90km
Done for this year on the trail!
It’s a thing on a bike – “rolling hills” roll up a heck of a lot more than they roll down. This phenomenon increases in the presence of a headwind. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
We set out under grumpy grey skies and hugged the coastline for the 20km to breakfast at the Bike and Bean cafe along the trail. We sheltered from the rain and checked the weather apps. Each one said we were imagining the rain and it was, in fact, sunny and what were we whining about.
We decided not to wait for it to clear, which is just as well given the first time we saw our shadows was 3pm in Halifax.
We had agreed yesterday that if the weather was foul we would skip the additional 45km down to Peggy’s Cove and head straight to Halifax. But here we were riding the “rolling hills” into the headwind around St Margaret’s Bay to Peggy’s Cove.
It was such a lovely ride though – all inlets, coves, beaches and little villages. Then it got more rugged – granite and stubby little bushes like the fynbos of the Western Cape.
We stopped at the beautiful memorial for Swissair Flight 111 which went down off this coastline in 1998. It’s serene and quiet and set thoughtfully into the rocks and “fynbos” overlooking the bay.
Peggy’s Cove just down the road is nothing like this. Here it’s all tour buses and thousands of people clamouring to get their perfect shot of the lighthouse and fishing cottages. We rode straight through without stopping and chose lunch at a little shack in the next town. The food was great and we ate alone.
As we turned for the last 25km to Halifax we had the wind at our backs and barely noticed the up rolls. It was an easy ride in, even with the heavy traffic. A stop at the Titanic grave site just near the motel was well worth the pause.
Back in our motel we showered (this is why we don’t camp!) packed the bikes and set off for town for another great meal at Salt n Ash. The local food has been such a highlight of this trip.
Today: 90km
Climb: 860m
Total distance: 4,991km (so close!)
#transcanadatrail
#biketouring
Trans Canada Epic 