a cycle-ogical travel-osophy

07-20-2004, 02:42 PM

I don't blog; don't have a home page. So I thought I'd post a travelogue of
my vacation. It was a cycling trip so it's actually on topic.

I will post it in [hopefully] readable day-sized chunks.

Unless a mass of respected newsgroup regulars rise up in revolt I will
assume that most do find it appropriate:

My vacation is over. I biked along the Fundy coast and the South shore in a
horseshoe shaped route.
This will be the definitive account of the trip

'A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step' -Chinese
Proverb

Days 1 - 2 [Guelph - Truro] Distance: 36 km [Not counting the train]

I took the train from Southern Ontario to Truro. The scenery up until
Montreal was unexciting. After that there was some very picturesque parts
along the Gaspe and New Brunswick. Evening past Montreal made for a
beautiful sunset over the St Lawrence River. Dawn in New Brunswick featured
some impressive scenic forest with mist boiling off wilderness rivers.

I have to say if I'd do it again I'd definitely get the sleeper compartment,
though. Sleeping in economy just didn't cut it.

Anyways; arriving in Truro in the mid-afternoon I get my bike together and
take it out for a shake out ride - make sure everything is right with it.

I stumble upon Victoria Park. I must say I'm impressed with what the...
Truronians? have done with it. Numerous hilly paths, well maintained with
bridges and other named points like Jacobs Ladder. Bug spray is definitely
recommended in season and time of day but a collection of truly pleasing
wooded trails.

Nothing serious seemed to have fallen off the bike and after a couple minor
adjustments I declare the shake out ride a success.

I'm killing time until the tidal bore arrives. The 'bore' is a standing wave
that forms as the tides push upriver, in effect reversing the flow of the
river.I must say I was expecting something spectacular - like a Hollywood
f/x movie. It wasn't _quite_ that but it was pretty kewl watching the red
mudbanks fill up with the oncoming tide. It probably moved at a brisk
walking pace up the Salmon River. There are rubber rafting excursion to ride
the tidal bore. I guess there are spots and times when the bore is more
dramatic.

I scoop up a bit of the red Fundy mud as a souvenir. I plan on a few other
such keepsakes.

I sup at a local restaurant that bills itself as having the best seafood in
the world. [They wouldn't lie about something like that would they?] It was
quite good. One other goal I had on this trip was to stuff myself with
seafood - something that is lacking in quality in Ontario. I don't usually
eat desert but this place trumpets homemade pies. I try the coconut cream.
Probably 5 billion calories but delicious!

I notice certain down east hospitality in people that seems missing from
Southern Ontario - they're to urban, too cosmopolitan for such things. I
notice the first tinges of Nova Scotia accent. Not quite my accent - lost
from my speech over the decades - as this is a different region but close...
After exploring the streets of Truro a bit I go to bed early so as to get an
early start the next day.

--
'If I seem unduly clear to you
you must have misunderstood what I said'
-alan greenspan