In many ways we are an unlikely pair. Rich at 6'2″ towers over my 5'1″ frame, and even his bike dwarfs mine. But we have no problem cycling together, trading the lead depending in the conditions and stopping as necessary to accommodate each others' needs.

When it comes to weather, our differences truly surface. While Rich can't tolerate the heat, my capacity for handling the cold is severely limited. Now that the days are shortening, and the weather is cooling off, we look all the more incongruous traveling together. Take yesterday, for example. Clouds obscured the sun for much of the day, preventing its warming rays from raising the temperature our of the 50s. We faced a stiff headwind with a distinct chill off the Gulf of St. Lawrence. My early morning extra layers of warmth never came off. And Rich? He thought it was still mid-summer! We were both comfortable.

Each night we plan the next day's ride in detail. More accurately, Rich plans it out with Google Maps conveniently downloaded to his tablet. That gets transcribed to turn by turn riding directions which he places in his front pack for easy reference. That becomes his bible for the day. Me, I refold my map. The first thing I do upon entering a new province is visit the tourist info center and get a new paper map. I'm a very visual person, and love that tactical reference point in my front pack. It's my reference point for the day, following our progress town by town. We each cling to our own method. But we always make it to the same destination at the end of the day.

Photography is a common interest of ours. We even have nearly identical cameras. But subject matters tend to vary. Rich constantly keeps a lookout for birds, craving an opportunity to either capture a new species or catch an interesting shot of a favorite fowl. Wildflowers are another passion of his. I think he documented every single flower on the Confederation Trail on PEI. For my part, I can't resist harbors. I traipse down to every wharf, pause at each inlet and look for interesting angles on the docked boats. Fishing boats have become a particular favorite of mine. It's rather nice to have two perspectives on the sights we pass.

Two people. One trip. We will probably each tell the stories differently when we get back. But that's the spice of life. It's worked for 1,400 miles so far. I expect it will last for another 800 miles.