This morning we headed back over the Macdonald Bridge and out of Halifax on highway 107/7. At first it was pretty heavy traffic for a shoulderless road but the cars dwindled as the population grew more sparse. We'll be sticking to the southshore again tomorrow before cutting inland to head north. It's refreshing to ride within range of the ocean scents and often views. We've been laughing because it seems as though every community we pass through has a name that contains either the word 'clam' or 'harbour', sometimes both. The only small downside to riding in this region is it is fairly remote and we're without cell reception so our posts may be late for the next couple of days. Please stay with us.
I suppose the other 'downsides' come on the reverse of the many hills we've been climbing. We lost some time this morning when I ran over a staple that punctured my tire on the way up a hill. By the time I stopped to check it and noticed the flat, Alex was cresting and then out of view as he descended the other side. As the keeper of tubes and tools, Alex is vital to have around at such a time. I started calling his name and ringing my bell maniacally but he couldn't hear me over the wind. By the time Alex came back in sight he was climbing another hill about half a kilometre away and definitely out of earshot. I started to scheme that I could probably change a tube without tire levers (if I had a spare tube on me) before I realized that Alex also had my wheel key and the pump, two other essential tube changing items. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait in despair very long. A woman driving in the opposite direction stopped to see if she could help and was more than happy to turn around to flag down Alex and send him back. We didn't catch her name, and she didn't get ours, but it was a huge relief to have her there and eager to help us out today!
The rest of the ride was fairly smooth and we're finding it comforting to have relatively reasonable distances for this last stretch. At this point, to be honest, we're feeling a little tired so it's a lot easier to mentally gear up for 100km than for 120, 130+ and so on. This means we can have later starts and some time to play with during the day without feeling too rushed. Tonight we made it to camp early, leaving plenty of time for the mosquitoes to feast on us!
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