Day 35

June 16 - 141km (Rothesay)

In the morning, when debating where to go, I saw St. John on the map. It was 160km away and my initial reaction was that there was no way I was making that. My previous best distance was 95km. But I didn’t like the fact that my initial reaction was doubt in my abilities, so I decided to go for it. I left at 11:30am, which was way too late for such a large distance. But I was still going to go for it.

I took backroads instead of the highway. It was really rough during some stretches, and it was quite hilly, but it was one of the most beautiful riding days I’ve had. I got caught in a bad rainstorm, but honestly, I was so used to the rain that I thought it was beautiful. There was something surreal about the fact that I was somewhere in New Brunswick, biking across Canada, caught in a rainstorm all by myself.

I pushed on, and when I say I pushed, I really did bring myself to my limit. Using Warmshowers, I found a host in Rothesay as I realized I wouldn’t be making it to St. John. I wasn’t upset, because I ended up doing 141km, but I really did push myself too hard. It was great for my confidence in my abilities, and it just confirmed that I really could do this. I CAN make it to Victoria.

Wet and exhausted, I arrived in Rothesay where I met my host Petros.