Day 79 Wood Islands, PEI to Linwood, Nova Scotia 127 km

I was up at 5 so that I could catch the 8 o'clock ferry. I wanted to make sure I got packed and peddling down the road by 7. It's been my routine that it usually takes 3 hours to have breakfast and pack. But this morning I skipped breakfast and with the help of millions of mosquitoes I was out of there by 6:30.
There has always been talk that the mosquitoes in Manitoba and Northern Ontario are terrible. Well I disagree. The worst ones have been in Prince Edward Island and tonight in Nova Scotia. I work like a madman getting dinner over with, cleaning up and then diving into the tent hiding from the little buzzing pests.
I was the first on first off the ferry which takes about 75 minutes. The ride to Pictou on the 106 was good. No traffic and wide shoulders. In Pictou I picked up some groceries at Sobey's and then proceeded on to the 104. The busy 104.
There was lots of traffic. Well it is the Trans Canada Hwy. And it's the only route to Cape Breton Island in Northern Nova Scotia. So I persevered. It was noisy and the most deafening vehicle is the motorcycle. I think the hearing in my left ear has suffered during this trip. And why is it motorcycles are so noisy? Does it serve a purpose?
Oops. I better get of my soapbox.
So I peddled along to exit 37 and got to the Linwood Harbour Campground about 5:30.
It was one of those hurried evenings. I got the tent set up with the help of a beer I picked up at the convenience store I passed getting here, showered, shaved, did laundry, cleaned and lubed the bike chain, made dinner and cleaned up just as it was getting dark at 8. Phew!
Now I'm writing this and am a bit tired. Probably from that early start.
I'm going for another early start tomorrow as I am looking at catching the ferry to Newfoundland. I think it sails every other day so I'd like to catch it tomorrow than wait in North Sydney for the Wednesday sailing. It's a 14 hour sailing so I should get lots of rest.
Oh! And it leaves North Sydney about 10:30 at night.
I forgot. The picture of my bike is one of the most colourful stops I've had by the side of the road albeit a construction site.

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Day 78 Charlottetown to Wood Islands 64 km

It must be the size of the province that has some bearing on the distance I ride in a day. This is my third day now with mileage well under 100km.
But I feel rested and ready to ride through Nova Scotia.
I slept in a bit this morning because I knew I didn't have far to go today. I rode down the hill and took the Confederation Trail out to the Trans Canada Highway (TCH). The tricky part was guessing which street was Belvedere, which intersects the trail, as there weren't any street signs. But I guessed correctly and rode a few kilometres on it's packed gravel surface.
The TCH was great to ride on as there was hardly any traffic, although it was still early on a Saturday morning. The surface was excellent and then the surface got even better. It was paved just recently. I found this out from six cyclists who had stopped for a break during their weekly group ride. We talked for a while about cycling and my trip. We figured four of their shiny red and white carbon fibre bikes would equal mine in weight.
It was also at that moment when I had reached the 7000 km mark.
Ta da.
We had talked about the route I was going to take. The shorter but hillier Highway 23 or the TCH. The TCH won because even though it was a bit longer it didn't have the hills and the scenery was better. I've been a bit dubious about taking advice from people but these were cyclists, family you could say, and they wouldn't steer me wrong. And I am glad I listened to them.
Oh! And they kind of laughed at me for taking the 225 yesterday. They don't like taking the 225 even with their little bikes.
Along the way I went by a farm where they had just brought in a couple of dump trucks worth of potatoes and were sorting them out before the spuds went up a conveyor into a big yellow building and then off to the store.
I got to the Tourist Info Centre in Wood Islands at 12:30 and had a great lunch at the Chew Chew Cafe.
The view from my campsite is amazing. I look out over the ocean towards Nova Scotia.
I've got to get up early tomorrow morning so I can catch the 8 o'clock ferry to Caribou, Nova Scotia. The ferry terminal is something like 4 km from this campground at Northumberland Provincial Park.
I'll see what they've got for breakfast.

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