West
of
Stewart,
Confederation Trail, Hillsborough watershed area. PEI
Still minus -14 today, but hopeful blue skies. They say it's going to warm up at least by June 21st.
At a local sports store last week I bought a fleece balaclavas on sale.
Reason? Even though most of the cycling adventure will be during warm weather, I may occasionally be engulfed by hail or sleet or very cold winds and rain. This should be exceptional protection for those times. The 'hat' is so light-weight (very - will take up little or no room in the backpack) and warm. My rain jacket's hood over the balaclava will keep me dry and dry.
At Stewart, PEI, (2003) I parked my Vanagon beside a wonderful tea-room, and headed west on the trail. I stopped to take this picture, meeting a large group of women cyclists who also stopped and then went on ahead. In PEI, bike rental shops will take people out on group rides. This was one of those groups. They're driven out in vans, and picked up at designated spot later in the day.
Ten km. down the trail, it started to pour. I parked my bike, and under cover of the woods, untied my backpack, got out and put on my rain jacket.
NOTE: If it looks gray, keep rain gear at top of pack.
My cycling pants were not water-proof, nor my socks and sandals, nor my cycling gloves. I headed back to my Van immediately, but I was extremely cold when I got back having ridden almost an hour in a cold rain. I might add that it's not easy getting wet stretch pants off, while shaking like a leaf in a storm, in a camper van.
I headed down the road afterward, in the Van, to Montague where I went into the newspaper office, and gave them a write-up of the ride I was doing for Sandie Gallant. Her dad, Joe, had been a local boy from Souris, and had also died of cancer in the 1970's. They used an old picture I had with me of the two of them together at the Summerside air base back in the 1950's. Joe was in uniform. Sandie was about 14 years old then.
Afterwards, I had a wonderful seafood dinner on a hill overlooking a valley. Serendipity!
I'm having salmon for supper tonight, but it won't be the same. Of course!
Enjoy the day.
Karen
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