A cycling enthusiast from Nova Scotia said he accomplished his goal of completing the entire Confederation Trail in P.E.I. in just under 12 hours.
Lloyd McLean, a financial analyst with Sobeys in Stellarton, N.S., did the long-distance ride to raise awareness and money for the P.E.I. Humane Society after having completed similar fundraisers for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Nova Scotia.
McLean told The Guardian he finished the 273.9-kilometre journey in 11 hours, 57 minutes and 14 seconds. His average speed was 22.9 kilometres per hour while he did, at times, get up to 36.7 kilometres per hour.
“I did reach my goal, just in the nick of time, just under the wire,’’ McLean said.
Related: Cyclist to attempt Confederation Trail, tip to tip, in under 12 hours
He started last Friday at 6:30 a.m. in Tignish and arrived at his first checkpoint 10 minutes ahead of schedule. His wife, Andrea Haughan, accompanied him on the journey, meeting him at various checkpoints with food and water.
“With vast areas with no cellular service in P.E.I., it was difficult for my support vehicle to locate me, and I continued on not aware of the panic as Andrea tried to get ahead of me and to a point she would know I had not yet reached,’’ he said. “I was without water for almost an hour in 30-degree temperatures and absolutely no wind, so the heat was stifling.’’
“I drank what I could trying to get rehydrated, and we switched from one bike to the other. It took nearly two hours of constantly sipping fluids and forcing down jujubes before I started to get out of the hydration debt I had put myself in.”
Lloyd McLean
His second challenge came in the Kensington area, where he discovered two punctures in his rear tire. He utilized a liquid latex to plug the holes.
“My plan was to change to the backup bike to ensure I was not caught in the middle of the Island walking with my bike. Bad enough the mosquitoes would swarm around me, but I could not afford to lose that much time.’’
He met up with Haughan in Hunter River — exactly half the distance from Tignish to Elmira.
“I drank what I could trying to get rehydrated, and we switched from one bike to the other. It took nearly two hours of constantly sipping fluids and forcing down jujubes before I started to get out of the hydration debt I had put myself in,” he said.
“Now the battle was not dehydration but against the clock.’’
McLean said he then started to experience the odd muscle cramp but willed himself to keep going. He sprinted the final few kilometres and skidded to a finish two minutes and 46 seconds under the 12-hour goal he had given himself.
While McLean wasn’t accepting donations on his journey, he was hoping people would reach out to the humane society and sign up as monthly donors.
Jennifer Harkness, development manager with the society, said they didn’t get any new monthly donors.
“But (we) hope people are thinking about it,’’ Harkness said. “The Murphy’s Tourist Home and Cottages in Tignish will donate Lloyd’s cost of stay back to the shelter, which is really nice.’’
McLean als planned to drop by the Pictou County SPCA when he got home to Nova Scotia to deliver a personal donation of $500.
