Day 79 - Borden-Carleton, PEI to Belfast, PEI

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 at cabin number 5. He uncovers one of his ebikes and sets it up, like he is going to go for a ride. He asks if I am ready to go...I let him know I have some more packing to do. My gut has me on the alert - this is one of the few times that I feel uncomfortable. I go inside and whisper to Brian that I think this guy wants to ride with me on a trail. On my map, I look up the trail behind cabin number 5 and thankfully it goes in the complete opposite direction than I plan to go - I have an easy out of the conversation if he starts it up again. Thankfully he is not around when I make my departure.

Early along the route, I see the Confederation Bridge from the PEI side. I also get to see lots of amazing farmland - some of which that goes right to the edge of the Gulf of St.Lawerence. It is all so beautiful. The old country homes give a quaint feeling to the area and make me think of the days when those small houses had big families - I imagine them bursting at the seams, full with Acadian family love.

The soil here is a rich red colour and there are potatoes growing everywhere! The fields going up the hills that are really long and narrow (relative to the length). When the fields go up and over a hill, it gives the feeling that I can see the curvature of the earth. There are lots of self-serve potato stands along the roadside. Brian has cautioned me by text not to buy any potatoes because we don't need them (he knows me so well.)

The ride today surprises me. I should have known better, but I was kind of expecting it to be a bit of an easy ride. Well, that is not the case. It is up and down, up and down, up and down all day on big hills! Thank goodness I'm okay with hills otherwise it would have been dreary.

I have a two experiences on the upward hill climb today that shock me - and royally piss me off. The fact that it happens twice in a relatively short time span suggests it isn't just a 'one-off'. On two of the steep hill climbs, I'm grinding out a hill in granny gear and a car comes over a hill, followed by another car that pulls into my lane with the intent to pass. I look at the idiot, jump off my bike and wave my hands in the air like a irate Italian. Thankfully the person driving the passing car gets their wits about them and pulls back behind the lead car. Now I understand that sign back in Ontario "Can't See? Don't Pass!" - it was made for idiots like these. (BTW, I am highly visible on the bike with a front light and bright pink shirt.)

I skirt around the perimeter of Charlottetown and am happy to see students moving into the Holland College residence. (I love the feeling that comes with the 'back to school' time of year - even though July it feels a bit on the early side.) Charlottetown is not a big city, but it has lots of character with older residential and commercial buildings.

After passing through Charlottetown I meander off and on to the highway - enjoying the side routes that my RidewithGPS app takes me. At one of the highway on ramps, I notice in the distance a familiar truck and trailer. I'm quick enough to catch a snapshot of Brian transferring over to our next campsite. It is the moments in life that are so amazing...had I been looking down in that moment I would have missed him.

I arrive at our destination where I will stay 3 nights, and Brian will stay 4 nights (there was no room on the ferry for him on the ferry on the day that I leave). It is called the Lord Selkirk Campground and is located in Belfast. It appears that there is a big Scottish influence in the area. Apparently Lord Selkirk, a philanthropist, brought over 800 Scots back in the 1800's. Brian thinks that the Scots probably weren't too pleased to immigrate to a place called Belfast (this is European history that I don't understand the nuances of so much).

I'm looking forward to a few planned days off.