East Coast Tour - Day 11

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 - St. John, NB - 90 km

Had breakfast served to us in the B&B and got on the road about 08:30, leaving us about seven hours to ride to the ferry. We took the 1 to Bridgetown, and then switched to the 201 which we took all the way to the end. The day started off gray but warm, and quickly changed to sunny and hot. The road to Bear River was very hilly which I enjoyed but Katharina did not. I rode ahead up the hills and then waited on the top and read my book until she showed up. We stopped at a winery along here, and tried several of their wines. I did not particularly like any of them, but Katja liked a white one which we bought a bottle for Stephanie and Matt who were providing our accomodations tonight. We had a quick lunch on the porch at the winery and then descended a crazy steep hill into Bear River where I far exceeded the 50 km/h speed limit. We crossed the river, which was the reason we had to travel so far south and I inquired at the post office which was the best route to Digby. The friendly woman told me that following along the river was flatter and nicer then the direct route which goes over a mountain. The bike ride from here was nice until the final aproach to Digby, where there is only a freeway. A really bad rail trail for ATVs carried us into town which we then just followed the signs to the Ferry terminal. The last few km was beautiful along the Annapolis Basin. We arrived at the ferry at 14:30, and relaxed for a while until it arrived. We boarded first, along with a sole motorcyclist, and went upstairs. The ferry was full of cars and trucks, but void of people. The ride lasted three hours and we enjoyed the clear views. Arriving in St. John, we were then first off and sped ahead to beat the traffic. Very steep hills awaited our trip through the city and we switched on the lights as it was getting dark. Arrived at Matt and Stephanie's and got settled for the night.

Biking through the wilderness towards Bear River.