It rained buckets on Saturday, so we did some shopping and hung out with family which was cool, but Sunday was supposed to be all about riding, or would have been had we gone to bed at a proper time like good little children. Nope, I was up late watching movies and CLine didn't sleep well at all, so a day long ride off Island was scrapped in favour of something local, and we decided that we'd locate the PEI's best Fish and Chips, which according to Tripadvisor is either Richard's up at Covehead Wharf in Stanhope PE, or Rick's Fish n' Chips up in St Peters Bay and we'd been up that way last weekend, so off to Covehead it was...
Parked along the Gulf Shore Parkway
But first CLine and I needed a Sunday morning boost so a coffee at McDonalds was in order, but the power was out that side of the river, so we had to go farther afield over to the Tim Horton's where we ran into Troy from the Red Isle Riders who was out and about.
Charlottetown to Brackley Beach and Return - 96 km
Mmmm. Morning coffee and a sandwich set me up nicely and off we went taking the long way up to Mount Stewart. It can be an entertaining road, and sees less traffic than the alternate, Saint Peters Road. Besides, there are more roundabouts on that road, and if you ride a motorcycle an empty roundabout can be a thing of beauty.
They open at 12 so expect the lunchtime lineup
It was a wonderful day to be out and about albeit quite windy.
If you search for it in Google Maps or similar you can find my review of it there. I'm trying to find something on the island that meets or exceeds that of the Fish n'Chips offered at the Boathouse Restaurant in Alma New Brunswick.
And I'm still searching... :)
The stools are made out of gas fittings, and CLine counted 31 fittings employed.
The Gulfshore Parkway is beautiful, and if you aren't going to stop and take pictures, no park admission pass is required.
But who can resist taking pictures?
So it was a short Sunday run with an awesome nap to follow all that feasting. :D
Charlottetown PE to Alma NB and Return - 522 km, 6 hours, 42 minutes
We chatted up riding a lot harder and further on Friday night to find that we would rather set our sights a wee bit lower and enjoy the ride than to turn the one day with a decent forecast into a "Dawn to Dusk" rally as the weather just isn't quite there yet. Call me lazy, I'm alright with that. In fact, I embrace it. :)
So instead of a ten hour ride to St. Martins New Brunswick and return, we opted for a shorter ride to Alma NB for lunch, and then a bunch of highway back so we could be sitting on the couch with out feet up that evening. :D
And so it was, we woke up at 0600 and slapped the snooze bar again and again...
CLine and I making our way across the Confederation Bridge...
Stopping to strip off yet another layer...
When the day starts off below 4 degrees Celsius then climbs up to 16 degrees for a day time high, you are going to need to dress in layers, and wear everything when you start. As the day got warmer, we stopped and shed layers. This seemed to be the practice all day long.
Riding along NB 114 along Shepody Bay, Fundy
The highest tidal falls in the world take place here, and at low tide you can see a scar of mud where streams and rivers carve their way out into the bay.
The last five kilometres are a real joy to ride as you wind your way into the town of Alma proper.
Caroline heading into Alma New Brunswick (She chose the tune... :D )
CLine & RottenRonnie - Photo credit CLine
Why are we here? Oh yeah, roads and lunch.
Fundy National Park of Canada takes you up and over the hills with a few laid back switchbacks then down through Mechanic Settlement and back out to the Trans Canada 1 that could take you back to Moncton and the Island
Classic cars?
The objective here isn't to scrape a peg, but to have a blast and refrain from grounding a peg.
The ground clearance on the 2004 Honda Shadow is quite low, and CLine has more of a problem choosing a good entry speed and line into a corner so she DOESN'T grind her pegs/floorboards mid corner.
And that's about it for the sweet corners...
New Brunswick roads are a crapshoot this time of year, especially before the road crews can get out and patch winter damage. Take it easy for some of these holes could set you back a tow truck and a damaged rim.
895 just south of TC 1 at Anagance NB
We opted to stay off the 1 as long as possible, so crossed over on 114 then took Portage Vale road as it was heading roughly North East, then 895 North until we hit the Trans Canada and hoofed it into Moncton where we had a date with a full Costco parking lot.
So does this count as "Off road"?
CLine lost me in the parking lot of Costco. My excuse is that I had to find us a spot, and I found a "pulley throughey" up close to the doors, but I'm a mere wean at 6' and she couldn't see me over all the trucks and SUV's in the lot. It was quite the conversation over the Cardo Scala G4s for a few minutes there...
"Costco on a motorcycle. Guaranteed to be a cheap stop."
CLine had a bit of a laugh at herself over on Facebook, as did her friends who asked her to pick up some cat litter on the way home. As it was, we grabbed a package of medium freezer bags, her favourite frozen chinese dumplings, a couple sets of merino wool socks for ladies, and some computer reading glasses, a his and hers set. Most of that fit nicely in my stuff sack, rok strapped to the back seat of the Versys for the trip home, while she refused to let the dumplings out of her sight and tossed them into her cargo pack. I can change dear, honest I can.
955NB on our way to Murray Corner NB
If you are coming to the Island from Moncton, skip much of 15 and 16 by jumping onto NB 955 just East of Shemogue and ride through Murray Corner and hop back onto 16 just before the bridge back to the Island. You will not only have a nice little ride down some curvy back roads, but beat much of the traffic and the 16 wheelers that hog 16, and are no doubt following someone's gran who is afraid of hitting moose out of season so drives 20 kph under the posted limit. *sigh* Yes, that is how you get to and from the Island. Either race car fast, or painfully slow, and it seems to be in direct proportion to the duration of natural light. ie, Summer vs Winter.
CLine rocking Cadman Corner on the 955
We ended up back out on 16 just seconds ahead of the conga line of trucks and tourists all bound for the Red Isle, beat them onto the bridge, then stopped for fuel and a cuppa coffee on the other side at the Borden-Carleton Esso.
The bridge awaits!
CLine has the bridge to herself for a few moments
Once back home we both agreed that we'd had a wonderful day, but tomorrow's forecast called for 100% chance of rain, and 0% chance of morning alarms.
