Miramichi

Miramichi Centennial Bridge

Miramichi August 10
Today 110 km, Total 1410km
Woke up at 7am by something falling on the fly-sheet. Slipped a hand outside - nope, not pine-needles. "Pete?", "yeah". At 8:30, Pete suggested calling out for pizza delivery. Maybe not. Eventually, the growlies got me, so I dug out the rain-gear and heded into town. At the 6km mark, I noticed that Pizza Delight was open. Coincidence? Turns out it's a full-service restaurant. Grand-slam breakfast contains the "and" word just like in Quebec. Pete is right, a day off does nothing to abate the appetite.
Grabbed a breakfast sandwich for Pete and heaaded back to the campground. The middle-aged lady in the Subway store was asking me about the trip, and wanted to know if we were at Rocher Perce. She said she went there for her vacation last year, and it was so beatiful she burst into tears when she saw it. If you stood on achair at the back of subway on a clear day, you could see it with binoculars!

By the time I got back to the campground, the rain had abated and Pete had broken down his tent and packed hs gear, so I followed suit and we got on the road at noon.
The coastal road from Caraquet to Miramichi (pronounced miramashee) heads south and the southwest, so we gradually veered back into the same old headwind. The road is pretty flat,l ined with the same white houses on acreage lots, and frankly rather boring. We rode en echelon for the first hour or so (Barney getting a nice draft from Pete), but after a while I stopped to chane my glasses and Pete disappeard over the horizon. I didn't see him again for the rest of the day, so he must be getting his legs back. Although we hadn't planned to ride separately, I knew we would not have a problem linking up; Pete would wait for me at the first Subway in the destination city.
In fact, Pete arrived in Miramichi about an hour ahead of me, and after a few subs he headed back along the highway to meet me. I was pretty pleased with my ride: even after leaqving at noon, I completed the 110 km in about 5 hours. We agreed that it was a good move to get that leg out of the way today, this could mean that we will have time to do our planned side-trip to Cape Breton before Pete's girlfriend arrives in North Sydney with Ryan to meet us.
Miramichi is one of those towns thatseems to move away as you get closer. First you see tantalizing hints in the form of billboards for local businesses as you continue to ride through unspoiled rural areas. Then you see a sign marking city limits - still no change in the scenery. And you ride and ride and ride until suddenly, there you are in the usual strip mall wilderness.
We decided to cross over the river before looking for a place to stay. The Centennial bridge is a spectacular landmark from a dista nce but bike-friendly - not! The access is via a 2km loop of access roads, not a big deal in a car, but an eternity with a day's riding behind you. The sidewalk is a couple of feet wide, full of potholes, patches and ominous steel hatches secured by empty boltoles that bounce and rattle as you ride over them, wondering if yo will drop through to the river 200 feet below. A wobble could be disatsrous - a handlebar=high railing on the right and a 9 inch dfrop-off to the roadway on your left, with loaded semis roaring by inches from your shoulder. Makews Burrard Street Bridge look like a bike super-highway,
On the southside of the brige we turned off what had become a freeway into the old town of Chatham, where we found a nice-looking motel. The room rate started at 135, which was immediately reduced to 116 on the grounds that I am a government affiliate (I pay taxes). When we asked if there were any cheaper places around, we were offered the Senior's rate of $88. Age has its compensations.
Pete alreadey had his sub fix, so I headed for the Irish pub dow n the road. This area is a nicely restored heritage area in the shadow of the bridge. At the bar, I had a massive plate of barbecued ribs (not an Irish dish in my recollection), and i had a nice cat with Valerie on my cell-phone.
And that was the day,
Barney
PS: Pete's blog at http://www.transcanada09.blogspot.com/.