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We’re not sure what it is about capital cities, but each time we hit one it seems to start raining. Okay, we’ve only been in two yet — Quebec and now Fredericton — but maybe we’ll avoid them from now on! For anyone who thought cycling around the world was a glamourous job, just picture yourself soaked through from the rain, having biked 60km up some pretty big hills, and now paying for expensive coffee to try and get warmed up again. Before the rain started though we did continue to enjoy some beautiful scenery, including views over the St John river and local wildlife. Three deers crossed the road in front of us on Tuesday and we have seen a lot of herons on the river, a few loons and flocks of Canada Geese flying overhead in their ‘v’ formations. We’ve also had some success trying wild camping out, first at the Grand Falls tourist bureau (possibly not the best choice) and second in the forested grounds of the Beechwood power plant, which had the advantage of being beside a running stream where we could wash ourselves and our clothes. It’s a simple existence but enjoyable nonetheless. We start the home stretch tomorrow, towards Sackville, hoping to reach home on Sunday night.

A bit of a short day for us, as we were headed to stay with a friend in Fredericton, New Brunswick’s capital city. And a good thing too as the rain didn’t leave us for most of the day. We thought we’d escaped early in the morning.

There was no mist on the tent all — first time in ages that’s happened — and the skies were clear. But by breakfast time the clouds had started to roll in and we had rain all the way to Mactaquac, about 30 kilometers down the road. Thankfully our rain gear kept us dry and proved its worth once again.

The hills were tamer too and that helped our spirits. We made quite good time on the flats and on some fantastic downhills, reaching 50km/hour on one. Much faster and we start to put on the brakes, thinking that fast on a bike can’t be a good thing if it goes wrong!

Just outside Mactaquac we picked up the NB trail again, giving it a third chance to prove itself. Must be the ‘capital city’ effect because despite the rain this part of the trail was in quite good shape — flat, well surfaced, and even a few picnic tables! It took a while to get into Fredericton but we rolled in during the afternoon and set up camp in our friend’s apartment, which she’s kindly let us take over, bicycles and all. Spent the evening eating, playing games and finally got to bed at 1am. Slept on an air mattress, which feels like luxury!

Our first cloudy day in ages dawned, but at least it wasn’t raining. The cool day was in some ways a bit of a relief from the constant heat, although the headwinds weren’t quite so welcome. We started what was probably the hilliest day of our tour yet.

It started out flat from Woodstock but quickly went uphill, then downhill, then up again, then down again…. our thighs were quite sore after just a couple hours of this! The bonus was seeing three deer cross the deserted road in front of us and great views of the river below.

Coming to the end of the 165 from Woodstock, we had to go on to the Trans Canada highway, but luck was on our side. Instead of tangoing with trucks and cars zipping past, we were able to nip on to a new highway they’re building but which is not quite open yet. Perfect for us though and we had four lanes all to ourselves, much to the surprise of the few construction workers on the road!

After a few kilometers of that, we crossed back over the river to Nackawic, a small town which thinks it’s big. “Shopping mall” the sign at the entrance to the town boasted. “Picnic Area”. “Two banks”. “World’s biggest axe”. How could we ignore this bustling metropolis??! In we went to the little town, which is really barely bigger than a village, and had lunch by what was indeed the world’s biggest axe. Carrying on after lunch, any hopes that the hills might be over were quickly dispelled. Instead, they became more frequent and steeper than before. We were stopping every few minutes to rest, our task made all the harder because the sun came out and it was once again a good 25 degrees.

Still, we keep reminding ourselves that even when the going is a bit tough, we could be sitting at our desks and there is no doubt that being outside, taking on a challenge you really relish beats the office every time!

Great Bear campground showed itself just in time. This time of year we were the only people there and so we got river views all to ourselves as we settled down for more of our books and supper.