Having reached Wolfville in Nova Scotia, we took our Warm Showers host up on his offer to stay a second night. It seemed the perfect opportunity to do a day trip unencumbered by all our gear. So off we went to Cape Split. It's a long narrow peninsula that juts out into the Minas Basin, off the Bay of Fundy.

With Rich still recovering from his maladies, the aim was to make it a leisurely ride. For the most part we accomplished that. We cycled through more rural farmland and little towns, and kept up a modest pace. The weather continued to favor us with clear sunny skies and a mild wind, which we loved. Passing through the town of Canning, I noticed a cute, carved birdhouse on a power line post. And then another. And another. It seems that each was sponsored by a different business in town.

Or host did alert us to the fact that we would have one major hill in each direction. There was no avoiding the fact that we had to get up and over the major ridge line to reach the coast on the other side. Leaving Canning, we soon faced that climb. For several kilometers we snaked up the hill, curving back and forth only to find yet another steeper section ahead of us! It was grueling, but satisfying to reach the top and know the worst was behind us, and that we'd cycle “up top” for some time before descending again. We also stopped to enjoy the broad panoramic view at Lookoff at the top. It gave us some sense of perspective to see the flat expanse of farmland where we'd started our ride.

On the other side of the ridge, we coasted down to sea level again. There we found quiet homes and farms on the water. It was so peaceful, it seemed their world was totally unhurried or touched by the hustle and bustle of modern life. As we neared the end of the road, the surface deteriorated into a series of potholes and crumbled pavement. Just another good excuse to slow down and putz along.

To reach the true end of the split required an 8k hike to the tip of the peninsula. Alas, it didn't fit into our day's plan. And we still had to reverse our route over that ridge again. Good thing we weren't toting our packed panniers. It would have spoiled the mood. And just for the record, we did find a humble ice cream stand on the way back. To complete our day trip.