PEI Tour - Day 1

Sunday, June 29, 2014 - Linkletter Provincial Park - 82 km

We had a fairly plain breakfast, but with some very tasty muffins at the BnB while getting our ears talked off by the owners. We hit the road at 09:00 to a brilliant and warm day. Traffic was fairly constant, but we found some back roads that were quieter, and after about an hour of riding we hit the Confederation trail. We followed this which was nice and quiet, and despite being a dirt path, was fairly firm and smooth. Every couple of kilometers there is a rest area with a picnic table and it looks like it should be easy to find places to camp along here. Whenever the trail goes through a town there is usually a nice park to stop in as well. In one of these towns we took a coffee and danish break at a bakery in Hunter River and then continued. The views are mostly the backs of farms and the occasional wooded patch. As we came upon one potato field we had to stop and wait as it was being sprayed, with the wind carrying the mist directly over our path. Fortunately the farmer finished up shortly, the chemical cloud cleared, and we continued on. It began to get very hot in the early afternoon so we stopped in the shade at one of the rest areas and had a long lunch. As we ate, several dozen kids cycled by and a few adults accompanying them stopped to chat. They were a couple of scouting groups from both Moncton and Montreal who were cycle touring the entire trail. A very fit looking fellow who was riding sweep for the group told us that he had ridden the entire trail in 23 hours non-stop the previous week. We continued on as the day got hotter. Stopped briefly in Kensington for some groceries, took the road briefly which had very heavy traffic, and then got back on the trail. Suddenly we smelled french fries. At first this made me hungry, but the smell got stronger until it started to make us sick to the stomach. Shortly after we passed a potato factory and once up wind a bit, we had fresh air again. We got off the trail in Summerside and rode slowly through downtown in the heat. Passed many crowded ice cream stands as we rode out of town and another 5 km of moderately busy road brot us to Linkletter Provincial Park where we plan to sleep tonight.

Packed up and ready to roll.

Biking along the back roads on a lovely day.

The Confederation Trail.

I think this guy needs a new roof.

Potato fields everywhere.

Best scarecrow of the trip.

Resting at one of the stops along the trail.

Camp for the night.

Exploring the tidal flats.

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