Hello,
A friend and I will be in PEI for about a week at the end of July (not sure when we'll be getting there, but we'll be leaving July 20th or 21st, after the Westpoint Lighthouse festival). We're toying around with the idea of biking around some areas PEI on the Confederation Trail (mainly from Charolettetown to Westpoint and/or Summerside to Westpoint and then from Westpoint to the Confedration Bridge or back to the bike rental to drop off the bikes). However, we are novice bikers, and might have our backpacks for some of the biking. Given our fitness level (average), the amount of time we have (a week max) etc, would it be doable to travel by bike around PEI by bike, or at least for the last three to fours days between Summerside, Westpoint and Charolettetown? Or are those distances just too far? If it is doable, does anyone know the average time it would take to travel between those areas?
Thanks so much!
Cycling PEI
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It's not clear to me where you would like to rent the bikes and begin cycling. Charlottetown? Summerside? The Confederation Trail, as a former railbed, doesn't have any steep inclines, and so the cycling is relatively level, but you would have do the Charlottetown to Summerside leg in one day simply because it would be difficult to find accommodation between the two towns as you follow the trail. And yes, it's doable, although if you haven't done much cycling, you'd find it a long day. I did it some years ago on a very hot June day and remember that it felt long.
Check http://tinyurl.com/5b65mb for a trail map with distances. The print is small, but it looks like 77.4 km Charlottetown-Summerside, and if you're riding mountain bikes with treaded tires, that would be a challenging day, I should think.
Between West Point and Summerside, you'll have to go at least part way by road. I'd suggest Summerside - Mont Carmel in one day ( about 30 km),staying at Le Village, which I remember as a pleasant motel with a good retaurant. From Mont Carmel to West Point is a longer trip, perhaps 75 kms. From Summerside to the Bridge is a very pleasant tour, particularly along the back roads from Bedeque to Borden, perhaps 25 km.
Hope this helps out. If you're serious abut cycling on the Island, great. However, I'd suggest you get some training in before your trip, a few 30 km outings at least. Any more questions?