Day 89: Sherbrooke to Monastery, NS (95km)

Before embarking on this trip I often dreamt about Alex and I riding the open road, coasting alongside beautiful vistas to the rhythm of our pedal strokes. We've definitely experienced plenty of that; this trip has been wonderful and amazing. However, lately my dreams have taken on a new tone. The other night I had a vivid dream in which I was sleeping in a bed. When I awoke to find myself in a wet tent with my head on my camp towel/pillow I realized just how ready I am to have a home again.

The above being the case, our last week of riding has been a particularly rewarding homestretch. The seaside rides on the first two days out of Halifax were nothing short of idyllic, it felt like we were riding through a travel brochure for the province. Today we cut north up highway 7, past Antigonish and eastward toward Cape Breton. Our route, if again a little bumpy and hilly, also ran parallel to a river for much of the way and until we reached highway 104 there was little in the way of traffic. We have loved travelling through Nova Scotia this way and can see how a trip around the coast and Cape Breton could and should be exceptional trips to do in themselves. Now we are just two riding days out of Sydney, which we'll have some time to enjoy while we await our ferry departure on Monday night. We will be sailing into Argentia rather than Port Aux Basques primarily because we really need to get back home and back to work! The shorter route through Newfoundland will cut our trip down to about 7200km total and get us home by the end of Labour Day weekend. Suddenly Vancouver to St. John's doesn't seem so far!