Archive for August, 2002

Hello Stranger

Tuesday, August 13th, 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.

Ian and Krestena on the Couchbike. 

Summerside, PEI

Saturday, August 10th, 2002

Summerside Panorama

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. 

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