Shifting into low gear on PEI

Charlottetown, Canada

Rain whacked the roof of our van and leaked inside the doors, soaking the back seats. We wiped the fog from the windows and peered outside. Gusts of wind arched the trees over a highway littered with leaves and fallen branches. We were catching the remnant of Hurricane Gustav. Or rather it was catching us.

My husband, Lauren, and I were among 20 cyclists on an eight-day Elderhostel biking tour of Prince Edward Island in eastern Canada’s Maritime Provinces. We have taken several budget, all-inclusive trips operated by Elderhostel, a Boston-based not-for-profit organization that arranges educational and travel programs for people 55 and older. We enjoyed our previous excursions because they gave us a balance of informative lectures and activities such as hiking, cycling or kayaking.

When Lauren and I signed up for this cycling tour, we anticipated day rides of 15 to 32 miles along country roads, weaving between farmland and ocean tides. A week of serenity was what we sought. But now our group was about to ride in a tempest.

I looked at the faces around me. Was I the only one ready to chicken out? Some of us tucked shower caps over our helmets, zipped up our parkas and staggered into the squall.

I was drenched immediately. As I mounted my bike, the wind slapped me down. This is idiotic, I thought, and sloshed back to the shelter of the van. I wasn’t alone. Some of our crew had merely walked outside before retreating. Others had tried to pedal a few feet before quitting. Soon 12 of us huddled on the van’s steamy seats.

Outside, with helmets askew, eight riders resolutely pressed into the rain. Only four braved 10 miles in that storm, half the distance the day’s itinerary had called for.

Earlier in the week we had cycled under sunnier skies, covering 90 miles in four days along rural roads, past fishing villages and farms, hills and harbors, north to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and south to Northumberland Strait.

Prince Edward Island, PEI for short, seems made for cycling. At 2,184 square miles, it is Canada’s smallest province, tucked in the protective embrace of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Its terrain is gentle -- PEI’s highest point, at Springton, rises to 465 feet -- and the scenery is lush, with rolling farmland, coastal views and tiny villages.

It is also Canada’s most densely populated province, though you wouldn’t know it by riding through it. It doesn’t feel crowded because 56% of its population is scattered in rural areas. Locals are mostly descendants of English, Scottish, Irish and Acadian (French) settlers and Micmac natives.

We “hostile elders” or “recyclers,” as we jokingly called ourselves, were well traveled and ranged from 57 to 80 years old. We took our time on PEI’s roads, savoring the moment. It was a pace perfectly suited to the rural local lifestyle.

But our tour wasn’t all cycling. The itinerary included two evenings of toe-tappin’ fiddle and flute renditions of jigs and reels and walking tours of fisheries, national parks and museums.

In fact, Lauren and I were fortunate to attend a ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee), which means meeting or gathering in Gaelic, usually involving music, step dancing or storytelling. Ours featured jigs and reels, waltzes and folk songs.

Lauren and I had joined the recyclers in Charlottetown, PEI’s capital, having flown from our home in Southern California to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where we rented a car and drove north. We could have taken a 75-minute ferry ride to PEI, but we chose instead to drive across the controversial nine-mile Confederation Bridge from New Brunswick. The span was opened in 1997, linking PEI to the mainland -- to the dismay of some islanders, who feared an invasion of tourists.

From Charlottetown our group was driven north by van to Stanley Bridge Country Resort in Kensington, where we stayed four nights. The resort, about three miles from Cavendish Beach and Prince Edward Island National Park, offers a combination of lodge rooms and cottages with kitchens. Our cottage, smaller than most, was quaintly rustic, with pine paneling on the walls and ceiling, but sparely furnished with only a queen-size bed and writing table.

On our first four evenings we dined at the resort’s Fyfe’s Landing restaurant, where the meals -- cod, mussels, chicken and chowders -- were unexceptional. But our meals later in the week made up for our disappointment.

On the morning of our second day we mounted 18-speed da Vinci touring bicycles (provided by Elderhostel) and listened to last-minute instructions from one of three guides, Ardelle Hynes.

“Keep to the itinerary so you don’t get lost,” he said. “Folks who live here are so friendly that if you ask them for directions, they’ll probably invite you home for a meal.”

The 15-mile route took us past orchards, wheat fields, plowed red earth and green clover. Cows and sheep grazed in meadows. More than 80% of the island is farmland, and many islanders earn their living from agriculture, growing mostly potatoes. Fishing and tourism are other mainstays of PEI’s economy.

We were on our way to Prince Edward Island National Park, the most-visited national park in Canada after Banff and Lake Louise. Established in 1937, the park protects a 25-mile strip of sand dunes, beaches and red sandstone cliffs. Within its boundaries are the finest examples of sand dune ecosystems in Atlantic Canada.

But it is two man-made landmarks that account for the park’s popularity: Green Gables House, which housed cousins of Lucy Maud Montgomery and was the inspiration for her “Anne of Green Gables” books; and Dalvay-by-the-Sea, an 1895 Victorian mansion that served as the summer home for American industrialist Alexander MacDonald. It is now an elegant inn with antiques and lovely views of Dalvay Lake.

We took a walk on a three-mile trail, which took us through forest, freshwater ponds and saltwater marshes. More than 300 species of birds, including bald eagles and endangered piping plovers, live here. Beneath the spruces, late summer wildflowers -- pearly everlasting, asters and Queen Anne’s lace -- were in bloom.

That evening my companions and I enjoyed the best meal served at the Stanley Bridge Country Resort. For appetizers we slurped down Malpeque oysters so fresh they winked at me; they had been harvested just miles away in their namesake bay. Next, we smacked our lips over a PEI traditional dish, lobster, also locally caught. Wielding slender forks, Lauren and I dug out every morsel. Of course, there were potatoes. All week we had eaten them with every meal -- in salads and chowders, baked, mashed, boiled.

The following day, while riding from Kensington to Wellington on the Confederation Trail, we happened upon a farmer in his field.

“Who buys your potatoes?” I asked.

“My finest bruise-free potatoes go to a processing plant that makes French fries for Wendy’s,” he said. “They only accept the biggest. I guess people like to see extra long fries dangling from the packet.”

Ankle-deep in the sandy soil of his potato field, Vernon Campbell bent over, wrapped his fingers around a plant and tugged it from the earth. “These beauties are the Shepody variety,” he said with a sweep of his arm. “The others I grow are Russet Burbanks.”

Once rails, now a trail

Three of our rides were on the popular 173-mile Confederation Trail, which rambles through the island from the fishing community of Tignish to Elmira. Packed with crushed gravel, the wide trail follows abandoned railway beds. In fact, some of the old stone railway stations still stand.

On the fifth evening we shifted to the Rodd Marina Inn & Suites in the tiny eastern town of Montague, our base for the next four nights. Montague’s downtown is highlighted by a video store and a store selling used books, but it does have the Windows on the Water Cafe. On its wraparound porch with views of Montague Bay, we dined again on fresh seafood, elegantly served.

At sunrise on our sixth morning, we enjoyed the finest ride of the week. We set off from the nearby village of Souris and headed north on an unpaved road for 10 miles. Apple trees mingled with maples, poplars and beech, which formed a canopy above us.

Studying the hard-packed red-dirt trail, I became “one with the bicycle,” as my husband calls the meditative state cycling can bring on. I inhaled the aroma of sweet clover and swept along like a cloud on a blustery day. Lulled by the rhythm of tires and the click of gears, I made a game of avoiding caterpillars slithering across the path.

As we climbed, the apple trees gave way to spruce and birch. Sunflowers swayed in the fields, and farmers shook blueberry bushes to free the fruit.

We turned onto Route 16 and were smacked by gusts of wind blowing off the gulf. Two more turns put the wind behind us, pushing us up a hill so gentle that I could climb in high gear. After a long series of ups and downs, I was buoyed by a view of the sea and the prospect of lunch at East Point Lighthouse.

On the blush-colored sands beneath the lighthouse we stopped for the picnic lunch prepared by our guides: fruit salad, cold vegetable pizza, turkey sandwiches and chocolate. As we ate, gulls gathered beneath red sandstone cliffs, and storm clouds swept across the horizon. Rain would come soon, but we didn’t care. We had finished another day’s ride.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Prince Edward Island by bike

GETTING THERE:

From LAX, Air Canada, United, American, Continental and US Airways offer connecting service (with three changes of plane) to Charlottetown. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $585.95. Air Canada, United and Continental have connecting service (with a change of plane) to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $373.

To get to Charlottetown from Halifax, drive across the Confederation Bridge. Or sail on Northumberland Ferries, (888) 249-SAIL (249-7245), which leave from Caribou, Nova Scotia, for the 75-minute trip to Prince Edward Island. Adults $8.27, seniors $6.89, children younger than 12 free. Vehicles $34.12, including passengers.

WHERE TO STAY:

Dalvay-by-the-Sea, P.O. Box 8, York, PEI C0A 1P0; (902) 672-2048, www.dalvaybythesea.com. A classic Victorian inn on the east end of Prince Edward Island National Park by Dalvay Lake. Doubles $193-$242, including breakfast and dinner.

Rodd Marina Inn & Suites, 115 Sackville St., Montague, PEI C0A 1G0; (902) 838-4075, www.rodd-hotels.ca. This 52-room hotel overlooks the Montague River. Pool. Doubles $84 with breakfast buffet.

Stanley Bridge Country Resort, P.O. Box 8203, Kensington, PEI C0B 1M0; (800) 361-2882 or (902) 886-2882, www.stanleybridgeresort.com. Lodge rooms with kitchens and small cottages. The cottages are different, so inspect yours before you accept it. Doubles $59-$183.

WHERE TO EAT:

Chez-Yvonne, P.O. Box 5509, Hunter River; (902) 963-2070. Family restaurant specializing in seafood, steak and lobster. Entrees $5-$22.

Windows on the Water Cafe, 106 Sackville St., Montague; (902) 838-2080. Dining with Montague River views. Specializes in seafood and chowder; we had superb salmon. Entrees $10-$17.

BICYCLE TOURS:

Canadian Trails Adventure Tours, 162-2025 Corydon Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3P 0N5; (800) 668-BIKE (668-2453), fax (888) 417-BIKE (417-2453), www.canadiantrails.com. The tour operator has several trips to PEI this summer.

Freewheeling Adventures, Rural Road 1, Hubbards, Nova Scotia B0J 1T0; (800) 672-0775, fax (902) 857-3612, www.freewheelingadventures.com. This small company, in business 16 years, offers cycling, walking, sea kayaking and multisport tours.

Elderhostel, 11 Ave. de Lafayette, Boston, MA 02111-1746; (877) 426-8056, www.elderhostel.org. The not-for-profit organization for people 55 and older has 14 PEI trips planned this year.

TO LEARN MORE:

Canadian Tourism Commission, 550 S. Hope St., Los Angeles, CA 90071; (213) 346-2700, fax (213) 620-8827, www.travelcanada.ca.

-- Laurel Wasserman