Extreme Frontiers: Racing Across Canada from Newfoundland to the Rockies Read Online Free PDF

landscape began to open out, the trees replaced by grassland and ploughed fields, and soon we were in Charlottetown.
     It was really pretty, with pristine clapboard buildings and a sense of cleanliness that you don’t get in many cities. We pulled
     up outside Government House and were met by Catherine, a wonderfully fun lady with glasses and whitehair who described herself not as a local historian, but rather as a heritage activist. That sounded much funkier, and I liked
     her immediately. She told us that back in 1864, this was where officials from what was then referred to as Upper and Lower
     Canada had gathered to discuss whether the separate provinces should join together. At that time the whole place was ruled
     from London and there was no such thing as ‘Canada’ as we know it today. Once the initial get-together was over, the various
     delegates met again in Quebec the following month, and in 1866 they were in London to agree all the documents. In early 1867,
     the whole thing was signed, sealed and delivered.
    I’d got my history wrong, of course. Catherine told me that Charlottetown isn’t the birthplace of Canada as I’d thought, but
     the birthplace of ‘confederation’. That cleared up, we went inside the beautiful building. Catherine took me to a long room
     at the end of a lengthy corridor and there before us was the very table where the fathers of confederation had thrashed out
     the details of their agreement. On the wall there was a painting of men in frock coats with long sideburns and serious faces.
     It hadn’t all been work, though; Catherine reckoned they’d had a lot of champagne to help them come to the right decision.
    Strangely enough – given that the conference took place on Prince Edward Island and the rest of Canada signed up to confederation
     in 1867 – Prince Edward Island itself was determined not to join, and only succumbed to the pressure in 1873. Initially the
     people didn’t see much point in a confederation – the place was humming, shipbuilding was a major industry and the trade routes
     were good, particularly with England.
    ‘We set up the whole thing,’ Catherine told me, ‘then stood back with our arms folded for six years before we signed up.’
    In another room she showed me an 1864 photograph taken on the steps of Government House, explaining that the vision had been
     ‘Sir John A’s’ originally. I must have looked puzzled, because she quickly added that she was talking about Sir John A. Macdonald,
     the first prime minister of the new confederation. She told me plenty about the fathers of confederation, but she also told
     me that their wives played a really important role in trying to create an aura of congeniality. It all seemed so civilised,
     and Catherine explained that the islanders were still known for their friendliness towards visitors. It was true; we’d had
     nothing but fantastic hospitality ever since we landed.
    I really liked Catherine; she was so vibrant and enthusiastic about everything. Definitely an activist. We had to say goodbye,
     though, and made our way downtown to Lot 30, a fine-dining restaurant owned by a guy called Gordon. I knew I must have found
     the right place when I spotted the Triumph Speed Triple he’d told me he rode.
    Making our way inside, we cut through the kitchens and asked the chefs if Gordon was around. He came in from the front of
     house – a cool dude wearing jeans, biking boots and a leather waistcoat, with a bandanna tied around his head. The plan was
     to hook up with his mate John, another restaurateur who used to work at the oyster beds. I love shellfish, did I ever mention
     that? I’d already eaten lobster and today we’d be shucking oysters, so as far as I was concerned, life couldn’t get much better.
    We rode down to Carr’s Wharfside Market, where John met us. He had long hair and was wearing a beanie hat, and his restaurant
     was a seafood place, of course. He showed us the oyster packing