Day 20: Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada
July 2, 2016
Miles:69
Average Speed 13.0 mph
Annapolis Royal to Wolfville
We rode 69 miles today! Andy carried all our bags for us in the car, so that made the ride a lot easier. The ride wasn't too hilly and that helped make the ride easier still. However, despite the long distance we had to ride, we didn't get on the bikes until after 11am, so the time crunch made the ride a little harder. Fortunately, Jen and Ben joined us for the ride today and they ride much faster than us, so they made finishing the ride in a reasonable time much easier. And therefore harder.
We all met in the dining room of the Queen Anne Inn at 8am for breakfast. Our meal consisted of blueberry scones, fresh biscuits, blueberry smoothies, and a choice of a sweet (fruit) or savory (eggs) crepes. And of course, lots of coffee and juice. It was a delicious meal and very filling.
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| Blueberry smoothy course |
While we were eating breakfast, the town crier came in to announce what was occurring in town today. We all thought it very strange for the town crier to wander into our dining room and perform his town criering, but it was good fun. In addition to telling us what was going on, he described his uniform and the multiple purposes of his articles of clothing. (e.g., the white neck tie can be used as a bandage, the ribbon as a makeshift stretcher). He also told us interesting things about the social habits of folks in the 1700's, such as appeal of men's calves to the ladies (prompting men to bow and bring their hand in a sweeping flourish in front of their forward-turned calf to make sure their calf captures the ladies' attention). Those were strange times.
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| The town crier |
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| Dressed to show off his calves |
Well, with such distractions afoot, it is small wonder we didn't get riding until after 11am. We were riding on Route 201 and it was a beautiful ride. The weather was overcast and cool, which is perfect for riding. We were riding through farmed land and it was green everywhere you looked.
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| Serene countryside |
There weren't many cars on Rt 201, so it was very relaxing to ride (other than the fact we were riding at 13 mph, which is normal for Jen and Ben but a little fast for Di and me).
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| Relaxed (photo credit: Jen) |
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| Ben at ease (photo credit: Jen) |
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| Jen is tranquil |
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| We were just west of Paradise (but never found it) |
After we had ridden around 19 miles, Andy came driving up to find us. He shouted from the car that he had fresh strawberries, trail mix and licorice and asked if we wanted to take a break. How could we say no to that? We had just been saying amongst ourselves that we could give Andy a call and ask him to bring us some snacks and then he shows up with all this great stuff. I could very easily get used to that!
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| Andy brings us strawberries (they were awesome) |
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| And trail mix |
Andy told us he had been busy since he left us to ride our bikes. He had driven into town in search of a toothbrush (he had forgotten his home). While in town he discovered an open market and found a booth giving free samples of vodka from a local distillery. Naturally, he had to have his share of samples. He liked the rhubarb vodka so much he bought a bottle to take home. He also found a bottle of local maple syrup that he bought for Paige because she loves good maple syrup. Then he went to the market to get our break food (strawberries, trail mix and twizzlers).
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| The outdoor market (photo credit: Andy) |
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| More market (photo credit: Andy) |
I was listening to Andy tell us about the fun he was having and it suddenly occurred to me that he was enjoying himself more than I was. Maybe there is something to this traveling-by-car thing after all. I'll have to give it a chance.
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| Di getting ready to resume riding after our break |
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| Ben rides with renewed vigor after our break |
We continued to look at the pretty countryside.
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| A view of pretty countryside |
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| Another view of another pretty countryside |
Around the 37 mile mark, Andy caught up with us again and offered us Gatorades that he had bought. He was really doing a superlative job riding the support car! While we drank the Gatorades, we discussed where to have lunch and Andy said he had already done the research and suggested we eat at the Green Elephant Cafe. "The menu has something for all of us there", he said. I think he missed his calling: he should be a bicycle touring coordinator. We went to the Green Elephant and they had iced coffee! I forgot to take pictures of our food and can't remember what we ordered (I think there was a preponderance of chicken), but I do remember the restaurant offered no fries of chips because they aren't considered healthy. Instead, you get a side of cole slaw, because obviously cabbage dripping with mayonnaise is a much healthier alternative.
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| Di and Jen outside the Green Elephant Cafe |
During lunch, Andy told us that after our break with the strawberries and twirlers, he had gone to the Greenwood Military Aviation Museum. It is an outdoor museum and Andy got to see many wartime planes. He said he really enjoyed it. Of course, those of us riding bicycles couldn't visit the museum because it was too far away for us. Its dawning on me that this car thing has some real advantages.
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| At the museum (photo credit: Andy) |
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| At the museum (photo credit: Andy) |
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| At the museum (photo credit: Andy) |
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| Andy gives Di iPhone battery life advice after lunch |
It was around 4pm when we resumed riding after lunch and we had 30 miles to go. Jen took the lead and set a good pace for us to help ensure we would finish our ride before it got too late.
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| More pretty stuff |
Ben saw a sign advertising fresh local strawberries and said we should get some, so we pulled into Avery's Market. I bought a basket of strawberries, but apparently that is not really what Ben had in mind, because instead of enjoying the strawberries he was soon indulging himself in some ice cream.
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| Hanging at Avery's |
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| Ben enjoying his ice cream mischievously (photo credit: Jen) |
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| At rest at Avery's (photo credit: Jen) |
At this point we had only 12 miles to go and we made it to the Blomidon Inn in Wolfville by 7:15pm.
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| The stately Blomidon (photo credit: Andy) |
Andy (again!) found a restaurant for us and made dinner reservations for 8:15pm. We settled into our rooms and got ready for dinner. Andy and Ben were ready first and they spent the time waiting for the rest of us by playing frisbee on the front lawn of the Blomidon (I like to say Blomidon)
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| Playing frisbee while holding a package of Twizzlers? |
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| Andy shows off his calf |
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| Di couldn't wait for dinner and finished off the last of the trail mix |
We went to the Troy Restaurant, which specializes in Mediterranean dishes, and sat in the outdoor patio.
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| Ready to eat (or at least to drink) |
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| Now we are ready to eat (and to drink) |
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| Andy's meal (photo credit: Andy) |
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| Andy approves of his beverage (photo credit: Andy) |
It was a good day of riding for Jen, Ben, Di and me and the youngsters pushed us to go farther and faster than we have yet on this trip. And not only did Andy make our day more fun, he found ways to have a tremendous amount of fun on his own. We had a great day! We are tired now after today's ride and are glad we will all be piling into the car and driving to Halifax tomorrow. Automobiles can be so useful.
