Day 52 – North Sydney, Nova Scotia (Saturday, June 27, 2015)

Today was a bit of a challenge.  I had to make 143km with unknown hilly terrain and a 13km head wind.

I ate grocery food in the hotel room and was on the road by 7:40am.

Despite the hills I was happy to make Beddeck by noon and spent some time exploring the town and visiting the Bell museum. Although Bell seems like a nice fellow with a good family he seems more like an influential tinkerer than a real scientist. Regardless we likely need more people like Bell who muck around and leave a lasting legacy.

Of all the places on Cape Breton I like the waters and surrounding hills of the Bras D’Or Estuaries the best. I can understand why it would have attracted a guy like Bell who had the good fortune of being able to live just about anywhere.

After Beddeck it was heads down riding the remainder 55km or so to North Sydney.   The climb between two parts of the Bras D’Or Lake was the steepest long climb since British Columbia. It was the first time since BC that I had to use the first chain ring.

I was satisfied to arrive in North Sydney before 6pm. I grabbed something to eat at Subway and spent the time before boarding the ferry at 9pm to do some bicycle maintenance. I replaced a broken spoke and patched a tire on the lawn of a museum.

I am currently on the ferry to Newfoundland. We left North Sydney harbour about 20 minutes ago. Now I have time to spend in a big chair trying to get some rest before I start bicycling again tomorrow.  Wish me luck.

Ralph was told to hang out with the motorcycles. I am not sure the motorcycles appreciated his company.

Boats in the small harbour at Beddeck.

Alexander and me.

The view of Bras D’Or at the museum in Beddeck.

A view of Bras D’Or from one of the highest hills since BC.

Day 51 – Port Hastings, Nova Scotia (Friday, June 26, 2015)

I woke to my alarm at 4:48am, packed up my tent and was on the road by 5:30am determined to make the first ferry to Nova Scotia. I arrived at the ferry dock almost 1 hour before the departure but I had enough time to eat breakfast of muffins and fruit that I had bought the day before.

The ferry arrived in Nova Scotia about 7:30am and I set off toward Pictou.   At the fork near Pictou I decided not to visit Halifax in favour of a direct route to Sydney.

Highway 104 in Nova Scotia was hilly but otherwise not especially interesting. At one point I decided to take a secondary road running parallel in hopes to get a sense of countryside. But while the road was quiet it was poorly maintained and wove around like a snake and I ended up returning to the main highway.

I ate and stayed at the Heartstone Inn in Port Hastings for the night. Ideally I would have liked to have gone another 20-30km to shorten tomorrow’s distance to Sydney.  The weather and the wind were favorable but the people at the information booth could not confidently assure me there was any suitable accommodation for some distance. The Heartstone was a pretty good place; better than the hotel franchises and had a clear view of the channel between Cape Breton and the mainland.

Packing up the tent at Northumberland Park at 5am.

The ferry to Nova Scotia.

Horses in Nova Scotia. This picture is for Katie.

The causeway to Cape Breton.

View of the causeway from Port Hastings.

Early morning on PEI.

Day 50 – Northumberland Provincial Park, Prince Edward Island (Thursday, June 25, 2015)

In the morning I met Steve, the host of Victoria Inn B+B.   He informed me about the latest history of the unique town of Victoria, a town which I just stumbled on, and pointed me to the best route to take both on the island and on Newfoundland. He suggested that I travel west through Charlottetown, on to the Wood Islands, and take the ferry to Nova Scotia. I didn’t even know there was a ferry.

After breakfast I set off. The weather was excellent and the wind favorable and I made Charlottetown in good time.

I approached the downtown off the main road as Steve had suggested and spent time eating a lunch (of store bought food) in the park by the water on the southwest corner of the city.   After lunch I passed a historic building constructed for tourists like me. I am intrigued by the history of the cities I visit and like to imagine what it would have been like for struggling pioneers years ago. But outside the building there was a notice “Closed on June 25”.

Not deterred I carried on toward the harbour doing my best to find directions to some history. After all I heard a bunch of guys got together to sign some important papers here in 1867. I ended up at a marina restaurant where the waitresses first directed me to the information center, and from there I found the location of Providence House.

Providence House as it turns out was closed for renovations.   I can understand that they may want it fixed up for Canada Day. I’ll make that presumption. But I was disappointed. It’s likely the most significant Canadian place in my trip since I have by passed all the capitals. Regardless of the reason it was closed I couldn’t help but think that Canada has all grown up. Its history is becoming more irrelevant.  It is a cynical thought. The country that now exists is the legacy of those guys who took the risk to act on their dream.

The cathedral which was also on the list of places to see was closed ’til 12:40pm. It wasn’t really important to me. Just added to the list of places that were coincidentally not open on the day or the time I happened to by riding by.

On the positive… the art gallery and the open outdoor spaces in downtown Charlottetown were quite nice.

Traveling from Charlottetown to the Woods Islands was uneventful. I followed the main road since the secondary roads didn’t lead me to where I wanted to go. The road was good but hilly with buildings sparsely scattered.

I arrived at the information center by the ferry at about 4:30pm.  Had I known the last ferry left at 4:30pm I would have hustled and made it to Nova Scotia.   Instead I bought some food at the cafeteria near the ferry dock and missed it.   I settled on camping at the nearby Northumberland Provincial Park enduring mosquitoes.

Lighthouse at Victoria PEI.

Park by the harbour in Charlottetown.

Open space in Charlottetown by the harbour.

Providence House which was closed for maintenance.

Lilacs by the art gallery in Charlottetown. The lilacs have been in bloom all the way from the interior of BC. In New Brunswick there were lilacs in almost every other house along the road with fragrance lingering everwhere. I can’t be sure where there will be no more lilacs. This may be the last I see.

Patio by the art gallery in Charlottetown.

Typical farm in PEI with ocean in the distance.