I got up at 7:30 am to put the bike together, and to pack up. The weather was partially overcast but very humid, not the best weather for cycling. After a good breakfast, I left the B&B around 10:30, stopping at a supermarket at the main highway for some supplies. I was finally on the road by 11:30.

The sun came out after about an hour, and the temperature rose quickly. The countryside was pretty but had a bit of 'hard times' bleakness to it. On the whole, Nova Scotia is relatively prosperous, and has a number of lush farming areas, but much of the land is marginal for agriculture. In some of the rural areas you can tell that life is a struggle. The province as a whole hasn't seen real boom times since its glory days as a world centre for wooden shipbuilding and the shipping trade in the late nineteenth century.

I stopped for a cold drink at a store in Gay's River, and waited out a sudden intense rain shower. The sun was out again in a few minutes though, and I continued on to Middle Musquodoboit (Muska-dob'-it), a pretty village in the Musquodoboit Valley. I had been planning to ride up the Stewiacke Valley, a little further to the north, but the road network seemed to be pushing me up the Musquodoboit instead.

At Upper Musquodoboit I stopped to buy some stove fuel at a gas station, and have a snack at a small restaurant. By this time it was overcast again, and I left under threatening skies to tackle 'Stewart Hill', which would finally get me over into the Stewiacke Valley to the north. Halfway up the hill there was a real cloudburst, and I took shelter in dense (and very prickly) woods by the side of the road for about fifteen minutes.

The sun was out again before long however, and in a few minutes I was in Upper Stewiacke. The Stewiacke Valley did seem prettier (maybe it was the sun), but it still had that flattish northern look to it. Not an easy land. I stopped at a gas station at the main intersection to ask about campgrounds. The fellow there suggested trying at the Lansdowne Resort, seven or eight km up the road, but didn't know if they took tents. As it turned out they usually didn't, but the manager (Brent) let me set up my tent on the grass by the river for free, and also let me use the shower in one of the lodges. The helpfulness and hospitality of people is amazing sometimes, and seems to be offered even more readily to cyclists.

I cooked some supper, fighting off the mosquitoes, and listened to the radio for a while in the tent before sleep. The only station that came in really well was playing oldies - how appropriate. I always thought that Burton Cummings had one of the greatest voices in rock 'n' roll.

Distance for the day 79 km / Total 79 km