The Maritimes

It is definitely getting warmer and nicer out but with the warmth comes those stupid annoying mosquitoes.  Since we usually are in the bush on the side of the road we are swarmed by insects constantly biting us.  Very annoying.  My legs are quite dirty and have blood stains all over, the same goes for Trevor.  But we have had a few days of rain and fog, and the dampness of course brings the slugs.  As such, we have had to flick the slugs off from our tents many mornings.  If it isn’t the mosquitoes, it is the slugs. 

You can tell the Maritimes is a region where many people come to retire.  Lots of elderly people around.  Also I felt the way of life around these parts is more relaxed.  To get to Prince Edward Island we had to be driven over the bridge as cyclists are not allowed to cross.  A nice retired gentleman drove us over the 12.9km bridge and said jobs are scarce in the region so he worked all across Canada most of his life doing various things.  He also said we were the first touring cyclists he had seen this season.  Usually they start arriving in June.   

Had probably one of the worst headwind days entering Nova Scotia off the ferry from PEI.  We had to get over Mt Thom which rises to around 230m and the wind just kept coming.  I was getting tossed around.  It took me most of the afternoon to ride the 30km stretch over this mountain.  There wasn’t really much of a shoulder so I had to ride the white line as best I could.  Trevor just rode along the gravel shoulder.  When riding along highways you also have to contend with the mental exhaustion as truckers and vehicles zoom by you.  The noise, their presence and being worried that you won’t get hit all play a part in the mental exhaustion.   

We finally met some other touring cyclists.  I thought we would have seen some earlier but our first encounter was in Truro, NS outside the Superstore.  Two young students from Winnipeg cycling from St. John’s to Quebec City.  They had been at it for about 3 weeks and were riding along the Canada Trail.  They saw a lot of moose and caribou in Newfoundland.  I was told by a man in New Brunswick that they introduced four moose into the wild many years ago and now they have a huge population of these mammals.  I hope to see some because we haven’t seen any yet.  Moose I read can be quite dangerous though as they get hit a lot on the road.  And they have a deadly kick so we must watch out. 

After we got out of Halifax I encountered my first bicycle problem.  My front derailleur doesn’t shift anymore.  So instead of being able to play with 27 gears I can only play with 9.  I am a little bit worried but I think I can manage it into Newfoundland.  We do plan on hitting up a bicycle shop in Corner Brook, NL to get a second opinion.  I do know when we get to Europe we will probably need new drivetrains.

We are now in North Sydney, NS and are just waiting for the overnight ferry to Newfoundland.  To kill some time we went to Subway for some grub and while in line I was asked by a man behind me if I was on the bikes and where we were going.  I told him we were doing coast to coast and then asked him where he is from.  Turns out he is Liberal Member of Parliament for the Sydney - Victoria constituency, Mark Eyking.  Nice guy!  He wished us well on our journey ahead.  

Anyway, the final province awaits us!  And hopefully some moose.  

Syrup… goes well with everything.  Here I am pouring it onto some bread.  My most recent concoction though is taking a mouthful of oats, then a swig of syrup and then mixing them up in my mouth and swallowing.  Syrup flavoured oatmeal.  Yum.  Not sure why I didn’t come up with this sooner.

This day started out great and was looking good with the sun out until Trevor suggested a shorter way to the Bay of Fundy National Park.  This shortcut of his led us into gravel roads which kept getting worse and worse.  First they were steep logging roads and then they turned into snowmobiling trails which you really can’t cycle on.  As a result we had to walk a lot of it.  At times we were ankle deep in water traversing through the trails.  This ‘shortcut’ turned out to be a major FAIL.  When we first hit the gravel road he told me it would only be for 2.5km so I thought I can tolerate that.  But once that was done he then said oh wait, looks like it will be another 16km of crap.  Then I got real pissed.  I kept venting off at him throughout the entire afternoon.  I realize the GPS can’t show how the roads will look but I needed to blame someone for the crap I had to go through so I blamed Trevor.  On the bright side our bikes held their own as they took a major beating.  Have to thank the guys down at Mighty Riders, the shop where we got our bikes in Vancouver, for setting us up with the bikes as they sure know their bicycles.

Alma, a quaint fishing village on the Bay of Fundy coast and home to some of the highest tides in the world… as you can see here.  Those boats definitely aren’t going anywhere at that moment. 

The Flowerpot rocks at Hopewell Cape.  We arrived before opening hours and since we don’t like waiting around very long I just went on in through the trail to check out these neat rocks.  I wasn’t the only there on the beach though… met a few girls taking photos, one from Newfoundland, one from New Brunswick and one from France all living in Halifax. 

Trevor at Confederation Bridge.  Kind of sucked that we had to take the bridge into PEI and the ferry out since it costs $8.25 to exit using the bridge but $20 to exit with the ferry!  You don’t pay going into PEI but pay leaving.  Not sure why the ferry has to be so expensive and only for a 75 minute ride. 

I never read the book so I don’t know much about Anne of Green Gables but here is Green Gables.  The house is on the left and barn on the right.  This shot was taken from the parking lot as I didn’t want to pay the $8 or $9 to enter the grounds.  Must say though PEI was nice to cycle through with the ample farmland and rolling hills. 

Peggys Cove, a really picturesque fishing village in Nova Scotia.  Spent a few hours just chilling around here and checking out Peggys Point Lighthouse, supposedly one of the most recognizable Lighthouse’s in the world. 

When I was a kid traveling to my grandparents’ house in Terrace I remember seeing a dead porcupine on the side of the road and was enthralled by it.  I had always wanted to see an alive porcupine in the wild.  Now I have.  Actually I saw two.  They both quickly skedaddled off though. 

A little bit of family history here… back in May 1955 my mom, aunt Maria and grandparents touched down on Canadian soil for the first time at this pier in Halifax arriving from Switzerland.  The pier operated from 1928 and closed down in 1971.  Pretty cool to see Pier 21 although it is now just an immigration museum.  So not a whole lot to see but the façade. 

Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and toss things.  Trevor first came up with a great idea to purchase a 1.5L bucket of ice cream that was on sale at the Superstore.  I caught on and did the same.  Had a delicious bucket of Bay of Fundy Mudslide ice cream after that very windy day in Nova Scotia… it was well worth it.  Anyway, he loves his ice cream so much he realized he could get a better deal by buying 4L in one go.  I didn’t follow suit this time round.  But I did buy a whole cherry pie which served me well and consumed it within a day.  His plan was to consume the ice cream within a few days but the ice cream melted overnight and he was left with over 2L of chocolate cream.  No ice.  Just doesn’t taste as good but he said it was still alright.  Then we go to a Superstore in Porters Lake where we were pleasantly surprised with another blowout Easter deal.  Never thought we would see another one since we are in late May and Easter was in early April.  But I’ll take it!  Speckled jelly beans, panned Easter eggs and Easter jubes on for half price.  Deals like that you must clean house.  I did just that but Trevor had a predicament in that he was already stacked with food and his ice cream bucket was taking up a lot of space.  So I told him to finish it or just huck it as he will regret later not cleaning house.  So instead of just tossing the remainder he reluctantly downed the rest of the chocolate cream right there.  He felt like crap after.  Who wouldn’t after downing over two litres of cream?  He couldn’t even think straight, nor think about food he was so sick of it.  It was hard enough for him to go back into the Superstore and purchase the rest of the candy.  His experiment with the 4L tub of ice cream turned out to be a failure.  A lesson to be learned from this is everything in moderation… but I don’t think that will catch on with him.