Graves Island to Halifax: 79km (6717km)

Today is August 13th, 2010, two months after I left Vancouver. It was a short day to Halifax, so I let myself sleep in. I ate up pasta leftovers for breakfast and enjoyed the ocean view by daylight.

Graves Island Provincial Park.

I was feeling sluggish again this morning and found the hills out of Chester to be substantial, so I took a rail trail at the first opportunity. This smoothed out the hills and a headwind, and kept me out of traffic. Secondary highway 3 along the coast was only moderately busy, but there was no shoulder, lots of tight curves and blind hills, so it felt a bit dodgy. The rail trail did not have much coastal scenery, but there were a few good moments.

Bridge over river feeding into St. Margaret’s Bay.

One last rail trail.

I expected that I would be full of thoughts again today, but I was exhausted and more than anything just wanted to reach Halifax. I took in a few lectures on water and sports nutrition. Did you know that dehydration reduces endurance and muscle strength even for four hours after you’ve rehydrated? This and other fascinating tidbits kept me from lingering on the excitement of reaching my destination, which seemed further than I had imagined first thing in the morning. Still, by early evening, I was there!

The destination!

Neil called from the bridge to Dartmouth just before I reached the city limits to report that he was downtown and ready to celebrate! However, we were both at a loss for a meeting place. Just as I reached the Halifax Rotary, I got a call from Hanah, who is Halifax native and directed me to an appropriate midway pub, where Neil and I met moments later.

Neil celebrates Vancouver to Halifax with a beer.

I celebrate Vancouver to Halifax with a beer.

A man leaned into our sidewalk patio to ask, “Are those your bikes?” Yes. “Did you really bike cross the continent?” Yes! He explained that he had passed the same pub one year ago and found a similar touring bike and cross-Canada cyclist munching down on spaghetti. The cyclist hadn’t thought to dip his wheel in the Ocean, so the man took him to Point Pleasant Park at the end of Halifax to take his photo for the ceremony. He offered to do the same for us, but Neil had done his ceremonial dip and I will wait for Hanah in a few days. He said he would return to the pub next year to try again.

Neil headed off to the airport as his flight leaves first thing the next morning. His wife has been anxious for him to get home and he is going to arrive a day ahead of schedule to surprise her. I rode to Hanah’s mother’s house – she kindly offered to host me as we wait for Hanah to fly in – and enjoyed a warm welcome and all the comforts of home.

I will sleep well tonight, knowing that the big adventure has come to an end. I’ll put some statistics together in the next few days and will post some concluding thoughts on my long train ride home.

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