Trip update: Since returning to Charlottesville, I have been working (editing and translating), preparing for Christmas, and moving material around in the house. I have promised my son, Daniel that I would clear out the entertainment/TV room and the porch before I leave. Continue reading
We headed north on 8 October using US 1 and ME 88 to reach Brunswick, where my cousin Rook lives. 
Autumn was rapidly bursting into color. I was also looking forward to intercepting the new charger for my computer. The charger was stolen off his porch, so I was back to square one on my search for a solution.
Tuesday morning, 23 September, M/V Blue Puttees moored in North Sydney. 
The sun was shining on the calm water. We rode 60 km to Louisburg to visit the French fortress that anchored New France in the 17th and 18th Centuries. It was a fascinating visit. I wished that I had bought two 1-lb boules in the King’s bakery instead of one. Continue reading
Burgeo once had a population of 2000 and a thriving fishing industry, but today has only half that number, and its main purpose seems to be to connect the ferry with the TransCanada Highway.
Burgeo
We landed not looking forward to the prospect of riding the Barrens in worsening weather. Highway 480 was the main road through town. We decided to stop at Sharon’s Diner, which looked like the last restaurant, to bulk up on hot food for the trip. Sharon herself waited on us. As we ate our fish and chips, we asked about how we might get a ride to the T.C.H.
“I’ll call my son,” she said. “He knows everything.” Continue reading
Today, SPM is a charming tourist mecca, and still an active fishing port.
On Monday morning, the 8th of September, Atlantic Vision sailed into Placentia Bay and made port in Argentia. The ferry pier is at the former US Navy seaplane base from World War II. Like many of the dozens of US bases built during the war to win control of the North Atlantic, NAS Argentia, with its long runway, remained in service for the Cold War. Continue reading
The next morning, I cleared my email, while Cheryl studied the instructions for her SLR camera. The cable from the power supply for my computer had been fraying at the hard, sharp plastic nipple where it entered the power supply, and I was unable to reconnect the wires when it finally broke. I packed up my tablet after it ran down. Cheryl did not have cell coverage, so I resigned myself to being without a computer until we returned to civilization and found a Wifi spot, where I could order a new charger. Continue reading
New Brunswick was so different from Québec that I almost went into culture shock the first night. We had dinner at a Thai restaurant, and I had to keep cutting myself off to keep from speaking French. Continue reading
It has been a month since my last post, and more than six weeks since the charger on my computer failed. A lot has happened in that time, enough to fill a good-sized book, which someday it may.
Over the next four weeks, I will bring you up-to-date on what has happened since Montréal, and draw lessons from the 10 weeks I spent accompanying Cheryl Sinclaire on a bicycle tour through Eastern Canada. I am still living and working on my bicycle, but much has changed about the way I travel. I am also traveling lighter than I ever expected possible. Continue reading
The charger for my computer failed, and the computer ran down. The next three posts were taking shape there. I am clearing email using my phone, when I can find a Wifi connection.
The next two posts will consist of a back-to-school essay, “What I did on my summer vacation.” An extended trip update, it will include lessons learned from the six weeks I’ve spent bicycle touring and camping in Eastern Canada. I will continue working on them when I get a new charger. I hope that will be next week.
Smooth roads and tailwinds,
Jonathan
The Freewheeling Freelancer 