Today was a short, relatively easy day on paper. Less than 130km to Charlottetown, with a little break in the middle as I had to take a shuttle across the Confederation Bridge to PEI - cyclists and pedestrians are not allowed. I woke up at ~07:00 when a Harley started right outside my window (really?), and then got up by ~07:30. Breakfast was a slow affair and I know I'm tired because instead of just sitting there waiting for my coffee while the less than highly competent waitress struggled with a few tables, I sat there annoyed, thinking: "Where's my damned coffee?! Do I have to get it myself? Come on, lady!" etc. At least one other table was having similar issues, as I could see the growing annoyance on the face of the woman who was facing me. I guess us jerks from the city have unrealistic expectations of small resort towns. :p Breakfast finally arrived, and it was ok. Back to my room to pack up and I was on the road by 09:30 - one of my earlier starts of late. I figured on ~65k on each side of the bridge and was pretty close to spot on. The wind was coming from all directions today, but it was light - so it didn't have a significant impact on my progress. I wasn't feeling "on", but I wasn't feeling "bad" either - it was just another one day on the road. 7 weeks is a long time to be on the road, and I'm getting tired. I'm definitely ready to go home.
The road leading out to the bridge was pretty flat and I made it there by shortly past noon. Cyclists need to go to the info center and call for the shuttle, so I went in and the guy told me that he'd let the driver know. I called him back to ask for an ETA and he said "I don't know - I have to find him, first. He's somewhere on the island, so it will be at least 20min." There I go with my crazy big city expectations again... (though really I just wanted to know if I had time to check out the restaurant) It turned out that I had all the time in the world. The shuttle didn't show up for a good hour. In the meantime I ate a bunch of food figuring that I might as well take advantage of the downtime. I also cost Phil about $1.50 in text messages. :p When the driver arrived we decided that it would be best to unload the bike so that no-one got hurt trying to load it. I was the only one on the shuttle anyway. It turned out that this wasn't the regular shuttle driver - he's a bridge maintenance worker who was just filling in for the driver who had gone to lunch. He's a cyclist however, so I sat up front and we chatted about riding for the short duration of the trip. He told me that he had recently gotten a flat tyre and how he hated mini pumps as it's really difficult to get a decent amount of pressure with one. I mentioned how I was looking forward to hitting a bike shop in a big city so that I could borrow a floor pump to air up, as I was probably sitting at ~70psi. He in turn told me that he lived very close by and offerred to grab his floor pump for me to use! He dropped me off at the info center and took off in another truck to go get his pump while I reloaded the bags onto my bike. He was back very quickly, and mentioned that it was only ~1.5km for him to get home. We chatted a bit more about bikes and my specific build, I thanked him profusely for his generosity, and he was off to do whatever it is that he needed to get done. I mounted up and rode on.
On the PEI side the first thing one notices (after the little park and info center) is a McCain processing plant. Awesome. Shortly thereafter I noticed a potato stand. That rules. They've got varieties of potatoes of which I've never heard here, and apparently potato stands are as common here as blueberry stands in Northern ON. The road got hilly, as expected and the wind stronger - but it was mostly a cross, with a bit of head or tail mixed in depending on how the road was winding. I rolled into Charlottetown at ~16:00 and was at the hostel by 16:20. Probably my easiest day on the road yet. Definitely my easiest solo day.
I got my bed sorted, put away my bike, took a shower, and am now doing laundry at a local quik-e-mart/cafe/laundromat. Then it's off to the "Gahan House" - a local brewpub that Phil tells me has "the best fish 'n chips I've ever eaten". High praise indeed...
Stats:
Total Elapsed Time: 7:20 (incl 1:20 waiting for/riding the shuttle)
Actual Ride Time: 5:24
Total Distance: 123.28 km
Avg Speed: 22.7 kph
Max Speed: 67.1 kph
That's the smallest Fish and Chips I've seen in my life! I like that it's Fish and "chips" and not fries, but how come you giys don't expcet potato chips with the fish?
ReplyDeleteTaster drinks look good, were they?
mmmmm.... Good ole Gahan House...
ReplyDeleteAhh Julian....ever the critic. Don't knock them, until you've tried them! Served up in a paper bag, and damn delicious. The size is what it is, so you have more room for the beers !they have on tap!
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