 This month I set off to cycle across one of my favourite provinces with one of my favourite people, and working with one of my favourite tour companies. After an inspiring visit to Newfoundland to hike the East Coast Trail, my father and I flew off to the Maritimes to take on a new Great Canadian Trails multi-day cycling itinerary: The Best of Nova Scotia by Bike. A decade ago, we rode across Prince Edward Island in similar fashion, with the resulting story becoming one of the most popular chapters in the book. My goal was to demonstrate that a multi-day bike ride is for everyone, and that you don’t have to be a hardcore cyclist with heavy saddlebags, ripped calves and tight spandex. Mission accomplished. These days, my dad and I are both significantly heavier, greyer, and arguably wiser too. This is why we chose to conquer Nova Scotia on e-bikes. Push a button, and the pedal assist turns us into fit super-humans, swallowing up hills with little physical exertion. After exploring Halifax, we spent a week riding the Rum Runners Trail on the South Shore, staying in Lunenburg and Chester. We were then shuttled to the lush Annapolis Valley, where we rode the Harvest Moon Trail through communities like Wolfville, Kingston, and Annapolis Royal, with its rich history stretching back to the early 1600s. I’ve written that adventure up for Canadian Geographic, so I wanted to focus on some of the other highlights of our week in the Maritimes: the wonderful people we met along the way. I’ve long said it’s the people you meet who create the paradise you find, and this is especially true in a province with famously colourful characters. Not just the locals, but the tourists too, clearly influenced by a maritime culture defined by hospitality. It just feels normal to strike up conversations with strangers: the people you meet in stores; the people you meet at wineries; the people who take your pictures; the people who shuttle you around; the people who sit opposite you at restaurants; the people who own those restaurants. For this post, I thought I’d introduce some of them to you too.  Let’s start with Sarah. She’s the owner of I Heart Bikes, the largest bike rental store in Atlantic Canada, but also shines her sunny disposition on guests of Great Canadian Trails. Sarah provides the bikes and e-bikes, along with a comfortable shuttle to transfer you, your luggage and your bike to some of the most scenic spots in the province. She’s full of insider knowledge, history, and encouragement to get on the saddle because, as she told me, “cycling just makes people happy.” A native of Halifax, Sarah is a wonderful ambassador for the Maritimes, and I have a feeling my dad wanted to adopt her.  We next met up with Pete, a talented photographer and videographer who came along to capture some truly dazzling images. My dad decided Pete and I are peas in a pod. He’s also passionate about travel, food, people, and nailing the perfect jump shot. Originally from Alberta, Pete and his wife Dalene migrated to Nova Scotia to live in the Annapolis Valley, where they also run a catering business, Luminous Moose Eats. Of all the places in Canada, they decided to settle here because they fell in love with the lifestyle, the food, and the people. You should visit their excellent blog, which covers not only eight years of incredible global travel, but their personal decision to settle down as proud Nova Scotians.  Our guide around Halifax is Mel Zilkowsky of Down East Tours. Mel used to fix copy equipment and scanners, and reinvented himself as a tour guide years ago because he enjoyed showing people around. Today he runs private tours that focus on Halifax, the South Shore, and history, including visits to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and several cemeteries where we the story of the Titanic became so much more real and personal. The best guides always have their own stories to share.  Sarah dropped us off in Lunenburg, where my dad and I took a 10-kilometre ride out to the fishing village of Blue Rocks, acquainting ourselves with the joy of pedal-assistance. We rode through tree-tunnels to emerge along sweeping coastline. A tiny shack at the end of the road sells souvenirs and delicious ice-cream. I ordered the intriguing sounding Moon Mist from The Point General’s owner, Katherine, who runs the store each summer. Moon Mist consists of banana, blueberry, cherry, and the sweet memories of a bubblegum childhood. We spoke to other patrons outside, including a couple from Ontario exploring the Maritimes in an RV with their friendly Doberman Ben. Ben couldn’t take his eyes off the ice-cream. “Who’s a good boy?”  We ride back to Lunenburg where a music festival is taking place on the waterfront. Live folk music greets several visiting tall ships and seasonal crowds, with the bright-painted houses in this UNESCO World Heritage Site lighting up in the sunshine. After noshing on burnt ends at the Smoke House BBQ (because I seem incapable of passing up smoked brisket) we visit the farmer’s market on a jetty where I’m instantly drawn to a sign that reads “Non-Traditional Hot Sauce (because I’m incapable of passing up hot sauce too). Here I meet Darris, an army veteran who values flavour over heat, and hand makes tasty hot sauces in innovative packaging. Darris’s eyes tell me he’s seen some traumatic events, but his heart is bursting with a love for hot sauce, Lunenburg, and meeting strangers in farmers’ markets. I bought a variety pack of nine (yep, nine) different 100ml Nurple Hot Sauces in plastic pouches that are ideal for gifting.  I had a dream about the 90s band Counting Crows. For some reason, my sleeping brain decided to run through every track in their seminal debut album, August and Everything After. The next morning, we were riding on the Rum Runners Trail towards Mahone Bay and see a shack with a sign that reads Antiques, Weird Stuff, Cool Junk. Inexplicably, the cool junk includes a sign that reads (and I’m not making this up): No Parking Except for Counting Crows Fans. Sometimes, the universe can be a little on point. We park and enter a wooden store crammed floor to ceiling with thousands of antiques, weird stuff and cool junk. You’d need years to catalogue the sheer range of stuff – toys, tapes, signs, tableware, novelties, souvenirs, trinkets, knick-knacks, instruments, dolls, tchotchkes, party tricks. A lady emerged with kind eyes and water for my dad’s empty bottle, clearly proud of her unique collection. Her name is Roxanne, she tells me her story, and she lets me take her photo. “And we all want something beautiful…” sing the Counting Crows.  We’re loving the e-bikes. You hit that third level on the pedal assist, the bike takes off, and it feels like an angel is blowing on your back. Pete and my dad, both first time e-bikers, are instant converts. We spend the night in Chester, with Sarah shuttling us north to the Grand Prè National Historic Site in the morning. The site of the 1755 Acadian deportation is a solemn place surrounded by beautiful farmland. We discover the history and deportation of the Acadians, the French Catholic settlers who painstakingly carved fertile farmland from the deep marshes. Their story is told in the memorial church, through various plaques and statues, and inside the Parks Canada interpretation centre with the help of Amy, the Visitor Experience Team Leader. I’ve long felt that Parks Canada employees are hidden gems in this country. They’re full of knowledge, enthusiasm, respect, and passion for the country.  Our favourite accommodation all week, by far, is the Stellar Rose B&B in Wolfville, the garden oasis of Neil, Robyn and their friendly Bernedoodle Chico. Hotels, inns and B&Bs get infused with the energy of the people who own and run them, and when those people are as lovely as this couple, the Stellar is the result. Their garden patio feels like a tropical wormhole, the rooms are cozy, while their homemade breakfasts are simply killer. Neil, an English transplant who coached squash around the world, is full of jokes and tales. He certainly knows his way around an Eggs Benedict. Robyn’s warmth and hospitality shines through wherever you look. My dad fell in love with the place, and as a result, with the university town of Wolfville too.  In Port Williams, Pete guides me over to his favourite distillery, Barreling Tide. Their molasses-infused 5-Fathom Dark Rum is rich and delicious, and of course I added their Windward whisky to my ongoing metaphorical tastings (#112). We chat with Allyson over the counter about the various liqueurs and spirits, although I probably didn’t endear myself when I described the whisky as having notes of swamp water… but in a good way. We pop into The Port Taproom next door for yet another flight of quality craft beer, having already ordered a flight at The Church Brewing Co during lunch in Wolfville. Simply outstanding beer in a region better known for white wine.  My dad and I ride our bikes through Wolfville, exploring the hilly campus of Acadia University and Wolfville Reservoir Park, with its stunning view of Minas Basin and Cape Blomidon. The bikes make easy work of the hills as we find our way to the Gaspereau Vineyards, where we have our best tasting, and further down the street to the vineyards of Benjamin Bridge. We spoke to people behind the wineries, but it was pretty busy and I never got their stories. We did chat to a friendly neuroscience student who came to our rescue after a somewhat frosty reception at Benjamin Bridge. Zeus’s Law says you should always welcome strangers because they might be gods in disguise. Esrock’s Law says you should always welcome strangers because they might be travel writers or critics. Taking photos on the side of the road, we strike up a conversation with Nancy, who is testing a MEC backpack before embarking on the bucket list Camino de Santiago. Nancy loves living out here, and tells us about the butterflies one would expect before a legendary months-long hike in Europe.  We park our e-bikes and head into Lightfoot and Wolfville for pizza and salad, returning to find a couple named Simon and Sandy parking their own e-bikes. Their models have a throttle function, so they don’t even have to pedal if they don’t want to. They’re visiting from Halifax, and we naturally fold into a conversation about where we’ve been and where we’re going, but mostly about e-bikes and how much we love them.
We meet a lot more people in Annapolis Valley: a German baker and an Austrian chef with her charming granddaughter. A couple RV’ing from Texas, and another couple visiting from Atlanta. There’s a family from Louisiana rediscovering their Arcadian roots before the province-wide celebrations on Acadia Day; local ladies drinking Tidal Bay white wine at a wine bar, and a couple who retired to the valley from Ontario to make honey and soaps. I should have taken their names and photos too. There’s always more people than there is time to write about them. Nova Scotia in summer beams with the good times. The valleys are bursting with fruit and vegetables, the small towns are full of life, and the Rum Runners Trailway and Harvest Moon Trail are the perfect thread to weave it altogether. Still, it’s the people you meet – locals and visitors – who add the spark of personality and unpredictability you can’t plan for. The people you meet who create the paradise you find.
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  Wouldn't it be fun to go on a bucket list adventure with some of Canada's top photographers, explorers and travel journalists? Yes, it would.
I'm delighted to become a Royal Canadian Geographic Travel Ambassador, continuing the great work of this illustrious society to promote the natural and cultural wonders of Canada. This means I'll be hosting select, exclusive trips that tick my own storytelling and adventure boxes, and belong on anyone's Canadian Bucket List as well. Working with fantastic companies and brilliant guides, I'll be enhancing your experience with stories, advice, support, a bucket list presentation, and the knowledge you're indeed enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. August 23 - 30, 2022: Prince Edward Islands Culinary Delights by Bike Cycling across PEI is pure bucket list: incredible scenery, spectacular coastline, literary and Indigenous history, and the best seafood on the planet. Foodies and adventurer's rejoice! This amazing itinerary combines it all together, as our bags are shuttled ahead to lovely inns and lodges, and our carefully curated itinerary delivers the best experiences on the island. The terrain is mostly flat, and you can even choose to do this week-long trip on an e-bike. I've been working with Ottawa-based Great Canadian Trails for years, and they've perfected the art of a quality, bucket list outdoor Canadian experience. It's going to a blast, culminating with a stay, farm tour and feast at rockstar Chef Micheal Smith's countryside inn. Click here for information, and bring an appetite! August 24 - 30 / August 31 - September 4, 2023: Discovering Banff by Horseback Discovering one of the world's most spectacular alpine landscapes on a 6-day horse ride, staying in luxury yet rustic backcountry lodges, sharing wild stories with fine wine by the crackling fireplace, SIGN ME UP! They did, which is why I'll be hosting two trips in partnership with the fantastic Banff Trail Riders. We'll be riding along a historic pack trail and up Allenby Pass, crossing jagged rock formations and hitting altitudes above 8000 feet. Mountain air, bubbling rivers, wildflowers, soaring peaks, and a great chance t encounter wildlife along the way. Let's tick this one off the bucket list together. Click here for more information and giddy up! Can Geo Adventures are working with fantastic tour operators and other fine Travel Ambassadors to showcase the very best adventures across the country. Check them out, and I hope to see you on the road!  I was recently speaking about the insanity of fixed gear biking, that is, bikes that don’t have brakes. I first discovered them many years ago one memorable Halloween night on the hot sticky-duck streets of Hong Kong. More recently I discovered my unpublished article about that experience, which was used as part of the script for the Hong Kong and Macau episode of Word Travels. Fans of biking, couriers and fixed gears will definitely enjoy. It also feels good to find a home for my long-lost and wayward words. My bicycle accelerates into the crowd, zigzags through a small gap into the street, dodges oncoming traffic before turning sharply left into a side alley. A brick wall brushes my shoulder as I slice across two trams, ramp over a sidewalk, and pedal towards a major intersection. Sweat has drenched the shirt beneath my daypack, and in a city known to rush, people stare and wonder: why the big hurry? I have just a few minutes to get to the White Stag bar, do ten push-ups in front of someone called Big Glenn, have him sign my manifesto, and shoot off into the traffic to find the next checkpoint. I’m too busy playing chicken with traffic to ponder how many times I’ve almost tasted road burn. In a city famous for its pulse, fixed-gear Alley Cat bike challenges really gets Hong Kong racing. A growing worldwide underground sub-culture, local Alley Cat races have their origin with bicycle messengers in North America. In order to test local couriers’ streetwise knowledge, their speed and ability to navigate obstacles, Alley Cat races were set up in cities like Toronto, Philadelphia, Chicago and Vancouver. Legends were born as couriers, often seen racing around these urban centers in dangerous traffic, challenged each other for titles, prizes, but most often fun. Races consist of checkpoints to be reached, and in some cases unusual tasks to be performed on arrival. Upping the thrill factor, most couriers ride fixed-gear bikes that have no brakes, no gears, and require an expert level of control and ability. Fixed gears are popularly used in the courier messenger community because they’re easy to maintain, and for anyone with a job requiring them to run into buildings to deliver packages, the bikes are confusing and difficult for thieves. Hong Kong has seen the emergence of an urban cyclist community, attracted to the lifestyle and challenges of riding on fixed-gears. Amidst the choking car and foot traffic beneath the late-night neon lights of the Central district, I went along for the city’s first unofficial Alley Cat race. When it comes Alley Cat racing, it's important to note that nothing is official anyway.  Em, where's the brakes on these things? “In Hong Kong, you have the taxis, the cars, the trams, the mini-buses, buses and pedestrians, it’s a little crazy but we’re doing it for the challenge,” says Brian Fu, one of the organizers. “The key is, you never stop, you run into a problem, you turn right, you keep moving,” says Jeff Welch, a native of Washington DC and courier veteran who designed the race route. “People have always looked at messengers in a special way, with a mixture of envy and lack of respect,” he tells me. “They’re attracted to the freedom and the lifestyle, but repulsed because of the sweat, danger, and dirt.” With road rage, traffic, and pollution, it’s a high-risk game, but the money can be good - top couriers can earn more than $70,000 a year delivering envelopes. “You’re on the bike nine hours a day, you’re almost killed nine times a day, but you get used to it, and you begin to need it,” says Jeff, who has a few dozen Alley Cat races under his belt. For some messengers, including some of Jeff’s friends, the job costs them their lives. Messengers trade war stories about accidents, reminisce about fallen comrades, hold parties, and even attract groupies.  About half a dozen riders meet at 10pm outside a coffee shop. The manifesto is handed out, including a checklist of destinations and tasks that must be reached in order before reaching the finish line. One of them requires racers to find two girls and tells them that they are “sooo... beautiful!” Another requires us to find a bald man named 9-Ball and rub his head. In each case, a third party must sign our manifesto to prove the task has been accomplished. We count down to the start, and the race is on, each contestant racing off into the crowds. I decide to shadow a more experienced veteran, since without him I’d be lost in the traffic and spaghetti streets within seconds. We pedal frantically, every second counts. A policeman shouts at me from the sidewalk, but I’ve already disappeared around a corner. Alley Cat racing is a do-first-and-ask-questions-later kind of activity. Biking in a light drizzle at night in Hong Kong traffic is not for the fainthearted, neither is racing on a bike that, perhaps I forgot to mention, doesn’t stop with squeeze on the handlebar. But with the wind in my hair, the exhilarating speed and the quasi-legal thrill , I can certainly understand the attraction – it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about having fun, and hopefully surviving to trade stories at the finish line. You can watch my Alley Cat race on the Season One, Hong Kong and Macau episode of Word Travels. Here's the Prime Video link and also on Tubi TV.
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Greetings.
Please come in. Mahalo for removing your shoes. After many years running a behemoth of a blog called Modern Gonzo, I've decided to a: publish a book or nine, and b: make my stories more digestible, relevant, and deserving of your battered attention. Here you will find some of my adventures to over 120 countries, travel tips and advice, rantings, ravings, commentary, observations and ongoing adventures. Previously...
September 2026
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