The awe-inspiring Confederation Bridge leaps across the 12 kilometres that separates Prince Edward Island from mainland Canada. What an engineering marvel it is, and how it has changed the economy of the island!

With our trusty (and rusty) bikes mounted on the front of our campervan, we crossed the bridge last May and headed for the start of the new Confederation Trail.

PEI’s railway was closed in l989 after contributing to the island’s economy for more than a century. Fortunately, the removal of the rails was not the end of the track itself. Graded smooth and covered with a rolled fine gravel surface, the railway has now become the Confederation Trail – providing nearly 300 km of cycling and hiking trails through some of the world’s most picturesque countryside.

We spent ten days driving our campervan the 6,500 km from Vancouver to PEI, where we would attempt being among the first cyclists to ride the new trail.

Our daily routine started with hot coffee at 6 a.m., as we aimed to be on the trail by 8 o’clock. As a rule, we would set off for a point 10 km distant, then ride back to the van and record that as 20 km of trail covered. We could then drive to the next point 20 km down the trail and repeat the process. At that rate, we figured we would cover the 300 km of trail in a week or ten days. The only problem was stamina; neither of us could manage 40 km a day. Plus, our average speed turned out to be a mere 12 km/h rather than the 15 km/h we had planned.

We think of railways as being level, but you would be surprised to discover how much they rise and fall. Ordinarily the undulations escape the casual observer, but when you to ride a bike along them they assume quite different dimensions. This would not worry younger people on titanium-framed mountain bikes with sprung frames and feather-light wheels, but we were a pair of geriatrics (well, into our 60s and 70s) riding store-bought clunkers designed mainly for riding to the local shopping centre!

Late May proved to be too early for the campgrounds and other public facilities to be open. Over the first three weeks we were forced to overnight in some strange places. Our cozy campervan was so inconspicuous that we could sleep, cook, eat and park almost anywhere, including at a churchyard, a roadside parking bay, hotel parking lots and wharf sides. Security was no problem and our worst experience was to have dead battery trouble one very wet and cold morning.

Our plan was to ride early in the morning before the breezes built up. We also thought that by travelling west to east we would be aided by the prevailing westerly winds when they did blow. Of course, those plans counted for little in the end because our out-and-back progress meant that we were bound to strike headwinds one way or the other, regardless of their direction. Headwinds, loose gravel, corrugations and hoof marks left by equestrians on the trail slowed us a lot, but then there were tailwinds, hard surfaces and a downhill for every uphill to help keep our spirits up.

Most of the first section was through scrubland and marshland. This was not that exciting to look at after the novelty wore off, but gave us waterfowl life to see, as well as the frequent appearance of the world’s fattest robin redbreasts. They seem to do exceedingly well there where insects abound and the ground squirms with a dense population of worms. The southern part of this section became more interesting as paddocks of freshly tilled umber-red soil alternated with fields of fresh green crops, picturesque farm buildings dominating the higher grounds.

The next 100-km central section turned out to be a disappointment, as we were informed that the trail was too rough in some places and quite unfinished overall, so we decided to cover the same mileage by driving up to the Cavendish National Park area and cycling a couple of the trails to be found there. This is Green Gables land, and the coastal views, lush pastures and plentiful bird life enchanted us. We took our first 20-km trail ride under enamel blue skies, through new forest areas, over estuarial bridges and along miles of splendid pasturelands.

We met many people on the trail. Each village has its walkers (usually women) who are happy to stop and talk to cyclists riding "their" trail, and of course, fellow cyclists are a rich source of learning what lies ahead. We met a young woman from Iowa who was training for a marathon. We saw two young men pedaling back over the track we had just finished with much more vigor than we had been able to manage; at their pace they could have covered the entire trail in a couple of days!

To meet the challenge of the 300 km trail ride, we would have to make up for the missing middle section by riding the eastern third twice! This meant that we would have to increase our daily mileage. Starting at Tracadie Cross (where our host at the Around-the-Bend campsite cooked us a feast of fresh mussels), we began a habit of an evening ride in addition to the morning efforts we had made thus far. The extra 10 km covered that way helped us gnaw away at the total.

The most interesting part of the trail is between Morel and St. Peter’s. It is only 12 km, but most of it runs along the water’s edge where checkered farmlands decorate the bay’s far horizon. The waters are dotted with markers indicating the shellfish farms, fussily attended by little boats from which human voices occasionally drift. The trail along this section is probably the most level to be found in its entire length. Another good section is on the spur trail through Pisquid. It runs very close to the local habitations and does have some stiff ups and downs.

Loose gravel became the bane of our lives on the way north to Elmira where we met some of the toughest cycling of the entire journey. The foreman of a works crew at the very end of the run was anxious to know what we thought of their section. He was probably disappointed to hear our condemnation of all that gravel – but he did take our plea for a heavy roller seriously, so by now the track is probably much better.

We were disappointed to learn that the official opening of the Confederation Trail was to happen the next week, but we took comfort from the thought that we had probably been the first to cover its distance from one end of the island to the other.

There were times along the way when we looked at each other and declared that we must be mad to be doing this. At our age we should have been home mowing lawns and watching TV instead of exhausting ourselves trying to cover 275.2 km of partially prepared bikeway; but we did it, and can now go home and mow lawns and watch TV, conscious of the fact that we had given a big challenge our best try – and won!

For further information, contact us at: klomax@intergate.ca.