Moving Day

It has been awhile since our last blog entry.  We have been simply too busy.  The daily routine hasn’t left much time for reflection or the recording of our activities. 

Typically, we get up and enjoy a B&B breakfast.  Deborah eats heaps but healthy.  I do not.  Scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage (and of course potatoes – you can’t insult the locals by not eating potatoes).  And then we ride, ride, ride, stop for lunch, and ride some more.  All our rides end the same way, with “stinky beers”.  No one is allowed to shower and change until the first few beers are inhaled.  And then we shower and meet for predinner drinks.  And then we walk to dinner and enjoy wine with great food.  And then we walk home and fall into our beds.  And then we wake up and repeat the previous day.

I am now sitting on a plane trying to put our past few days into words to remember.

Confederation Trail: Charlottetown to Summerside

In our last entry we mentioned finishing our first three rides out of Charlottetown and were about to set off on the Confederation Trail from Charlottetown, west to Summerside.

The Trail is 273 kilometers from sea to sea and traverses the entire island.  We completed 80 kilometers on this leg.  The Trail is former rail bed so the inclines are limited to about 2% “ups and downs”.  While some of our group routinely complete 100 k road rides on their road bikes, riding a hybrid or mountain bike on compact sand/gravel is considerably more taxing.

The weather continued to favour us until the last couple of hours in our seven hour riding day.  Just before reaching our goal the skies opened up and dropped rain all over us.  This made riding the softening sand/gravel even more challenging and the only “not much fun” section of the experience.

Along the way we stopped and visited a potato farmer hilling his crop.  When the planted potatoes breach the surface, the farmer drags his hilling implement over the barely discernible crop forming hills.  His John Deere tractor was equipped with a computerised navigation system that guided him down the rows so as not to disturb the growing potatoes.

Proud Farmer - Family Farm For 200 Years

Our goal was to stop about midway for lunch at the Hunter River Bakery.  There isn’t much in the way of amenities when riding the trail.  Lots of scenery but you had better take your lunch or plan to stop at Hunter River; there isn’t any other spot.

Again, I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

Boys Will Be Boys

Our Home in Summerside