Day 10: Charlottetown to Cap Pele

118 km (73 miles) – Total so far: 958 km (595 miles)

Much needed quiet night cleaning bike and gear at the B and B. I had been looking for the reputedly best beer in PEI and found it, so I enjoyed a quiet couple back at the room, Gahan IPA at 6.5% in English sized bottles also.

Breakfast was not available until 8:15 so it was 10 before I got away. I took route 1 out of the city and them onto 235 which is very hilly and actually goes past PEI’s ski resort. It is mainly cross country, but there is a short downhill also, the highest point on the island at 146 metres . It was good riding on a fine morning although riding east and a little bit south it was into the breeze.

At Confederation Bridge it is necessary to take the shuttle across, no pedestrians or bikes are allowed. The bridge is quite new, finished only in 1997 and in 12.5 kilometres long. The shuttle takes you from the PEI visitor’s centre to the New Brunswick visitor’s centre. It seemed great, a brief rest, except there was an hour wait while the driver took her lunch.

Back in New Brunswick I headed up the coast, in a north easterly direction, again into the breeze. Many hills again, but the first part of the road, until it hits route 4 was good cycling, the last 20 kilometres on Route 4 with plenty of trucks. The upside was they are good for slipstreaming riding into the wind. A few nice quiet beaches on the way, but nothing like Cap Pele. There are several beaches and quiet suddenly the place is busy, plenty of Quebec people from the language in the restaurant. There are no suitable accommodation options. The motel is $105, and I looked at the campground at Sandy Bach, it reminded me of Malaga. The RVs packed close together and no tents. To camp there would cost me $33. That really is the biggest problem with the whole area, they are not geared up to taking tents, and charge unreasonable amounts to do so. So wild camping or stealth camping is the only answer. It does mean you can’t put your tent up until late and need to use the restaurant to change, but needs must.

Distance 118 km, Max Speed 54.1 km / hr, Ride Time 6 hrs 3 mins, Moving average 19.1 km / hr Departed 10:00 am, Arrived 5:30 pm