Woke up at the church and not a soul was in sight. Strange. Hit the road pretty quick, just rolled out to the road, I was already on the 2. Followed that till it hit the Minas Basin at Parrsboro. Glad I bought bread there bc not many options after. Of course I filled up on water and took a lunch break to make oatmeal. Inside the visitor center where I got water I asked the girl if I could put a pin in the where-in-the-world-are-you-from map. NYC didn’t have a pin yet. It does now.
The 2 turned along the water in my direction and was nice. Green, smooth, nice drivers, little traffic. I stopped at Five Islands because it was a short ride down a level dirt packed lane to a light house and good vista of a cluster of islands. One has a natural arch. Worth the stop. Also spoke to a family while there. They like that I didn’t know for sure what day it was. I knew it was Sunday but kept second guessing myself because I had not seen any people or cars at any of the churches I’d passed. Thought that was strange.
On the road just ticking away the miles to Truro. It seemed like I’d get there before dark but not have much time to go further.
In Masstown I stopped at a big and popular market. After 2 pb and j stops I needed something else for dinner. Bough stuff for pasta and banana chips, an apple and a 32 oz gatoraid. Outside looking at a bad storm cloud over the direction to Truro I waited and ate B chips. A couple exiting asked about my bike. We talked a bit, it was good, he had toured Vancouver to Halifax doing about 200km a day. Wow. Really I talked their ears off. But she was laughing and I felt like I could be more honest, a little more personal. I kind of went into what was on my mind. Talked way too much really but their response was a good one. Too bad I didn’t ask for there contact. I think they said they live in HFX. Oh well.
Back on the road. A few clicks further I was on a wet road but under dry skies. Works for me. I rolled over one little hill and saw another solo touring cyclist coming towards me. I stopped and as she got close I waved and said “want to chat?”. She gave what sounded like a stock reply “I’m actually meeting some people” while not slowing a bit. I just said “have a good ride” and clipped back in.
I thought about how useless the word actually is in most cases it’s used. And about how I’m excited to see others touring or talk to others who have toured. But then thought why would she stop on an uphill to talk to me, I’m nobody and it was getting late. Too bad, she looked cute, might have made a good portrait. The light was no good anyway. It’s all a wash.
Into Truro not much further I found a place to make pasta. Good to eat pasta, need to more often.
I rolled town looking for a camp spot. No luck. Bad luck. Kept seeing creepers walking all over the place. Making good spots bad. I did see 6 sections of the Berlin Wall in the middle of a block in what has to be the downtown.
Did about 8 loops around, found nothing. Could not even find the right way out of town.
Asked a gas station attendant direction and I gave up and rode away.
After a quick wifi break outside a McD’s further away to get my mind off the stress of needing but not finding a free and safe place to camp. I like towns. Being close to breakfast in the morning is good. But this one has way too many creepers walking around for any cover to be easy to think it’ll last the night. Leave me alone while I sleep please. Not asleep yet but I think I found a good place a cross from McD behind a Canadian Tire. In the back of the lot behind a permanent looking temporary fence. I can hear the highway. And I’m a little bit away from the foot traffic of the other side of town.
No wonder that female tourist didn’t want to stop, she had just broken free of this creeper of a town.
Tomorrow I’ll do the same.