We started our July 1, Canada Day, eating a quick breakfast in our hotel room of cereal we’d bought the night before at the corner store. We wanted to get out and started, knowing that it was supposed to rain all day. We had 55km (35mi) to cover before we’d get any relief by arriving at the East Point lighthouse. We quickly packed up and were on the road and were ready to go before 9:00am.
As we set off, the wind, rain and temperature were just as advertised; the wind was a strong headwind, the rain was falling and it was only about 14 C (57 F). Overall, it was pretty miserable weather, but continued undaunted. The bicycle riding, however was typical PEI nice. There were rolling hills to break up the landscape that also gave a good cadence to the riding. Views were a bit few and far between, but with the rain, they weren’t much to take in in the first place. Traffic was also very light, between the holiday and the remoteness of where we were, but it enabled us to ride side-by-side on the highway much of the time.
As we continued on, an amazing thing began happening: the rain began letting up a bit, and after another 10km (6mi) or so, we noticed dry spots on the road. By the time we started seeing the familiar wind turbines of the extremes of the island, the skies were even starting to clear in patches. The road was almost entirely dried out. The winds were still ripping, but dialing back the rain was enough to lift our spirits on its own.
As we reached the turn off the highway for Lighthouse Road, we were really looking forward to a warm drink and meal and our third of four lighthouses! But man, did that headwind ever beat us back! We were turning from heading mostly east directly into the headwind and by this point it was ripping at 40-60km/h (20-35mph). It probably took us 10 minutes to make it the 2km (mile and a half) to the end of the road and the East Point lighthouse station!
We were greeted with the nicest view from any of the lighthouses yet. There was a great, sweeping view of the sea all around, and enough blue skies that were were actually able to enjoy it!
We settled into the cafe for a hot coffee, some lunch and some rest for our legs and butts. Some mac & cheese for Chris and a soup and sandwhich for me later and we were starting to feel pretty rejuvenated. We made the climb up to the top of the lighthouse to take in more of the view. After making our way back down, we headed to the gift shop to receive out Prince Edward Island Tip-to-Tip Certificates, to signify that we’d traveled the length of the island from North Cape to East Point. Having seen all there was to see, we resigned ourselves to finishing the last 25km (15mi) to Souris with the fantastic tailwind the whole way.
As we sailed down the road, the hills became a lot bigger than they had been, but with the tailwind, nearly everything was so much easier than on any other ride of the trip. It was our first good tailwind since we’d arrived on PEI. The bigger hills also afforded really nice views of the lush countryside and the sea beyond.
A couple of breaks later and we got to the hill above Souris and could see the town stretching out below along the coast. Before too long, we had made it downtown and to our bed and breakfast, Bullwinkle’s Place. Having never stayed at a B&B before, it was a really pleasant and homey experience. We met our host’s dog, George and settled in.
Before too long, we headed out and grabbed a giant dinner at a nearby restaurant. Now full and happy, we headed back to the B&B and enjoyed some tasty local beers and watched some bicycle touring videos on YouTube from my favourite, Iohan Gueorguiev. A couple videos in, we were drifting off to sleep.
The next day’s plan was to head south to the most Southerly point on PEI, Wood Islands. At about 75km (46mi), it was another long-ish day, but the weather forecast was looking promising, with temperatures due to warm, skies to clear and winds to lessen. We were really looking forward to it!