PEI

Took the long route to Charlottetown, along the coast via Shediac and the coast road 133. The lobster and oyster business is visible everywhere - yum. Traffic was light but I suspect that the evening rush over the Confederation bridge to Charlottetown was going to be much busier due to the extensive Canada Day plans in the city. The sky was clear, sun hot - best weather of the trip.

One of my co-workers lived in the area for a while, so I explored the city and surrounding areas according to his recommendations. The city is small, but it has a heritage and a vibrant youth culture.

First stop, Brackley beach. Of course, the GPS takes me on the fasted route, which includes a jaunt along Ling Rd. one of PEI's may red dirt roads. The Beemer was happy to be in it's environment and hummed along at 80kph, wiggling a bit on the loose stuff. Brackley is a provincial park and there was a line up to get in, so I checked out the Dunes gallery and then decided to follow the coast road to Cavendish, home of Green Gables. Green Gables is a government tourist shrine - OK I guess, but not for me. Continuing and exploring the coast road was a ton of fun with twists and curves all the way. The wind picked up a lot and pushed the bike around a bit, but the lower speeds kept it safe. The roads kept coming and eventually it became clear that the north cape was within striking distance. The road from Alberton and Tighish Harbour to the north cape were particularly fun, with a few dirt road side trips thrown in.

The North Cape has a wind farm that generates 10 megawatts of power. The light house is still there and a restaurant serves government cafeteria food using expensive ingredients like lobster. Didn't have time to eat since the sun was setting and I had a two and a half hour ride back to Charlottetown. That was planned down Highway 2, which runs right up the middle of the island. Had numerous opportunities to run the LED driving lights during complete darkness on the unlit highway - works as expected. Lights up the road ahead, plus to the sides so you can safely operate at 100kph. Not sure what it looks like for on coming traffic, but I never got the angry flashes from opposite traffic (the lights were turned off before the other drivers could be blinded). Got back by 10:30, 558 km day, 12,091km on the bike.

My cousin's daughter is visiting a friend's parents in Charlottetown, so we will spend some time tomorrow.