Going Coastal

My last few days have been the best riding days since Cape Breton. I left Halifax 2 days ago and when I arrived at Barrington, I slipped onto NS #3 and rode up the coast to Yarmouth. That was a nice change from the busy port towns near Halifax. The next day saw rain, but I went ahead and took NS #1 following the coastline. Yeah, it was raining but it was a gentle, warm rain and the country road was all mine. By the time the rain had stopped, I’d landed in smooth and curving country lanes. This is biker country. Not quite as busy as the south side but definitely attractive to a 2-wheeler. Stayed on #1 all the way to Windsor and after negotiating a few changes, I took secondary Hwy 215. What a beauty. It continued to follow the Bay of Fundy to Truro where I swung to Hwy #2 so I could hug Fundy some more along her north side. This was even more enjoyable.

I’ve been hard on her, but I give credit where credit is due. The contrast of colours of red mud from the Fundy’s receding tide, notably the highest in the world, lush greenery in the Annapolis valley, and fresh blacktop all combined to serve me a 5-star helping of fun. Follow Fundy if you’re biking. You won’t regret it.

Report Card #2

It's raining this morning in Yarmouth, NS so I thought I should delay my departure for as long as possible as it should clear up later on. What to do? Hey, I know: report card time.

The Glide and I've been on the road now for 48 days, over 9,510 kms, and through 8 provinces. So what does it all look like:


* Food: EXCELLENT
Strangely, I've not had one, that's right, not one steak since my last report card. But, as any of you following the blog have read, food continues to be outstanding with a wide distribution of my hosts' specialties: perch, ribs, chicken, mussels, lobster, cod, scallops, pork tenderloin, ... all with their own blend of flavours and spices. I was even tempted a few times to ask them to let me lick a skillet or two.

* Facilities: EXCELLENT
Again, my hosts have made my stays very comfortable.

* Roads: FAIR
Construction hold-ups have not been overly bothersome but I did issue one post regarding the road conditions in Cape Breton. Not to single out Cape Breton, the Gaspe peninsula had its share of rough roads as does lower Nova Scotia. These places need not be concerned on speed limits as the road conditions take care of that. More signage warning of the upcoming war zones would be good. The odd sign indicating a hwy # in Nova Scotia would be helpful as well.

* Bike: EXCELLENT
What can I say about my Glide. The reliability factor has been 100% this month. The mild power upgrades have proven their worth countless times when a quick pass was needed. I decided to "push" her a little leaving the Gaspe and entering NB, just needed to let her know who's boss.

* Cost: GOOD
Staying on budget; a true testament to my (over)budgeting capabilities

* Weather: EXCELLENT
I've been gone 48 days and have actually been delayed only 1 day as a result of rain, rerouted my plans once due to rain, and have been caught in rain while riding 3 days. Fog has been a bit of an issue on the NS coast but nothing unmanageable. Another noteworthy point is while in southern Ontario for at least 2.5 wks, not once did we get one of "those" storms.

* Company: OVERWHELMING
This continues to be the home run of this trip.

* Converting Non-Believers: POOR
Little success here. In fact I've never seen so many foreign HD clones. Can't understand why you would buy a look-alike when the real deal is sooo much better.

* Team Recruitment: BELOW AVERAGE
Not doing so well in this area. I will follow the advice posted on a reply and focus my attention on curves, road curves that is.

Report Card #2 has me passing along with flying colours. I've turned the corner in south-east Nova Scotia so as I've replied in a post, I'm officially beginning the return leg of this trip. Only another 7000 or 8000 kms to go. I'll be in NS for another day or two and then I'll be heading to Fredericton to meet up with Deb, George, and Sam.

Mort, Peggy, & Me

A few pictures that require some words for context. The top photo is a photo of Mort and the signature shot of Peggy's cove. Blink as you're walking by and you'll miss this tiny but classic scene. I would have if Mort had not pointed it out. It always helps to have a "local" with you.

The second shot was taken in Mort's kitchen.

The 3rd picture is a memorial for Swissair Flight 111 which crashed within sight of Peggy's Cove. I was drawn to the site and in an odd twist of fate, if you click on the picture to expand it, you'll note the reference to "Sea to Sky".

I left Halifax this morning with a sense of satisfaction of having had the opportunity to catch up with Mort. We last spoke in 1978 as I was graduating and heading off to Montreal to work. Since then, we've never been in contact. The short time we spent together this time around has reaffirmed my judgment of character. Still the same good-natured man, full of energy and ideas. See you in Red Deer sometime Mort.

By the way, if anyone reading this has a yen for Gilbert & Sullivan, Mort's your man. Them be "his Harley", if you know what I mean.

Halifax

Landed in Halifax on Monday. My destination here was to arrive at Mort's home near the downtown area. Mort is one of my professors from my Lakehead U. days, some 35 years ago. Thanks to google maps, I've been able to get to everyone's home so far but Halifax was going to be a challenge. These very old cities weren't built with a municipal (road) development plan in mind so I had discussed the best approach over the phone with Mort. On the outskirts of town, I met up with a local biker and asked him for directions. He said: "... Easy. Follow me."
I love the biker community.

This particular stop is different from my others. When he was lecturing at Lakehead, Mort gained my respect based not only on his knowledge and intellect, but also on his down to earth attitude. No pretentious, arrogant doctor/professor was he. I even spent one summer working for him at the U as a student researcher. Good memories. We've been doing some serious catching up on family and peers and he's committed to being my guide for the day. We'll be heading to Peggy's Cove this afternoon.

Cape Breton's Shocking Impacts

I was hoping to do a cannonball run to the fortress this morning but in the end, left the island without going as I had hoped. A reaction to the weather but another reason to come back some day. So I need to share something about Cape Breton that I haven't said anything about yet.

I'm a road traveller more than a countryside observer, if you know what I mean. Hard to be watching those beautiful cliffs when you're countersteering at about 30 kph over the recommended cornering speed. One thing you do notice as a rider is the road condition. Now, if I'm busy focussing on scenes I may never see anywhere else in the world, I can be forgiven for not mentioning road conditions. But I'm riding here, so road conditions always jump into my assessment of new areas.

Like the rest of Canada, Cape Breton has its issue with rough roads. However, they've set what I believe is a new standard for the definition of "pot holes". It's not so bad if you stick to the main routes like the TC or the Cabot Trail. But make no mistake should you decide to get away from the main lines: things shore get interesting! Take any secondary highway like Hwy 216 or any such like and road conditions become a significant variable in whether you'll need spinal adjustments, medical attention, automotive repairs, or all of the above. We're not talking about your nominal road depressions here. We're talking about geological anomalies that university students make pilgrimages to in order to develop new theories on impacts caused by the shifting of tectonic plates. These craters can swallow up a small motorhome, never mind an 8 foot HD.

My message to you is this: Cape Bretoners use "BUMP" signs sparingly. Like a sage who says few words but each one of them with deep meaning, pay particular attention to these signs as they also have deep meanings.

I'm just saying, is all.

The Cabot Trail Fix

Maybe you love cheese cake and at some point you find yourself in a cheese cake cafe. What are you going to do? Pretty obvious I would think. You dig in and eat as much of it as you can. So, what if you're a road junkie and you find yourself staring at the motherlode fix. You can't be blamed for making it the day's main event. So it came to happen.

Everybody out here and throughout the country for that matter talks about the Cabot Trail. "Oh, you gotta ride the Trail. And make sure you do it counter-clockwise." How many times had I heard this refrain. This ride had been built up to a point where I was almost expecting to be disappointed. I wasn't.

On this sunny day, the Cabot Trail opened its door and we rolled right in. I meandered around the lazy turns for the first hour and from Ingonish on, it was spectacular. It continued on over the north around Aspy Bay all the way into the west coastline at Pleasant Bay. Cheticamp on the west side has an Acadian flair and lunch was all about a bowl of chowder at Le Gabriel restaurant. Delicious. The day wound up on back roads that eventually led me back to Sydney to spend the evening once again. The Cabot Trail doesn't disappoint, no matter which direction you take it. This fix should last me a while.

The plan for tomorrow is to go to the Louisbourg Fortress before I leave Cape Breton. Weather looks iffy so I'll wait and see what develops.

Silver Is Golden

Raining though it was on Thursday, one more day in PEI wasn't going to be hard to take, not when your gracious hosts decide to treat you to supper and horse racing, trotter style. It was a great spread with the race track right in front of our table.

I did the ususal, contributing steadily to the municipal tax base throughout the evening, that is until it was time to go. That's when I spotted Silver Streak. On his warmup run, he stood out with his silvery colour and right away I bonded with this horse. A silver horse and a silverback. A match that would not let me leave, at least not before I'd seen him whip those standardbreds around him. I looked at the odds and ol' Silver Streak evidently wasn't raising the same energy levels with the other bettors because he was paying out $28 on a $2 bet. I placed the $2 minimum on him to "show". Hey, I'd lost all night and let's face it, this was a sympathy bet.
The damn thing started off in 2nd last place, had moved up to 5th by 1/2 mile, took the lead at the final turn, and finally finished in 3rd place. I felt like like I'd won a million bucks. So I picked up my 70 cents winnings and went home feeling like a wealthy man. The Silver Streak can still deliver.

I had a great time visiting with Judy & Hans in Charlottetown. Good people, plain and simple. We talked some, we played some, we ate good, and we reminisced with old photos of Candace and the Jeffery family. You know, every one of these meetings makes her passing easier to take and moves me more towards being happy to have spent the time together we did. Right on!

This morning (Friday), I sailed out of PEI on the Confederation Ferry and landed in Pictou, NS. I'll spend the night in Sydney and take a ride around the Cabot Trail on Saturday.