[ Day 16 ] Thursday, July 2, Wolfville to Windsor (38km)

Origin: Garden House B&B

Destination: Meander Inn B&B

Route description: 
Main St, 
Maple Ave., 
★Melanson Rd., 
★★Bishopville Rd., 
Old Post Rd., 
Bog Rd., Rt. 1 (Evangeline Trail), 
Albert Ave.  
★ = part gravel      ★★= all gravel

Weather:  Temperature change from cool to warm, sunny, occasional tail winds

Marney lounged in the B&B garden while Bob, at the bike shop, had latex goop put into the rear tube to combat punctures. Little did we know how his tire would be tested today. 

We had the road to ourselves

as we rose up out of the Annapolis Valley past beautiful, productive farms and fields. Bob chugged forward up the long,  steep ascent of Melanson mountain (over many false summits as the landscape changed to woodlands); Marney walked her bike most of the 3 km ascent. As the road narrows and turns to gravel,  Marney wonders if we are on the right road. In quick succession, asphalt returns and Beverly Brown,

working in her garden at the summit, assures us "Yes, you are!" When we took the left on Bishopville Rd. to continue our descent, we were in the hinterland. The road was gravel,  

similar to the trails that had caused Bob's flats. Houses were few and marginal; a babbling, pretty creek followed the road. Due to a typo in our cue sheets,  4.5 km turned out to be 14.5 km, which raised some anxiety but we had no alternatives.

No, we did not anticipate the gravel roads nor the remoteness when we used Google Maps to prepare our route. As we turned onto Old Post Rd., we gave ourselves a few stars for cleverly avoiding highways today, except for a few kms at the start and finish. And Bob's tire stayed inflated. Summary: a great day of cycling.

Right before crossing the Avon River into Windsor, we had a serious dose of ice cream. In Windsor, the birthplace of hockey, our B&B is a pleasant walk to the Spitfire Arms Pub where the Shepherd's Pie, Bangers and Mash, beer, margarita, and music were excellent. It was open mic night; Bob read a poem.