Day 66 St. Louis de Kent to Murray Beach, New Brunswick

100.5 miles, 1950 ft ascent, yet another Imperial Century!

 

Today was a wonderful day for cycling.  The weather was great with temperatures in the 70sF, and the scenery along the Atlantic coast was gorgeous.  We had a crosswind all day, due to sea breezes close to the coast, with the wind outbound toward the ocean all morning and inland from the ocean in the afternoon.

I am starting to think like a Canadian cyclist relative to carrying extra clothing in case the weather changes for the worst.  The weather prediction was for fair weather, but I carried my rain jacket in a handlebar bag anyway.  Mid-morning the sky began to look like rain, and I was happy that I had packed the jacket "just in case."  Every Canadian carried more bad weather gear than I did.  It's their insurance policy.

Some say that this Acadian flag in Saint-Louis de Kent is the largest of its kind in the world.

 

 
 

This river flowing into the Atlantic ocean is one of many on the coast of new Brunswick.  Often there is a town or village on the river.

 

 

As we rode along the Atlantic coast, we came upon this RV campground, where the RVs were jammed in tightly.

In some cases, an RV formed the central part of a summer home or even a permanent residence after additions to the central vehicle.

We noted a number of these structures floating in a bay on the Atlantic.  They are being used for some kind of aquaculture.  There were many of these near Bouctouche.  I am guessing they are raising mussels.

This parked truck seemed to confirm my speculation about mussels.

This picture is typical of the roadway on the Atlantic Coast where we rode today.

A cafe decorated with Acadian imagery.

The Big Lobster in Shediac.  Please note the flags.  The one on the left is the flag of New Brunswick.  The center one is that of Canada, and the one on the right is the flag of Acadia.  While in New Brunswick, I have seen 100 times more Acadian flags than either New Brunswick or Canadian flags.  It is obvious where the hearts of the Acadian people beat.

This beach sign as well as the telephone pole are decorated like the Acadian flag.

Houses on the Atlantic Ocean may be as inexpensive here as anywhere in North America.  If you would like to move here and fit in, you would need to learn to speak French and have, or somehow acquire,  an Acadian heritage.

 

This salt marsh was a mosquito breeding ground.  The mosquitoes here are ferocious blood suckers!  I say that with authority, because I was raised in Minnesota, where the mosquito is the state bird.  The MN species does not hold a candle to these Canadian vampires! Before visiting Canada, purchase insect repellent (I like that with Icaridin), and maybe also a high tech anti-mosquito device.

After another Imperial Century ride, we arrived at our campground.  Murray Beach on the Atlantic is right in front of our campsite. There is a band of rocks beyond the beach, but  walking out, I found that there is sand beyond the rocks.

 

This fellow enjoyed a refreshing dip in the Atlantic, then ventured out about fifty yards from shore to stand on a sandbar and pose for a photo with Murray Beach in the background.  

You are invited to return tomorrow to see whether this guy made it back to his tent before being consumed by Canadian mosquitoes.