Charlottetown
It’s only right that this ride starts and ends steps from Confederation Landing Park, a highlight of Charlottetown’s waterfront and parkland that marks the site of the landing of the Fathers of Canada’s Confederation in 1864. Mark Carr-rollitt, who was part of the team that launched the Granfondo pei, designed this ride and says it’s both beautiful and challenging. “There is not a lot of elevation on the route, but there are plenty of rollers in the countryside,” he says. Hug the water and head through Victoria Park, before going north toward New Glasgow to cycle across the island. Pass through New Glasgow, home to the idyllic Garden of Hope, and then continue northwest toward the island’s north coast, passing farms and roadside stands filled with fresh produce. At Cavendish Road, turn right and cycle through the famed Green Gables – it wouldn’t be a visit to Prince Edward Island without a stop here – and up to Gulf Shore Parkway West for some oceanside cycling and sightings of the province’s famed red dunes. Get your camera out for another vista in North Rustico Harbour, then get pedalling again eastward on the island. You’ll get more waterside cycling on Gulf Shore Parkway East, before heading south through small towns and back across the Hillsborough Bridge to downtown Charlottetown.
“Favourite place to ride in Canada? Can I just choose a whole province? B.C. is definitely the at top of my places-to-ride list. If I have to narrow it down, Kamloops and Revelstoke fight for first place. Moving from ” New Brunswick to B.C., I had my first exposure to the mountains and tall trees in Revelstoke. It has the perfect riding to contrast my highspeed, dry and loose home trails in Kamloops.— Catharinependrel