Days 79 to 82: Four Rest Days in Halifax

Today is my fourth rest day in Halifax and my last day in Canada. Sang-gye and Mattias were kind enough to allow me stay two extra days. My flight leaves at 10:35 PM tonight and will arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland, around 8 AM local time. It’s only a 5:30 hour flight and I hope to catch some sleep on the plane.

For my first full day in Halifax, I bought some packaging tape from Canadian Tire and acquired some foam and card board from Cyclesmith bicycle shop. After packing my bike, I walked to downtown Halifax and visited Halifax Citadel, Halifx Central Library, and the Waterfront.

The following day, Sang-gye drive us to Peggy’s Cove to see the lighthouse there. On the way back we completed some shopping errands. After dinner, Mattias and I took a stroll to Fort Needham Memorial Park, a site that commemorates an accident when two ships, Imo and Mont-Blanc, had collided in 1917 causing a big explosion that killed many people. It was the largest man-made explosion at the time.

Yesterday, I took the bus to Point Pleasant Park on the south end of Halifax and walked around there. Then I bought two books as gifts for Mattias and Sang-gye since they like to read. One of them is The Psychology of Money, a favorite of mine. The other is Enough is Enuf, about the English language.

After a subpar seafood lunch at a restaurant called Bluenose II, I sat on a bench by the pond in Halifax Public Gardens for about two hours relaxing and chatting on the phone with a friend.

This morning, I sealed the bike box with tape and now I’m ready for my flight later this afternoon. I had arranged for a cab company called Driver Dave to pick me up at 7 PM. It’s a little cheaper than Uber.

Here’s my reflection about my trip so far. I think Canada is what US should be. The people are so nice and educated. I still haven’t met a Canadian Trumper. There’s free/low healthcare to keep the population healthy. Only one person I met who complained about the healthcare system. It was a woman at a restaurant in Lachute who said that there’s less money in the healthcare system because more people stopped smoking, therefore less revenue from cigarette tax. The result is there are more healthy people. I had to chuckle, because isn’t that what healthcare should do?

As I traveled in Canada, I noticed the sales tax is high. In Halifax, the combined federal and provincial tax is 14%. But people rarely complain about the high tax because they get more services. One Warmshowers host, Chris from Perth, even said that he wants the taxes to be higher so that there will be more services for the poor. In the US, people would say, “No way! That’s socialism!” While the rich in the US gets richer, avoids taxes, and even receives more money from the tax cuts, the Canadians are much better at equity and equality.

Overall, I had a great time in Canada. I wish I can live here, though the winter might irritate me. Maybe next time I should spend some time in Canada during the winter months.

Here are some statistics about my trip so far.

I stayed with 45 different hosts, camped 16 nights, and stayed in either a hotel or a hostel twice. I also cycled with a total of five cyclists, two were day rides (Bill and Reid) and three were longer than one day (Mike, Anas, and Jean-Bastien).

I’ve bicycled 2736.6 miles since I started in King of Prussia, PA, USA, 82 days ago. The actual mileage is slightly more because I had forgotten to turn on my bike computer a couple of times. Anyway, that’s 33.4 miles per day including rest days. Since I had 20 rest days, I averaged 44.1 miles per riding day.

I’ve had no flat tires, no broken spokes, and one car accident coming into Toronto where I had to get a new front wheel.

The Schwalbe Marathon Almotion tubeless tires were great and the Orange sealant was able to do its magic when a knife blade got into my rear tire as I was cycling in the Gaspesie Peninsula.

Lastly, I changed the oil in my rear hub once on this trip, second time I’ve changed it since I bought the bicycle.

That’s about it for the first part of my world bicycle tour in the US and Canada. In Europe, I plan to follow the Eurovelo bicycle routes and cycle in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, then head south toward Greece before arriving in Türkiye.

Total mileage so far

Sang-gye's Magnificent Breakfast with buckwheat, nuts, yogurt, and pineapples 

Halifax City Hall

St Paul’s Anglican Church

Old Town Clock

A sign that tells about the ship explosion in Halifax in 1917.

Fun fact about Citadel Hill

Halifax Citadel National Historic Site

A canon at the Citadel

On top of the fort

D-Day simulation

Machine gun at the Army Museum

Halifax Central Library

The staircase in the library

One of many sculptures at the Waterfront

Waterfront walk

The Deportation Cross

Ships at the waterfront

The Sackville

An artwork at the Waterfront

The lighthouse at Peggy's Cove

A funny sign on a rock in Peggy's Cove

Me and the lighthouse

Rock carvings by William E. deGarthe

Inside the William deGarthe Art Gallery

Me, Mattias, and Sang-gye

Halifax Explosion Memorial Bell Tower at Fort Needham Memorial Park

Memorial in Point Pleasant Park

Naval Memorial

Boats near Purcell Landing in Point Pleasant Park

Prince of Wales Tower National Historic Site

A walk in Point Pleasant Park

Spring Garden Road in downtown Halifax

Halifax Public Gardens

Griffin's Pond in Halifax Public Gardens

Water fountain in Halifax Public Gardens

Bicycle is all packed and ready to go!

In Halifax, there are dedicated walking signals.

Part one of my world bicycle tour is completed!