Ten years ago, for my 60th, I started the ride along the Rhine River. It was a marvelous trip and I enjoyed it so much, that, as you know, I have now ridden along the whole of the north flowing Rhine, from Basel to the North Sea. A number of people asked what I was planning for my 70th.
Well, I really hadn't done much planning at all. With COVID, everything was very much up in the air for the longest time and I had no project that had been poking at me. But when a friend asked if I would go to PEI with her, I said yes. At first I had thought to fly, but then it occurred to me that I love to drive and so did the road trip - all 1800 km, by myself. Well, I did have someone (something) in the car with me -- my lovely green bicycle. Because Jennie had troubles with bikes stolen and car broken into, I put her in the back and covered her with blankets and some other stuff, so it disguised what was there to the casual observer.
Today I got her out and together we headed south (the wind was from the south this morning and preferentially I always ride into the wind on the way out and with the wind on the way back. Also, I know the northern beaches and coastline much better from former trips here, so this was a new direction. The lady at the information booth in Borden had said that the Island was very bicycle friendly with lanes being put in all over the place. Indeed, Kensington, which is one of the main north/south roads had bike lanes and I used them to get to the heritage district where I then accessed the bridge over to Stratford -- also on a new bike lane. Then there was a choice to take the Trans Canada or a secondary highway -- the more picturesque East Coast drive which coursed closer to the southern coast. I chose the latter, partly because I love being close to the water and partly because I didn't want to ride on the Trans Canada!
The countryside is somewhat rolling, so there were challenging ups and downs. After an hour and a half, I was ready for a stop and a snack, but there was no restaurant, convenience store, or even canteen at the sports center to be found. The lady at the sports center indicated that there was an Irving gas station a few km back along the Trans Canada and that was about it. I went, found a cinnamon roll and coffee and also discovered that the Trans Canada was not nearly as scary as I had thought -- it had driveways opening onto it, a 90 km max, and a 2m paved shoulder in most spots. Yes, I could ride quite happily on that. The wind was about 30 kph, so going up some of the hills was hard. All the little places marked on my map were just a few houses together and there was no place to stop for anything for the next 20 km. I gave up and turned around, cycled back on the Trans Canada till I reached Stratford and lunched at Sobeys.
The ride back up Kensington was easy with the wind at my back and a nice bike lane. Our apartment is at the edge of the city with fields of shreddies visible just to the north of us. It was a great ride --81 km. I don't think I will take on the challenge of riding all around this Island, but it is wonderful to know that there are many rides still waiting for me.
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