September 2, 2010
With the heat wave not letting up, we were on our bikes very early the next morning to try and get into Fredericton before mid-day. Continuing along highway 105, we rode next to the St. John's river and enjoyed every bit of shade offered up by the trees that lined the highway. We arrived into Fredericton before noon and enjoyed a lunch next to City Hall.
En route to Fredericton. Not a cloud in the sky.
We spent a couple of hours in Fredericton that afternoon in the hopes that the local news would stop by for an interview. Unfortunately with election drama hogging the spotlight, they were not able to make it out to meet with us. As we relaxed in the shade, Mel and Mary explored the local shops, and we enjoyed a local fiddle group playing the hottest tunes across the street.
With another 30 km or so to go, we had escaped the worst heat of the day and around 3:00 p.m. were ready to hit the road once again. As we were getting ready to go, a local Frederictonian stopped by Lois to learn about Pedaling Feat and offer her support and a donation. She wondered how we were fairing in the extreme heat as it was making her ill just to be outside. This became the topic of conversation as we rode our way through the heat wave. How did we do it? We followed three survival techniques...
1. Drink lots of WATER. And have lots ice cubes ready, placed strategically to cool while riding.
2. Take numerous BREAKS in the shade. Sometimes we would stop on people`s front lawns, because we just couldn`t make it any further.
3. Do not use the word HOT. The more it was talked about, the worse it seemed. So we removed the word HOT from our vocabulary (or tried our best to)!
Ready to ride in the afternoon sun, Mary maneuvered Lois out of the downtown parking lot(geared towards smaller, more agile vehicles - no offense Lois) while the parking attendant watched on, and we were off!...
Resting and waiting in Fredericton, NB!
Our rest spot. Next to the fountain.
Pedaling Feat at Fredericton City Hall.
Our goal that afternoon was to make it another 30 to 40 km, so that our last few riding days were manageable (especially with Earl menacing our finish line). Fortunately, the heat had really let up, there was a wonderful breeze, a tail wind and lots of shade along the way. We ended up flying through another 50 km (for a total of 120 km) and ended our ride in Jemseg, NB as it was nearing dinner time.
We drove back to the Delta Fredericton, our sponsor for the evening (yay!). We enjoyed a dip in the refreshing outdoor pool and ate a quick bite at the restaurant where we were visited by Mel's aunt Sandra, before passing out in bed after trying hopelessly to update our blog!
In the pool after a long day in the sunshine!
The view from the pool patio. Hello Fredericton!
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