling over by ferry. I was thankful to be in the shelter of a truck chatting a way with a guy who liked to chat. I think we became friends quite quick. Tommy was an awesomely funny guy with a good heart. I was happy to have a bed to sleep in too ( I got the top bunk).

After 30 hours, we got the clear to drive onto the ferry. From my memory there were about 50+ 53ft trailers allowed on, and we were one of the last to squeeze onto the ferry.

If we hadn’t of made it we would most likely be there for another 6 hours. I really didn’t care, It was warm inside the truck and there was a Tim Horton’s nearby. Once parked and into the passenger section of the ferry, Tommy and his trucker friends made there way to the buffet. I sat  with them but couldn’t join in on the eats due to my lack of funds. They offered to pay but I refused, and was satisfied with their leftovers and infinite refills of coffee.

When we hit the otherside, I had an intense and immediete sense of accomplishment, excitement, happiness, and that hoppy-skippy feeling in the chest. I was so far away from what I call home…

 

What a beautifully interesting landscape this was. It was exotic. This was not a Canada even a Canadian would think about let alone a foreigner. Newfoundland is a must see.

 

I won’t explain the Newfoundand tour km by km or mile by mile but we generally headed north to about Deer Lake, then east toward St John almost the span of the entire island (but on the north side), and then cut straight south through the most vast landscape I’ve ever seen. We dropped off nets and other equipment to a salmon farming company situated in Pool’s Cove. We were there at about 5:30am and for the first time the sun was out. I was half asleep and really didn’t feel like taking photos, but I managed to do so.

Of course nothing goes perfect, and we broke down a good two times.

 

Below: Tommy getting ready to secure the door with 50,000 lb of Salmon inside.

In the 4-5 days I was with Tommy, I slept at the most 12 hours. I didn’t want to miss anything. That, and I had a hard time sleeping with the abundance of Moose on the loose. We stopped only a few times to rest.

I got dropped off in Deer Lake. Tommy now headed for the port.

Slept in the woods that night, and managed to get a ride from another trucker into Gros Morne Park where I was supposed to climb the famous Mountain the next day. This was supposed to be the highlight of the trip. But the weather was too bad. I saw the mountain, though. It was nice.

After getting rained out at Rocky Harbour and having to move to the more secluded Norris Point, I was forced to stay in the first payed motel of the trip (80$). It sucked, but was nice staying dry. I thought for a minute that the weather would break up for a day and I could get to the top of that mountain. The next day I found out there was a hostel for $30/night 5 minutes away. But of course, Pittman, the owner of the hotel wouldn’t let my broke ass know before I paid. There are good and bad people out there and everyone in between. Live and learn… They felt bad once they knew I found out and gave me a complentary breakfast in the morning. I forgave them.

It was time to get out of Gros Morne, and with no visibility there was not much point in staying anyway. Temperatures were also dropping close to 0 Celsius at night. I managed to get a lift from an older fellow named Bob who lived in Alberta his whole life but returned recently. Funny enough, he was headed into Deer Lake to pick up blue berries for his wifes’ dish. We shared stories the whole way and he dropped me off at the truck stop where I would spend the rainy night.

I was able to convice the cashier to let me sleep in the restraunt till it opened at 6am. There was a guy on drugs in the trucker lounge and even after all I’ve seen on the road I was in no mood for anything freaky. But that’s another story in itself.

I managed to link up a ride to the airport the next day. Bob’s Blueberry supplier. The woman was actually the aunt of a girl I hung out with at the truck stop that night. She brought me fresh blueberries and frozen moose meat which I managed to keep frozen on my stop-over flight to Toronto.

I made it back home to Toronto with no issues. 3 days later, I was on a train to Montreal a week late for school. I felt weird to say the least; going from a free for all to a structured/fixed city environment.

So many places seen, so many people met, and so many emotions along the way. Even months later it’s still all very hard to comprehend, and I stopped trying.

Below: Bob and the Blueberry Lady

It was what it was and it has affected me in ways I can’t put into words.

Below: Flying over the greater area of Halifax.

Charlottetown, PEI- Wood Island, PEI- Stellarton, NS- Antigonish, NS (200 km)

Not a difficult ride.

There was the odd dip or two, but at this point they were of no concern.

I stopped for ice cream for the first time during the trip.

On the stretch, I really came to realize the strong farming culture in PEI.

Wood Islands was nice. It was some holiday so I couldn’t buy booze from the liquor store. I got on my second ferry of the trip with no problems. Of course, I was the only cyclist and with my dark skin color and “homeless” look, I was asked many questions and looked at in strange ways.

On the other end, I was greeted by a couple- Chrystal and her husband. They agreed to take me in for the night a week or two before.

One of my Couchsurfing hosts in Quebec City, Scott, has generations of family all throughout eastern Canada. He called a few of them up and luckily got me this hook up near New Glasgow. I stayed with Scott’s brother and wife Chrystal. They picked me up in their truck and we went back to their place and then headed to a family BBQ. Very interesting at that. Nonetheless, good meat, corn, potatoes and beer. I think by the end of the dinner, although I introduced myself to everyone, they still couldn’t figure out who the hell I was!

Thanks again for having me guys. I know it was a real stretch to have a complete stranger stay over. I hope that your ideas of “travellers” have changed now.
I hit the trans Canada the next day at 7am. I was flying. Morale was boosted once again and nothing could stop me. The 53’ trucks flying by me at 120km/h up the hills with no shoulder freaked me out a bit, though.

Sometimes you just have to give it hard and not think about how stupid an idea that was. Needless to say, I felt cycling faster and with less stops was going to reduce the chances I get hit by a sleepy truck driver. I was lucky and made it to Antigonish in less than 3 hours from New Glasgow.
I met up with a nice university at her house as soon as I got into town. I was her first couch surfer. It must be something about the friendly pictures on my couchsurfing profile. Nonetheless, she was a really sweet girl, and was eager to show me around the whole town. She is very involved in her university and is a radio host at the school (Saint Xavier). It was the students first day back to school after the summer break, and I was invited out to party with the students. Let me just say, I stayed another night.

North Rustico, PEI- Charlottetown, PEI (35km)

The storm that came through North Rustico (pictured below) finally blew away, and I got the clear. I’m surprised I didn’t see any windsurfers out there.

Twas’ a hilly ride to Charlottetown. Thank god this checkpoint was only 1/3 of a regular days distance. Scenery was nothing special as I got closer to C-town, but there were some cool towns along the way.

In no time I was within the city limits and cycling along the coastline. I was out of deodorant so I hunted down the Shopper’s Drugmart and made my big expenditure for the day (so I thought). Now smelling fairly decent, I embarked on a small unintentional tour of the city trying to locate my hosts’ location.

The boardwalk was really beautiful. The whole city was just so pleasant and cute… And I never say things are cute. On top of the cuteness, it looked and felt like one of the safest towns/cities I’ve ever been.  I had no problem leaving my bike and trailer unlocked outside the store. Kind on felt like a smaller Ottawa, ON. It’s the whole “clean” thing. Traditional houses painted nicely and in all sorts of colors. Everything was well kept. You could almost eat off the sidewalks.

I noticed quite a large student population, and what looked to be a trouble free group. Everyone was well dressed. The majority gave off a bit of a trendy but classy vibe, maybe even a little snooty. Met some really interesting people on the streets, including one guy walking around with a huge snake.

My deodorant stop caused me to be a bit late for our meet up. I connected with Andrea, who is a very talented singer/songwriter, through http://www.couchsurfing.org days before I arrived in town. We met at the Malpeque Folk Festival where we watched some awesome local talent, many of whom Andrea has played shows with in the past.

Yet again, another awesome host and now a new friend.

She knew that I was a beer fanatic and after having a few east coast beers at the folk festival, I sort of insisted we go to the Gahan House Brewery in town. It is the only craft brewery in the town. In my sole opinion, they had one or two excellent beers but the rest were just, meh, OK. Yes, I tried all 7 of them (2 were samples and a sip of Andrea’s), $40 later…A real nice hangout all in all, and their food looked great. There went a huge chunk of money I made from working with Blaine at the logging yard. I hope Andrea enjoyed her Beer 101 tutorial that night.

We ended up going to some other bar I can’t remember the name of, and then to a  very well known pizza shop: Famous Pepper’s.

The town ate a weeks worth of my food money in a night. Your welcome Charlottetown.

On the walk home there was a cat that would not leave us alone. I felt bad for this little guy. I could not convince Andrea to bring it home.

Slightly hungover, I packed up my trailer over a coffee (thanks Andrea) the next morning and hit the road toward Wood Island, PEI on a full stomach. Wood Island runs a ferry service to New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Just an hour across the Atlantic Ocean.

Cabot Beach, PEI- North Rustico, PEI (44km)

This was a rough stretch. A very hilly and gusty 44 km along the northern PEI coast. I had no idea PEI was home to so many god damn hills. You think it would be flat. There were no places to eat for almost the whole way, and I was running low on water too.

I eventually came a across a pretty traditional lobster joint; The New London Seafood Restaurant. A tad expensive for my liking but a good experience all in all. Definitely gave me the fuel to carry forward on what was a very windy,hilly, and rainy day.

I stopped in Cavendish on the way to Blaines house in N.Rustico. The beach was awesome and is a must see for any tourist swinging through. The weather cleared up and I wish I could have spent two more sunny days there. I felt like I was in Mexico or something. This beach just killed the many Canadian stereotypes I had of the east coast.

 

Anyways, it was about 2pm, and Blaine called me asking where I was. I planned to be at his place around dinner time. He said he would pick me just down the road. Long story short, Blaine was a real cool guy and is a handy man. He does contracting work including painting, interlocking, and builds houses from scratch (including his own). His side business is in the fire wood market. He orders huge logs to his lot, and then using a bulldozer and chainsaws, manages to cut them up into 16 inch pieces, and delivers quads of them all over the island. He does very well, and needed some big help the few days I was there. A lot of large rush orders to prepare and deliver. With no time to waste, I was working at “the wood” as he called it, for the next two days. Cutting and chucking the wood and everything in between. Labour of this type never felt so good. This had to be one of the coolest “jobs” id ever done. I felt like a champion wielding a gas powered chainsaw for the first time.

Blaine was at the wood most of the time, but otherwise it was Sheldon and I sawing the wood and loading the bulldozer.

I could go on and on about how interesting the two of these guys were. But I won’t. I’ll let the documentary film (in process) speak those words. I met him through http://www.CouchSurfing.org

Blaine treated me, along with one of his girlfriends at a local restaurant; By the Bay. They specialize in steak and fresh seafood. Most people were overweight by a long shot, so you know the customers couldn’t get enough! Sort of had a flashback to Houston, TX

A storm came in after my second day at the wood. Man was I happy not to be cycling. Instead I went out the windy peer, picked up some oysters, and long story short I ended up on Blaines brother’s tuna fishing boat. We went about an hour into the middle of the ocean to bring in his fishing nets so they would not get swept away in the storm. We dropped the lines in because there was a 600lb Bluefin Tuna below us. We didn’t catch him, but we caught a bunch of Mackerel (bait for tuna).. but I ate them when we got home! A couple Cod, a lobster, a sharp weird looking fish, and a couple Mackerel came in on the nets. All food for the birds. It was not a lucky haul in the brothers opinions.

Third day I met Blaines close family. His sister owns a family farm with a cow and chickens.

All in all. These three days were some of the most exciting and interesting of the trip so far. Not hard to believe I wanted to stay for another week or so… But I wasn’t going to make it Newfoundland sitting on my ass. Time to say goodbye.

Albany, PEI- Summerside-RIchmond-Cabot Beach Park, PEI (100km)

So it was rough go leaving my hosts Ben, Kat, and her family in Albany. I was even starting to miss their dog the moment I said goodbye.

The weather was pleasant, clear skies, but a tad windy.

Actually, the wind was the whole reason my plans drastically changed.

My next location was Alberton, PEI. About 100 km straight to the northern tip of the island. It is supposed to be beautiful there and I had a place to stay with a friend of a friends uncle or something like that.. Long story short, the winds picked up big time, i was cycling on relatively flat roads but was surrounded by flat barren farmland after Summerside and the airport near Miscouche. 1. It was boring 2. I was getting fried by the sun and 3. I  couldn’t get going much quicker than 10 km/h.  So after about 15-30 km outside Summerside I decided it was going to be to much of a hassle to get up there. I made the executive descision to turn around, go back the way I came and head to the central northern coast, where I was headed to in two days anyway.

Funny enough that the man who had the house in Alberton told me that day he wouldn’t be there because he was getting married on Sunday. I would have felt weird staying in his house alone, while he got married, and then leaving the next day.

Cabot Beach looked nice and from the pictures I could tell you that the beaches looked very inviting at that point. Really, I was just getting fed up with the cycling  and wanted to get away from the farmland and lay out in the sand. In some more exotic looking areas.

So I did.

I got to the beach, which is part of a provincial park, layed out, swam.

It still felt weird knowing I’d be sleeping on the beach or in some trees. So I waited around till it got dark and managed to get by the front gates without being seen. I found a tight little spot in behind some trees, to keep visibility low, allow me to tie up my tarp tent, and keep me the set up out of the wind.

This was one of the loneliest nights. Just waiting for it to get dark was painful in itself. I was able to get some footage of the area with all the time I had to kill.

Not only was it lonely, but extremely windy, and it rained through the night to top it all off!

Day 16-17: Moncton, NB – Shediac, NB – Albany, PEI (120km)

The weather was clearing up quite nicely and even though Moncton was quite cool, I needed to keep on moving. The sun was out full throttle.

This stretch was one of the most efficient of the trip yet. I had rested for almost 5 days; my muscles had time to recoup.

I left Moncton via the “old Shediac Road” It was quite smooth with a small shoulder and many rolling hills. A nice ride all in all. Shediac was a nice town, home to a large lobster monument. The city claims to be the “lobster capital of the world”. With the seaside-lobster- statue so large, I did not challenge the claim. I decided to have lunch in town and put some loonies and toonies into the local economy.

Norm’s Pizza really did the trick. Cheap and delicious.

As soon as I started following the coastline toward Cap Pele I could smell the fresh seawater. It was energizing and motivating to say the least. I was so far from home but felt right in place. The winds picked up increasingly toward the bridge.

On the “scenic” route 950 I struggled with about 5-10km of heavy construction. Deep and heavy pebbles littered the road. I guess they were in the process of repaving the stretch. This was the third time during the trip where I wish I had a cross country bike with thick knobby tires.

I am not the type of guy to turn back though even if I had wiped out. There were only close calls, thankfully. Thinking it was the trailer that gave me more stability.

The Confederation Bridge was one of the most outstanding bridges I’d ever seen. I think it is now the 2nd longest bridge in the world. It takes about 15 minutes to get across by car and is 13km long.

 

Unfortunately it is illegal to cycle across because of the high winds and traffic. They offer a free shuttle service on call from the information centre.

At the shuttle I randomly met up with some other touring cyclists. The third encounter with cyclists on the trip. They were from Montreal, but had taken the train with their bicycles from Montreal to Moncton. They cycled from Moncton to the bridge where I had bumped into them. They were on their honeymoon and were going to tour PEI.

We would have cycled together on the island, but I got the impression the husband didn’t want me tagging along on their honeymoon! I respectively informed them I was headed to the North Eastern coast and couldn’t join.

When we got to the island I met up with Ben who was also a cyclist. He and his girlfriend were my hosts that night not far from where the shuttle drops you off in Borden Carleton, PEI.  We connected months before on Couchsurfing.org. He rode to the bridge and was able to pick me out from the small crowd getting out of the shuttle bus.

We rode back to their summer home in Albany, PEI which was 10km away. That was a touch 10km in the high coastal winds.

The house was beautiful and the view was amazing. The whole family was into healthy eating. Lot’s of local greens. I was able to indulge in some alcoholic treats like Potato Vodka and the Lighting Moonshine from the area.

The lighting had me burning and spinning at the same time. It would be very similar to the island moonshine developed during prohibition.

The whole family was over and we all got along great. 

 

I was their first “couchsurfer” they’ve hosted. The couple, Ben and Kat,  are in New Zealand right now, surfing on couches and waves.

Wish I could have stayed another night.

Day 12-15 Woodstock-Moncton (Good Luck)

It was Sunday morning in Woodstock, NB after a big night of partying at a trailer-house and the bar… I was some how supposed to get my hungover-ass and disabled bicycle to Fredericton (my next checkpoint). Not many stores were open let alone any bicycle shops. I needed a bicycle tube and/or a patch kit to continue my journey via bicycle.

My host, Rocky, had work on Monday and so I had to get going at this point. All I wanted to do was sleep.I felt like taking another day off and dealing with the flat on Monday. But things turned out for the better. All I can say is that what happened next is a perfect example of how the highs and lows of travelling in general can be so volatile, and in particular, why the “highs” are what drive any traveler forward. For me, these highs have come out of not-so-great situations. This bike trip was no exception.

To make a long story short, Rockies’ roommate ended up hearing over our conversation about the issue. It turns out he and a friend were driving to Moncton (my next major destination after Fredericton). They were going to the Bruce Springsteen concert that night. They offered to give me a lift out there. I was in shock with their kindness and thankful that I got to meet such awesomely-funny guys.

In the end, they convinced me to drink with them at their hotel, sneak into the concert, and then go to the Moncton Casino for 5 hours afterward. I profited about $80 at the casino and was able to buy the guys some drinks. Oh, and the concert was awesome. I felt on top of the world, especially knowing I wouldn’t have to sleep in a city park again.

On Monday the guys had to head back to Woodstock by 1 pm. I stuck around to use the laundry facilities and the free internet in the hotel lobby. I was able to get my bike fixed up and my gear reorganized. My goal now was to find a place to sleep for Monday night. I explored the outskirts of the city, and then ventured into downtown Moncton. I didn’t like the looks of the city park so I decided to try some last-minute luck on http://www.couchsurfing.org.

To my surprise, I snagged a host with within 30 min. And lived 5 minutes away from the Pumphouse Brewery where I was sampling the local brew. On a side note: their patio and interior setup was great and the beer was even better.

The host was super friendly. He worked at the hospital and enjoys hosting people and showing them around Moncton. We talked about travel, went to watch the tides come in at the river, explored the city, and he introduced me to the healthy world of wheat grass shots.

I decided to stay a 3rd night in Moncton because of the heavy rain and awesome time I was having.

Steve and his friend treated me to dinner at the Tide and Boar Gastropub. I hadn’t had a meal like that in what seemed like ages. This is what I needed to power through the next 2 weeks.

http://demo175200.bksites.net/

Day 12: Tobique, NB- Woodstock, NB

It was time to split course with the father and son cycling duo. Saturday afternoon they were picked up in their car . I miss them and wish them luck in their future nomadic lifestyle in Europe. The three of them headed back to Maine and I continued the journey south toward Fredericton and then would eventually head east toward Moncton. The festivities would continue on without us and the sacred fire would continue to burn until Sunday night.

Now that I look back i really wish I had stayed for the remainder of the ceremony. I was just starting to build some nice friendships as well. Luckily, email exists although it is not the same as a personal relationship.

It’s possible that future travels will not take me through that reservation again.

One thing I’ve learned from the tour so far is that there is a fine line between checkpoints and deadlines and spending quality time in places I found interesting along the way. This hit me hard just after the first few pedal strokes on Day 12.

I’m sure this could be worded differently and I’m sure some of the “pro’s” , if there is such a thing, will disagree with this statement.

But let me add that I only had a limited period of time to get to Newfoundland. In a case where I had all the time in the world, I would probably spend weeks at every checkpoint.  (Sounds to good to be true). Visit all sorts of places, stay as long as you please and then move on to the next location and repeat. I think the only solid issue in this being a lifestyle is the required $$.

So that is why I am starting trip by trip. Spaced with work and for not much longer, school in between.

Doing a trip like this ( a bunch of mini connected trips inside a big trip) has a small drawback: leaving good people along the way. But on the plus, there are good people all throughout and this is what kept my spirits up.

Enough of my blabbing- let’s get on the road…

I followed the St John river south on the east side. The old highway NB 105.

You can read all about this awesome river here

There were some rolling farm type hills and mini valleys but things were sort of taming down compared to the days before in the Appalachian mountains. Some points were extremely beautiful where the 105 rose way above the river.

I saw a few osprey and even some big eagles fishing below me. No visual proof though.

In fact, not that many pictures at all.

To give you an idea of what the road was like here is a google maps snapshot from the 105 south bound.

Hartland, NB hosts the worlds largest covered bridge. It crosses the St.John river. I did not get to ride across it

I was in a rush to meet some “family-friends of friends” who were waiting for my arrival around dinner time. So i never had any time to take out my big camera, and I hadn’t gotten the chance to charge up my go-pro.

I made it on time averaging about 21 km/h. The speed would have been higher if it weren’t for the deep valleys on the 105.

Rocky, my host in Woodstock was a really cool guy, with an awesome accent. He introduced me to his friends and we definitely drank a couple beers. Something that is quite routine on any Friday or Saturday night most places you go.

We went to his friends trailer, had a big corn roast and bon fire and then made it down to the local bar afterward. Lots of laughs.