Day 59 - Halifax!

Google maps said it was 160 km to Halifax, so I got an early start, snarfing down the free breakfast at the motel and heading out into the chilly 7:40 air.

The day had its share of surprises.  I took the 104 to Truro and then turned onto route 2 there.  Surprise number one came in Truro when I received a text message from Angela asking if I was going to be going through Bedford.  I had been planning to go through Dartmouth but I changed my plans because she said she was making a sign.

Surprise number two was all the construction going on on route 2.  I had to wait at a couple of construction zones, and after waiting there is always the exhilaration of getting through the zone before traffic starts coming the other way.

Surprise number three was all my former coworkers who came out to greet me on the Bedford Highway as I rolled through.  How's this for a warm reception!


As I was talking to the crew, I was boasting about how my rear tire had gone the whole trip without a single flat. Well, can you guess what surprise number 4 was? Yup, about 5 minutes down the road, I heard the dreaded pffft of air escaping from my rear tire.  But, surprise number 5 happened when Mark showed up on his mountain bike, having been tipped off my Angela that I was on my way.  We chatted for a while as I changed my tire and tried to pump it up with my woefully inadequate pump.  Surprise number 6 was that Mark had a real bike pump in his car, about 10 minutes down the road.  I made it there with 40 psi in the tire and topped it up to the usual 110 psi to finish the ride.  Thank you, Mark!


Coming into Halifax was great.  Riding down familiar tree-lined streets like Connaught Avenue, I had a real feeling of being home.  The final act was to take my bike to Point Pleasant Park and dip the wheels in the Atlantic.  A curious bystander was happy to capture this fantastic moment on my camera.


So, that's it!  There are a few things that were incredibly valuable on this trip.  First, I would like to thank the makers of Zincofax for (literally) saving my butt.  Also, I have to give a shout out to Subway restaurants.  And, last but not least, thanks to everyone who read and commented on the blog and emailed as I made my way across the country.  It helped a lot to share the experience on the blog, so I never felt like I was alone.


Today's track

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