Day 93: Porters Lake to Saint Margaret's Bay (Ahhh Friends!)

Ahh friends. We left Sarah Marie and Steven in Porter's Lake,  in  quiet contemplation. Sarah Marie and Steven have been  vicariously part of our trip since the very beginning, and have offered enormous support and friendship and good advice as they traveled with us in spirit. They would have joined us in person for the trip if Steven's health was ok. Steven's posts were particularly on the mark. Early on the trip he advised us that "it is important to be the willow rather than the oak" when times get tough."Do not dwell too long on conspiracies - sometimes the fan just breaks." That is the post he made after our foolishly hot night in Montreal with a fan we thought was broken.   Seeing Steven and Sarah Marie at the end of our journey was an emotional time for us all. We gain so much from their friendship, and feel so privileged to spend time with them in person, in addition to the hours of vicarious time we were together this whole trip. We miss the regular posts now that we are back, because there is an enormous connection between us. They are in our thoughts constantly.

                                       
Riding through Dartmouth and into Halifax was lovely. At Point Pleasant Park we were greeted by Terry, George, Tamarack, Marc and Maureen. That meant a lot. Ahh friends! We also met up with a fellow biker friend, Dustin who we met in BC at the start of our trip and who had also just arrived in Halifax after crossing the country by bike. Nice.

 The bike ride to Susan and Bob's place was gorgeous. After whining about the lack of bicycle trails in Nova Scotia, we picked up the great Rails to Trails trail that starts in town,  and goes very close to their house. It was beautiful and I had to eat my whining words, criticizing NS for not having bike trails.

Then what a treat at Susan and Bob's. As always, the garden is amazing, and that is an understatement. The anti-pasta was largely from their garden, and featured an incredible garlic scape pesto. It only got better from there. In the long tradition of obsessing about food on this trip, that meal rivaled anything we could possible have dreamed of. And we slept so well again that  night. Alan and Ginny opted to sleep in their tent, so they could continue to savour the deep sleep that comes with sleeping outside after a day  with exercise and fresh air. The only disappointment that day was the realization that we are not really superhuman after all. We failed to ride up Susan and Bob's driveway, an also failed to ride up their neighbours driveway - way steeper than the Quebec City steep hill! But we never thought we were superhuman - just an incredibly lucky family sharing the trip of a lifetime on a bicycle ride across Canada.

Ahhh friends. We love you all, and are so moved  by the opportunity to see you all at the end of this amazing adventure. Thank you all for everything.

Distance: 71.22 km

Time on bikes: 4:19:40

Average Speed: 16.4 km/h

Distance from Vancouver: 7422 km

Start: 9:00 am

End: 6:00 pm

Wind: West (light-head)

Conditions: beautiful sunlight

Cheers

- The Warpotay Team

Location:Saint Maries Bay, Nova Scotia