In a certain number of Bugs Bunny cartoons, the Rabbit emerges from having dug his way to the locale and consults a map. Typically, it isn’t where he intended to go and he says something similar to: “I knew I should have taken that left turn in Albuquerque.” I got to where I was planning, but the route wasn’t the one intended, at least by Google Maps!
I left Edmundston by New Brunswick Highway 144. This had its moment in the sun as New Brunswick Highway 2 a.k.a. The Trans-Canada Highway, portion thereof. Nowadays, it much content itself as being part of the Great Trail. As in common with many highways superseded by superhighways, it makes an agreeable bike route, with broad shoulders, minimal grades and an absence of through traffic, particularly large trucks.
It has artifacts of a sort from its previous incarnation. Old, disused service stations and motels. There was one expanse of asphalt on my side that had clearly had some important function in the past but was now partially overgrown. I have a theory that it had been a weigh station. It set me thinking about how Fort Ingall had been all but forgotten. Will people a hundred years from now excavate the site?
I made Grand Falls in reasonable time. I spent some time admiring said falls and reflecting that I definitely didn’t want to zip line across and back. The latter is less a non sequitur than you might think as there are zip lines across the gorge at that point to allow people who are so inclined to do just that. Given that I am a bit acrophobic, I was not so inclined! Consequently, I declined the inclines of the zip lines even though they were fine.
Grand Falls is the place where the St-John River ceases to be the border with the States. The current Trans-Canada crosses over the Western shore there. However, as my destination in Perth-Andover was on the Eastern Shore, I took Highway 105 down the St-John River. I quickly realized that Google Maps intended me to have taken the other shore as the 105 wasn’t a highway like the 144. It was a country road. It didn’t even had lines painted on, though this may be because it seems to have been in the process of being resurfaced with tar and gravel. However, it was flat for the moment, had a good surface and was quiet. I knew that it led to Perth Andover and I didn’t want to go back through Grand Falls. So I took it.
It was a nice road through the back country with small farms and cabins hither and yon. Through the cool but bright sunshine, I rolled on, eating up the kilometres.
The following paragraph should not be read by or mentioned to Pappy.
Near Tilley, a shepherd dog of some description decided I needed herding. I am not sure of breed. It looked like a large border collie on the longer coat end of the scale except that it was white and brownish red. It ran out and tried to stare me down. When I kept rolling, it ran into the field beside me and tried to get in front of me to cut me off. I was very impressed with his turn of speed as he was keeping in front me even though I was rolling at about 30 km/h! (There was a slight downhill.) After a kilometre or two, we came to a hill so I necessarily slowed down allowing him to get in front and turn to stare me into submission. I explained to him: “Sorry, but I am not a sheep.” He wasn’t impressed. Then a car going in the other direction came along. The driver got out and said “Sitka, you’re a bad boy.” He tried to get Sitka into the car through commands but eventually picked up the dog and put him in the backseat. I mentioned to him that I was impressed that he kept up with him at 30 km/h! However, he wasn’t interested in me or maybe he was just too annoyed by the dog.
About that point, the 105 became somewhat hilly, particularly after entering the Tobique First Nation. Still, there was a wonderful downhill ending in a run across a power dam which was truly “whee” moment.
After supper, I found out there was a decent section of the Great Trail between Grand Falls and Perth-Andover that I missed, but que sera, sera. This way, I got the dog story.
So, luck of the Rabbit.
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