Detours, gravel roads and ATV trails are sure to add a bit of excitement to an already great ride.
With limited time and the constraints of the pandemic lingering, we decided to stay north of the U.S. border for our September ADV trip. Once the Suzuki V-Stroms were loaded on the trailer, we departed midday on our 10-hour drive from Ontario to the Maritime region. Launching from Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac, Quebec, near the New Brunswick border, our route would focus on crisscrossing the province of N.B., with a brief visit to Summerside, Prince Edward Island, to visit some friends.
We arrived at the Quebec hotel just before the front desk staff would be closing for the evening and quickly checked in. Day one of our eight day bike trip would find us unloading the bikes, packing our gear and leaving early morning while tolerating a steady, heavy drizzle as we explored gravel and secondary paved roads with our destination of Miramichi 350 kilometres away.
It’s All Part of the Experience
As fellow motorcyclists can attest, riding in wet conditions is not favourable, but you try to convince yourself it’s fine with thoughts like, “Well it could be raining harder than this,” or, “I think the skies are getting brighter ahead,” in order to motivate yourself to reach your destination. The day would include some of those thoughts along with a stop for a hot lunch to get out of the rainy conditions for a while.
Once we were dry and re-energized, we were back on the bikes riding east through the province. We couldn’t help but notice how sparsely populated N.B. was, as the traffic was practically non-existent, forests were thick and expansive, and the limitless choice of gravel roads made us grin in our helmets as we traversed the rolling countryside past Mount Carleton Provincial Park and numerous protected natural areas.
Our persistence paid off with the rain and wet conditions giving way as we arrived at the great Miramichi River and the town which had inherited the same name. As one who occasionally likes to fish regardless of success, I understood the mystique of this river and what it meant to the many fly fishermen who have made the pilgrimage every year to land trophy Atlantic salmon.
Nicer Weather
The next morning we were greeted with dry, sunny conditions and warmer temperatures as we began loading our bikes. Today we would leave the quaint town of Miramichi and take an expedited route on pavement with some gravel to quell the need to follow the road less travelled. We were on our way to PEI to visit with friends which required a Covid…
