Touring - Anyone been cycling in P.E.I.?

I'm thinking of planning a trip there next spring or summer and am curious about the type/quality of roads. How "rolling" are the "rolling hills"? Is there a lot of tourist traffic? Bike lanes, asphalt, wind, etc. -- any feedback would be appreciated!

Excuse my ignorance, but where is P.E.I. ???

Prince Edward Island, Canada. Land of 'Anne of Green Gables'!

Better like eating potatoes. Lots, and lots of potatoes..........

My last visit to P.E.I. was in 1981, so there are a few things that have changed... It's not my favourite province, so I tend to tour elsewhere.


- They call it "gently rolling", but you should expect some short but steep hills. 12-15% grades are fairly common, so on that trip, 2 of the 4 hills I walked were in P.E.I. By car, its mass would have evened out the ups and down, but that's not the case by bike.
- There is the Trans-Canada high which is (was?) 2 lanes with paved shoulders... and very boring. Because of gentler slopes, it might be a great way to get from Confederation Bridge to Charlottetown to Nova Scotia ferry, if you are in a hurry and if there isn't too much wind on that day. That highway would be safe, but most boring.
- There is an expansive network of rural roads, both numbered and unnumbered. At least two-thirds of them are paved, and you probably could hit a cross-road every 4-5 km (in the central part -- distances are a bit longer at both ends).
- Distances are short, so you can easily cross the island 2-3 times in a day. If you want to travel light, it might be a good idea to set up camp for 3-4 days near Cavendish, then for 1-2 days near Charlottetown, then travel towards one or both extremities.
- The Trans-Canada trail is open most or all the way on the island. Since it follows the former CN railway, it should mean a nice, convoluted way to avoid all hills and do twice the distance. I read somewhere that surface was a bit on the soft side.
- Near Cavendish, get at least one lobster supper.
- The island is fairly flat, but NOT flat. It means hills, but it also means windy at all times. If you hate cycling in the wind, stay home.

- Temperature wise, Summers are decent, and a bit cooler than in Montréal. With sea breeze, it becomes very comfortable, even in July. For camping, expect cool nights.
- The nice beach in Cavendish is inviting -- at least, that's what they say. But it's usually not hot enough to entice you to swim.... and water hardly reaches 20-23°C. For me, that would mean swimmimg with a wet suit.
- You will be able to camp almost everywhere, either in official campgrouds or, in more "remote" areas, by permission of the owner. The island is too inhabited for guerilla camping.
- Don't expect hotels except in 2-3 cities. Motels would abound around the Trans-Canada highway and Cavendish, but not much else. If you doN't want to camp, bed and breakfast is the way to go.
- Bike shops: I remember we looked for a tire and finally found one in Charlottetown. Things might have improved, but don't expect too many shops around. After all, total population of the entire province hovers around 120 000 people.

- For more information, check with PEI's tourist info (see http://www.gov.pe.ca/ and look at the top, the Maritime Provinces usually give a LOT of tourist info).


If you want some more sea life, you might take a boat from Souris (N-E PEI) to Magdalen Islands. These islands are part of Québec, but accessible by boat from PEI. It's a 4 hour sailing (approx), and there is a total of 200 km of highway over there (only). People who go there typically rent a house for 1 week; they rest and explore from that base point.
Don't ask me more than that about the Magdalen Islands, however.
Tourisme Québec (http://www.bonjourquebec.com) should have some info somewhere.

Regards,

I'm with Halifax, Nova Scotia Velo Bicycle Club and I've cycled PEI a number of times. Yes there are some hills in PEI but not that many and not really big ones. The summers can be very warm on occasion (35C), a lot of tourists visit it in the summer so the roads can be darn busy with traffic, plus there is no glass bottle re-cycling program on the island and they often end up broken along the side of the road.

But the beaches are very warm (in summer) and sandy, people generally are friendly, lobster dinners are plentiful (if you like eating them). Of course there are potatoes.

There is a tenative plan to add a ride to PEI from Halifax followed by a side trip to the Magdalen Islands than return to Halifax by our cycling club in 2003. I can send you our schedule when it becomes available, around January or so.

F.Y.I. a web site that offers sag supported tours of PEI;
http://www.atlanticcanadacycling.com/pei/

Gary Conrod is the operator and he offers a reasonable tour for the money.

Thanks so much for all your info! I grew up in Saskatchewan and am now living in California... I've been all over Canada, with the exception of the Maritimes, and it's time to finally pay the East a visit. And what better way than on a bike?

Indeed!

And except for Newfoundland, the three other Atlantic provinces are great for bicycle touring because distances are relatively short and there are lots of small roads, villages and services.

Newfoundland isn't bad for cycling. On the contrary, it's a wonderful place and it's the tour that gave me the best memories. However, it's windy, often cold, nights are bitterly cold, distances between services are _very_ long (except on TCH) and you almost always need to backtrack on the same road.

Regards,