Into New Brunswick

21th August: Dégelis to Grand Falls, NB

Odometer: 89 km, Start: 9.30am, Finish: 5.15pm, Avg: 22.1 km/h,
Weather: Bright, but cloudy, Temp: 14-19°C
Road Conditions: La Route Verte 8 / Sentier NB, mostly cinder surface, sometimes gravel, good condition. #144 (from Edmundston), 1.5m+ paved shoulder, occasionally no shoulder for short periods, very light traffic. Ascent: 220m/220m.

After yesterday’s high, today was a bit flat, as it was almost bound to be. The bike trail to Edmundston wasn’t as pretty, the weather was cool and cloudy, perhaps the coolest since the Rockies an age ago, the scenery wasn’t the most inspiring (I know, I’ve been spoilt), I was also feeling a little jaded.

The four provinces left on this bike ride: (L to R)
Newfoundland & Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick

I did cross into New Brunswick early on this morning, though. That’s my 7th Canadian Province so far out of the 10. I’ve just four more to go: New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador. I’ve also clocked over 7,100km and it’s my 73rd day on the road.

The Route Verte 8 seamlessly became the Sentier NB (NB Trail) at the province border. Before I took the NB Trail I crossed over the Trans-Canada highway and went to the visitor centre to pick up the free province map (I’ve been able to do this in all provinces so far). I also looked for the New Brunswick province sign but couldn’t see it on the highway.

The bike trail to Edmundston, part of Sentier NB

This section of the Sentier NB went to Edmundston, the first major town. It mostly ran right beside the Trans-Canada highway and therefore wasn’t quite as sceneic, but it was still a dedicated bike trail of around 20km in length.

After Edmundston I joined the #144 which I think is the old course of the Trans-Canada before the 4-lane divided highway #2 was created. The #144 was very quiet. (The #2 was obviously doing it’s job). The road closely followed the Saint John River, although there weren’t any real views. On the other side of the river is Maine, USA. I was right by the US border again. In fact, if I’d have continued east through NY State, I’d have probably come back into Canada somewhere around here!

I passed a few small towns along the #144, but the highway bypassed the towns and I couldn’t be bothered to divert from the road to have a look around. It was that sort of day.