The Confederation Trail - Prince Edward Island

In 1871 The Province of PEI began building the railway system which, though no one knew it then, would very soon compel the Island to lose its independence. The costs of the ambitious project quickly spiralled out of control. At one point there was apparently one railway station for every 2.5 miles of track. Construction contractors were paid by the mile which may explain the railway's meandering path.

A mere two years later, in 1873, with crippling debts, PEI joined the Canadian Federation. As part of the deal, Federal Government took over the railway project completely - land and finances. The Railway's growth was rapid and colourful. The Island was soon covered from tip to tip with main and branch lines. In the golden age of steam the track was upgraded from narrow gauge to full gauge to accommodate locomotives arriving on the Ice-Breaker Ferry from Nova Scotia and control of the railways was vested in the nationalised Canadian National Railway (CN).

In the 1950s and 1960s Provincial Government began paving the major highways to cater for the ever growing popularity of the automobile. As a result, passenger use of the railway declined sharply and the final passenger service ran in 1968. After that freight wagons were still hauled but the rising use of trucks on the roads began to steal that business in the 1970s. The end of the line was in sight, quite literally.

CN abandoned the PEI railway in 1989 and the last operational rail cars and locomotives were taken off Prince Edward Island by sea. Salvage crews worked throughout the early 1990s removing tracks, cross-ties, and other railway facilities.

In 1994, before the routes became completely overgrown with disuse, the Island Government purchased back the entire right of way from CN and began creating the Confederation Trail. Today over 75% of the former railway network on the island can be enjoyed as recreational trails by walkers and cyclists.

Yesterday I rode from our home on the outskirts of Charlottetown along a thirteen mile section of the trail and back, stopping to take these photographs. One puncture but that was quickly repaired and couldn't spoil the ride.

cycling in canada

There are a few more pictures taken during my rides here.

Spring has at last sprung so I relished the opportunity to unpack my bike. Luckily it survived the sea crossing in good shape (which is more than can be said for some of my other possessions - my printer was broken, dozens of CD cases - but I digress...) There is not likely to be another bicycle quite like this on Prince Edward Island - a Raleigh Quadra from the 1980s with a Reynolds 531 frame equipped with fourteen speed Shimano 105.

Cycling in Canada is somewhat different from England. For starters there are few cyclists, at least here on PEI. Car drivers are not used to the sight of a lycra clad pedaller which is sometimes a good thing because they give me a suspiciously wide berth but sometimes a bad thing because they pass way too close and probably don't see me. In addition to wondering if I am invisible, I am riding on the right and trying to decide how boldly to hold my position.

Then there is the road surface. You haven't seen potholes until you have tried Canadian roads after a hard winter! So... remember to cast quick looks over your LEFT shoulder before swinging out three feet to miss an alarming crater. Around town the roads are swept in spring but on the highways the shoulder, where there is one, is strewn with gravel and in the country the red dirt gets washed off the fields in sandy waves.

All this makes it sound as though there is little fun to be had on two wheels here. But that is not the case at all. If you can persevere carefully across town, through the outskirts and onto the country roads the rewards are definitely there. There is no pollution, hardly any traffic, huge blue skies, rolling hills and plenty of peace and quiet.

A long thin island means the coast is never far away, so there are spectacular sea views through sleepy dunes. With the sea comes the perpetual wind. My forty mile circular loops inevitably involve spells in a low gear grinding against a flattening headwind. The benefit of a circular route becomes clear when I am bowling along effortlessly on the big chain ring at 25mph.

Snow and ice will make cycling impossible in a few short months so I'll pedal while I can!

on my desk

Dell XPS16

4gb RAM

2.5ghz processor

320gb hard drive

When my Fujitsu broke down beyond economic repair I could have retreated to the safety of offline life... however this rather nice example of modern technology enticed me to stay. Speaking of technology - here's some more.

in my parking bay

2005 Kia Spectra

2 litre

4 cylinder

Not much more you can say about a grey car is there?

(...yep, it's full of Eastern promise - especially as it was made in Korea).

in the kitchen

I baked a chocolate cake. Sadly my icing turned into toffee so I cut the cake into squares and steadily we are eating it with lashings of hot custard. (My mum would be smiling.)

More food for thought here.

the ice storm

The air is so cold it slices your lungs. Moisture can't decide how to condense and precipitate so it adheres to everything like a thin glass veneer. Power lines are strung with the clearest crystal pendants; trees are coated with a glistening, frozen skin. Minus ten in March is a nice reminder of winter's long grip on PEI.

In contrast to the weather, the reception which awaited me on my return was as warm as you can imagine. Settling back in was smooth and easy.

On Sunday we took a walk in the frigid air, pushing the buggy along sidewalks rutted with ice. I fell to earth with a huge bang. Michelle says my feet scooted right off the ground in front of me, cartoon style, as I thumped onto the ice. Now I am nursing a tender bruised back and elbow. Hmph!

home is where the heart is

I run the risk that no one is interested or worse, disapproves, but the time has come to announce my return to Canada. Since the beginning of last December I have been living back in England. On one hand this has been a glorious opportunity to see my two grown sons, to live with my eldest son and enjoy his company. On the other hand, it has been an agonising period of absence from Michelle and Maisie. At first it was a divinely providential opportunity to be with my sons and support them while they mourned their mum, Debbie’s grave illness, but it immediately became apparent to me that I had made a worrying mistake.

It is not that I regret being with these two upright and positive young men, far from it; nor that I regret being at Debbie’s hospital bedside while she silently fought the deadly infection which poisoned her, reduced her to a shadow of the woman I spent thirty years with and came close to ending her time, far from it again. It is that I regret my hasty conviction in making this a permanent return. I should have allowed a proper dialogue in Canada; I should have listened; I should have stepped up to the mark; I should have realised the immense worth of what I was destroying.

After thrashing and deliberating, fretting and considering, I wrote, despite fearing the response. To cut a long story short and to spare the personal and excruciating details of many long-distance conversations I/we have reached my/our current position. I am deliberately removing the agony from this episode and also the ecstasy, for they are private emotions special to the participants.

On 27th February I fly from British shores to return to my family on Prince Edward Island, Canada! Needless to say, I am elated at the prospect and can hardly wait to embark on this next chapter of my life.

Thank you all for not judging. Thank you all for reading.