biking the trail

I bought a beautiful new bike this year.  It's a girl's bike, just my size, with silver fenders and a nice big seat. On my first rides along the National Park bike path, I thought I was going to die.  After 12 km, my legs felt like rubber, and my bum felt like it was full of pinched nerves.  It sure wasn't much fun.

But I kept at it, and surprisingly, my bum has toughened up, and my endurance has improved.
I'm still slow - my husband whips past me and is lost on the horizon, but I keep going.  Now I bike on PEI's Confederation Trail, a path that meanders 273 km from one end of the Island to the other.  I start at km 183 in York, about 2 km from my house, and my favourite route is going east.

An encouraging sign along the trail helps me keep going.

Much of the trail is shaded by tall trees, and farmers fields are full of ripening grain and sleepy cows.  Sulphur butterflies and Monarchs flutter beside me, and I see a lot of goldfinches, robins, northern flickers, and of course crows.  There are also chipmunks - one I saw yesterday had no tail.

I have been pushing further and further along this trail.  On Friday, I stopped at km 198 to drink in this amazing view of the Hillsboro River.

I paused to look at the floats from lines of mussels being cultivated in the river, the sparkling blue water, and birds floating overhead.  Then I got back on my bike, and made it to the 200 km signpost.  

I felt like I had enough energy to go a bit further, and then I thought about the return journey - another 20 km back home.  Then I saw a sign that made me know I was meant to turn back.  A 2-foot long garter snake was sunning itself on the edge of the path.  It looked at me unafraid, let me take a few pictures, and flicked its head once as I turned around. 

As soon as I got back on my bike, I noticed a strong breeze blowing against me.  Funny - I sure didn't notice the breeze helping me on my journey east.  This contrary wind starts up every time I turn back towards home.  You would think the wind couldn't always blow the same direction, but in my experience, it does. Since I'm already tired at this point, the ride home is slower.  

Yesterday, I went out again, and made it to km 202.  And turning around, the wind caught me again, and I knew it would be a tough ride home.  I stopped a few times to pick blackberries (see previous post) and ended up with three pounds of them dangling from a bag on my handlebars.  

I'm going to try the trip a few more times, to see how far I can push myself.