After two and a half months, 2 flat tires, 2 broken spokes and 6690km, I made it to Halifax! I actually arrived here a few days ago on the 13th, but I start where I last left off.
So after spending a couple nights in Fredericton, visiting with my cousin and seeing the sights I headed out for my last five days! It was originally supposed to be just 4 days, but because I was a bit ahead of schedule I figured why not slow down, and take my time? From Fredericton I was headed to a small town about half way to Moncton. It actually turned out that the woman I stayed with in Fredericton was going there for the day because she has family and friends who have a cabin on a lake there, so I had yet another place to stay:) It was a short ride that day, and I had a tailwind for the majority of it. When I arrived at the cabin there was a group of cheering strangers greeting me haha, although they weren't strangers for too long after that. We spent the afternoon lounging around in the sun and visiting.
The next day was a bit longer, and I was headed to Moncton! I don't recall anything significant from that day. Moncton was where my highschool teacher had kindly given me a night at a B&B. i had never stayed in one before, and therefore didn't quite know what to expect, but needless to say it was very comfortable. It was right downtown, so that evening I was able to go for a walk and give myself a little tour. For breakfast we had french toast and beans in maple syrup.
From Moncton I made my way into my last province- Nova Scotia! It was another short ride to the small city of Amherst, although I think I remember there being a headwind that day, and I actually had my second flat tire on the way. I lucked out with the location or where it happened. I was in the town of Sackville and very close to a Tim Horton's. So I actually went for a coffee first, then got to work. I was sitting right on the sidewalk outside of the restaurant, and as such had several people ask if I need help. I also had a few older women fascinated by the fact that I could fix my own flat tire, and watched me for a while haha. Anyways, it wasn't too long before my tire was back together and I was on my way again. Knowing that I was on my last couple of nights, and since it looked like it was going to rain that night, I decided to call up my auntie and uncle for the second hotel room they had offered me. I toured around the town a bit in the late afternoon; nothing really caught my eye or jumped out at me.
The next morning I was riding to Truro. It was a bit of a long day, especially compared to the last few days, but because I knew it would be longer it wasn't so bad. Truro was my last night before Halifax and I had someone to stay with there. She actually lived a bit out of town, but worked in town at the hospital and luck for me she had a truck. I rode into town, waited until she got off work and we drove out to her home. It was really nice to not have to camp on my last night; have some company, good food, and actual bed. It's pretty amazing how much I've come to appreciate these things.
My last day of riding...I wasn't really as excited as I thought I would be. In fact it was almost frustrating that day; I think I just wanted to get there. I had also been told that the road from Truro to Halifax was flat. You would think that by this point I would have learned to always question what non-cyclists tell you about the road ahead, but I didn't, and it definitely wasn't flat. It was very windy and a lot of little ups and downs, although it was quite pretty because it was followed many small lakes and eventually the Halifax harbour.
In the late afternoon I arrived right downtown in the main part of the harbour where I met my parents- I was done. It was great to see them, but I wasn't really as excited to be done as I thought I would be. I expected it to be this amazing moment of disbelief, and great accomplishment. It was more like,"okay I'm here, that's done. What are we going to go do now?" We did take a couple celebratory pictures. It was really crowded there though because there was a busker's festival going on for the next few days, so we headed to the hotel to visit and so I could put on something other than cycle/spandex clothes (oh the luxuries I had been missing haha)
My parents had flown into Halifax the day before I got there. After we all got to the hotel we had a really nice evening of catching up and enjoying a celebration dinner. The next few days we basically spent doing the tourist thing: we saw some of the attraction of Halifax, drove out to Peggy's Cove, spent a couple days in Lunenburg- a small touristy town an hour or two away. We came back to Halifax for their last night before flying back to Kelowna. It was an interesting switch in travel styles between my 2.5 months of biking time, a lot of which was by myself, to touring the Halifax area with my parents. It was almost like two different trips.
I'm still here in Halifax for a couple days longer and staying with a friend I made in school in Vancouver. I'm actually flying back to Kelowna tomorrow morning, and the whole thing will be over. This week that I've spent here has definitely been the hottest weather I've experienced all summer.
This is most likely my last blog entry, and I don't really know how to end it. Although maybe there will be one more; it doesn't seem to have hit me yet that I just biked across Canada. I definitely met some amazing people along the way, some of which I'll be in touch with for a while. I really didn't have any bad experiences along the way. Maybe I just lucked out in that aspect, but I like to think it's because we really do live in a beautiful place. Surprisingly there weren't any moments when I questioned whether or not I would succeed, or regret starting the trip. Every moment was worth it. For everyone I've met that's said something like,"I'd like to do something like that one day," please please do.
I'm not sure if everyone has my email address. I know its more difficult to respond to blog sites, so if you have any questions, comments etc, please write me-
rmoxham@hotmail.com
Peace and Love,
Rachel
"Accept your greatness"
Friday, August 21, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Only 5 Days til Halifax!!!
Wow...this trip has flown by...
I last wrote when I was in Quebec City. Leaving there, I wasn't entirely sure where I was headed simply because I had no commitment to be anywhere that evening. Throughout the day I was able to bike right along the St. Lawrence which was beautiful! I also discovered that there was a 2000 person, one week bike tour happening in that area, so there many other bikers around; Some spoke English, some spoke French. I recall that day having great weather, and I ended up in Riviere Ouelle in a campground that was right on the river- again, absolutely gorgeous! That evening there was karaoke as entertainment at the campground, although the majority of it was done by children singing what seemed to be well-known French songs. haha, I was entertained:)
I headed out the next morning, again not exactly sure on where I was going. Unfortunately, I was also starting to feel a bit of a sorethroat. By noon, I had made it to Riviere-du-Loup which was fairly straightforward. The trick about Quebec is that cyclists aren't allowed on the main highways, so finding your way on the side roads and La Route Verte (the cycle routes) can sometimes be a little tricky. That afternoon I found my way in the right direction but it was a lot of jumping around from one road to another to trails etc. At the end of the day I found a small town called St.Honoure. They didn't have a camp ground, but I found a little field with trees to pitch my tent in.
By the following morning my sore throat had turned into more of a cold including a stuffy nose :(, but I packed up and carried on my way, just taking it easy. It was a beautiful, sunny day. To my surprise I actually made it over the New Brunswick border that day (which was also my last time zone change) and into a neat little town of Edmunston. It was here where I found an amazing provincial campground, which had an area specifically for cycle tourists. They had a great park and pool, were close to town and it was only $10 a night! As I was not feeling well I figured this was the perfect place for a rest day, and rest I did. I slept in, and spent the day relaxing in the sun:)
The morning I left Edmunston I wasn't feeling 100%, but I was feeling much better. From there I headed to Grand Falls. The terrain was getting much more hilly again, but I still had beautiful, sunny warm weather and I was in no rush as the distance wasn't too far. Grand Falls certainly holds true to its name. As I rode into downtown, I looked over the bridge and there were spectacular waterfalls which flowed down into the river in a large cannon. My campground wasn't far from the river, and there was a lovely trailed that followed the river upstream towards the falls with several lookout points. (I wish I could post my pictures of that day).
The next day was again sunny and warm, and I was headed to Woodstock. The day was going along well, nothing to eventful, I had just finished eating lunch on the side of the highway, and was off on my way again. Then to my complete surprise my highschool French teacher pulls over to the side of the road!! It was the most bizarre moment! We chatted for a bit, she was going to visit some friends in Muncton. It was great to see her, the surprise certainly made my day :) and it turns out she's set me up with a B&B in Muncton (thank you very much Mme!). That evening, arriving in Woodstock. It was a pretty little town. I spent some time sitting by the river in the sunshine. The campground was right on the river as well, although I was the only tent. All other "campers" were in massive RV's, I stood out a little.
From Woodstock, I made my way to Fredericton. I was still making my way through some big hills, but again it was a beautiful day :) When I arrived in the city, I had a place to stay and was navigating my way there, but then bumped into Dave again! He had arrived the day before from a different route, and was relaxing by the river downtown. We chatted for a while, caught up on each others stories of the past week or so, then I took off as it looked like a storm was coming. I got to my new temporary home just in time!
So that was yesterday. Today I spent the day sleeping in, then I headed downtown. I met up with my cousin, Coralynn and her friend Sam who have been working in St. John for the summer. We went out for lunch the spent the afternoon visiting and relaxing. I am now back at "home." I'll be heading out again tomorrow with only 5 days of riding left, its really hard to believe that its gone so fast!
A lot of people along the way have asked me questions like "what's been the hardest part?" or "Wow, you biked through the Rockies/Northern Ontario! Was that tough?" I always have a difficult time answering these questions because I've realized that I don't and can't think of any part as "hard." The question of how hard anything is, is actually irrelevant. The questions that's important is, "Can I do that?" As long as the answer to that question is Yes, then there's no problem; you just go do it. It doesn't matter how you do it, or if someone else does it "better" than you. You still succeeded. Sometimes, you're not really sure what the answer is, but that doesn't mean "I can't," it means "let's find out."
I'm pretty sure they next time you'll hear from me will be in Halifax! I'm arriving there on the 13th. So if you know anyone who knows anyone who would like to come out and see me finish I'll be biking down to the harbour. I'm not exactly sure what time, but give me an email and I'll let you know on the day of, where abouts I am :)
I last wrote when I was in Quebec City. Leaving there, I wasn't entirely sure where I was headed simply because I had no commitment to be anywhere that evening. Throughout the day I was able to bike right along the St. Lawrence which was beautiful! I also discovered that there was a 2000 person, one week bike tour happening in that area, so there many other bikers around; Some spoke English, some spoke French. I recall that day having great weather, and I ended up in Riviere Ouelle in a campground that was right on the river- again, absolutely gorgeous! That evening there was karaoke as entertainment at the campground, although the majority of it was done by children singing what seemed to be well-known French songs. haha, I was entertained:)
I headed out the next morning, again not exactly sure on where I was going. Unfortunately, I was also starting to feel a bit of a sorethroat. By noon, I had made it to Riviere-du-Loup which was fairly straightforward. The trick about Quebec is that cyclists aren't allowed on the main highways, so finding your way on the side roads and La Route Verte (the cycle routes) can sometimes be a little tricky. That afternoon I found my way in the right direction but it was a lot of jumping around from one road to another to trails etc. At the end of the day I found a small town called St.Honoure. They didn't have a camp ground, but I found a little field with trees to pitch my tent in.
By the following morning my sore throat had turned into more of a cold including a stuffy nose :(, but I packed up and carried on my way, just taking it easy. It was a beautiful, sunny day. To my surprise I actually made it over the New Brunswick border that day (which was also my last time zone change) and into a neat little town of Edmunston. It was here where I found an amazing provincial campground, which had an area specifically for cycle tourists. They had a great park and pool, were close to town and it was only $10 a night! As I was not feeling well I figured this was the perfect place for a rest day, and rest I did. I slept in, and spent the day relaxing in the sun:)
The morning I left Edmunston I wasn't feeling 100%, but I was feeling much better. From there I headed to Grand Falls. The terrain was getting much more hilly again, but I still had beautiful, sunny warm weather and I was in no rush as the distance wasn't too far. Grand Falls certainly holds true to its name. As I rode into downtown, I looked over the bridge and there were spectacular waterfalls which flowed down into the river in a large cannon. My campground wasn't far from the river, and there was a lovely trailed that followed the river upstream towards the falls with several lookout points. (I wish I could post my pictures of that day).
The next day was again sunny and warm, and I was headed to Woodstock. The day was going along well, nothing to eventful, I had just finished eating lunch on the side of the highway, and was off on my way again. Then to my complete surprise my highschool French teacher pulls over to the side of the road!! It was the most bizarre moment! We chatted for a bit, she was going to visit some friends in Muncton. It was great to see her, the surprise certainly made my day :) and it turns out she's set me up with a B&B in Muncton (thank you very much Mme!). That evening, arriving in Woodstock. It was a pretty little town. I spent some time sitting by the river in the sunshine. The campground was right on the river as well, although I was the only tent. All other "campers" were in massive RV's, I stood out a little.
From Woodstock, I made my way to Fredericton. I was still making my way through some big hills, but again it was a beautiful day :) When I arrived in the city, I had a place to stay and was navigating my way there, but then bumped into Dave again! He had arrived the day before from a different route, and was relaxing by the river downtown. We chatted for a while, caught up on each others stories of the past week or so, then I took off as it looked like a storm was coming. I got to my new temporary home just in time!
So that was yesterday. Today I spent the day sleeping in, then I headed downtown. I met up with my cousin, Coralynn and her friend Sam who have been working in St. John for the summer. We went out for lunch the spent the afternoon visiting and relaxing. I am now back at "home." I'll be heading out again tomorrow with only 5 days of riding left, its really hard to believe that its gone so fast!
A lot of people along the way have asked me questions like "what's been the hardest part?" or "Wow, you biked through the Rockies/Northern Ontario! Was that tough?" I always have a difficult time answering these questions because I've realized that I don't and can't think of any part as "hard." The question of how hard anything is, is actually irrelevant. The questions that's important is, "Can I do that?" As long as the answer to that question is Yes, then there's no problem; you just go do it. It doesn't matter how you do it, or if someone else does it "better" than you. You still succeeded. Sometimes, you're not really sure what the answer is, but that doesn't mean "I can't," it means "let's find out."
I'm pretty sure they next time you'll hear from me will be in Halifax! I'm arriving there on the 13th. So if you know anyone who knows anyone who would like to come out and see me finish I'll be biking down to the harbour. I'm not exactly sure what time, but give me an email and I'll let you know on the day of, where abouts I am :)
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