Alex’s Bike Trip

Alex had a slow day today, lots of cold rain made things unpleasant, and the schedule for the ferry from PEI to Nova Scotia slowed him down. He met an American cyclist who’s heading west, and they shared stories of biking in the rain. He wanted to thank the staff of the Time Horton’s in Westville, Nova Scotia for the free food.

Tonight he’s camping out in front of an Irving Gas Station with permission from the staff, Steven and Barb. He’s not looking forward to sleeping in the rain tonight. My flight to Halifax leaves tomorrow, so he’ll be heading towards the Halifax airport to meet me. There’s rain on the forecast, and he has 120km to go, so he expects it to be tough. Coincidentally, our friend Matt’s going to be stopping over in Halifax on his way to CFB Greenwood, hopefully we’ll be able to meet with him at the airport.

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Well last night’s wine and cheese was very productive for the cause. It’s quite funny how networking works, I actually ended up meeting a reporter for the Guardian, the newspaper the covers the island. I met Shelley, the journalist and we had a nice chit chat about my trip and so on. In a few days she will contact me to let me know when the article will appear! I now have 220km to bike until Halifax and the weather should be miserable for the next 2 days. Strong head winds and rain. I’m really enjoying my stay at the Hostel over here. I’ve met wonderful travelers from Japan, Australia and Europe. Last night we ended up going to an Indian buffet right before the wine and cheese at the art gallery. Tonight, we are having a good old sushi party and I will be practicing my Japanese.

Bye for now!

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Alex made it to Charlottetown, PEI and is staying at a HI Hostel downtown. His warmshowers.org contact is out of town, but their house-sitter Halley invited him to an art expo and wine and cheese, so he plans to advertise the site a bit there.

He said it was pretty windy today, strong gusts gave him a bit of trouble. He stopped by a Canadian Tire to replace his multi-tool – employees Justin, Marc and Bill helped him find the hostel. He says the people in PEI have been awesome, honking to encourage him, and he heard something about having been mentioned on local radio (I don’t think he has any details).

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Alex took a bit of a detour to stop over on Prince Edward Island. He had to wait an hour for a shuttle across the Confederation Bridge, but he ended up seeing the Atlantic ocean for the first time. On his way there he stopped in Shediac, NB, the lobster capital of the world, to take a picture next to a giant lobster – I’m sure he’ll post the picture next time he gets a chance.

He’s staying at the Sun-N-Shade campground (pictures) in PEI, where he managed to get his own “modern cedar cabin” – he wanted to thank a biker named Carl that he met at a gas station along the way that suggested this place, and the owners Herald and Marnie who offered him a stay in the cabin for free. I hope he gets a chance to tour around PEI a bit tomorrow before heading back on the route to Halifax.

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Hiya Folks,

First off, let me start by saying that last night was definitely the worst night ever! I didn’t freeze (my three layers of clothing took care of that). In fact, it was the wind creating havoc to the tarp (that I cover the bike with) and the fly of the tent. The sound of everything flying around made for a bad nights sleep but helped me get out of bed early. About 10km into the day I pulled over at a Irving gas station/restaurant for breakfast (these things are everywhere in New Brunswick). Turns out Mr Irving is one of the richest men in Canada. Anyhow, inside the restaurant I met a lovely couple from Chilliwack, BC who are traveling the country in an RV. The offered to pay for my breakfast! This trip makes me even more proud of being Canadian, the generosity I’ve received always surprises me 🙂 Like the title of the post says, I am now in Moncton spending the night at my good friend Vero’s aunt’s place. Broke my first spoke today but it didn’t slow me down. Put another 110km on Carmen today. Tomorrow I’ll head out to see the Atlantic ocean for the first time!

And Gavin, I toured Fredericton with Melissa. Fred was short for Fredericton hahaha

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Alex is stopped at a camp site on the edge of Grand Lake, the largest freshwater lake in New Brunswick. He’s about 70km from Fredericton near Waterborough, NB. He says that it’s raining and that there are a lot of bugs – I hope he can keep them out of his tent!

He wanted to thank the Keehn’s for welcoming him into their beautiful house. He ate lots of chili for supper there last night, and had great fun touring around Fredericton and the UNB campus with Fred and* Melissa. He wishes Melissa all the best on her trip to Ethiopia for humanitarian work.

* Correction: Fred doesn’t actually exist – I misread Alex’s text message. It was short for “Fredericton”

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Today I rode for about 20km touring the historical sites in Fredericton. I’ve encountered sunny skies for the first time since entering New Brunswick! Things are definitely looking up in the forecast also. I am now spending the night just outside Fredericton in the Town of New Maryland. Thanks Stacy for suggesting uncle Mike and Maureen. If you haven’t noticed yet, I’ve uploaded the pics that were taken since Quebec. Sorry for the wait, I am sure it was much cause for worry, haha. Tomorrow I plan on heading to Coles Island about 100k from here. Gavin has booked the hotel in Halifax, so now I have a deadline to meet. I am looking at 550km+detours left till Halifax, ETA 1st of June.

Enjoy the Pictures, I know I sure do!

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Alex just texted me – he’s staying at the Prospect Inn motel just outside Fredericton, NB tonight. He biked 110km today, after starting the day off with a free breakfast in Hartland thanks to a nice waitress named Inez. He got his first flat tire today, but it was on his trailer and not the bike. He met some acadians on the way, and they invited him over to their cottage 5km away from the motel to eat lobster, drink beer, and watch the game – sounds like a good time! He says that the weather’s been a bit cool, but hasn’t rained. He plans to get his bike tuned up at a bike shop in Fredericton tomorrow, and take the opportunity to walk around town a bit.

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Alex made it to Hartland, NB, home of the world’s largest covered bridge, without a hitch. He biked 108km, and it was raining a bit which meant that he had to stop 3 times to change in and out of his sweaty rain gear. Despite the rain, he says he’s really enjoying riding and wasn’t cold.

He’s camping for free right near the base of the bridge, relaxing in his tent and reading after having chatted with some locals at a restaurant for an hour, telling them about the site (Hi Hartlanders!).

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Hi everyone!

I am now in Perth-Andover, NB just off the Trans-Canada. I’ll try to make my way to Hartland by tonight. Unfortunately it started raining again! I found a great Ultramar that has a trucker’s lounge with the internet! Yes truckers use MSN and the like 🙂 Easy riding today, it seems like I’m mostly doing downhill. I had a wonderful time at Marie Pierre grandmother’s place. Extremely generous people who filled me up with lots of carbs and protein. Received 1 more good luck charm also. I’m getting quite used to being invited by people, it’s strange how I feel like a part of the family in such little time. I will miss the whole gang in Drummond. Maybe next year I’ll bike back there with some friends… I can’t upload pics again, the little computer is locked in a cabinet. Oh well. More and more people are tooting me to encourage me (not to tell me to get out of the way since they are waving to say hi) The french accents are changing also and people address you in both languages. Bilingualism at it’s best! I love this province, even though the weather has been quite rainy it has so much to offer. The power went out yesterday and it actually started hailing! I slept extremely well too, it’s great to stay indoors when the weather goes bad 🙂

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