More construction woes and Dartmouth ain't so bad

So there's been more construction issues along yet another popular bike route in HRM. The Cow-Bay loop in Dartmouth is going through some road re-paving between Hornes Rd. and Caldwell Rd. Probably great news for the folks that live around there, as the road is pretty nasty along that stretch, but it's kind of a bummer to have two of the more popular routes torn up and detoured simultaneously. 

In any case, I finished my ride in pretty good time. I'm able to hold an average pace of 25kph now, which has been my goal for the year. Pretty happy with that! On returning through Dartmouth, I stopped off at the always awesome Two If By Sea for some much needed carbs and caffeine. I also gave the Canteen a try. For those not in the know, the Canteen is a little sandwich shop above TIBS. I think it opened earlier this year, but this is the first time I've tried it out. Definitely not disappointed! Great sized turkey-flatbread sandwich for an end-of-ride meal. Plus, the team up of the coffee and sandwich shop seems pretty natural to me. 

Maybe I'm growing beyond the juvenile "Darkside bad, Halifax Good" knee-jerk feelings of almost every non-Dartmouthian HRM resident, but the more I head through Downtown Dartmouth the more I'm impressed by its coziness. You've got a bunch of little shops along Ochterloney and Portland streets there. After you get through busy-Portland St. and Five-Points, the traffic seems to naturally calm down, making for some comfortable riding. The North-End Commons is a wonderful spot to visit on a nice sunny day. And most importantly Alderney Landing is pretty awesome! It's getting some cool upgrades right now, but you have a fish and meat market in there, a bakery, Wooden Monkey, and hell, even an NSLC all up in that joint! That's like, 90% of your dietary needs right there! 

The view when you're coming into Halifax by the ferry is most excellent. I mean, I have a little crush on Dartmouth; we're not full-blown making-out yet.

Happy trails!