Biking Off-Kilter in New Brunswick, Canada

By Margie Goldsmith

Here I am on a mountain bike, wearing a kilt, and peddling along the ocean floor on the Bay of Fundy in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea www.townofstandrews.ca in

New Brunswick, Canada. No, this is not a dream—well, maybe it once was a dream of artist and mountain biker, Geoff Slater who thought up the idea of biking in a kilt and his partner, trainer Kurt Gumushel whose father made the kilts for the cyclists.

Says Kurt, “If you have to ask, you just don’t get it.” The kilts are the trademark of Ripple Fitness, an outfit run by Gumushel www.ripplefitness.ca who takes people like me on a loaner Cannondale mountain bike and loaner kilt for a guided ride. Gumushel is a marathoner, long distance triathlete, weightlifting enthusiast, coach, and yoga practitioner; in fact, if you like, you can choose to end your ride with private yoga. Slater www.geoffslater.com who occasionally leads tours for Ripple Fitness, is St. Andrew’s best-known artist, and his wall-sized murals adorn many of the buildings in this quaint Bay of Fundy village. Want to learn how to paint? Slater leads you to a drop-dead location, pulls paints from his knapsack and gives you a lesson.

Ten years ago, Slater moved from Ontario to St. Andrews, where mountain biking was relatively unknown, even though it has some of the most diverse mountain biking areas in New Brunswick (from sea level to the most challenging downhill rip-it-up terrain). To feed his habit, Slater built single-track trails and introduced biking to the town. Now, ten years later, there are 50 miles of trails, many built by Slater and other volunteers, and he and Gumushel have created a yearly October Bike Fest.

So, why the kilt? Perhaps because their town, St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, has a Scottish name.  Gumushel’s father is a master tailor. Two years ago, the tailor made Slater a lightweight kilt, short enough not to get caught in the spokes, functional, and stylish. Slater was so happy in his kilt (and it was such an unusual cycling outfit) that he thought it would be fun to have all cyclists outfitted in kilts. (Yes, he wears biking shorts underneath.) They run a local biking group, Off-Kilter and everyone who rides with Slater and Gumushel are fitted for a kilt and admitted to the official St. Andrews by the Sea Off Kilter Registry.

Now, about riding on the ocean floor—it’s only possible at low tide on the Bay of Fundy, which has the highest tides in the world. The tides in St. Andrews rise and fall 30 feet, twice daily.  Me, Slater and Gumushel are on our way to Minister’s Island [www.ministersisland.ca] the largest tidal island in the world. You’d think an island would be flat, but when we leave the ocean floor and hit the trails, they are wet, filled with roots and rocks we have to peddle over, slippery, muddy, and even hilly. I huff and puff and keep going.

The 500-acre Minister’s Island was first inhabited 2,500 years ago by the Passamaquoddy people, then by a Minister for whom the island is named, and finally by railroad baron Sir William Van Horne, who built an 80-room summer cottage and model farm. No one lives here now, though animals are being introduced such as llama, sheep, cows, horses, pigs, and chickens. Day-trippers can come at low tide but need to leave 6 hours later before the tide changes.

We ride on a mountain trail above the shoreline. Suddenly, like a mirage, a huge deer runs along the beach into the fog.  A few hours later, I am muddy, sweaty, exhausted, and happy. Unfortunately, it’s time to leave, which is too bad, because being marooned for the night on a deserted island with two hunks in kilts can’t be such a bad thing.

But that’s okay—I am on my way to the Inn on the Cove & Spa, in St. John www.Innonthecove.com where I am booked for a hot stone massage with Darcy.

Good thing, too, because I have knots in my shoulders the size of grapefruits.  Once in the treatment room, I try to close my eyes but can’t because outside the window is the Bay of Fundy and a 600-acre coastal nature park. Afterwards, I stroll down to the inn’s garden and sip crystal-clear water from their own natural artesian spring. It can’t get much better.