Month: August 2002

As Eivind and I were pedalling our couch along the Confederation Trail, we noticed a slow leak in one of our front tires.  We were almost at the campground in St. Peters, so for a while, we just kept stopping to pump it up and then seeing how far we could get before pumping again. Eventually, we had to concede that we’d be better off fixing the flat on the spot.

We unstrapped our luggage and lifted the couch off the frame so that we could lift the wheel and get the tire off. With that accomplished, the rest of the patching job was actually rather pleasant. I applied some glue to the puncture and just sat on the couch waiting for the glue to dry.

Looking down the trail I could see a couple of bike tourers approaching. As they came nearer, I realized that I knew these people. It was Ian and Krestena from Ontario.

Over the course of this trip, I’ve been used to meeting lots of people and responding to their various questions and comments about our strange four wheeled contraption, but this would be the first time I’d have to explain myself to someone I’ve known since high school.

I knew Krestena as the fast runner who won most of the races she entered. She introduced us to her boyfriend Ian and we got caught up on some of their summer activities that had lead them to cycling the Confederation Trail. I explained how Eivind and I were up to something similar ourselves. I explained the role of the brown leatherette couch in all of it, but Krestena and Ian later confessed that they really didn’t understand what I was talking about until we finally reassembled our machine and joined them in cycling the last few kilometres to the campground.

Today we arrived in Summerside. Although we’ve been sticking to the Confederation Trail for the most part, when we arrived in town, we had to take to the streets to get to the grocery store and to checkout the waterfront.

When we left the grocery store today, there was a couple waiting for us by our bike. They were convinced that we must be crazy people and wanted to meet us. They’ve invited us to stay with them in Charlottetown, so we may have to take them up on that offer. 

Yesterday, we resumed our Couchbike trip in PEI. We began by reassembling the bike in the parking lot of the Tignish Cultural Centre and Community Library. This large group of kids came by and took great interest in what we were doing. We warned them that it could take us several hours to get the whole bike setup. But they didn’t seem to mind at all. Some of the parents didn’t want the kids distracting us too much so they would sometimes step in and explain some things to the kids. Once they discribed Eivind and I as “this boy and this man”.

That confused us, because Eivind is only one year older than I am. We wondered, “who’s the boy and who’s the man?” Finally, to everyone’s delight, we got the Couchbike assembled. Before hitting the Confederation Trail and riding East, we wanted to get to the tip of the island here on the West. So we left our luggage in Tignish and pedaled off to the North Cape. On the way back, we passed through Norway, PEI. Of course we had to get a photo of Eivind by the Norway sign to send back to his friends in the real Norway.

We got back to Tignish with a little time to spare before the Blueberry Social. When the time was right, we entered the community centre and enjoyed some tasty baking as we watched a variety of musical performances by a talented group of adults and children.

It was already dark by the time we left the Blueberry Social, but fortunately, for a change, that didn’t matter to us. Because we were riding on the Confederation Trail, we wouldn’t have to worry about vehicular traffic. The only reason we’d need any light was to read our map. We pedaled for a ways and then found a place to camp for the night.

So far, so good!

Well, it’s been an exhausting final push, but we’ve finally finished the Couchbike. After a few quick laps of the block and a trip to the grocery store, we’re feeling pretty confident in the performance of our new ride. We’ve taken the frame apart one last time for painting. We’ve got the primer applied already and will be following it up with a nice coat of green momentarily.

Tomorrow, we’ll be leaving for the Maritimes. We’re still not sure what route we’ll be riding when we get there, but we’re thinking Miramichi looks like a good place to start.