Day 3, July 21st

Had tons of sleep so at 6am, the bike was loaded up and I was ready to go. I took highway 132 down to New Brunswick. It was nice countryside down the 132 and enjoyed the rolling hills and the small towns I went through.

Got into NB through Campbellton via the bridge there. I should have stopped there and taken a few pics, but i guess i was antsy to get going. I drove by the world's largest salmon and didn't see a place neareby to park. maybe next time.

I took the 134, and it was the roughest road i'd taken in a while. I stopped after just a few minutes of riding for a smoke, and spoke to a local there. He said we were in for a lot of rain and the clouds looked very dismal. I didn't put on my rain gear as i figured i could go for a little while without it and wouldn't get wet. I jumped back on the bike and less than 2 mins it started pouring. I pulled over and got the gear on in time before i got too wet.

I kept on the 134 until Bathurst where along the coastline it turns into the 11. I started getting hungry and I saw a Dixie Lee fried chicken place in Grande-Anse. I've seen these around ontario and quebec/NB but there aren't any around Ottawa. Pretty odd since there's not much in the area except for a few gas stations and churches. All I can say is GROSS. It's like KFC, but not as good. Live and learn as they say.

Went down and finally got a look at the coast line in NB. It was odd, but in the northern NB, there aren't many places to pull over for photo ops, and there is a lot of land between the road and the water. All farms and private property.

Continuing on the 11, I drove past the Historic Acadian village in Caraquet, NB. I wasn't very interested so I kept riding. I did stop in at a Timmies for a coffee in Caraquet, and spoke to another solo rider (denis) on his way to Newfoundland, from sudbury. he was trekking on a Vstrom and last year he went from Sudbury to Alaska. neato. same kinda thing I want to do.

best way to save money he said was to camp a lot.

Staying on the 11, before Miramichi, I almost hit a dog running across the road. stupid dog. Almost ran over a chipmunk a little later. stupid animals. also saw a peregrin falcon flying overhead me at one point. neato.

I decided to get down to Shediac and get a room for the night since it was getting late in the day and I was getting a bit tired. took the 11/134 to Shediac and near Kouchibouguac (national park) a young black bear ran across the road in front of me. luckily I saw him in plenty of time and slowed down. I didn't have to slow down much as that damn bear moved fast.

note to self: don't run away from bears.

Finally made it to Shediac and had to take a picture of the world's largest lobster. Got a room at a motel and took a little evening/night ride down some back roads to Moncton. Not much open at night in that town. heh.

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