Saturday, September 10, 2005
Day 75 – Distance: 98.41 km
Whycocomagh to North Sydney, NS
Spectacular scenery, good roads, and fairly good wind – sun shining brilliantly on wet leaves – all made for a great biking day in spite of occasional showers. Cape Breton is surely one of God’s masterpieces; of course I didn’t go all the way around it (this time), but I saw enough to make me want to come back. I understand there are supported bike tours of Cape Breton; maybe that would be the way to do it. I’ll have to keep in shape though; I passed a sign saying “you are at the base of Kelly’s Mountain. You will climb 7 km to an altitude of 240 meters.” That’s not a very steep grade, fortunately, but the legs still feel it by the time you’re at the top! And of course, the descent has all the cross winds and sharp turns that I thought I had left behind in BC. That reminds me of the other thing that’s similar to BC – logging trucks. There aren’t as many, and the logs are stacked sideways on the flatbed, rather than lengthwise as they are in BC, but I still got the smells of fresh cut logs. That, and the sweet smell of clover – I’ve smelled it in every province.
I haven’t seen too many animals in the east coast (other than road kill), but have seen lots of herons and kingfishers, along with a few osprey. Birds are definitely starting to gather; you can see them lined up on hydro wires, chattering to each other. I’d love to get a photo, but they tend to fly away when I get close.
My timing with showers was pretty good. There was a lovely rainbow in the sky before breakfast, as I was getting my bike out and ready. Shortly after that, it started raining, which ended while I was having breakfast. It started again briefly, so I didn’t leave until 8:30 a.m. I had to wear my rain gear of course, because of road spray (I should have put plastic bags into my shoes as well, but didn’t think of it), and a little shower, but the sun came out and warmed and dried things up nicely. I decided to check out the Gaelic College of Arts and Crafts, which was supposed to be just off my route (it was, but all uphill). As I was getting ready to leave, the rain started again, pouring this time, so I waited in the shelter provided by a breezeway, and had my lunch until it stopped. The rest of the day was fairly cool, except while climbing Kelly’s Mountain, but that was fine, as I tend to keep extra clothing with me now that I am basically unsupported during the day. I got to the KOA campsite, which is right at the base of the mountain and where we were planning to spend the night, by about 2:30; I phoned Cam, and then continued on to North Sydney (another 20 km) to the ferry dock. I really wanted to get that part of the trip done with so that Sunday could be a good rest and organizing day. I reached North Sydney about 3:20, and phoned Mom and Dad, just before they were about to leave for the airport for their trip to Holland. I was glad to be able to tell them I had made it safely this far. I then phoned Cam again to come pick me up, and found out he had had another tire blowout (the tire that had been the spare before). He’s getting to be a pro at changing tires! I arranged to meet him at a Tim Hortons’ near a Canadian Tire store; unfortunately they didn’t have the size of tire he needed. However, they phoned their Sydney store, which had one last one in stock, so we headed there before coming back to the campground to set up. Supper was extra late, and we were doing laundry in the dark, but that’s okay. The campsite is in a beautiful location, next to a lake and nestled against a cliff of red rock (left over from a gravel pit). When we got to the campsite, there was a double rainbow, ending right on the lake (appropriately named “Bras d’Or – arm of gold). What a celebration of reaching the ferry today – only two more biking days to go. I should be putting in some more extra mileage, but I’m feeling cautious – I don’t want to jinx my good luck in not having any flat tires yet. Maybe Cam is having them for me.
Whycocomagh to North Sydney, NS
Spectacular scenery, good roads, and fairly good wind – sun shining brilliantly on wet leaves – all made for a great biking day in spite of occasional showers. Cape Breton is surely one of God’s masterpieces; of course I didn’t go all the way around it (this time), but I saw enough to make me want to come back. I understand there are supported bike tours of Cape Breton; maybe that would be the way to do it. I’ll have to keep in shape though; I passed a sign saying “you are at the base of Kelly’s Mountain. You will climb 7 km to an altitude of 240 meters.” That’s not a very steep grade, fortunately, but the legs still feel it by the time you’re at the top! And of course, the descent has all the cross winds and sharp turns that I thought I had left behind in BC. That reminds me of the other thing that’s similar to BC – logging trucks. There aren’t as many, and the logs are stacked sideways on the flatbed, rather than lengthwise as they are in BC, but I still got the smells of fresh cut logs. That, and the sweet smell of clover – I’ve smelled it in every province.
I haven’t seen too many animals in the east coast (other than road kill), but have seen lots of herons and kingfishers, along with a few osprey. Birds are definitely starting to gather; you can see them lined up on hydro wires, chattering to each other. I’d love to get a photo, but they tend to fly away when I get close.
My timing with showers was pretty good. There was a lovely rainbow in the sky before breakfast, as I was getting my bike out and ready. Shortly after that, it started raining, which ended while I was having breakfast. It started again briefly, so I didn’t leave until 8:30 a.m. I had to wear my rain gear of course, because of road spray (I should have put plastic bags into my shoes as well, but didn’t think of it), and a little shower, but the sun came out and warmed and dried things up nicely. I decided to check out the Gaelic College of Arts and Crafts, which was supposed to be just off my route (it was, but all uphill). As I was getting ready to leave, the rain started again, pouring this time, so I waited in the shelter provided by a breezeway, and had my lunch until it stopped. The rest of the day was fairly cool, except while climbing Kelly’s Mountain, but that was fine, as I tend to keep extra clothing with me now that I am basically unsupported during the day. I got to the KOA campsite, which is right at the base of the mountain and where we were planning to spend the night, by about 2:30; I phoned Cam, and then continued on to North Sydney (another 20 km) to the ferry dock. I really wanted to get that part of the trip done with so that Sunday could be a good rest and organizing day. I reached North Sydney about 3:20, and phoned Mom and Dad, just before they were about to leave for the airport for their trip to Holland. I was glad to be able to tell them I had made it safely this far. I then phoned Cam again to come pick me up, and found out he had had another tire blowout (the tire that had been the spare before). He’s getting to be a pro at changing tires! I arranged to meet him at a Tim Hortons’ near a Canadian Tire store; unfortunately they didn’t have the size of tire he needed. However, they phoned their Sydney store, which had one last one in stock, so we headed there before coming back to the campground to set up. Supper was extra late, and we were doing laundry in the dark, but that’s okay. The campsite is in a beautiful location, next to a lake and nestled against a cliff of red rock (left over from a gravel pit). When we got to the campsite, there was a double rainbow, ending right on the lake (appropriately named “Bras d’Or – arm of gold). What a celebration of reaching the ferry today – only two more biking days to go. I should be putting in some more extra mileage, but I’m feeling cautious – I don’t want to jinx my good luck in not having any flat tires yet. Maybe Cam is having them for me.
posted by BikingBabe at 2:11 PM
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