Onwards

Tomorrow is a shortish pedal to North Sydney, then off to Newfoundland on the Monday morning ferry. The map shows our original plan for "the Rock" but we'll have to see how it works out, given the weather. I was told tonight that they've had two days without rain in the last month!

Port Hawkesbury to Baddeck - 87 km

I woke up first and returned the rental car this morning - and got soaked when I had to ride back to the motel. Ho hum, another day.

The weather actually improved as we loaded up and headed out. Improved means it stopped raining. And the fog lifted, and we saw this bright thing in the sky a couple of times. You almost want to bow down and worship it. With no rain the ride to Baddeck was pretty nice. As always, this is beautiful country when its nice.

Baddeck is a tourist town, famous for a number of things I found (my lack of knowledge of Canadiana is showing again!). This is where Alex G. Bell spent a lot of the latter part of his life (he invented the phone in Brantford) and there is a large Historic Site dedicated to his work. He did much more than invent the telephone - his work with the deaf, experimenting with flight and hydrofoils, and improving the phonograph to name a few. He was a key part of Canada's first aircraft flight, here on an icy Bras d'Or Lake in 1908.

We also spent some time at the Bras d'Or Lakes Interpretive Centre, learning about this unique area. (You didn't think I had all this culture in me, did you).

I'm working on this next to the restaurant listening to some beautiful eastern music being played live by a (I assume) local couple - and watching as the sky darkens in preparation for the next downpour! Groan. By the way, the total mileage on my GPS is 6794!

Photos are of the local lighthouse and the county courthouse, which is a bit unusual in its design.

August 29 - Cabot Trail

We woke up yesterday to a perfectly yecchy morning in Port Hawkesbury. Drizzle, low cloud and not much prospect for improvement. So, instead of biking it, we decided to rent a car and drive around the Cabot Trail.

I apologize profusely to the purists who have been following our trip, but enough is enough! We're one wrinkle short of being prunes.

So, the Cabot Trail - We went around it clockwise, and actually didn't have rain on the west side, so here's a couple of photos of that side.

And there's one in the fog of some waves on the east side. Note the lovely shades of grey blending into the fog - remember this is August!

The skies opened up a number of times while we were on the east side - we passed one poor girl on a bike in a huge downpour.

We decided seeing the trail was worth it, even if we didn't have a great day. Maybe next time we'll bike.

Update on the Tauntons

I spoke to Gerry a couple of evenings ago and was updated on the Taunton family activities. Here's a bit if a summary: They toured the Cabot trail by car and then headed for Truro, and apparently got very wet. From there they went to Windsor and Wolfville where they stayed for a couple of days, visiting a friend. Next it was down the coast to Middleton, and then to Lunenburg, where I spoke to him. Gerry said they were lucky and had missed some of the rain that we had gotten a few days ago.

They are making their way up to Halifax where (I believe) they will have a day off before flying back to British Columbia.

August 28 - Antigonish to Port Hawkesbury - 60 km

Another short day - up the freeway from Antigonish, across the Canso Causeway to Port Hawkesbury. We had a bit of drizzle today, but no real rain. We took the freeway and had a nice ride. The road had nice, wide shoulders - the best we've seen in Nova Scotia.

Only one photo today - of the Canso Causeway. The Canso Strait is 200 feet deep here, so filling it in to create the Causeway was not a small job.

Port Hawkebury is an industrial town, dating from the 1890's. It reminded me a bit of Powell River, in that it is a working town and not too touristy. It is the gateway to Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail (where we hope to venture towards tomorrow).

August 27 - Liscomb to Antigonish - 82 km

Groan, a really wet day. We crossed back over to the other side of Nova Scotia. going past Sherbrooke and up the St. Mary's River valley. This would be a really pretty ride on a nice day - not too hilly, not too much traffic. We made it into Antigonish. They've had so much rain that the rivers are close to overflowing. In fact, we passed a highways maintenance sign that said "Expect Flooding Conditions." Enough said. I included a photo of downtown Antigonish and a couple of photos of St. Francis Xavier University. The town goes from 4000 people in the summer to 8000 when the university is in session.

August 26 - Jeddore to Liscomb - 128 km

Further up the coast today. A long day, but luckily no rain, very little wind, cloudy, and not too hilly (although opinions vary about this).
We ended the day at Liscomb (further east along the coast). We really lucked out on accommodations, getting the guest house belonging to Rosalyn and Tim Spears who run the Birchill B&B. If you wanted to spend a few days in a very nice area that looks like kayaking heaven, then this might be the place for you. Their website is www.birchillbb.com.

Photos are Sheet Harbour, some boats along the highway, the view from the guest house, and a view of the guest house guests.

August 25 - Halifax to Jeddore - 56 km

A short, wet day as we took the ferry over to Darmouth and up the highway to Jeddore. You know where Jeddore is, right? It's up highway 7, past Musquodobit Harbour and right before the Salmon River bridge. Okay, it's 50 km east of Halifax (up the coast, so to speak).

Rain and drizzle until noon, cloudy afterwards. Lots of views of the bays and islands along the coast. The first photo shows how many of the small docks are constructed - since the tide range is not that high the docks don't need pilings or floats.

August 24 - Day off in Halifax

Here's a few pictures from our day off in Halifax.
-The HMCS Sackville, Canada's remaining WW2 Corvette (my Grandfather served on one)
-The Halifax town clock, pictures of the waterfront and a street.

And, for one of my sisters, a picture of Theodore Too (she wants a harbour tour on him).

August 27 - Quick Update

Hi: I only have 10 minutes until the library closes, so here's a summary.
August 24 - Day off in Halifax. Did the Tourist thing.
August 25 - Halifax to Jeddore - this is a little spot up the coast (east) from Halifax. Wet morning.
August 26 - Jeddore to Liscomb. We went through Sheet Harbour today. Long day (128 km), but luckily no wind or rain, although it was cloudy all day. We stayed in the guest house of the Birchill B&B. Great spot to stay for a few days and go paddling.
August 27 - Liscomb to Sherbrooke and across to Antigonish. Wet, Wet, Wet! All day. The weather has turned on us again. We are looking at the forecasts and will decide what to do.

I'll do some more updating when I can. Greg

August 23 - Black Point to Halifax - 87 km

We left the motel after munching on last nights leftover pizza (shades of being a hung over student!) and headed out in search of somewhere to have a coffee. We found it 13 km up the road at the Bike & Bean combination coffee place and bike shop. When the bike shop's owner (Dana) arrived, we had a great chat about Newfoundland and people and places to see there.

First picture - I took this somewhere in St. Margaret's Bay. It sort of captures the romantic East Coast harbour scene.

We stopped by the Swissair Flight 111 memorial on our way to Peggy's Cove. A very solemn spot.

The second picture is the inner harbour at Peggy's cove.


We made it into Halifax and stopped by the CycleSmith bike shop to have the bikes checked, since there are not a lot more shops on our trail north and around Cape Breton. Worthwhile simply for the peace of mind it provides. Also, 6300 km has put lots of wear on my gears and I didn't want to chance going another 1500 or 2000 km with components wearing out.

We're pulling out all the stops and staying at a high end spot - the Waverly Inn. In fact, it is so nice that I wanted to show you what our room looks like. On the left are the beds and on the right is the sitting area after I did my laundry (just kidding, I left the wet laundry in the bathroom!).

August 22 - Lunenburg to Black Point - 67 km

A short day - and I haven't complained about the weather for a couple of days, because it has been great (isn't it wonderful how a nice day or two makes you forget about days and days of slogging?).

Our first town was Mahone Bay; very pretty spot - we decided we'd rather live here than Lunenburg. We stopped at a shop called "Amos Pewter." Avoid this place if you don't want to come out of it with your credit cards smoking!

We stopped at a restaurant for a snack and found out we were near Oak Island - the place where Captain Kidd (or Blackbeard) may (or may not have) buried his treasure. Here's a photo of the treasure map for anybody who wants to get rich.

This whole coastline is very pretty, much like the Gulf Islands. And the bicycling isn't hard. Nova Scotians are very courteous to cyclists and are very patient with us. Contrast this with a lot of BC drivers, who believe the posted speed limit is a minimum, not a maximum.

August 21 - Middleton to Lunenburg - 109 km

Before I forget - we've logged over 6300 km according to my GPS. This doesn't include the extra riding I do around the towns after we arrive. No wonder my cheeks are sore.

This segment was a right angle turn and head southeast across Nova Scotia. Not knowing what the terrain was going to be like, we were pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be surprisingly pleasant - a 200 meter climb out of the valley in the morning to Springfield, more or less rolling terrain across the plateau and then downhill to New Germany. The farmlands turned into pretty forest with small lakes.

We stopped in New Germany for lunch - I had a "Critter Burger." (You imagine what is was).

Onwards through Bridgeport and into Lunenburg. Since everybody has heard of this town, I'll just add some photos and not say much, except that I spent time on the Bluenose II and in the Atlantic Fisherman's Museum. The photos are the view from our room (Bluenose II roughly in the middle), a shot of the main street, and the Lunenburg academy (still used as a school)

August 20 - Windsor to Midleton - 107 km

Today was clear, cold and headwinds. We left Windsor and headed southwest up the Annapolis valley. We chose highway 221, which turned out to be slightly hilley but with little traffic.
The first big town we came to was Wolfville, home of Acadia University - a beautiful little spot. (Stewart P, if you are following this, it was a good place to send your daughter to university).

For all the people in Arrowsmith Search & Rescue, here's a picture of the West Hant SAR group's hall. Their only vehicle was a van.

I don't have too many pictures of the valley itself, but there were plenty of apple and other fruit orchards in a very pleasant setting. A very nice cycle.


Later on we changed to highway #1 to cross the valley. Not as nice a stretch to cycle.

We finished the day in Middleton, a little community originally established (I believe) as a centre for the farming industry and the railroads (there were 3 in Nova Scotia - CN, CP and the Dominion Atlantic Railroad).

We met a group of cyclists, one from BC who had flow out for a vacation. One had the very good taste to have as her cycle a Surly "Long Haul Trucker." Hers was almost brand new, not nearly as bashed up as my reliable beast.

Another great B&B stay in Middleton, at the "Just Dropping By B&B" hosted by Al & Bonnie Thompson.

I'm back on my architecture kick, so here are a couple of photos of neat houses I saw on this part of the trip.
One surprising note is the number of huge houses we've seen. Very large and originally only single family dwellings (with household help).

August 19 - Truro to Windsor - 105 km

After leaving the Tulips & Thistle, then getting turned around in Truro trying to find Highway 2 (we got directions from a very helpful "Truroite") we again headed cross country. We had spoken to the folks in the Truro Bike shop the previous day who suggested there would be headwinds on the coastal routes given the weather forecast. By the way, I visited the bike shop to purchase a new pump as my old one had (literally) blown a gasket and was no longer reliable.

The road had been described as rolling, but Leddy upgraded that to "hilly" (I'll delete the other adjectives). You spend all your time going uphill, or going downhill looking at the next uphill.

The weather forecast said it would rain in the afternoon. True to form, we got a shower just after our lunch in Kennetcook. No big problem, as we waited it out in a post box shelter. Off we went.

20 km down the road we started hearing thunder, and it was looking ominously dark. We decided to look for shelter, and lo and behold, the Stanley-Mosherville community hall appeared. We ducked in there.

The clouds thickened and it got so dark that the street light came on. Then the thunder, lightening and rain hit. Then the streetlight went out (power fialure?) and it just poured the proverbial cats and dogs. BIG cats and dogs. This was the worst downpour of our trip. Lucky for us we were covered.

By the way the Stanley-Mosherville hall is the site for a big pumkin contest (the 1999 winner was 850 pounds). I picked up a brochure with useful hints for growing huge pumpkins. For example, how to give the plant warm water or how to make manure tea.

An hour later it was all over. The rain disappeared and we headed off. We made it into Windsor before the next downpour (which happened during our dinner).

So here we are in Windsor. No time to explore much of the city, as we are off to Middleton tomorrow, and then (I believe) across the island to Lunenburg the next day.

August 18 - Pictou to Truro - 55 km

Gerry and his family are off on their own adventure. Today they are touring the Cabot Trail by car and returning to the Willow House. After that, I believe they are going on roughly the same trail as we 3, but that could change. I'll update their trip as I hear more. I know they are all flying back from Halifax at the end of the month.

Leddy, Laura and I cycled off towards Truro. We went cross country instead of along the coastline. A beautiful day with rolling countryside, which means some uphill and downhill for us "manual motorists." Even in a small province like Nova Scotia there are huge uninhabited areas, with few people. Check out the photo of the "dynamic duo." Note the colour of the pavement (red, I presume due to the aggregate in the asphalt) and the scrubby forest (logged, but left to regenerate on its own).

Another great B&B today - the "Tulips and Thistle" just north of Truro. It is hosted by Ann & Larry MacCormack, who were very gracious in allowing us the use of their kitchen to prepare our dinner (the usual - Greek salad, buns, cheese, pate & "grape juice"). The next morning we sat down to breakfast with the MacCormacks, a couple from Illinois and a family from BC (small world department!). One of the real highlights for us on this trip is informal get togethers like this where we meet and talk to people. Our thanks to Ann and Larry for making our stay so enjoyable.

August 17 - Georgetown to Pictou, NS - 65 km

We woke up in Georgetown to ugly looking skies. After a marvellous B&B breakfast we set out - the skies had improved from ugly to merely threatening. Somebody was smiling on us, because an hour into our cycle the skies cleared and we had clear, sunny skies!

We cycled across the island to the Woods Island ferry terminal. Just before the terminal I saw a number of "oceanside" potato fields. No wonder they grow good potatoes in PEI - growing up on the waterfront with all that healthy salt air!

The ferry ride to Pictou was routine for us west coast types, except that Leddy scammed an RCMP pin from two mounties on board (in full scarlets) doing PR work and promoting safe driving.

We rode into Pictou (7 km from the ferry) early enough in the day so that I could do some exploring. Pictou is a pretty little town. One of their projects is building a replica of the "Hector," the vessel that brought the original Scottish settlers to the area in 1773. I spent a lot of time on board the vessel and in the museum beside it.

The next photo is of the Custom house in Pictou (circa 1870). Pictou was once an important port and actually had the US Consulate here.

Gerry and Ashley caught up to us in Pictou. They had a great time at the play, and were rather surprised when Linda (Gerry's wife) and Richard (their son) joined them in Charlottetown! Linda and Richard had arrived in Nova Scotia a few days ago and were waiting for Gerry and Ashley, but Linda decided to hop up to Charlottetown and surprise them.

We all stayed in the Willow House Inn B&B. We have been in B&B heaven and the Willow House is no exception. It is heritage house (circa 1840) B&B in Pictou hosted by Debbie & Jamie MacLean. Most enjoyable and a marvellous stay. Another place we'll recommend.

August 16 - St. Peter's harbour to Georgetown - 48 km

To all of Leddy's golfing buddies - be prepared to get jealous! Tom and Leddy got up early and went golfing at Crowbush Cove (Laurie Kane's home course). From the descriptions later, Leddy loved it and he and Tom had a great time. Leddy will probably tell you about it (at length!) when he gets back.



Gerry and Ashley went back to Charlottetown as they had tickets to the Anne of Green Gables play.

I jumped on my bike and went exploring - ending up at the Redhead wharf. This shot shows part of it.

After another marvellous lunch, Laura, Leddy and I jumped on our bikes for the trip to Georgetown. We cycled the Confederation Trail to St. Peter's, then the highway across the island. We got nailed by a shower at Cardigan, so the last 10 km into Georgetown were wet and we did our usual drowned rats imitation when we arrived.

In Georgetown we stayed at the Georgetown Inn B&B, and would recommend it to anybody.


The last photo is of the King's County Courthouse in Georgetown.

August 15 - Charlotteltown to St. Peter's Harbour - 53 km

Another short day - we could get used to these! We cycled onto the Confederation Trail. This trail is the abandoned railbed of PEI's railway. It is an easy cycle on a hard gravel surface. The advantage of an abandoned railbed is that there is no traffic and the grades (hills) are not steep - the disadvantage is that the sides are overgrown and block the views. However, it is a must for cycle tours of PEI. The photo shows one of the parts of the trail that has grass growing on the centre portion - most of it has no grass.

Our destination today is "Moondock" which is the name of Debbie and Tom Moore's fabulous summer residence on the island. Tom designed it using the fishing houses on the Redhead docks(fishing wharf 3 km away) as the inspiration. Daphne (Laura's sister-in-law) was there for a visit as well.

What a great time! Leddy, Laura and I arrived at lunch time (Debbie & Daphne invited us!) and then Leddy and I went kayaking while Laura and Daphne had a long beach walk. Leddy is in front of the St. Peter's Harbour lighthouse (no longer used).

Gerry and Ashley arrived later. Dinner was marvelous, with a total of 12 people, including four of Debbie and Tom's friends.

August 14 - Borden to Charlottetown - 56 km

A short day. We got an early start and got into Charlottetown early in the afternoon. This let us snoop around and have a look at some of the historic bits of the city. Province House is a definite must, especially for those historically challenged such as myself. Lots of old buildings to look at as well. The waterfront is a bit touristy.

Gerry and Ashley got into town after us. We all checked into the Rodd hotel (an ex CN Hotel) and had dinner at one of the pubs downtown.

The photos are of Leddy and Laura heading into Province House for a "culture break," the Rodd Hotel, and the Queen Street, looking at the City Hall.