Day 12: Berry Mills to Jemseg

118 km (73 miles) – Total so far: 1,164 km (723 miles)

Tearing myself away from watching Clarke smash our bowlers around Old Trafford I was on the road at 10, I couldn’t resist an hour watching the cricket. A calm and cloudy morning and gentle hills were responsible for the fastest riding so far, at 15 mph for the first 3 hours.

This section of the route is the most remote so far, if remote is the right word. By that I mean there are few services, no shops, cafes or gas stations for 50 km on my route. I took the old road, and that is often the key in avoiding traffic and in particular trucks. The downside is the road surface can be a bit scarred and it is necessary to have hawk eyes for potholes especially when travelling at 20 mph.

Remote Canada, rubbish really, as New Brunswick is well populated and anything but remote. It’s exploration for me, but in a very timid way. With my Wells-like time machine, I would aim for that golden era of explorers either side of the Great War. Should you have not heard of John Hornby, let me introduce you briefly to one of my great heroes. Hornby migrated to Canada from England in 1904. His first trip to the Arctic was to the Great Bear Lake region in 1908 and he developed a strong fascination with the Canadian Arctic wilderness. He spent the rest of his life in the Arctic region of northern Canada, and became known as the “hermit of the north” for his efforts to live off the land with limited supplies. In 1923, Hornby teamed up with an Englishman James Critchell Bullock in efforts to spend an entire year in the Arctic near Hudson Bay living off the land without supplies except for weapons. The pair barely survived. In 1926, Hornby tried to spend a year in a spot by the Thelon River with his 18 year old cousin Edgar Christian and another young man Harold Adlard. Unfortunately, the trio missed the caribou migration southward and therefore lacked sufficient food to survive the winter. Hornby died of starvation along with his companions in 1927. The graves of the three men can be found by the Thelon River.

A good summary of his life is at http://www3.sympatico.ca/dpelly/John%20Hornby.pdf The excellent book “The Legend of John Hornby” by George Whalley is out of print and now a collector’s item. But I have two copies (long story…).

The South Canaan River which I followed for a good part of the day is not the Thelon River sadly, but it was a good ride. The village of Jemseg sits at the foot of Grand Lac (in this mainly French speaking part of NB), the largest fresh water lake in the province. It is also on the Trans-Canada highway, which fortunately I have not had to ride on today. There is a gas station here with convenience store; no alcohol of course as New Brunswick only sells trough licensed restaurants or liquor stores.

Distance 118 kilometres Max Speed 52.1 km / hr Ride Time 5 hrs 12 mins Moving Average 22.3 km / hr Departed at 10 am Arrived Jemseg at 3:40 pm