The plan today was for a shortish ride to Annapolis Royal, the old capital of Nova Scotia (before Halifax grabbed that honour in 1749). But during the night something happened that forced me to change my plans (spoiler alert – it’s not that serious)

• Today’s Distance (miles/km): 53 / 86
• Time in saddle: 6h 35
• Max/min temp – in sun (°c): 34°/20°
• Climb/descend (feet) : 970 / ?
• Calories used: 3,000 and something
• Cafe time: 2h +

(Stats are a bit approximate I’m afraid, because my bike computer is getting a bit emotional at the moment, not sure why. Luckily I’d just checked the distance, temperature and climbing before it started misbehaving and not saving data.)

I take a lot of time finding the best gear for camping. My blind spot appears to be Thermarest mattresses, widely recommended and very ‘spenny’, as our Jacob would say. I bought a great one in 2017 for Crossing Canada, extremely comfortable and super-light, but the head section came unstuck from the foam interior in the last week and I had some very odd nights’ sleep. I got my money back. So this time I tried again and bought another one but a different design. It was just as comfortable as the last one, and I thought ‘It must’ve been a one-off’. Guess what happened during the night?

It’s now a two-off. The whole flipping thing came unstuck this time. At around 2.30am I tried to puff a bit of extra air in, and the whole thing just turned into a Calzone pizza. Actually, it now strikes me as being a bit like the valley I’m cycling in. That’s the North Mountain on the left. I’m failing to get back to sleep in the narrow valley to the right. The plastic bag is floating in the Bay of Fundy.

So here’s my advice – Thermarests? Don’t bother. I cycled first thing to nearby Kingston (on my route, I’m glad to say) to try and buy a replacement at Canadian Tyre (without being tempted to make any new and unnecessary purchases):

I found a great guy called Don working there, who owned a Thermarest himself, and thought they were great. That’s fine, I said, I’m very happy for you, I said, have you got any other brands?

The absolute highlight of the day was a chance encounter along Highway 1. I entered pretty Bridgetown with the weather really hot and sunny, and passed some kids selling Fruit Punch on their front lawn. I waved, shouted hello how are you doing? but kept rolling. Then I thought, let’s have a stop and a drink and a chat, so I swung the bike right around and went back. There I met five great lads, Reuben (recently recovered from a broken ankle), Isaac, Felix, Paul, Owen, and the dad of two of them, Phil. I bought a cup for a buck and we talked about where I was heading and that school had just finished – and then I remembered that Jane Lodge, long-standing Friend of the Blog and Head of Music at Beechwood Park School where I teach (Hi Jane!), needed a photo from my trip for the last school assembly. So we swung into action and set up a fun photo shoot. Guess the blog-related scene that we were trying to re-enact? (Feel free to copy this photo Jane, or DM me if there’s any problem)

Then we played one of my favourite bike touring games: Can you lift my bike? That’s the dad, Phil, on the right holding the handlebars.

My quest continues to find any Adirondack chair anywhere in Canada that an actual Canadian (non-tourist variety) is actually sitting on. Nothing but empties today, but if I do find one, you’ll find it here!

I had a wheel dipping ceremony today, of sorts. I passed a lovely spot on the magnificent Annapolis River, with easy access from the road, and thought, why not? I might find it harder to get down to the water elsewhere. The water runs into the Bay of Fundy, which runs into the Atlantic, so my back wheel had a mild soaking. And then I ate my lunch.

A really nice campground tonight, Dunromin Waterfront which is also right on the Annapolis River. The bad news at the office was that they’re expecting a heavy downpour overnight, so I’ve gone into emergency-packing-up planning mode.

I forgot to include one photo yesterday, and it was such a lovely sight that I thought I’d add it to today’s post. Across a meadow of wildflowers and grasses, I got my very first view of the magnificent Bay of Fundy, home of the world’s highest recorded tides. Tomorrow (Monday) I should be crossing the bay on a nice big ferry. Can’t wait.

Three photos for today’s What Is It, Sam? (Anyone can answer! Sam will just tell you if you’re right or not)

I’m afraid that Funny Signs will have to wait because of the rainstorm warning overnight. I’m going to be getting everything ready now as best as I can. The rain has just this minute started – could be quite a night!