2 days + 2 wheels = 1 sore ass

Mary and I awoke early Friday morning and drove to Tignish. The purpose was to fulfill our summer long desire to go on a biking trip. I really didn't prepare for the trip as well as I should have, it was a lazy summer, but I wasn't going to back down. The goal:

- A little over 126km over two days
- 74km for day 1 Tignish to Ellerslie
- 52km for day 2 Ellerslie to Kensington

Here we are at the beginning of our Journey, in the parking lot of the Tignish Co-op. Fresh faced...and oh so naive.

Mary


Me



The beginning of the trail.


The scenery was absolutely beautiful. There were some stretches of the trail that felt like they went on forever.


The road behind...



The road ahead.



We met some interesting folks, like the guy in Alberton who told us about an older husband and wife who were biking the trail together on a rainy day, when the wife had a heart attack and had to spend the rest of their vacation in Hospital. He also said 'Tig'ih'nish', instead of 'Tignish'. Funny guy.

Another interesting person was a hiker not far from O'leary. From behind, all we could see was a huge backpack, loaded with supplies and two walking sticks. It was impossible to tell from behind if it was a man or a woman. Once we got by though, we discovered it was a middle aged lady. She was from Calgary and was going to try making it to O'leary that day. Not sure if she would have made it there before dark at the rate she was going, but at least she had a tent, food and water with her.

Speaking of food and water...time to fuel up.






......ahhhhhhhhhh, that's much better. Moving right along.

I'll skip the more grueling part of the trip and jump right to the B&B. :) My favorite part about day 1! We finally arrived at our Bed and Breakfast after 7 hours. I think somewhere around the 50km mark, my legs began to give out. How I managed the last 24km's, I can't really say. My legs were trembling by the time we arrived at the B&B and I was completely exhausted. We averaged a little better than 10km/ hour on day one.

Here is the B&B we stayed in.




How I spent the majority of my time there...



Thankfully, the Bed and Breakfast had a Jacuzzi tub and I dropped into it for fifteen minutes. I honestly think I would have been stiff as a board the next day, had it not been for that Jacuzzi. Oh, those magical...massaging...jets. Sorry, there are no pictures or videos of my time in the Jacuzzi.

The next morning, we had a wonderful breakfast. It consisted of fresh whole wheat biscuits, blueberry muffins ,hot oatmeal topped with blueberries and maple syrup.....AND...scrambled eggs, toast and tea. So delicious. There was a lovely middle aged couple from South Carolina staying that night as well, and we had a very pleasant conversation with them over breakfast. :) By the end of breakfast, we had been invited to come stay with them, should we ever make it to their neck of the woods. Such pleasant souls and very young in spirit. They were married at a very early age, and now all their children have grown up...so they're alone, exploring the world together. Quite lovely.

Day two was about to begin, and it was once again a beautiful day.




A video of the outside at our B&B



Where day one was an extreme challenge and almost had me crying, day two was a complete joy to do. I think my body had been sufficiently broken in by day one, so by day two, I had finally found my stride. A part of the ease in day two would also have to do with the conditions on the trail. Day one was around 90% upward grade, but day two was more evenly distributed between flat, upward and downward grades.


We arrive, in Summerside!



Summerside chat.



The last 14kms went by in a flash. The weather was just so absolutely gorgeous and the trail so easy to ride, that it really didn't seem like much of a struggle at all. We pulled up to the Train Station in Kensington at 2:10 pm, even though we left twenty minutes later than we expected that morning, we were twenty minutes earlier than we anticipated arriving. Mary's parents were picking us up at 2:30, to take us back to Tignish, where our car awaited us. During that time, we made a shocking discovery...watch...

Kensington: Mission accomplished!



So, how about that? In addition, there were a group of really 'rough edged' teens, just being complete assholes. Leaving our bikes while we went back to Tignish was kind of making us feel uneasy, but we had little choice, so off we went.

When we got back to Kensington, our bikes were there..and all was well. We came home and slept quite soundly.

I think we truly lucked out on the days we chose. It couldn't have been more beautiful...with the exception of the wind, which was blowing in our faces for the entire trip. Day two, while still windy was far more enjoyable and we made much better time...4 1/2 hours for 52kms.

The question now is, do we do another two days 'next weekend'? I'm not sure if we will, but taking a day or two to rest and recover from this one may change my mind. It was fun overall, and really made me feel good about my abilities. I'll report on a possible 'part two' later in the week.

Seeya.