August 11 (Tuesday) Start Time: 6:45 am Stop Time: 12:15 pm KM Travelled: 75.9 km Elevation: +978/ - 1,053 m Special Stuff: Finishing the Ride I am awake at my usual time, just before the 4:00 am alarm goes off. I had a good sleep, but recall turning over many times, putting my hands in my pockets to get comfortable on the firm air mattress. As I consider venturing out to the 'comfort station', it starts to rain - I take a deep sigh an opt instead to quietly pack up my sleepi

August 10 (Monday) Start Time: 10:30 am Stop Time: 4:00 pm KM Travelled: 70.2 km Elevation: +650/ - 538 m Special Stuff: Newfoundland, Biking with other bikers By 4:15 am and I’ve already been to the 'snack shack' on the 7th floor, which is open all night. I come across a handful of people mulling about - these are my 'early bird' kin. Last night's lively boat has settled down to a soft purr. Passengers are snuggled up with their loved ones in lounge chairs and sprawled out o

August 9 (Sunday) Start Time: 8:00 am Stop Time: 8:30 am KM Travelled: 6.7 km Elevation: +40/ - 50 m Special Stuff: Catching the ferry to Argentia, Newfoundland I wake up and remember that today is a special day - it is our wedding anniversary. It has been 7 years since I married Brian - a guy who keeps my life interesting. Brian and I will be going our separate ways today - me to the ferry to Newfoundland, and him to Halifax (where he will drop off the truck for servicing an

August 8 (Saturday) Start Time: N/A Stop Time: N/A KM Travelled: 0 on the Bike Elevation: 0 on the Bike Special Stuff: Bike shops open on weekends This morning I'm feeling much better overall. My headache is gone and my eye and stomach are starting to feel better. I spend time finalizing my Newfoundland route and securing a campsite for Monday night. I feel good about staying in a private campground where I hope to be able to secure my food and toiletries in a bear cache. New

August 7 (Friday) Start time: N/A Stop time: N/A KM Travelled: N/A Elevation: N/A Special Stuff: Rest days Today I feel a bit like I'm falling apart. I've basically laid around all day melting (the 'yellow alert - high temperature' persists) as I've nursed a headache, eye infection, and now stomach upset. My leg muscles are aching and sore (a sign that I pushed the limits again yesterday) and my right knee is sore because I smashed it on a corner in the trailer. I'm so gratef

July 6 (Thursday) Start time: 6:00 am Stop Time: 1:00 pm KM Travelled: 94.5 km Elevation: +953/ - 969 m Special Stuff: Zig zags, Dumping emotional baggage Overall I had a very restful sleep. I woke up a few times in the night wondering why my legs were so sore, but fell right back asleep. Yesterday's hills and the wind were likely more challenging than I give them credit for. It surprises me that I still get muscle soreness after riding 6,400+ kilometers. I don't mind it thou

August 5 (Wednesday) Start Time: 6:00 am Stop Time: 1:30 pm KM Travelled: 108.6 km Elevation: +1,013/ - 1,030 m Special Stuff: Canso Causeway, Bakeries, Sleep My daughter's dog gets eye infections from time-to-time. When this happens, I see my beloved grand-dog turn from sparkly, zippy and energetic to sad, lethargic and mopey. Past experience with eye infections, lets me know that my eye infection trajectory looks very much the same as my daughter's dog - I'm in a risky zone

Day 83 - New Glasgow, NS to Antigonish, NS August 4 (Tuesday) Start Time: 6:30 am Stop Time: 11:00 am KM Travelled: 84 km Elevation: +748/ - 757 m Special Stuff: Oceanfront property, motel rooms, Leaving my motel this morning, it's a balmy 21 degrees Celsius and overcast. It rained last night, but it looks like today's going to be dry. The route seems to be a very round-about - which is a mixed bag of annoying (because I prefer to be efficient) and interesting (because I get

August 3 (Monday) Start Time: 6:30 am Stop Time: 11:00 am KM Travelled: 50.7 km (plus ferry ride) Elevation: +332/ - 309 m Special Stuff: Chats with energetic young people I thought I'd have a slow start to my day, but I realize that in order to catch the 8:30 am ferry, I need to get on the road by about 6:30 am. I only realized this as I was thinking about my day this morning. I'm glad I sorted through my panniers last night - it's a pretty quick and easy set up and departur

August 1 (Sunday) Start Time: N/A Stop Time: N/A KM Travelled: 0 on the Bike Elevation: 0 on the Bike Special Stuff: Time with Brian Brian and I take a look at the map of Prince Edward Island (PEI) and pick East Point as the destination for a Sunday drive. It is just an easy going day. We start off back in Charlottetown with a little walk around and some lunch. Brian feasts on some lobster. I get to sample it and get a taste of the most amazing browned butter! We check out th

August 1 (Saturday) Start time: N/A Stop Time: N/A KM Travelled: 0 on the Bike Elevation: 0 on the Bike Special Stuff: Just chillin' Our campsite is located just beside the 18th hole of a golf course. There seems to be a Scottish themed golf tournament going on - the players are wearing kilts. It is quite windy...so it is easy to confirm that yes, the men are wearing shorts under their kilts. Today, being a rest day, we head into Charlottetown for a few hours - keeping things

July 31(Friday) Start time: 7:00 am Stop time: 2:00 pm KM Travelled: 93.4 km Elevation: +902/ 897 m Special Stuff: Hills, Potatoes Today feels like a day that I can give myself a little slack and start my ride later than usual. As I'm packing up my bike (at 6:30 am), our neighbour with the bus sized RV (a bit of an odd, but friendly fellow) starts quietly talking to me about the Confederation Trail, how amazing it is, how it goes on for hundreds of miles, and that it starts a

July 30 (Thursday) Start time: 6:15 am Stop time: 1:30 pm KM travelled: 104 km (102 km before the bridge and 2 km after the bridge) Elevation: +545/ - 594 m Special stuff: Riding with another biker, Shared experiences with Brian Leaving the campsite this morning, I appreciate how much good a rest does for the body - I was exhausted when I got here, and now I'm ready for another full day of riding. I navigate the outskirts of Moncton and then make my way towards the Gulf of St

Start Time: N/A Stop Time: N/A KM Travelled: 0 on the Bike Elevation: 0 on the Bike Special Stuff: Brian, Denny's Today is a rest day for me. Brian is working from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm (which is 2:00 am to 3:00 pm BC time), so I spend my day sitting in my 'office' (the bed) catching up on blog posts, planning the next part of the ride and just lazing around (I'm getting surprising good at doing just nothing much). I have always known that my husband has a split personality - 'B

July 28 (Wednesday) Start time: 6:15 am Stop time: 2:30 pm KM Travelled: 125.6 km Elevation: +1,053/ 1,027 m Special Stuff: A drink of water Brian and I both agree, boon docking at gas stations does not allow for the most restful of sleeps - but I guess we can now add it to our 'been there done that' list. With the construction along Highway #2, I've decided to stay along the side roads. It is a long ride, and at points, I question the wisdom of avoiding the faster, more dire

July 27 (Monday) Start Time: 6:00 am Stop Time: 2:00 pm KM Travelled: 110.2 km Elevation: +602/ - 614 m Special Stuff: Great sleep, Fredericton, Local knowledge I had a GREAT sleep last night - out like a light from 8:00 pm until 4:00 am. I'm charged up and ready to hit the road again today! When I was in elementary school, I learned the names of Canadian provinces and territories and their capital cities. I specifically remember learning "Fredericton" because it's a tricky n

July 26 (Sunday) Start Time: 6:30 am Stop Time: 3:00 pm KM Travelled: 123.3 km Elevation: +777/ - 798 m Special Stuff: Covered bridges, McCain foods, Planning for the wrap-up I woke up this morning exhausted. I had the hardest time falling asleep last night. The little nap after my ride yesterday along with the time change, and the people having a campfire right behind our trailer resulted in me getting only 5 hours of poor quality sleep. I always have the option to pull the

July 25 (Saturday) Start Time: 6:15 am Stop Time: 1:20 pm KM Travelled: 104.9 km Elevation: +575/ - 639 m Special Stuff: Shared moments with strangers At 5:00 am it is dark! Way too dark to think of even getting my bike set up, never mind biking. There will definitely be no more 5:00 am starts (too bad). As I am pedaling along this morning, I enjoy a misty countryside. The sun has not come up yet - it looks a bit hazy. There is no air quality warnings...maybe it is morning fo

July 24 (Friday) Start Time: N/A Stop Time: N/A KM Travelled: 0 on the Bike Elevation: 0 on the Bike Special Stuff: Getting to know geography, Welcoming and helpful people from Quebec Brian is working today, so I spend most of the day in my 'office', on the bed. I plan for the next 4 days. For the first time, I dare to think about what the end of the adventure will look like. There are a few family members who might like to be at Cape Spear when I finish my ride. I need to gi

July 23 (Thursday) Start Time: 6:15 am Stop Time: 4:30 pm (3:30 pm Quebec time) KM Travelled: 115.4 km Elevation: +988/ - 1,023 m Special Stuff: Through the 'mystery zone', New Brunswick, Time change I'm worried about today's ride. Like the last couple of nights, I'm awake at 2:30 am, and up by 3:00 am. I don't mind being up at this time - more quiet, reflection time. I look up what "du-Loup" means - and it translates to "of the wolf". This surprises me as I thought it meant