July 10, 2017
Day 74: Murray Harbour, PEI to Souris, PEI
It has been a long day full of memorable experiences and very nice people.
We started by going to the store where we inadvertently set off the burglar alarm last night. The two young women working there thought the whole incident was very funny. We started to get some juice and muffins for breakfast, but one of them recommended a restaurant a couple of blocks away. Kerry told her that made two sales they'd lost from us!
We went over to the Harbourview Restaurant and had a good breakfast, then rode through more attractive farmland before arriving at the Winds Corner Store. The clerk working there, Heidi Frankfort, was another friendly, enthusiastic person who wanted to hear all about our travels. She took a selfie with us before we left.
The next town was Montague. The town is on the Montague River and has a beautiful waterfront.
We went into the visitors center in the old train station and walked around the area a little bit. A man approached Kerry and asked if they had not met at a campground yesterday. He had our card. Kerry didn't recall meeting him until his wife walked up, That's who he remembered from the ferry yesterday. They and their son are from Vancouver Island and are on a camping vacation trip. We saw them again about a half hour later at McDonald's. So, Vancouver Island family, it's been nice seeing you - maybe we'll meet again this week.
The big bike trail on PEI, the Confederation Trail, runs through Montague at the waterfront. The surface looked good to ride and we decided to try it for a few miles to the next town. That idea lasted about 1/2 mile. There are gates at each road crossing which require getting off and walking the tandem through and the trail was very wooded and very buggy. The road was much easier to ride, had better views and fewer biting insects.
The next place we planned to stop past Montague was the Springwater Farm. It's a sheep farm that has farm tours available. We stopped in and got a short tour from a young employee who's worked there for years. We walked through the barn, saw some lambs and cows and asked a few questions about sheep farming. It wasn't much, but it was something to do.
We also stopped at a small distillery in Rollo Bay, got to look at the still and had a few samples. It was a nice way end our ride. The B&B was only four miles farther down the road.
We were only about a mile from the B&B when we saw another bicycle touring couple in a parking lot. We pulled in to say hello and met Bill and Colette from Cape Breton. They were staying at the same B&B as we were. After chatting for a few minutes, we went on to get something to eat before we checked in. It was an hour later, as we were checking in, that they arrived. Bill had had a mishap with his bike and bent the front rim. They had already made arrangements to have a friend bring them a new one tonight. Kerry was able to fix the damage so that the bike was OK to ride, so their friend didn't have to drive 50 miles out here tonight. It's nice when all that money he spends on tools is put to good use.
Today's ride: 49 miles (79 km)
Total: 3,007 miles (4,839 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 0 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |