Thursday, September 19, 2013

Confederation Bridge: NB to PEI

I left Vancouver on July 10th, 2013 and a mere 16 days later I found myself in Pocologan, New Brunswick.  My tour guide and myself packed up early from our  accommodations with a view of the Bay of Fundy


It was exciting to think that we would soon be riding over the famous Confederation Bridge which connects New Brunswick with Prince Edward Island


Vstar*Lady had an important family matter to attend to so I waited patiently and played with my camera.  As I think about it now, it seems like a dream that never happened.   We had finally reached the destination of our tour this year, to spend a few days on PEI


and ride over THE bridge.   A few hours later we finally arrived . . .


Here is a bird's eye view of the 12.9 kilometer bridge as it looks from the handlebars of my BMW R1200R.  You can just notice PEI in the background


We had been talking about riding our bikes over the Conferation Bridge ever since we were planning this trip, and now we are doing it


There are not that many vantage points available to pose your bike


At the time this bridge was constructed, it was the longest bridge over open water.  It is now know as the longest bridge over ice covered water.

Here is a video to show you how long it felt . . .   VstarLady is in front but I hung back a bit to try and show you a clear road ahead



I was having so much lobster I think I was turning into one




15 comments:

  1. I believe that the view on The Bridge is much more spectacular than actually crossing it.

    Given the traffic or there lack of I wonder if it ever made economical sense though. Except for hauling PEI potatoes to the Mccain factory that is...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sonja:

      It was built as a promise to build a bridge when they entered Confederation, hence the name of the bridge. We went to the potato museum in Florenceville but they were not serving poutine yet and we didn't want to wait. The McCain plant was right next door.

      It would make more sense to build a bridge over to Vancouver Island. So much more traffic and people over here

      Delete
    2. Bob, I would instantly support building a bridge to Vancouver Island! Does make so much more sense.

      Delete
  2. Bob, I'll have to come back to see the video, YouTube is challenged at the moment. I'm curious though, when people go to PEI their vehicles are covered in red dust. Did that happen to you? I just realized I didn't see any on your bikes. I assume now that the downpour on the way here washed it all off.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David:

      There was red sand/dust everywhere we went. Most of the parking lots were red mud, or dust. Only the main roads were paved. We were just careful not to ride fast over it and tried to avoid the puddles. It was rare to find a paved parking lot so you get a lot of "off road" practice when you go to PEI. Maybe I should show more photos . . .

      Delete
  3. Wow .. that's a serious bridge isn't it. Thanks for sharing it Bob, I've seen something I've never seen before and not likely to ever see in real life.

    I like the pics you got of your bike with the bridge in the background.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brenda:

      Never say never, you just never know what the future may bring. It is one of those engineering marvels of construction designed to fend off icebergs during the winter. They close the bridge during high winds

      Delete
  4. Nice view that you guys had from the hotel. Is it different to see the sunrise over the ocean instead of the mountains?'' Keep posting these additional bits from your trip. I especially like the ones from NB and PEI as those places are on my "list" of places to visit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Richard:

      the weather wasn't that good on the East Coast. It was mostly cloudy, overcast or on the verge of rain. More bits of our trip coming up . . .

      Delete
  5. The view of the Bay of Fundy from the room was fantastic. The sort of place I would end up staying for a couple weeks to write while the Vespa gathered dust...

    Watching the video of the bridge crossing, the relentless rolling of roadway, hard not to think about the engineering marvels before us -- the bridge itself, the drone of the BMW, and the remarkable GoPro camera. A lot to be grateful for.

    Great trip writeup!

    Steve Williams
    Scooter in the Sticks
    ScooterNSticks on Twitter

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Steve:

      It would have been great to stay a few days and just do nothing, except to watch the water, bbq our meals and relax but we were so close to PEI we just had to ride on

      Your Vespa would be well suited to these roads . . .

      Delete
  6. Wow! Just amazing to see the longest bridge over open water!
    Thanks for sharing this great video.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sonia:

      I notice that you live in a nice area too. Perhaps one day I shall be able to visit your Country. thank you for visiting

      Delete
  7. Replies
    1. Len:

      It does seem a waste to spend whatever it costs for so little population. We could really use a bridge like this to span Vancouver Island

      Delete