'Granny Bought an eBike' - Episode 11

Episode 11

"Women may be the one group that grows

more radical with age."

- Gloria Steinem

Homeward bound...

Edmundston NB - Peterborough County, ON

We are on the road bright and early,

following the Madawaska River out of Edmundston,

the early morning mist off the river occasionally 

blanketing our view.

At times we are the only ones on the road.

We cross into Quebec -

Dégelis, 

Notre-Dame-du-Lac,

Saint-Louis-du-Ha!Ha!,

and on towards Rivière-du-Loup,

where once again we meet up with the grand Fleuve Saint-Laurent,

the Saint Lawrence River.

There seems to be one long continuous biking trail

following the river, through the Kamouraska region of Québec,

the 'Véloroute des Doux Pays'.

Long before we near Québec City, 

the road gets busier. 

And busier.

It's plain old 

Canadian summer weekend traffic 

from here on in.

Our holiday is (just about)

over.

🚲

We bypass Québec City, and a couple of hours later, Montréal,

and head on,

(like most of the westbound traffic),

to the Ontario border.

We've made good time to this point, so decide,

(rather than booting it on the 401),

to take the quieter secondary roads through rural eastern Ontario,

and opt for County Road 43,

(formerly King's Highway 43),

across Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, 

Leeds and Grenville,

and 

Lanark counties.

It is real cross country driving 

and we are often on our own.

Beautiful farmland, 

rivers and creeks,

moderate temperatures now but they have had 

a bit of an early summer heatwave 

while we were away.

Alexandria,

Monkland,

Chesterville.

Winchester,

Kemptville,

Merrickville.

Smiths Falls,

Perth,

 and

Otty Lake, 

where Doug's maternal grandparents farmed 

a hundred years ago, 

the stone farmhouse still there.

From there it is Highway 7 home.

As I am writing this because 

'Granny Bought an eBike',

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that as we near Sharbot Lake, 

we follow close by the 

Central Frontenac Trailway, 

(an abandoned CP railway corridor),

an integral part of the

🚴  Trans Canada Trail.  🚴

And home.

We whip up a quickie veggie forward pasta dish, 

have a couple of glasses of vino,

and this

'quirky old lady'

 who

 'grows more radical with age'

falls asleep around 8:00 p.m.......

It's good to be home.

More cycling to come!

 

'Granny Bought an eBike' - Episode 10

 

Episode 10

"There actually was a time when I couldn't imagine 
growing up to be a quirky old lady,

but here I am killing it."

- Anon

Grand Manan.

Mainland New Brunswick bound...

*

As we have ridden for the last time on this holiday, 

and 

as we are leaving first thing in the morning,

we load our bikes into the back of the truck

and fasten them firmly.

We spend the late afternoon and early evening packing up

the rest of our gear.

Then, we settle in to enjoy the evening, 

having a little 

'Farewell-to-Grand-Manan'

party for two,

with our East Coast playlist,

 a roaring campfire, 

and beer.

Our sunset view at low tide, 

Grand Harbour,

Grand Manan, NB

In the morning,

we are at the ferry terminal in plenty of time,

first in the queue 

for the first ferry of the day,

well equipped

with our travel mugs of coffee.

At the ferry terminal,

North Head, Grand Manan

Black's Harbour bound

The ferry is hugely fun to wander about,

but we like to spend almost all of our time aboard 

on deck,

watching Grand Manan slip into the 

distance.

Farewell

Ships passing...

Wind-blown on the port side

Once we've landed,

(an hour and a half journey),

we gas up the truck 

before heading in the direction of Fredericton.

We are aiming for an 'off-grid' shop in 

Lincoln NB,

 where we'll pick up batteries, (previously ordered), 

for our electrical system 

back home.

It is a bit of a juggle to make space for them,

but they are soon well wedged in 

with the bikes and kayaks.

Our plan for the rest of the day is to follow the meandering 

Saint John River

on secondary roads, stopping when and where we feel like it.

Meandering...

Rivière Saint-Jean

There are 'Cycle Route' signs along the riverside roads,

and indeed, part of the 'Trans Canada Trail' follows the 

Saint John River.

It strikes us that this would be fun to do.

Another time maybe.

(Or another lifetime.)

Mactaquac,

 Nackawic,

 Woodstock,

 Hartland (potato chips and longest covered bridge),

 Grand Falls (amazing waterfall drops 23 metres),

 and the lovely 

Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska

 with its beautiful 100-year-old church - local granite, 

and nestled into the slopes of the Appalachians...

(yes, those Appalachians).

It is a slow relaxed drive, ending for the night at

Edmundston, NB,

not far from the Quebec border.

*

After checking in to our hotel,

we, (as is our habit), spin down to the local pizzeria.

. 

We are wanting take-out, and I, (the one doing the talking), begin in french

as Edmundston is more than 90% french speaking.

The young man motions for me to stop, 

and fetches someone from the back who speaks english. 

My pride is ever so slightly wounded.

My french isn't that bad.

But at least I take comfort in the fact that 

I have a surname, (Renouf), that doesn't need to be 

spelt out for them.

We spend the half-hour wait in the restaurant part of the pizzeria,

and order two local beers.

 They are full-bodied and delicious. We are also quite taken by the 

lovely waitstaff, 

who ask where we're from and where we've been,

all while explaining the local beers

and serving a quite busy restaurant.

Nous aimons le Nouveau-Brunswick!

*To be continued*

Restez à l'écoute pour l'épisode 11....

'Granny Bought an eBike' - Episode 9

Episode 9

"The afternoon knows 

what the morning never suspected."

- Robert Frost

Grand Manan, 

New Brunswick, continued...

*

It is our last full day here, warm and sunny. 

We head out for a long(-ish) cycle to 

The Anchorage Provincial Park,

parcsnbparks.ca

five klicks or so from our cottage,

on past the working harbour that we cycled to on 

our first day.

We are in t-shirts, shorts and sandals.

It's that warm, 

(wool socks and bulky sweaters not needed),

maybe ten degrees celsius warmer than on Canada Day.

I have packed a towel in my bike basket, 

(just in case), 

as there is a lovely beach.

We know this, 

having been to the other end of the park on our last visit.

We take the first right off Ingall's Head Road,

and then the next right off of that one,

angling our way toward the beach.

These roads are much less busy, (nothing traffic-wise), narrower and a wee bit rougher.

The paving ends, and becomes 

a gravel road.

The gravel ends, and becomes 

a Grand Manan reddish-brown

dirt road.

The GM reddish-brown dirt road ends, and becomes

a track.

The track ends, and becomes 

an uneven and deeply rutted trail.

The trail ends.

We are, in fact, at

Ox Head.

We are near The Anchorage Provincial Park,

in fact we can see a long stretch of beach waaaay, way, away

off in the distance.

It is low tide, 

and to get to the beach would involve a long clamber over 

a difficult rocky shoreline.

 As my footwear is not the best for this,

and I don't have my trusty walking stick, I perch on a large rock 

and leave the exploring to Doug.

Meanwhile, a bit about Ox Head...

One hundred and sixty years ago, Ox Head was a tiny coastal settlement,

engaged in fishing and farming.

It is now part of a migratory bird sanctuary and lies adjacent to 

the provincial park.

It's beautiful and wild.

It's also very quiet, (except for the Bay of Fundy breezes), 

and rugged -

 sky, water, rock, wild roses,

and a lot of shaggy wind-blown grasses.

⬇

Doug makes his way back over the rocks, deciding that 

there must be a better way 

to access the eastern approach 

to the park and beach.

We scramble up the slope, surrounded by wild rose bushes,

and attempt to cross a scrubby bit of field, making our way back to where 

we left our bikes.

Just as we're nearing them,

we hear a bird chittering madly. A flash of bright yellow, she flies close to us,

hovers,

and is gone. 

All of which is too quick to allow me to fumble about for my camera.

One thing for certain:

she clearly doesn't want us there.

We hightail it, leaving her, (and perhaps her young family),

in peace.

We leave the question of 

how to access the beach from Ox Head

for next year.

*

A bit of research when we are back at the cottage...

(which is relatively easy as we had a fleeting, yes, but clear look at her), a

 Northern Yellow Warbler.

Granny on her eBike, Ox Head, 

Grand Manan, NB

Stay tuned for Episode 10....

 

'Granny Bought an eBike' - Episode 8

 

Episode 8

"All of my childhood punishments have become my adult goals: 

eating vegetables, 

staying home, 

taking a nap, 

going to bed early."

- Anon

(We override this second 'adult goal' at the end of June.)

We load our two bikes and two kayaks into the back of the truck 

and secure them well. 

We pack the rest of our gear into the back seat cargo area - 

clothing, rain gear, 

boots, bike helmets, pfds,

a bit of food and bev.

Before sunrise the following morning, we are 

en route.

We are making our way, eastbound via Highway 401, toward Quebec. 

Our destination is Woodstock New Brunswick, which we reach around 6:00 pm,

(5:00 pm our time),

about a twelve hour drive. 

Early afternoon the following day, we are on the ferry from

Black's Harbour NB

to

Grand Manan Island.

⬇

Grand Manan Island bound, with a view of the 

Black's Harbour bound ferry - Bay of Fundy.

We are staying in the 'Grand Harbour' area of Grand Manan. 

It is about halfway down the length of the island, 

about a fifteen minute drive from the ferry terminal in 

North Head.

Grand Manan map (detail)

It is less hilly than 'Seal Cove', where we stayed three years ago. 

That, 

and the fact that 

'Granny Bought an eBike',

are good news for us doing a bit of cycling while here.

We are right on Grand Harbour 

and our cottage stares out at the bay. 

It is beautiful here - sunny with gentle breezes. 

And quiet.

View of Grand Harbour and our campfire pit.

We try out our bikes, and cycle up Ingall's Head Road to the actual harbour,

a working harbour with fishing boats and the terminal for the

White Head Island ferry.

It is a relatively flat ride and not busy with traffic.

"Yes, I am comfortable biking here", I think.

"This is going to be good."

There is more to explore by bike further on past the harbour,  

but that we will leave for another day.

Doug cycling - about halfway along the pier.

While staying in Grand Manan,

we visit a few of our favourite spots, including the 

Grand Manan Museum, 

an absolute treasure and well worth a visit.

*Note: Grand Manan fisherman's socks

We also have some pretty spectacular lunches,

lunchtime being our chosen time of day

to sample the local fare.

Our  favourite eatery 

is a wee bit too far from our cottage to cycle

 and involves a sometimes busy road 

so we decide to drive.

It is a little window,

 outside a typical Grand Manan shingled building,

a locally owned fish market.

⬇

Several picnic tables are handily positioned outside, 

a place to sit and wait for your order,

and/or a place to eat.

While the window can be quite busy, 

on this day we seem to be the first ones here.

The kitchen, (the other side of the window), 

is run by a beatific woman, an island resident, who takes our order with 

a gentle smile on her face.

When we are done,

she reaches under the counter for a stainless steel bowl

and begins to concoct the mixture which will become the 

heavenly filling of a 'Large Lobster Roll'.

Sitting at one of the picnic tables,

the sound of seabirds high above, 

sunny and still,

consuming these can only be described as

a spiritual experience.

The lobster filling is spectacular, 

but a few words for the actual 'roll' part of this Lobster Roll:

soft, buttery, yeasty.

Delicious.

And also locally made.

Oh, I do love bread.

It is one of four meals we enjoy this trip at outdoor eateries...

all involving seafood.

Lobster, 

(of course, lobster fishing being one of Grand Manan's main industries),

haddock, clams, scallops,

and shrimp.

🦞

On Canada Day,

a bit of a change in the weather.

Cloudy and cool.

We cycle up to our local pub, 

and spend the afternoon listening to live music on the deck.

The music has a Caribbean slant, 

but is also so profoundly Canadian, that we 

order a couple of beers and sing along like any 

red-blooded Canadian,

in our bulky sweaters and (local!) wool socks.

A Grand Manan moment. 

*To be continued.*

Stay tuned for Episode 9....