Reports of My Demise Exaggerated

I’m back. Well, I never really went anywhere but I do apologize for not updating yesterday. Recovery has taken a little longer than expected. The constant need for food and drink will never cease to annoy me.

Anyway, I’ll start with where I am now and work backwards to my previous update. At the moment I’m at a hotel near Bayers Lake – technically I’m still in Halifax but I’d say I’m on the outskirts of it. I had to move from my hotel of the previous two nights as they were fully booked – as are most of the other hotels in Halifax. Apparently it’s a long weekend.

I was feeling pretty good this morning and, as has been the case lately, not entirely sure what my plan was going to be for the day. Part of me was ready to get on the bike and get moving again, but because of my lingering recovery I still hadn’t made it Citadel Hill yet so I felt I need to do that first. After breakfast, of course. You see, I’m learning.

In the grand scheme of things I think the last couple of days may have been good for me – well, except for the feeling terrible part. I’m not sure exactly when it happened but, sometime after Gros Morne, I lost track of the leisurely aspect of this crisis and somehow found myself sliding into race mode (as confirmed by Sherlock’s Guestbook deduction). In my defence, I don’t think “race mode” was the whole problem – it was the lack of appropriate nutrition to sustain such a mode that caused the problems. The final straw was the decision to do the whirlwind tour through PEI. Things got pretty rough after that.

On a side note, apparently Pictou is a very bad place to spend the night – let alone live. As I cycled towards the town it was impossible not to notice the stench and smoke pouring into the sky from the the Northern Pulp plant. Breathing that type of air for extended (or even limited) time periods just can’t be healthy. It certainly wasn’t pleasant.

Okay, back to Halifax. I checked out of my motel and cycled over to Citadel Hill – just in time for the noon gun (thanks for the tip Nancy) and nice views of the city. With my watch calibrated, photos taken, and the sun shining it was time to decide where to go next. As a general target I’ve decided to head down to Yarmouth – about 300km away. That would normally be a three day ride but in an attempt to ease my way back into a more leisurely schedule I figured I would head out of town and see how I felt. And how the wind felt.

As I was leaving Halifax I came across an Atlantic Superstore and, learning my lesson, stopped in for some real food. Oh, another side note – Jazz apples from New Zealand are my favourite apples. I remember having apples in New Zealand but couldn’t remember the type but they were SO good. I’ve looked for New Zealand apples ever since but to no avail. Until St. John’s. And again in Halifax.

With my grocery supply stocked, I headed towards the highway to Yarmouth. I was greeted with two problems. The forecasted 30-50 km/h winds. And the “No Bikes Allowed” sign. This was SO not the way this day was supposed to go. Or was it?

After consulting the map I came up with an alternate route that eventually led me to the bike-friendly section of highway that would lead me to Yarmouth. It also led me to the hotel at which I’m now staying. Even though I felt reasonably good on the bike today, I was well aware of the wind and the lack of rest stops between this hotel and the next town. Bottom line, if I continued it would likely be another tough 3-4 hour ride into wind. I didn’t think that would be a good way to spend my afternoon – and first day back on the bike. You see, I AM learning. Hopefully it will go into longterm memory! If not, I’ll keep my eye on the Guestbook for reminders.

For now, I’ll end this update – so I can work on yesterday’s update!