A Close Second

Day 80. Grand Falls to Woodstock. 77 mi. 5002 miles TTD. 2140 ft elevation. The weather was warm with a little headwind.

New Brunswick is quickly becoming the second-best place in Canada to bike. By the end of my time here, it might even take Quebec’s first place position.

Today, I had a trail from Grand Falls almost to my motel in Woodstock. Not only was it a fairly good trail, but it was also beautiful. If I wasn’t next to the St John River, I was in beautiful farmland for over 70 miles. It was literally one of those days when I wondered why I was so fortunate and wished every one of my loved ones and friends were with me so they could enjoy this amazing place.

I realize it’s weird to take pictures of bathrooms, but when you’re from Pueblo, where all the bathrooms are locked or destroyed, a clean bathroom with flush toilets in a public area is astounding and worth a picture.

The small towns scattered along the trail were not just clean but incredibly attractive. The pavilion in the picture above is just a park at the edge of town. The flowers could have been in the Botanical Gardens in Denver, but they were literally just part of a public park. The picnic tables didn’t have graffiti. In fact, you could probably eat off of them.

I stopped for lunch at a lookout donated by a friend. It was in honor of someone who had passed away. Between those postsis glass, and the wood decking is shaped like a maple leaf. There were two nice benches to sit on. I enjoyed my lunch comfortably looking out over the St John River. Again, no graffiti, and the benches are clean and well-kept.

When I wandered off the trail into the town of Hartland to find a convenience store, I happened upon the longest Covered Bridge in the world. That’s what the sign says over the bridge, and I’m going with it. I considered riding through it, but it was a single Lane, and even the cars going in opposite directions seemed to be struggling to determine whose turn it was at any given time.

When I reached the outskirts of Woodstock, I was on the east side of the river and had to cross a bridge to reach the town on the west side. This is looking back up the St John River that I just came down.