Days 77 and 78: Sundridge to Hilden, then to Halifax

Two mornings ago, I left Annika’s house and cycled to a Tim Hortons on the border of Pictou. A man named Jerry was standing by my bike outside of the restaurant and we started talking. He suggested that I bike to downtown Pictou to see a ship called Hector. It’s a replica of the original ship that first brought Scottish settlers to Nova Scotia back in the day. It was only a 5 minute bike ride so I went.

I thought the ship would be impressive, but it turned out to be a medium sized ship without its sails. I was a little disappointed.

From downtown Pictou, I rode continuously for almost 40 miles. There weren’t any rest areas to take a break. I cycled up Mount Thom then came back down to the town of Truro, where I had some Thai food for lunch at Sahla Thai. After having a mocha smoothie at Dairy Queen, I bought a sub and a few other food items at Sobeys supermarket since I’ll be camping that night.

After my lunch break at Truro, I biked to Scotia Pine Campground in Hilden that’s south of Truro. I arrived there before 3:30 PM, having cycled 54.3 miles that day. I’ll be camping one last time in Canada.

There was a swimming pool in the campground, but there were so many people in it that I opted not to go in. After taking a shower, I set up my tent and ate the sub and the food that I bought earlier. At 8 PM, there was a cover band called Interference that played a show at the community room. I watched for an hour before going back to my tent to sleep.

The forecast indicated a 10% chance of rain. I decided to put the tarp on my tent just in case. I learned from my camping mistake last time.

When I woke up the next day, there wasn’t any rain and I only saw one mosquito. I got going as soon as I packed up everything.

Sang-gye, who is my Warmshowers host in Halifax, and I have been in contact. She already got me a bike box so I can use it to take my bike on the plane. I shared my location with her on WhatsApp so she can track me until I reach her place in Halifax.

I had breakfast at another Tim Hortons down the road from the campground before cycling about 40 miles to Fall River where I saw a McDonald’s at a gas station. I decided a bird in hand is better than two in the bush. Rather than going farther to find something better, I decided to have a chicken sandwich meal there.

I got on the road again and followed the route on my phone. Only this time, the route took me to a dead end and there was no road, only a hiking trail. I didn’t want to carry my loaded bike on a hiking trail so I had to bike back to the gas station at Fall River and take a different road toward Halifax. That road was Route 2 and it had no shoulders and was very narrow. I had to be extra careful.

After getting into Dartmouth and crossing the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge, I arrived in Halifax. Sang-gye’s place is not far from the bridge, but it’s up a hill. I finally made it to my last destination in Canada at 1:45 PM, having ridden 56.7 miles for the day.

Sang-gye and her husband, Mattias, arrived soon after I carried my bike into the house. Sang-gye and Mattias were born in Germany. Sang-gye is actually her Tibetan name since she’s a Buddhist. And Mattias works as a sports therapist.

After settling down, I chatted with Mattias, who knows so much about history. He recommended me some books to read. I will have to check them out later.

I took a shower and did laundry. Then I applied for the United Kingdom ETA (electronic travel authorization) that I didn’t know about until Sang-gye told me. I had to download the UK ETA app to apply and pay $22.40 USD. The ETA is good for two years and I can travel to the UK as many times as I want within that period.

For dinner, Sang-gye made some rice and stir-fried vegetables. I’m supposed to stay for two nights at Sang-gye’s place so I’ll have to book two more nights at a hostel since my plane leaves on Thursday, July 24th, at 10:35 PM. Sang-gye said I might be able to stay two more nights, but we’ll have to see.

This morning, it’s raining. I plan to walk to downtown to do some exploring and buy some packaging tape. I also need some bubble wrap for my bike so I can protect it better. I will box my bike today if I have all the things I need.

Jerry, a local from Pictou

The ship Hector that brought the first Scottish settlers to Nova Scotia.

Cool sculpture by the shore of Pictou

A sunny morning for a bike ride

The road up to Mount Thom

Downtown Truro

Live band at the campground

Roadside attraction

I have another half to go! Or something like that.

Where there's a will, there's a road.

Dead end turned into a hiking trail. Maybe I should buy this land and make it into a proper road.

Going across the Macdonald Bridge to Halifax

Some books recommended to me by Mattias