Prince Edward Island, September 2009

Sept 14

Today started off somewhat drizzly/misty. But we had 70 kms to bike, so off we went, after a really hearty breakfast at the B&B we were staying at.

The first part of the route was on the Rail Trail again - pretty flat, not too many curves - just like railways like it. And fairly boring scenery - the trail with forest on either side of it.

Eventually, though, we hit the highway - a bit easier biking, because it was pavement and not red shale or the island equivalent. The only drawback was the fact that occasionally (and only very occasionally) there was car/truck traffic on the road as well.

Anyway, life went on. We kept on pedalling. At a certain point, there was a break in the clouds, the drizzle stopped, and Stephen decided to get out of his rain pants - the normal pants he was wearing underneath were quite damp due to sweat! I checked out the flora/fauna of a nearby forest (yeah, right!). We had a little drink, and we were off - except for the fact that while I was checking the forest, my front tire went flat! Very strange!

So, we called our support folks for assistance. The biggest challenge at this point was somehow giving him sufficient information to be able to find us - we were at the intersection of route 311 and 344 (or something like that) (of course, with our GPS units, we knew precisely which lat/long we were at - but he doesn't have a GPS!). It took him about an hour to get to us, and about 30 seconds to swap a new front tire on.

The rest of the trip went quite well. We did take a significant shortcut, though, in an attempt to both reduce the kilometers and the anticipated "up hill and down dale" elevation profile that we had been warned about. We validated our proposal with the guy at the gas station, who advised us of an even better route - on a major road, but with bike lanes. It turned out to be a really good thing - we came up on some construction on this road - complete resurfacing. Just as we approached a flagperson who was letting just one lane of traffic through, she said that we could ride on the other lanes of the road - staying away from the pylons marking that one lane of traffic. It was WONDERFUL! Just us on wide brand new pavement with no worries about cars. And it was flat too!

We carried on, getting closer and closer to Souris (pronounced just like Surrey, it's the French word for "mouse", and was apparently named thus when once upon a time there were several mouse infestations courtesy of ships landing in the harbour).

But - the closer we got to Souris, the more the drizzle turned back into rain. The absolutely best view of the entire day's journey was at the top of a long hill heading down into Souris. But at that point it was raining, it was close to the end of the trip, and it was a big DOWNHILL. Stopping and hauling out the camera was sooooo way down on my list of priorities.

In the end, our ride was 57 kilometers. That is the most that I have ever done in one day. I trust Stephen does NOT take this as full endorsement of similar trips!!

Here is the track for the day - the dark turquoise line.

This first photo is of the B&B at which we are staying tonight and tomorrow night. Our room is on the third floor, the right-most window in this photo.

After we got here, I flopped on the bed, not to be moved for about an hour and a half. Then we went for a little walk. The thing that was neatest was the lighthouse, so it became the object of my camera.

Notice the clear blue sky in these shots - we sure could have used some clear blue earlier in the day!

And these last photos are some shots of the thriving metropolis and wharf of Souris, taken from the lighthouse. The biggest activity here appears to be the daily-during-the-summer ferry to/from Iles de la Madeleine - 5 hours each way, and $200/car.

Tomorrow, the tour folks would have us biking out to the extreme northeast point of the island, where, if we are lucky, we can see two tides collide. The round trip is about 75 kms, with a lot of up hill and down dale. But we have learned that there is a cabbie in town with a van, who will take us out to the point for $25, and drop us off, so we can ride back. A MUCH better proposition, in my humble opinion. And I'm always willing to support local enterprises....