A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Halifax

After several nights of denial I woke this morning with the realization that my air mattress definitely has a slow leak. It’s very slow, but still a leak. Actually, I think it USED to be a very slow leak but now it’s progressed to a moderately slow leak. Up until now I was able to come up with reasons to convince myself that the mattress was fine. I am now passed the denial stage. I figure it will be fine until I reach Halifax at which point I’ll have to address the issue.

Apart from that issue, this morning started off very well. I slept through whatever rain had fallen during the night and awoke to blue sky and sun. It was truly a beautiful morning. I was planning on getting another early start but, with the sun shining and my tent soaked, I decided to move my tent into the sun and give it some time to dry out before packing it up. The sun did a very admirable job in that regard and by 9:30 I was ready to roll.

Today’s plan was another modest ride of 92 km, this time to New Glasgow. Correction, today’s ORIGINAL plan was another modest ride of 92 km, this time to New Glasgow. For the record, I thought it was a pretty good plan. Maybe even a very good plan. The distance was manageable and it would have me arriving in Halifax on Tuesday as planned. Then I looked at the map. Not on Google, or my GPS. A real map. I have to say I really like maps. So much information at your finger tips – without having to zoom in or pan or refresh the page. Sure, it doesn’t have all the information that an online map does, but sometimes you don’t need that much information. So, in looking at New Glasgow on the map I happened to notice that Pictou was really close to New Glasgow. That may not seem particularly noteworthy until you put it in context. Pictou is really close to PEI. Not hard to tell where this is going.

I suddenly found myself facing a dilemma similar to that of my St. Anthony detour. Of course, having never cycled in PEI there really wasn’t much of a dilemma. The ferry to PEI is less than 10 km from Pictou. It seems to me it would be a bit of a waste to come all this way and NOT go to PEI. So, what started two days ago as a ride to Halifax has now become a ride to PEI. This decision is going to make getting to Halifax on Tuesday pretty much out of the question but I’ll worry about that later.

So, as I was saying, the plan for today was to ride to Pictou – a ride of about 110 km. The only downside that I could see was the forced detour I was going to have to make to get back on the Trans-Canada Highway. Last night’s campground was on the old highway and in order to get back on the Trans-Canada Highway I was going to have to cross over it before joining it again a few kilometres down the road. Or would I?

As I was crossing the overpass, looking down on the highway I wanted to be on, I couldn’t help but think there must be another way down there. My initial inspection did not reveal any promising options. However, upon further review there appeared to be a way. So, not being one to shy away from this sort of challenge, I unloaded the bike and proceeded to carry it and the bags down the hill to the Trans-Canada Highway. It took three trips – and probably more time than if I had just kept riding – but I successfully created my own ramp and was once again on my way.

It turns out that would be the most exciting part of my journey today. The weather was beautiful the entire time. There were no monstrous hills to climb. The wind was calm. The biggest excitement probably came when the road switched to red asphalt. I’m not sure why it was red but it was interesting to look at.

Anyway, I pedalled on and by 5:00 I had arrived in Pictou. I was still unsure of where I would be setting up camp for the night but I’m hoping something will come up. I’m still assessing whether the Visitor Information Centre is a viable option.

Speaking of which, when I was outside said Centre I started talking with a local couple from New Glasgow who come up this way for some cycling. We talked about all sorts of things – well, I think I did most of the talking, and by talking I mean babbling. After eight hours on the road I find I tend to babble – as this blog would indicate. Anyway, we talked of trips, cycling, camping, poutine, eating, and more. I think sometimes they thought I was a little crazy, but in a good way. It was a very enjoyable conversation and a very nice way to end the day. And this update.

Today’s Totals:
Distance travelled: 114.54 km
Time on bike: 5:22:57
Maximum speed: 52.49 km/h
Average speed: 21.28 km/h