Day 10 – Grand Falls to de la Republic, NB
We had a good start to the day, rolling out around 10am from our luxury splurge on a motel in Grand Falls. It was nice to start the day with cold milk on cereal. We headed out of Grand Falls, spotting an older couple on their bikes, with the man carrying significantly more gear than the woman. We rode down the old highway, through many small, French speaking towns. The scenery was nice, although nothing too exciting, the road was in good shape and the hills reasonable. The wind was another matter entirely, blowing strongly out of the Northwest…exactly the direction we were heading. It was a lesson in riding into a headwind…more for Adam than me, since I have long viewed the wind as a training aid for triathlons.
We stopped for a quick break at what appeared to be a gas station/restaurant, but it was closed down. It looked to be in good shape, so we are not sure what happened there. It was the only stop for miles so it should have done good business. I was pretty desparetely looking for a washroom so I headed up the hill to see if the motel would let me use theirs. From a distance, this place looked well cared for, with chairs outside the rooms and flowers planted. The blinds were all drawn and there was a van from Quebec parked outside. When I approached the entrance; however, I noticed a sign pointing to Rodney’s room beside the entrance. I started climbing the steps and noticed reflective paw prints in them, then looked up and saw Halloween decorations everywhere! There were goblins and witches and goasts. The final straw was a picture of a Frankinstein monster on the door beside a sign that said open. Suddenly no longer needing to go, I hightailed it out of there. It was like a scene from a Scream movie. Adam came up the hill after and he agreed. The rest of the day was mundane, with a quick stop for lunch in Saint-Leonard, beside their outdoor hockey arena.
As we headed into Edmunston, we met Daniel, a cyclist from Ottawa who had travelled from Vancouver since May 16th. He was averaging 150kms/day and had lost 14 pounds on his trip. He has been travelling around on his bike every summer for the last 17 years, since he retired. His plan was to head to St John’s, then back to Ottawa to join another trip August 6th. He gave us some awesome tips on free places to stay along the route. He also told us about how difficult Northern Ontario was going to be and suggested the best route to us. He was quite a character and would only let us photograph his bike and trailer “Jack and Bob”.
We stopped at Price Chopper for food and headed to de la Republique Provincial Park. Adam met a couple on the street who had also cycled across Canada some years ago. Despite the language barrier they managed to havea a quick chat. The campground was amazing, with bicycle only tenting for $10/night. The bicycle sites were down a little path and came with racks. Spagetti for dinner and another day was done. Just as we finished dinner, the older cyclists we had seen in Grand Falls pulled in to the same camping area and we had a quick chat with them. Off to Quebec tomorrow!
Trip Around The World 
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