EP Bike Trip #3: Bike and Bean Cafe, French Village, Nova Scotia

For the last couple of Sundays, at church, one of the members of the congregation has been encouraging me to check out a network of trails west of Halifax that were converted from old rail road tracks.

Upon closer inspection on a map, I noticed that there were actually a number of multi-use trails west of Halifax that fit my friend's description, and since I was new and had no idea of what to expect, I selected the longest, most difficult one I could find - the 33 km BLT/St. Margaret's Bay Rails to Trails route.

The BLT/St. Margaret's Bay Rails to Trails route is a groomed, dirt/gravel trail that is maintained by a volunteer organization. While I wanted to travel the entire length of the route - and someday will, I was starting out from my home only an hour before sunset, and considering that the start of the trail system was a good 10 km away from my home to begin with, I decided to find a closer target. I settled on an interesting cafe that was once an old train station, the Bike and Bean, figuring that a cup of hot chocolate (the drink of choice for EPs) would be a great way to refresh and warm up before heading back home.

Unfortunately, when I finally arrived in the dark at the cafe, I found out that a) it closes at 5 PM (a half-hour before I even left my home), and b) even if I had made it there earlier it wasn't open on the day of my ride anyway.

(The trip wasn't an entire waste - I captured this impressive sunset along one of the many lakes alongside which the trail passes.)

Cold, hungry, and tired, I set back off into the night on the pitch black trail, trying to pedal as fast as I could to make it home quicker than the 2 hours it took me to reach the cafe originally. I could barely see where the edges of the trail were, but it was well maintained, and so I trusted my dim bicycle light and pedalled on... hard. I estimated that I was travelling anywhere from 35 km/hr - 40 km/hr on average.

When I finally did make it home, I could barely carry my bicycle up the stairs to my fourth floor apartment, where I only got one shoe untied, before collapsing on the floor from exhaustion and pain (my frozen wrists had taken an especially hard hammering on the ride). I am a determined EP though, if nothing else, and so now that I know where the Bike and Bean Cafe is, I will take my road bike out and follow a more direct route there on an Autumn weekend afternoon (I completed this last journey on a city commuter bike - my EP Cruiser).

Total distance travelled: 55+ km

Total time taken: 3.5 hours.

Quarterly Review #1, Part 3: August 2010

Continuing on with the EP Bike Trip trend, in mid-August I planned an 86 km round trip to Peggy's Cove to see what is perhaps the most famous lighthouse in Canada, if not the world. As regular readers will no doubt remember, things didn't quite go according to plan but that I eventually did make it. This was probably my favourite moment in August.

Speaking of cycling, I also met Jennifer Kean and Mike Cross in August. When I met Jennifer and Mike they were just finishing up their 22nd hour of non-stop continuous stationary cycling, in an attempt to raise money so that they could partake in a 12 day bicycle journey from Vancouver, British Columbia to Austin, Texas. The proposed journey was part of a larger effort by GiveToLive to raise money and awareness for cancer research.

While not as cool as cycling, the Harbour Hopper is definitely the most unique tour in Halifax. This amphibious vehicle is actually a refitted Vietnam War transport vessel, and takes customers on an hour long tour of Old Halifax and the Harbour. What makes the Harbour Hopper special is that it actually goes into the Harbour, and it even has VIP status to get within 50 metres of the Navy base. I would not have normally had the money to take this tour, but thankfully a friend from church bought a ticket for me as a treat. Let her contributions to the blog be duly noted.

My favourite festival of August was the Northern Lights Lantern Festival. It may not have been the largest festival, but it was definitely the most fun. This was not likely because of any one feature I suppose, so much as because of the people who were there. As I've mentioned before, the North End is my favourite community in Halifax because the people are just a bit more relaxed and friendly there than anywhere else in Halifax. I've always felt welcome whenever I've been there, even though I don't live there.

The most memorable moment in all of August for me though was my fantastic camping experience inKejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site. As the second instalment of the EP Road Trip series, this journey involved three days and two nights of camping, along with some great camp fire sing-along sessions and playing in the warm waters of Kejimkujik Lake. It was the first tick on an extensive list of Canadian National Parks, of which I intend to visit every single one.

Well, that concludes my look back at the last three months. Let me know in the comments section what your favourite post in that time was. Perhaps you have a suggestion for a new feature you'd like to see in the next quarter. Include that in your comment too, or send me an e-mail at davidrjmurray@gmail.com.

Now if you'll excuse me I must get back to more great adventures in history.

Quarterly Review #1, Part 2: July 2010

July started off with a bang, with my epic Canada Day adventure followed by the largest indoor show in the world, the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo. The Tattoo, in case you missed the post, contains marching bands and other performers from around the world, in a 3.5 hourperformstraveganza that is most likely better than anything you've ever seen in your life (if you've seen Cirque du Soleil you're excused from that last generalization).

As everyone will have no doubt noticed by now there are a lot of monuments and statues around Halifax. In July I started featuring them in the new HRM Monument series. My favourite monument of July, although it had a close challenger in the SS Mont-Blanc Anchor Shaftmonument, was Le Grand Derangement located on the Waterfront. While the deportations and the Halifax Explosion were both tragic events, I feel the forced removal of thousands of Acadiancitizens has had the most lasting social effects on the people of Nova Scotia today. Even as I write this there are Acadians living in Nova Scotia with the effects of that decision by the British - the America of its time - affecting their daily lives.

At the Canada Day celebrations I ran into what appears to be everyone in Halifax's favourite person, Alexa McDonough. She invited me to attend the peace conference she was organizing, and later extended an opportunity for me to get into more sessions for free by volunteering.

While attending the conference I met my favourite Interesting Person of July, LoganMacgillivray. Logan, as you probably remember, is the twelve year old boy (possibly thirteen now) who organized the transport of two 40 foot shipping containers full of sporting goods and school supplies to needy children in Sierra Leone. He is currently overseeing the construction of a community education and recreation centre in Sierra Leone, when he's not busy practising to be an NBA basketball star. Logan, I'm proud to say, is also a friend of the blog.

Of course, no review of July would be complete without mention of my first EP Bike Trip toCrystal Crescent Beach. HG Wells once said, "When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race." I could not agree more, and so it was with great pride that I completed this journey and earned, in my own mind, the honour of being able to call myself a cyclist. Incidentally, the post for this trip is by far my most popular blog post to date, with 72 page visits -more than 3 times the views of my next most popular post.

Quarterly Review #1, Part 1: June 2010

It's been three months since I moved to Halifax. Can you believe it? I can't. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was travelling across Canada on a train. That's not the case though, and so it's time then to take a look back on the summer of '010 that was and remember some of my favourite festivals, points of interest, and statues that made me glad to have moved here, and you think "dang, I wish I was in Halifax too."

June 2010:

June was the month of my favourite summer festival to date, the 400th Anniversary of the baptism of Grand Chief "Henry" (renamed after King Henry) Membertou. The Mi'kmaq people and the Acadians shared 150 years of peace and friendship after this until the British came along and messed everything up for the next 250. This festival included the largest pow-wow ever in Atlantic Canada and a free concert by Buffy St. Marie. It was deemed a huge success by everyone involved, and I felt very happy for the Mi'kmaq people who had organized such a great event.

June also played host to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Royal Visit to Halifax. If I never travel again in my life (not likely), I will at least always be able to impress my grandchildren or nephews (who likely won't care) with the story of how I waited in the rain for two hours to see the Queen's hat.

My favourite Interesting Person of June was definitely Chang-geun Lee. Using a second hand bike he purchased from a seller on Kijiji, this Korean ESL student, who had been studying in Toronto, rode on a 59 day journey from Toronto, through Quebec, around the Maritimes, and then down through New England and back to Toronto via New York. He later went on a tour with his friends of the western US, including Yellowstone National Park. We still keep in contact, and I feel it's safe to say that Chang-geun's trip was the inspiration for my own EP Bike trip series that would appear in July.

EP Bike Trip #2: Peggy's Cove, Part 2

When I last left you, I was recuperating from my failed first attempt to cycle 43 km to see the world famous village and lighthouse at Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia. Fast forward two days and after filling my new light weight riding pack (a children's backpack I bought at Wal-Mart) with my new light weight, high pressure bicycle pump, spare tube (really just my old tube I had patched up in case of an absolute emergency), a patch kit for any extra punctures I may encure, a smorgasbord of tools, and all the other things I normally bring on a trip, I headed out the door to take another crack at making it all the way.

This time the weather was much more agreeable, and I found it quite pleasant not having to battle the wind. I did however dislike battling the heat that comes with no breeze, especially when I had to wait in line at a road repaving for more than twenty minutes - it'd better get a bicycle lane!

Since I purchased my bicycle in Ottawa, and hadn't had time to set it up properly at the shop before it was shipped (I was on a tight sight seeing schedule), my riding position for the past six weeks or so had been less than optimally efficient. After about 8 km into the ride I figured there was no need to continue torturing myself, and so I pulled over at the only gas station along the entire road to adjust my seat height and position. After fiddling around with every conceivable position for about half an hour, I finally settled on my favourite height/angle, and continued on.

I may have been set back a half-hour, but in hindsight it was definitely worth it. The new position placed my back in better alignment so it didn't get quite as sore, and my legs were able to push more effectively, meaning I practically whizzed along compared to what I had been doing before.

At Shad Bay, the half-way point, I stopped to rest and eat the sandwich and apple I had packed for myself. From here I had one last chance to take the shorter route to Prospect, but I stayed strong and continued on to Peggy's Cove.

This was not the first time I had been to Peggy's Cove - in 2001 I had travelled to Halifax as part of high school music trip. I remember quite distinctly enjoying my visit that first time, but being too immature to truly appreciate it. In fact, one of the main reasons for coming to live in Halifax was to atone for wasting my great chance when I was younger, and to see everything again, the "right way".

During that trip there were three events that stuck out in my mind: 1) Exploring Downtown Halifax, which I actually did very well with no regrets, 2) Visiting the Atlantic Ocean, which I did not do well, but successfully recompleted during EP Bike Trip #1, and finally, 3) going to Peggy's Cove. What follows is the closing of roughly a decades worth of regret (over not paying more attention at Peggy's Cove, not over my whole life), and the beginning of a new chapter for EP Dave, in which I move forward and create new goals.

(I've been waiting roughly nine years to take a picture of these homes. I saw them from the lighthouse when I was here in 2001, but for some reason it was just "too far" to go walk over 200 metres and check them out for myself.)

(This rock, carved with scenes from Peggy's Cove's history/legend, is a memorial to all the fishermen of Peggy's Cove who harvest the ocean - perhaps too much recently. It's called Fishermen's Monument and was carved and donated by local artist William E. deGarthe.)

(There it is, perhaps the most photographed lighthouse in the world. Definitely in all of Canada at least.)

(The fog rolls in quickly though on the coast, and in a matter of minutes the sky can go from clear to thick as soup.)

An interesting side note: The public toilet at Peggy's Cove's Information Centre uses little electricity, employ zero chemicals, create no odour, and produce only safe and reusable end products like compost. In the basement underneath the washroom are four large compost chambers. Any water that is used comes from collected rain water, and waste water is disbursed through a planter bed (whatever that is) to prevent contamination of the ecosystem. These toilets are the first public washroom in Canada to use composting together with treatment from a planter bed.

On my way back home, the sky was still a bit foggy, but I stopped in at a little restaurant along the side of the road in West Dover, called Shaw's Landing (with the beautiful view from the patio seen above). I had noticed on the way to Peggy's Cove that a sign out front said "The Best Fish and Chips" and having seen numerous Fish and Chips shops in Halifax and in Scotland, but never having had the money to go to one (in Halifax), I decided to treat myself. In the interest of full disclosure, I did not have the money at this moment either, but I didn't want to get to the end of my life and regret not having tried those fish and chips.

EP Bike Trip #2: Peggy's Cove, Part 1

Some time back in July, after I had completed one of my long bicycle rides, I set a goal for myself of being able to ride to Peggy's Cove and back in one day. The distance from my home to Peggy's Cove is roughly 43 km, with a lot of rolling hills. Since that means I would being doing twice my regular distance if I wanted to get back home, I knew I would have to do a fair bit of training first.

My original plan for the "training ride" this day, was to go to the town of Prospect to photograph the quaint fishing village there and then ride back, so that I would get used to having to make a second long ride in the same day (I felt exhausted for the last fifteen kilometres of my Crystal Crescent Bike Trip). However, on this day the wind was a little bit strong, and I started to get upset about it. I was so fed up with battling the head wind, that I decided to try and make it all the way to Peggy's Cove so that I could enjoy the tail wind on the way back.

A couple of days earlier I had seen a petition in one of my local bike shops (Cyclesmith) seeking a paved bicycle lane on the popular Peggy's Cove route. I signed it because any infrastructure work that makes moving easier for riders of bicycles and harder for drivers of cars is a great plan in my mind. Today though, when I got on to Prospect Road, which leads to Peggy's Cove, I found out why everyone wanted to have the bicycle lane.

On the road to Herring Cove, via Purcell's Cove (Purcell's Cove Road) there is a short bicycle lanes for part of the journey, but for the most part the road is wide enough to accommodate both car and bicycle, although not comfortably or conveniently. The road to Peggy's Cove though is ridiculously narrow. I suppose the actually driving lane isn't too bad, but there is absolutely no shoulder whatsoever, which means riders are forced to ride in the lane with the cars when there's barely enough room for the cars. Often I found myself riding on the thin, rough wash-boarded strip of "road" just off to the side of the lane which made for a bumpy ride.

The problem with bumpy rides and road bicycles, is that if you do not have your tires fully inflated it can cause a pinched tube quite easily. I found this out the hard way, after I ran into a small pothole. "Pfffff...." went my front tire immediately (the fourth flat tire I have suffered in the last 8 or so days), and I was left standing there on the side of the road just before the community of Hatchet Lake, with an unusable bicycle.

I thought I saw a garage just up the highway, and I was right, so I decided to walk towards it. When I got there though, the mechanics said they couldn't help me because I didn't have my adapter with me (road bicycle tires have a different shaped valve than a normal mountain bike style tube). Luckily I had brought a sandwich with me though, and after having some lunch I resigned myself to my only remaining option: hitch-hiking back to Halifax.

This was my first time hitch-hiking, so I wasn't sure how long it would take to get picked up, but I have driven past a number of hitch hikers in my day without picking them up (now I feel remorse...), so I had an idea of how it was done. It wasn't as bad as I thought, and after twenty to twenty-five minutes someone turned around to pick me up. Unfortunately they couldn't get me all the way into town, because they were rushed for time, but they did drop me off at a Canadian Tire not too far away from my home.

I went inside the Canadian Tire and bought myself a new bicycle tube. One of the young kids working there helped me change my tube, and he was quite interested in hearing about my hitch-hiking story, as he had never done it before and thought it must have been quite a scary experience. Unfortunately I remembered after the fact that I didn't have my adapter with me and none of the bicycles Canadian Tire sells use a Presta valve, so I couldn't pump my tire up. So after all that wasted time and effort, I was still faced with a roughly hour long walk back home, with a bike that still didn't work properly.

When I did get home, I pumped up my tire and was pleased to see that it looked like a wheel. However, about two hours later I came back and found it flat again. I took off the tire to check for any sharp objects that were still poking through the inside, and found that I had actually torn a hole in the side of the tire, which had pinched the tube as it tried to force its way out. I ended up having to buy a new tube and a new tire. After some deliberation I thought it was best to spend a few extra dollars and buy a more expensive, but thicker, tire that looked and felt much more suitable for taking on potholes and glass from stupid rednecks who chuck their bottles out of their windows (note: this happens far far less in Nova Scotia than in Alberta).

While a lesser ea-pea may have taken the flat as a warning from the road gods to stay away, I was only more resolved to make it to Peggy's Cove, and so I set about preparing for my return attempt in two nights time. (Part 2, to come soon...)

EP Bike Trip #1: Crystal Crescent Beach

Welcome to a new feature on Ea-Pea Dave's Terra Nova: the EP Bike Trip.

As I may or may not have been clear about in my FAQ section, I do not own a vehicle and so I ride one of my two bicycles to nearly every single one of the Points of Interest, Monuments and Festivals/Events that you read about on my website. However, Nova Scotia is not just Halifax (believe it or not), and so at some point I knew I would have to venture out to bring you more great historic sites, interesting places and/or festivals. While there will definitely be situations in which renting a car will be most appropriate, for a good portion of these places I hope to be able to make a solo trip using, you guessed it, my bicycle (I may yet attempt to move a mattress or transport a Christmas tree using my bicycle just to prove it can be done).

Since I have been on and plan to go on many more long bicycle rides, for the purposes of this section an EP Bike Trip will be classified as any trip in which the total distance travelled is over 50 km, and there is a specific purpose for taking the trip (i.e., to visit a certain place or attend a certain festival).

With that introduction, let there be no more further ado. EP Dave is pleased to present to you his first ever EP Dave Bike Trip to Crystal Crescent Beach (be sure to have your Google Maps ready so that you can follow along).

My journey started, as all my journeys do, at my house in the centre of Halifax. I travelled south, around the North West Arm, via the Armdale Rotary, and then up Herring Cove Road to Spryfield. Just past the Canadian Tire, I turned right onto Sussex Street and continued on Old Sambro Raod, through Long Lake Provincial Park, until I came to Doyle's Lake (between Harrietsfield and Williamswood).

Doyle's Lake is really not much more than a large swamp, but all the green plants growing in it made some unique patterns in the dark blue water. It also provided an opportunity for me to squat on the shoulder of the highway, refill my water bottle, and eat some blueberries I had packed for myself. Unlike Alberta highways though, the Nova Scotia highways I've seen so far don't really have shoulders. As a result, I was never more than two metres away from any of the whizzing vehicles that passed by me while I ate and rested.

By this time I had been travelling for nearly an hour, and about fifteen minutes later I was starting to feel fatigued. I had no idea where I was at this time, but when I came to Grand Lake (above) I could sense that I must be getting close.

A few minutes later I reached Old Sambro, where I turned right onto West Pennant Road, followed by a left onto East Pennant Road, and then another quick left onto Sambro Creek Drive. I followed Sambro Creek Drive along until I came to the gravel road at the end which led to the parking lot of Crystal Crescent Beach (Coote Cove, if you're looking on your maps right now).

As you can see from the pictures above, the sky could not have been more clear, which apparently is rare for this part of Nova Scotia. Not having brought a towel along though, I found a nice large rock on which to sit down and ate my lunch.

After not waiting the requisite 30 minutes, I went for a "swim" in the lake. However, upon touching my toe to the water my body immediately went "staticy" and then clenched up in right angles. I then dropped over dead from my cramps (just like in the cartoons!) After I had recovered, I waded out to about armpit height before quickly returning. It may have been hot on the beach, but it was ice cold in the water. Nonetheless, I could say I had swam in the Atlantic Ocean.

I climbed back onto my rock seat where I sunned my pasty white torso until I had dried off sufficiently to put back on my socks and shirt. I then headed back out on the road for the rest of the return loop, which would actually be ten kilometres longer than the trip to the beach.

I knew I would fatigue quickly on the trip back home, having already travelled some 25 km and still having 35 km to go, so I stopped in at the Kwik Way convenience store at the corner of West Pennant Road and Ketch Harbour Road (Mr. Mishoo's Take Out on your map), to stock up on a single Snickers bar and to treat myself to a scoop of blue berries and cream Farmer's ice cream. I also made sure to stop at the beautiful Little Cairn Cove, alongside West Pennant Road, again for some more pictures (below).

After 15 km of scenic cycling along Ketch Harbour Road I came to Herring Cove (below), where I stopped to refuel on my aforementioned Snickers bar.

After a fifteen minute rest it was back on the bike to tackle the hilly Purcell's Cove Road, past the picturesque Purcell's Cove, with its equally lovely Spectacle Island, and then on to Halifax.

After passing York Redoubt National Historic Site (about which I will soon be posting), I finally limped in to Melville Cove, where I dismounted and enjoyed a waterfront stroll along the Northwest Arm, before finishing the last few kilometres to my home.

Total Distance: Roughly 60 km.