PEI 20 - Full Circle

Day 13
Sunday, July 31, 2016

Sunday morning we counted fewer than ten cars on the road our first hour of riding. We had a peaceful day.

We stopped in Abrams Village at the Acadian Musical Village. We stopped in the restaurant to try some Acadian food. It was deserted for a Sunday afternoon. We shared a bowl of seafood chowder and Rapure - pork and potatoes with molasses for dipping.

We returned to Linkletter Provincial Park, where we'd stayed Thursday night, the night it rained. This being Sunday, we expected to have our choice of campsites and looked forward to picking one on the water. But even though we arrived by 3:30, all the good spots were taken. We found out later that Monday was a holiday in PEI. Nobody could tell us why. 

We arrived with plenty of time to relax.

We celebrated our last night on the road with a delicious dinner of Ramen noodles and tuna.

63 miles, averaging 11.46 mph. Probably our fastest day.

Day 14
Monday, August 1, 2016

Rob was determined to make it to a total of 700 for the two weeks. As the miles ticked by...

Rob: "How are we doing?"
Me. "696."
Rob: "It's in the bag. I say anything over 695 we round up."

Yup! More potatoes. That's the Confederation Bridge in the background. We completed our circuit of Prince Edward Island before noon on Monday for a total of 696 miles.

PEI 19 - Bridge Out!

Day 12
Saturday, July 30, 2016 (continued)

The insertion of modern technology enhances the charm of rural PEI. 

Windmills and farmland made for a lovely morning of riding. Since the woman in the North Cape gift shop only knew of a convenience store in Miminegash we did not have high expectations for lunch but we were okay with that. But we were not okay, as we approached the town, with seeing another road closure sign. Bridge out ahead! Two days in a row? Our spirits sagged. This detour would take us miles out of our way.

We saw a small local beat up grocery store, probably the convenience store we were looking for. Maybe someone inside could tell us if there was a way to avoid the detour. We found the entrance around the side - an old squeaky screen door, opening into a dark interior with uneven wooden floors, shelves stocked with the usual snacks and essentials needed to avoid a long drive to the big-city grocery store.

We asked the proprietor, a trim middle-aged man, about the bridge. "Oh, no, you're fine getting across on a bicycle."

Good news in hand, we could consider lunch. Rob headed to the back of the store where the coolers were and called out, "There are some sandwiches here."

The proprietor said, "I can make you fresh sandwiches if you'd rather."

That sounded pretty good - I ordered a BLT - and, what sounded even better, were the milkshakes he could make to go with them. But if we were going to purchase such a delicious feast, we had to find a perfect place to sit and enjoy it. After some discussion with the friendly proprietor, we determined that we could park our bikes behind the house next door, where the man's father lived, and walk down the road where we could sit on the pier.

It was a good thing we weren't in any hurry, as the man had to interrupt making our sandwiches and shakes to wait on the occasional local customers who stopped in. A chubby woman came in with her chubby daughter - the proprietor greeted the little girl by name - and ordered a bubble-gum flavored ice cream cone for the girl. As it was being dished up, the little girl pointed to some candy and said, "I want that." The mother was not pleased. She said, with an annoyed tone, "Eat your ice cream first and then you can have some candy."

When we had first arrived at the store, an older gentleman was sitting outside at a picnic table drinking coffee. Later he came in and sat down. We got to talking and when he found out we were from the U.S., he said, "You've got to get home and vote for Trump, eh?" I detected a twinkle in his eye. Clearly the election was on the minds of many Canadians.

We walked down the street where we sat on a wooden pier, dangling our legs over the water and looking out over the fishing boats, enjoying the best lunch we would never have expected when we walked into that little rundown store. 

Then we got to cross over the bridge that was being rebuilt.

As promised, the bridge was out but a temporary solution was built for bicycles. We felt special.

The sign on the right says 15 km. to the Canadian Potato Museum. From the website it looks like it would have been a fun stop but that would have meant a 30 kilometer detour.

We arrived at Cedar Dunes Provincial Park to find out that the campground was full. The folks at the registration desk said they would figure something out for us when the phone rang. Someone was cancelling, no they couldn't get a refund at this late date. Technically the site still belonged to those people who cancelled, would the park attendants dare let us have it? They decided to step out on a limb and we were all set. 

A walk along the beach at Cedar Dunes Provincial Park...

Brought us to The Catch Kitchen where we enjoyed dinner on the upstairs deck...

Then, the sunset.

We rode 61 miles to Cedar Dunes Provincial Park, averaging 10.49 mph.

PEI 18 - Have you got thyme?

Day 12
Saturday, July 30, 2016

We got an early start, on the road by 7:40. We were heading to North Cape, where there's a lighthouse, wind farm, gift shop, restaurant, and the Atlantic Wind Test Site. When we were here in 2009 we'd had dinner at the restaurant. We talked about wouldn't it be nice if it was open for us to have a second breakfast. I love eating breakfast out and, other than Tim Horton's, we had not yet done so on this trip.

The views along the way were tremendous. In one grand sweeping view I took in fields of white Queen Anne's lace dipping down to the ocean, horses, sheep, wild thyme, a barn, and wind turbines, too much to capture in a photo. 

But here's a picture of some lobster traps. They still use the traditional wooden ones.

One thing we had begun noticing on this part of PEI were the purply-pink flowers that looked like thyme covering many of the lawns.  They were really lovely.

"Excuse me, what are those purple flowers growing everywhere?" I stopped to ask a woman who was walking down the road toward the North Cape. She was an older woman, wearing a red T-shirt that said "North Cape," a baseball cap, and long black pants.

"Oh, that's wild thyme," she said.

"Do people want it in their yards or do they consider it a weed?"

"Well, we cut our grass close, stay on top of it. You can't really do much about it."

I wish I had that problem. Back home, I'm trying to grow creeping thyme in between the flagstones of a path behind my garage. It's been a slow process so far.

We arrived at the North Cape around 9:30 (a.m.). Other than a young couple sitting on a bench overlooking the ocean, the place was deserted, our hopes for breakfast dashed. The restaurant wouldn't open until lunch. But the gift shop was open and Rob went in to ask where we might be able to pick up some lunch. We were both getting tired of bicycling lunches. All they could think of was a convenience store in Miminegash, which was about 20 miles down the road. Besides wind turbines and farms, there's not much on this part of PEI. Doesn't matter, though. The cycling is phenomenal.

As we were sitting on the benches outside the tourist center, the woman I had spoken to earlier came up and sat down on the bench across from us.

She said, "It's hot." She told us that she walked here every day. 

I asked her about the wind turbines. "Does the noise bother you?"

"Puts me to sleep," she said.

I wondered how people made a living around here. She told me she'd worked collecting Irish moss. "It wasn't easy. Washes up on the shore after a storm."

Then, "Guess I'd better start heading back. I left a pot of soup cooking on the stove."

This is a photo of the North Cape taken in 2009. Left to right that's me, Kylee, and Tim. Check out all that sustainable energy in the background.

Collections of rock towers along the shore of the North Cape

That's me.

PEI 17 - Road Closed!

Day 11
Friday, July 29, 2016

The day started with flat, easy, and (for us) fast riding, For a while we rode close together which is fun because then we can have profound conversations. 

Rob: "13?" He likes to guess our speed. I have a computer on my bike; he doesn't.
Me: "15."

Later.
Rob: "16?"
I look down. It's at 15.8. I pedal harder. "16."

Rob: "I figured something out."
Me: "What?"
Rob: "The salt in Margaritaville is salt for the margarita."
Me: "That's deep."

Here are a couple pictures from the day's riding.

Have you seen enough pictures of potato fields yet? I never tired of riding by them, especially those in full bloom. After last night's rain it remained cloudy for part of the day, which kept the heat down. 

The Bideford Parsonage Museum

You'll notice that the sign says it's the historical residence of L.M. Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables and its many sequels. She's the darling of PEI, maybe all of Canada. Every place she ever lived seems be a historic site. There's her birth home in Kensington, her home in Cavendish, and also a place she lived in Ontario. She lived here while teaching school in the community for one year.

The museum only cost $5, but we didn't feel like stopping long enough to get our money's worth. They did let us use the restroom though.

We were in a groove, enjoying the riding on quiet country roads. Occasionally we'd hear the sound of a lawnmower before coming upon someone out on their riding mower. Friday afternoon seemed to be a popular time for folks to cut their lawns.

We found ourselves on a major highway for a couple miles, which wasn't great, but it was only a couple miles. Then, as we approached our chance to get back on the quiet scenic route, we saw a sign saying the road was closed. Shoot!

Just because a road is closed, or a bridge is out, doesn't mean a bicycle can't get through. But we had no way of knowing - there was no local business where we could pop in and get more information -  and getting turned back at the closure could have meant miles of backtracking.

So we had no choice but to stay on the highway, cars speeding by, rattling our serenity. We stopped at Mill River Provincial Park to regroup. This is another park that has resort features - a golf course and adjacent restaurant and lounge. We skipped the restaurant and lounge and drank sodas, sitting on the picnic tables by the registration booth, working up enthusiasm for more highway riding. 

We did eventually join the hundreds of other people camping - on a Friday night - at Jacques Cartier Provincial Park, yet another gorgeous campground set right on the water. 

Dinner was stir-fried vegetables and spaghetti.
Notice our fine dinnerware.

Couldn't beat the atmosphere at this fine dining establishment. That's our tiny tent just behind Rob and the ocean is in the background. The only thing missing was beer. But we had Oreos for dessert. 

This was our longest day of riding, 71.8 miles at 11.31 mph,
in the saddle for 6 hours, 19 minutes. 

PEI 16 - Easy Riding

Day 10
Thursday, July 28, 2016

We took it easy today, just 42 miles.

After about 20 miles we stopped at the  O'Neil Home Gallery, a cafe and art gallery, located on a residential street in the small town of Malpeque. 

We relaxed on the porch while savoring freshly baked cinnamon rolls and tea, then went inside to admire the paintings of owner and artist Scott O'Neil.

Then after only ten more miles of riding we came to the town of Kensington and an old railroad station converted into a restaurant with outdoor seating next to the railroad tracks.

This photo comes from the Island Stone Pub website.

We ordered burgers and beer as we enjoyed relaxing at the outdoor tables, a pleasant switch from last night's Subway sandwiches.

These are two random pictures I took during the day's ride.

We searched out a grocery store in Summerside, which serves as a gateway to the northwestern third of the island. In 2009 we began a five-day bicycle tour with our children from here, riding 40 to 50 miles each day. 

We had to be careful packing all those groceries - including eggs - into our panniers. And they didn't all fit. Fortunately we had a little pack that Rob could carry on his back for the short ride to the campground.

We arrived at Linkletter Provincial Park by late afternoon and had our choice of campsites right on the water. The woman who checked us in said, "You'll want to pick a site back in the trees. It's supposed to rain tonight." 

Darn. It didn't look like rain, but we decided to take her advice anyway. We set up the tent, got showers, and the sky grew dark. I started dinner while Rob packed up the panniers, storing everything under the picnic table. 

I felt the rain hit the top of my head at the same time I saw it falling into our scrambled eggs, prepared with green peppers, mushrooms, and cheese. Let's eat! Dinner, wet and rushed, was delicious. We left the dirty dishes on the picnic table, grabbed our new package of Oreos and dove into the tent, very thankful that we weren't in bear country.

A few years ago we bought a lightweight tent for backpacking and bicycling. It's really small. There's not even enough room to sit up and enjoy a game of cards. But we had our Oreos and some good reading to keep us happy until the rain stopped. 

It didn't. At least not before we fell asleep.

42 miles to Linkletter Provincial Park,
averaging a mellow 9.7 mph.

PEI 15 - Where can we get a beer?

Day 9 
Wednesday Evening - July 27, 2016

We declined the offer of a ride to Cavendish, and found Sunset Campground just three miles away. It was tucked conveniently behind the Cavendish Boardwalk, a tourist trap shopping plaza that, at a passing glance, looked like a promising place to get dinner. And beer.

The campground office bustled with vacationers looking to take advantage of all the resort amenities offered by the campground - swimming pool, laundry, rec hall, mini-golf, playgrounds for the kids. But we didn't have any kids with us and we were too tired for mini-golf. All we wanted was a campsite, a shower, a beer, and something to eat. So, please, can you quickly answer all the questions of the people in line in front of us so we can have our turn to get registered? We're exhausted, sticky, hungry and thirsty.

When our turn came and the person behind the desk gave us our campsite assignment, along with a map and directions so we could find it, Rob asked, "Is there anyplace where we can get a beer?"

He thought for a minute and said he wasn't sure but there was maybe a place at the near end of the plaza that served beer. 

After showering and setting up our tent, we went to check it out.

The plaza was filled with tourists, but none of them seemed to have found their way into Mussels And Bubbles, the place suggested by the campground host. The place was deserted, dark, and dumpy. I don't know about their mussels, but their bubbles selection was as uninspiring as the atmosphere. There had to be another place to get a brew.

Nope. No other beer to be found. This shopping plaza was the place for families with children looking for cheap, greasy, sugar-laden food. Captain Scott's Seafood had everything fried, a long line, and lots of noise. Cows Ice Cream had a long line, too. We walked past an arcade, T-shirt shops, a couple pizza joints, a Subway sandwich shop. No beer, and dinner and dessert were not looking too good, either. We kept looking. There had to be someplace quiet where we could sit down and order something delicious to eat. We came to the end of the boardwalk and looked out over the parking lot and fields of potatoes and the setting sun. We were desolate. And hungry. A decision had to be made.

I said, "Let's get Subway." At least there we could get whole wheat bread and fresh vegetables.

It wasn't too bad. There was no line and we sat outside on a bench while we ate. There were no bugs and the temperature was pleasant and we watched the line in front of us that sold beaver tails and we wondered what they were. Deep fried pastries, kind of like fried dough, with your choice of topping. We decided to share one. I don't remember what kind of topping we got, but it cost seven dollars and was pretty good.

I took this picture the following morning, as we were leaving this bucolic place.

We never did get a beer.

As I was writing this and doing a little online research about the places we've been, I was surprised at the positive reviews I read about the dining establishments at the Cavendish Boardwalk. Was it the crowds? Our exhaustion? Next time you're in the neighborhood, check some of them out and let us know how they are.

PEI 14 - Good things come in large packages

Day 9
Wednesday, July 27, 2016

If you look at a map of Prince Edward Island you can see roughly three sections somewhat equal in size - an eastern chunk, a northwestern chunk, and the middle. The Confederation Bridge, where we started our tour, is on the southern shore of the middle chunk. Our plan was to ride around the island in two weeks. But then we threw in three days going to Les Isles de la Madeleine. Oops! Now it was Wednesday of the second week and we had to be in our car, driving home, by noon on Monday. 

We'd completed less than half of the middle piece and not quite the entire eastern chunk.  We have five-and-a-half days to finish. We were eager to put in a high mileage day so we set our sights on Cabot Beach Provincial Park, about 80 miles down the road.

The problem was, whenever we stay at a B & B, there's no way we're going to miss out on that second "B." Breakfast wasn't served until 8 o'clock, so forget about an early start. Fresh fruit and warm scones, made-to-order eggs, who cared what time we got on the road? Even so, we made sure everything was packed and ready to go when we sat down to breakfast.

We got started by 9:20 and had fast riding (even on our full stomachs) on a busy road with a wide, smooth shoulder. Then we rode along the National Shore on a paved bike path, passing cyclists out for a leisurely ride and pedestrians carrying their beach chairs and other sunbathing paraphernalia. Unlike the Confederation Trail, this was a pleasant ride.

That's the coastal bike path. Sand dunes and beaches are to the right.

We stopped at Brackly Beach for lunch and a swim.

That may have been our downfall. We still had 40 miles to go but the easy morning riding had lulled us into complacency. 

Prince Edward Island is a remarkable place for bicycling. Reasonably flat with gentle, rolling hills; well-maintained roads with either good shoulders or courteous traffic or both. We cycled past fields of hay bales, canola, and potatoes in full bloom stretching out to the ocean. We found good food and friendly people in small towns and farm stands along the way.

Then we arrived at the northern shore of the Central Coastal Drive, home of a multitude of beaches, Prince Edward Island National Park, Anne of Green Gables, and thousands of tourists and their cars. Shortly after leaving Brackly Beach we got on a road that was a cyclist's nightmare. Narrow, no shoulder, and cars whizzing by. It was enough to make us stop and study our map for an alternate route. We'd seen enough of the northern coastline.

And, sure enough, I studied the map and, "There's a road that will take us straight across to where we're going." And cut off some miles as an added bonus.

That was when we found the hills of Prince Edward Island. Ten miles later, we were toast.

Can you see that hill coming up?
There's another one after it.
And another...

We arrived at the end of our detour and stopped at what looked like a little cafe with some outdoor seating. But the cafe was more of a high-end bistro and the staff inside were busy with preparations for the evening meal. It was still early for dinner and we were the only customers. They had a cooler stocked with drinks. 

I was taken aback by the price of the drinks - seven dollars for a soda and a chocolate milk. And I was taken aback by the proprietor, a very large man with a very large presence that I found intimidating. Casually dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, he was supervising the young adults who were busy chopping up vegetables. He took up about half the space of the small interior. And he wanted to know, where had we come from and where were we going?

"Well, we were hoping to get to Cabot Beach, but I'm not sure we're going to make it."

As we were heading outside to enjoy our drinks on the deck, he handed each of us a bunch of tiny grapes - champagne grapes. A small gesture that was largely appreciated. I'm not especially fond of grapes, but these burst with flavor and energy. I savored each one.

Rob and I discussed our options. We had about 20 miles to go if we were going to stick with our original plan. Rob said, "No way," so we looked for the closest campground. There was a private one about five miles away in Cavendish, where all the tourists hang out. It was in the opposite direction of where we were going, but it was only five miles. As we were discussing these options, the proprietor came out and said, "If you want, I can throw your bikes in my truck and take you to the campground in Cavendish."

This man had a heart bigger than himself. 

62 miles averaging 10.89 mph. The riding was great. Until it wasn't.