Day 24 of the Share the Road, Share the Ride Conga

Day 24

I met Michael, the German Tourist that has been riding with me for breakfast and he told me he would ride with me as far as Moncton but that he was headed to Baddeck on the Cabot Trail and the Cabot Trail Campground. Apparently the owners are German and offer very affordable rates for camping and the Ratman likes his camping! 

I told him my plans for visiting the Grand Falls in the day as the last time I was through – I only saw the falls at night. Then I wanted to see the covered bridge in Heartland and visit Outback Joe's in Woodstock and have lunch there. Final destination of the day for me was in Moncton at the Marriott Hotel.

We rode over to the falls only to be disappointed as the dam gates were being worked on but none the less enjoyed the view of the gorge.

In 2010 a Zip Lining company called Zip Zag had started up and were offering you the opportunity to really experience the gorge by literally flying over it at up to 45 Kms per hour! The entire tour takes about 1 hour for a cost of CAD $35.40 + Tax.

Check them out at: http://zipzag.ca/

Now I am terrified of heights but this, this looked like fun and I may have to consider trying it at some point, it just won’t be this trip! 

Here is the link to the Zip Lining Video I took:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O6Bs1Hok6o

We left the Zip lining area and rode through Grand Falls; it is such a pretty city. The next stop was Heartland and the covered bridge.

The town of Heartland represents its name very well. Nestled in a gorgeous valley, the town makes you feel like you were back at the turn of the century.

The Shopping Centre

The Hartland Bridge

The Hartland Bridge is the longest covered bridge in the world and was originally opened on July 4, 1901, the 1,282 foot (390.75 m) bridge is a national historic site and was covered as part of major repairs to it that took place in 1921, the pedestrian walkway was added in 1945.

Hartland is also home to several famous politicians including Hugh John Flemming and Richard Hatfield; two of the provinces former premiers. A renowned poet, Alden Nowlan, made Hartland his home for several years!

For more information on Hartland and the Longest Covered Bridge visit their web site:

http://www.town.hartland.nb.ca/index.htm

I had been given a tip by one of the riders I met at a gas station to try the back highway to Woodstock and so, back highway it was! We took the 103 to Woodstock instead of the new four lane Trans Canada Highway. The gent was right too – what a wonderful curvy and hilly ride this was!

I have some video of this side road that I will post when I get all my videos edited...

We arrived in Woodstock and sought out Outback Joe’s Tattoo Shop.
After getting the tour of the shop, Joe recommended a great river side pub for Ratman and I to have lunch at. I had the fish special – pickerel no less! Man was that ever a treat!

Outback Joe in his Tattoo and Piercing shop

The view from the deck of the pub we had lunch at - The Riverside Pub

What a gorgeous town

You can check out Joe's shop at:  678 Main St, Woodstock, NB E7M 2C8  Phone 506-328-8287

Following Joe’s recommendation we took 105 to Fredericton instead of staying on the Trans Canada – thanks for the map Joe!  There were a few tricks to getting to the 105 but man oh man what a sweet stretch of road!  Once I have some time to edit some video, I will post a video here as wel. The roads were wonderful, so pretty that words just don't do them justice!

Once through Fredericton, I was destined for the Marriott Hotel and Ratman – Michael Schreoder of Germany was off to Baddeck on the Cabot Trail…we wished each other a safe journey and I called Stephanie to let her know I had arrived.  It was a bad day to arrive in Moncton with all of the preparations for the upcoming U2 Concert. Traffic was very heavy and so it was decided that we would get together with Brian Stuart, special surprise – I got to see Mark Vale, Mark used to be a member of the Bike Club but now that he’s out of school he now works at Toy’s for Boys Harley-Davidson in Moncton.  

 

I was happy to see the young fella! We ate at the restaurant right across from the hotel. It’s a rather funny place to eat at. If you want to sit out on the deck, you kind of have to stock the other patrons to scoop their seats – they don’t believe in a waiting line or list – first come first served – made for an interesting evening.

While we ate supper and visited – we also made plans for my return trip. I would ride with the local HOG Chapter to a small place just outside of Moncton. 

The wonderful living area of the room at the Marriott Residence

The KICK butt kitchen!

A really, really comfortable bed

The room at the Marriott had me feeling like a rock star! 
What a place, the bed was HUGE and comfortable, the kitchen was wonderful, I had picked up a few snacks and decided I would make myself a night time snack and settled in to watch the news on the big screen TV!

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