Announcing the Cold and Wet Tour

The kids return to school, but I’m still itchin’ to stay riding, so this weekend I pulled the trigger on a week-long tour of Prince Edward Island in Eastern Canada. It’s Canada’s smallest province, but big into cycling. Their Confederation Trail travels the length of the island — off-road and flat.

I have a business excuse for this trip: the First Angel Network in Halifax, Nova Scotia is hosting the 2012 National Angel Summit. FAN made me an honorary member and placed me on the agenda, so that legitimizes this trip, but I couldn’t travel all that distance without tacking on a week on the bike.

But mid-October that far north? Is this wise?

I haven’t been rained on in about a year; that’s good and bad. Since most of my local riding is recreational, I sit out wet days. My trips to Halifax and Victoria were sunny and dry. This new tour will balance the scales.

What’s the weather like? There’s a site named exactly that, so I’ve learned that PEI only gets an inch of snow in October. That would be a novelty, but the 4.4 inches of rain combined with temps in the low forties has inspired me to call this the Cold & Wet Tour.

View Charlottetown loop in a larger map

Logistics is getting to be second nature for me. One concept I’ve settled on: rent a bike locally — it’s just too convenient. If I were traveling for a month then fine, ship my favorite touring bike, but a week is too short. Just the cost of shipping a bike one-way is equal to renting for the week, plus, the big advantage at the end of the trip — it’s always a pleasure to simply remove the panniers and hand back the bike. I’ll be heading to Halifax without a care after this week in the saddle on PEI. I’m excited.