Surf and Turf in Antigonish before the last few days in Cape Breton

We are getting very close.

So are two English men whom we met as we left PEI on the ferry to Pictou. They work in the Alps during the winter, and one night at the bar they talked about the upcoming summer. Neither wanted to work, so the idea came up to bike across Canada. Sound familiar? They will be taking the ferry to Port-aux-Basques in the next few days, while we take the one to Argentia Monday morning, so they've got a bit further to go. Moreover, they are biking back to Halifax once they're done, because that's where their flight leaves from to go back home. We will not be choosing that option...

The wind's been in our face for the last two weeks, and why would anything change on our way to Antigonish? Fortunately it was a relatively short day at 95km, and when we got into town, we were met by my cousin Andrew and his wife Laurell and brother-in-law Shane. They were picking us up to drive us out to Arisaig, where Laurell grew up and is now staying for most of the summer with my two cousins. Her family has a great location near the shores of the Northumberland Strait, but even better was their hospitality.

When they fetched us as we came into town, my cousin Andrew picked up 15 lobsters, steak, and sausage, and that evening we all gorged ourselves up at Laurell's parents Vince and Bobbi's home. Vince is a retired lobster fisherman, and on numerous occasions has cooked 100lbs of lobster at once, in a gigantic homemade cooking pot which he heats with a huge propane torch. The food was incredible, and we got in a bit of horshoes as well - Vince and his family host a horseshoe tournament every Labour Day weekend.

We couldn't eat all the steak, so it became this morning's breakfast before they drove us back out to Antigonish so that we could get on our way. We then had to plough through more headwinds and some rain as we headed onto Cape Breton Island.

Before crossing the causeway onto the Island, we were met by firemen from one of the local volunteer fire departments. Mike's mother Polly had told them a few days earlier that we would be coming through, and gotten them to help us out. Sure enough, Ian and Lou came out to meet us, escorting us across the narrow causeway with no shoulder. They even gave us some bottled water back at their station before we continued on. Thanks guys!

We pushed on for a 105km day to Whycocomagh over the hills and into the wind, leaving us a short day to our motel in North Sydney before we catch the ferry on Monday morning to Argentia. Countdown's getting close...

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Two sleepy days on Prince Edrward Island

We are close to the end, and our bodies and minds can sense it. As we near the last few days of the trip, the exhaustion from the long trip is catching up with us. Now on Prince Edward Island with a bit of time on our hands, we decided to make the most of our time and spend as much as we could here. We decided to not take a rest day on our way from Metis to the ferry, and instead took two slow, short, and easy days across the Island.

The first day was a 60km trip to Charlottetown. It absolutely poured on us as we came into town, where we met Pat's Mum and Dad for lunch. While we were there, CBC Radio came and interviewed us, and funnily enough Pat saw Mike's family taking a horsedrawn carriage ride right past where we were eating! They were taking some time to see the city before continuing on their way around the Maritimes. We later found a hotel room, and everyone stayed around before we went out to dinner to see the sights. It's a beautiful little city, and with the trip nearing an end, it was nice to have time to enjoy it and take it in.

With only a short trip down to the ferry, we took the morning to sleep in before heading off today. We had a place to stay right near the Woodlands ferry with Darla Thompson and John Rousseau. They stayed in the Eastern Townships with my grandparents about a month ago, and they were returning the favour to us. The location was perfect for us, and they were gracious hosts at their beautiful property. They fed us well while John told us stories about his masonry business, an absolute passion for him. While we were there, we also took the opportunity to decide who was going to get what gear to take home. we had an NHL-style draft, with 10 packages up for grabs. Funnily enough, nobody really wanted to take the trailers which carry it all, but everyone went home with some good loot, and it avoids our having to divide it up in St. John's last minute! The Island has been absolutely beautiful to bike across. The rolling landscape is complete with farming fields, and views of the water. Most distinct are the potato crops, with the red earth that they are planted in.

Tomorrow, we'll take the ferry off of the Island onto Nova Scotia, our ninth province of the trip, heading towards Antigonish. And the countdown continues...

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Spanning the Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island

All our family is slowly making their way to St. John's.

We met up with Pat's parents in the morning for breakfast, and soon after Bob, Polly, and Mary McDonald drove by us on the road. They drove from Ontario and will tour the Maritimes before crossing to Newfoundland.

We wanted to get to PEI today, and it made for a long 135km day. The scenery along the small highway we took for the last 20km was absolutely beautiful, and we could just make out the Island across the water, a pencil-thin line on the horizon. As we moved South, the Confederation Bridge slowly came into view, and it is very impressive. It was completed in 1997, and spans 13km from NB to PEI. It is even slightly curved to force drivers to pay attention to the road. Unfortunately, no pedestrian or bicycle traffic is alowed on the bridge, so we took the shuttle which runs back and forth.

Once on the other side, we found a campground quickly, and set up before the rain hit. The McDonalds met up with us, taking us out for a seafood dinner in Summerside. Tomorrow, we'll continue to Charlottetown to have lunch with Pat's parents. One week to go!

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A visit from Pat's parents on our way to Rexton

It's been a while since we last had to wake up and take down camp in the rain, and this morning was brutal. We got up to rainy weather, a road under construction, and wind in our faces coming out of the rest area where we made our home. It was slow enough that we only made it 25km by lunchtime in Miramichi, where we settled down at Boston Pizza to use up the last of our free individual pizzas. Delicious.

The conditions weren't showing any signs of improving weather, and we weren't too sure what lay ahead, so once we crossed the bridge we picked up food for our next two meals to carry with us. Ironically, the rain died down soon after, the sun came out, and the wind improved, so we made quick time the rest of the way to Rexton, where we found a site and set up camp.

As we got there, Pat got in touch with his parents. They arrived in Halifax a few days ago, and have been driving around the Maritimes in a Ford Mustang rental car. They came and found us at our campground, and it was nice to see them, as Pat has not seen them since the third day of the trip. They took us out to dinner at their motel, and we'll have breakfast with them tomorrow before heading out, at Eastern Canada's version of their Vancouver Starbucks: Tim Horton's. Good thing we got all that food in Miramichi, eh?

Tomorrow, we'll cross over the Confederation Bridge to camp out just on the other side. On to PEI as the count goes on.

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Leading the parade through Bathurst on our way down the coast

A few people in Bathurst might now about the ride now.

After covering 50km to get there for lunch, we ran into a parade that was running along the main drag through town, also our route out.

We had options. There were a number of streets available to take around it to get on our way. There was also the option of just joining the parade itself and acting like we were a part of it. We went for the latter.

We bypassed the lineup of vehicles that were actually part of the parade, slowly pedaling while waving to the crowd and smiling for the cameras. Eventually we got to the front, passing a few firetrucks and a cop car or two, and were leading things along. People who were waiting for the parade in behind us saw us first, and clapped and cheered us on. It was a pretty funny experience.

The winds have been fighting us all the way South, and today was no different. Complicating things was the fact that there was essentially nothing to be found between Bathurst and Miramichi, a full 80km apart along a deserted highway. Worse, there was a repaving project on the road making riding a nuisance, and with the hour getting late, the outlook was bleak. Luckily for us, a rest area opened up, with a gas station across the road. We've set up camp and will stay the night.

The countdown continues as we continue down the coast towards the Confederation Bridge to take us across to PEI.

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The countdown begins in New Brunswick

We're in the final countdown to St. John's, and now that we are in the Maritimes in New Brunswick, it is hitting us that we are very close to the end.

At our campsite last night and this morning, we waged a serious battle with the local blackflies. They were by far the worst we've had to date, just swarming every part of our body, worst when we were standing still trying to actually do something. They definitely won the fight, and we got out of there as quickly as possible this morning to avoid them.

There was little between Sainte-Florence and Matapedia, so we made it through in solid time. The ride was absolutely beautiful, following several of the regions rivers through the valley, surrounded by pine forest. We weren't quite ready for lunch when we arrived, so we pushed on across the border to Campbellton. It was quite a feeling to be in the Maritimes, and thankfully they had a great sign for us to get a picture with!

There's not much along the East coast of NB, and we went a long distance without seeing any grocery stores or restaurants. Worse, we had lost an hour coming into the province, so it was getting late to find something. Signs to one campsite were completely false, but regardless we didn't have any food, and after 120km of riding, all we knew about was Pizza Delight in tiny Jacquet River 10km away, which somehow came up in searches. We figured we had no choice but to go there, so we ordered 4 of their biggest pizzas for takeout, and figured we'd find somewhere to camp once we got there.

We lucked out big time. Not only was the pizza delicious, but there was a campground right next to it. It was right on a beach, and with clear skies the sunset was amazing. We took the pizza with some beers down to the water, had a swim with LOADS of jellyfish (Jon got stung), and had rock skipping, rock throwing, and caber toss competions. The caber toss was the most exciting, and everyone was able to get the first, lighter log to 12 o'clock. The second log, taller and heavier, posed a greater challenge. Contestant after contestant tried and failed, until Jon stepped up to the plate for his third attempt, throwing it up in Herculean fashion to get it to land at the 12 o'clock position. We even had a crowd, as a couple had just ridden over along the sand in their ATV. With the competition settled, we headed back up to set up camp, with two full pizzas left for tomorrow. They were huge, so we'll definitely have enough for breakfast, possibly even lunch!

With the trip nearing an end, I've decided to run the battery on our GPS locator down, and have it tracking us all the time through the day. If you click on the "current location" link on the homepage, you can see where we are throughout the day, and follow us all the way to the finish line until August 5th. It is a cool extra feature for you who follow us along.

Moreover, we sit about $11,000 short of our fundraising goal to date. Please help us out be telling anyone you haven't already about the ride to help us make it before we're done! Every little bit helps.

With that out of the way, the countdown is on to St. John's.

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