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| Day 62 - August 28 - Brackley Beach to Lower Barney's River 151km |
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| Surprisingly, I wake up feeling rested this morning. The picnic table is more comfortable than I expected. I'm up at 6:30 and I'm ready to go by 7. I like not having to take my tent down. It breaks the routine a bit. At this point in the trip we can certainly appreciate that. |
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| Charlottetown is 26km down the road and a good spot for breakfast. Rupica joins us at a Lebanese place downtown. I get pancakes and Glenn and Rupica get omelettes. Glenn is so hungry that he orders pancakes next. The waiter finds this a bit odd, but brings them as requested. As if that weren't enough, he orders pie on top of that. By this time it's 9:00 and we have to get going. We plan to catch the 11:30 ferry to Pictou. |
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| We finally head out the door and my back tire is flat. I take the tire off and study the tube. There don't seem to be any holes. I put it back on thinking it must be a slow leak. I go to pump it up and it's then that I hear the leak. It's at the base of the valve and it definitely requires changing. I take it off again, slip in a new tube and toss the old one. Glenn has a CO2 cartridge with him and we use that. It's faster than the pump because it inflates within seconds. Problem is, the tire isn't quite seated (positioned) properly so we have to let the air out again and fix it. Then we have to pump it up by hand because that was our only CO2 cartridge. |
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| It's a frantic 62km from there as we pedal hard toward the Wood Islands ferry terminal on Highway 1. The roads are good and there's a nice shoulder. There are also a number of hills on this stretch and what is initially a tailwind quickly changes to a headwind. It's a tough call. Accept the fact that I missed it and take my time the rest of the way, or keep riding hard and hope the ferry leaves a bit late. I choose the latter and pedal hard until I get there. Glenn has been ahead of me since the start and he's waiting patiently when I arrive at 11:50. |
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| "How long have you been here?" |
| "Half an hour", he says with a smile. |
| "Oh yeah? I doubt it." |
| "No...only six minutes", he says. |
| "That's more accurate." |
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| The next ferry leaves at 1:30 so we hang around the cafeteria in the mean time. Once we get on it's only 1 hour and 15 minutes to Pictou, Nova Scotia. I find a comfortable chair and doze off. Before I know it we've arrived. We stop at Subway at 3:00 for a late lunch. Ten kilometres later we're in New Glasgow and once again, it's very frustrating to get lost. We're looking for Marsh Street and we go 5km past it before we stop and ask directions. We are told by a gas station attendant that it's back up the hill on the right. There is no street sign so it's easy to miss. |
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| We're late getting in again, but it doesn't matter. It isn't raining, so I pick out a level, grassy area to pitch the tent. I notice that my bike still has some traces of red PEI dirt. I don't think I'll clean it just yet. |
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| Chicken burritos make for a filling dinner. As I sit and watch the sun go down, I think of how much I'll miss this Tour and all the people in it. We're into our ninth province now. The end is in sight. |
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