July 23, 2024. Day 4, Houlton, Maine to Florenceville-Bristol, NB.



  Jim fell asleep last night very early— the cold was dragging him down.  Breakfast was supposed to be available at 630 but the person slept In and got there about 730 just as we were leaving. (We did eat some bagels we had when it didn’t open) We were a little anxious as the chance of rain started to increase after 8, so just grabbed some muffins and fruit to take along with us and left. We got a few miles down the road then light sprinkles started, then eventually light rain, enough that the rain coats came out of the panniers.  Jim failed at being a  loving husband as was upset by how long it took us to leave as was worried about the rain.  Looking at how broad the rain was on our ride do not think leaving earlier would have kept us dry. 
  We crossed the border east of Monticello ME.  This is a very quiet crossing; we didn’t see any cars for 3 miles before the crossing and about 1 mile after, and spent about 10 minutes at border—most of it using the bathroom and asking travel questions rather than them questioning us a lot. 
Canadian Side of Border 
  Both in Maine & in New Brunswick we saw lots of potato fields.  We found out Florenceville is the
“French fry capital of the world” and toured a potato museum.  We also had lunch there and ordered a “French fry charcuterie” which included 2 different types of  fries and 6 different dipping sauces, and even a had a potato smoothie!   

    When we had Kay’s bike worked on at the bike shop in Halifax, they didn’t have fenders in stock that would fit the bike. Jim had made a rear fender for it earlier out of pieces of a plastic jug. We now stopped at a hardware as Jim had an idea for making a front fender.  The clerk charged us 1.32 for a bracket we got, but spent 25 to 30 minutes finding scrap material for Jim to use.  He seemed to have as much fun as Jim in trying to solve the puzzle! Jim tried hard to tip him but he would not take it.   
Helpful clerk at hardware store

Comments

  1. Kallie SpidahlAugust 17, 2024 at 10:22 AM

    Bike touring makes me realize that there are so many kind, generous people out there. Thanks for sharing! Also, french fries always taste *the best* after a big day of bike touring :D Cheers from Kallie and Andrew Spidahl

    ReplyDelete

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