Nova Scotia on a Sport Classic

[Buckethead]

A couple of weeks ago I got the opportunity to do one of those trips that I'll remember for the rest of my life and I thought I'd share the experience here.

Sometime back in the day, on TOB, one of the local NEMHA riders proposed a group ride up to Montreal near the end of July. It was a great idea, we got a hold of some of the DOCC guys in the area, tentative plans were made, and then it kinda went... nowhere. Not a big deal. These things happen. But by the time I realized that the trip was a no-go around the end of June, I'd already scheduled a long weekend from the 24th-27th of July. Sure, I could just not take the vacation, but what fun is that? Rather, why don't I look for something else interesting to do?

About the time the plans crumbled, a radio contest sponsored by one of the local Harley dealerships made mention of the Cabot Trail as a "world-famous motorcycling destination." The light bulb went on. A little bit of research and a whole bunch of "why not?" later I decided that rather than go North and West to Montreal, I'd go East to Nova Scotia.

A quick search of the DMF using some Nova Scotia keywords found me the profile of Markus. I sent him a PM out of the blue letting him know that I'd be in his neighborhood in the not-so-distant future and asking if he had any advice. A dozen or so emails later we had fleshed out the details for my trip. Those details follow.

In spite of the forecasts, and the fact that I had rain gear with me, Thursday started off very dreary. I didn't hit any actual falling-from-the-sky rain, but I rode through overcast skies and moderate to dense fog for the entire morning. Much of it looked like this:



Continuing on, I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of some local wildlife. I was also lucky enough to stop before hitting them. (I really wish IZ wouldn't let his bacon wander...)



Across the border into New Brunswick I still hadn't seen the sun, but I was greeted by some amazing views along the Trans Canada Highway.



Not much else happened Thursday. It was mostly a transit day. I was pleased when the sun came out around 4 pm. Thankfully the temperature was pleasant all day, and all weekend for that matter, even when I was stuck under cloud cover.

Because I had apparently dawdled too much early on, combined with losing an hour to a time-zone change, I didn't reach Truro until about 9:30. I gave Mark a call, we rallied up, I got to meet his lovely girlfriend Joanna, the three of us had a beer, and then I called it a night.

Thursday's travels.

[The Don]

Well done, give us more photo's
Don

[TiNi]

Well done, give us more photo's
Don

i'm sure he's not done....
now sssssh and let him finish his story...

please... go on obsessed 

[lucazuma]

...i like stories with pictures

[Buckethead]

Because I had made it a point to stretch a lot before going to bed I wasn't nearly as stiff as I'd feared. I grabbed a shower and Mark and Joanna treated me to breakfast. I was then ready to go.



Mark asked if I'd mind some company for the first leg of my Friday, which of course I didn't, so together with Joanna riding pillion on his ST3 we made the short hop up Rt 4 to Stellarton.



Our little jaunt was also the shakedown cruise for Joanna's new backrest/Mark's new trunk.

At Stellarton we parted ways. I continued east through New Glasgow over to 347, a secondary road leading South and East toward Aspen and eventually Guysborogh.

There was a lot of this:



A fair share of this:



The occasional this:



And, since I took back roads, some of this:



But because of all the hills, there's very little of this:



The gateway to Cape Breton Island, the Eastern half of Nova Scotia, is the Canso Causeway. This is horrible picture of it, but you get some idea of how scenic the whole place is. The causeway itself is the breakwater-looking stretch on the right side of the pic.



After crossing the Causeway I continued East on 4. This was, unfortunately, the worst stretch of road I traveled. Much of the road between Port Hawkesbury and at least Cleveland, if not further, is in horrible shape. Much of it is also being repaved. None of it was much fun.

Fortunately once I reached St. Peter's and decided that it was time for lunch I stumbled across this place:



What makes them special, you ask? Simple: Bacon.



After lunch it was ever onward. Rt 4 East of St. Peter's is amazing, as it parallels the South shore of Bras D'or Lake almost all the way out to Cape Breton. Its also a fairly quickly moving, well traveled road, so I didn't really have much of a safe opportunity for taking pictures. You'll have to believe me when I tell you that it is breathtaking.

Eventually Rt 4 will take you all the way to Cape Breton, a thriving waterfront community.



Cape Breton is also home to a ginormous fiddle, erected in tribute to the prominence of the fiddle in the music of the people who originally settled the area. It is "New Scotland," after all.



Eventually I wandered up to my campground in Little Bras D'or, right at the very end of Bras D'or lake. The view:



The campground was on Church Street. This is why its named Church Street.



Looking out at the lake from the campground:



My 3 1/2 star lodgings for the night:



Eventually the sun decided that it was time to go to bed. I followed suit shortly thereafter.



Friday's travels.

[bryant8]

Wow, definitely a trip to remember for a lifetime!

[Buckethead]

Thanks guys.

Saturday was supposed to be the capstone of the trip, the vaunted Cabot Trail. Unfortunately, due to some poor planning on my part, it did not work out quite as I'd hoped. Because I neglected to tell Bank of America that I was headed to Canada, they totally flipped out as soon as they saw a charge from north of the border. Not usually a big deal. Just call the person, ask them if they are, in fact, in Canada, and then unlock the card. That's the way it should go. Unfortunately, in an attempt to have a single battery charge last the whole 4 day weekend, I had been riding with my phone off except to use it, and not received any of their voice mails. Oh, well, live and learn. 

Some rain had moved in Friday night. I awoke to the sound of rain on the fly of my tent. It eventually petered out around 7:30 or so, so I broke camp and headed north. The sky that greeted me:



A quick stop for breakfast. This was out back of one of the 17,694 Tim Horton's I saw. They're everywhere.



On the road again, I stopped and managed to snag this horrible picture of a bridge on the 104. If you look at the map just southwest of Big Bras D'or you can see the bridge. This shot was from the road just after the bridge, heading up the side of a very large hill.



Truth be told, it was very hard to capture the vastness of the views. Much of the roadway on the east coast of Cape Breton Island is carved into cliffs. Even when the road is relatively straight, the surf breaking on the rocks below can be very distracting. This horrible shot is of the north shore of St. Anne's Bay, taken from the road on the south side of the bay. You can just barely make out the land below the clouds.



Eventually, the sun did poke its head through the clouds. Lazy bastard! Didn't get out of bed until like 11:00! This was in Ingonish Beach which was, sadly, as far around the island as I got.



Fortunately I was able ride the portion of the trail which contains Point Smokey. This insane stretch involves a 15 mph hairpin at the bottom of a switchback-addled climb to just over 900 feet above sea level in a mile and a half stretch of road. Thankfully I brought fresh skivvies.

At this point, because the situation with my bank was as yet unresolved, I felt it prudent to conserve what cash I had and head back toward civilization, rather than chance being stuck at the extreme end of an island with no gas, no money, and no cell reception.

Once I made it to Baddeck and got gas, I was feeling much better about the situation. I decided that the trip shouldn't be a total loss and went ahead and followed the signs for the Cabot Trail heading up the west side of the island. Headed across the island I stopped for a quick photo op at Lake O Law.



The trip down the west coast of the island was great. By that point the sun was out and it was oceanfront and rolling hills all the way back down to the Canso Causeway. Shortly after crossing the Causeway headed west I stopped and actually got the voice mails from my bank. Using a pay phone outside a McDonald's I managed to get everything straightened out over the course of about 45 minutes. From there, though, my day was pretty much over as I was already halfway back to Truro.

Saturday's travels.

[Buckethead]

Sunday I faced the long haul home. As I was back in Truro I rendezvoused with Mark and Joanna for breakfast before heading out. I'd noticed some interesting statues dotted around Truro the night before and I asked Mark about them. Turns out the city used to have a large number of elm trees. When Dutch elm disease struck they were faced with a huge problem. Rather than just cut down the trees and leave unsightly stumps, someone had the bright idea to carve the trunks into statues of local figures. Proposals were accepted, local artists contracted, and eventually the city ended up populated by figures like this:



Some of them are much better than others. This one just happened to be stationed across from the diner we caught breakfast at.

Back on the road, I decided that I'd take a side-route back to Amherst that I had wanted to take on Thursday but, because I was running so late, I didn't get to. Rts 4, 307, 368 and 6 between Debert, Pugwash, and Amherst. Yes, that's right, the town is named Pugwash. The area is a lot of farmland with the occasional quaint little village. I snapped this pic on Rt 4 headed north.



Once I reached Amherst it was all Trans Canada Highway to the border. I was really trying to get the best mileage possible. The results were pretty impressive. 169 miles out of 3.1 gallons.



Nothing much else to report after that gas stop, except a really sore butt. Took a different route home and made it by about 6:30 and just in time. Shortly after 7:00 it started raining.

Sunday's travels.

As previously mentioned, this was definitely a trip to remember. It was also a great learning experience and a fantastic way to kill off a rear tire. The main things I learned that I'd like to pass on to anyone thinking of trying something similar are:

- If the opportunity presents itself, do it. You'll never remember the trip you don't take.
- If you're heading to Canada, tell your bank before hand.
- In a pinch, your jacket can be used as a pillow and your back pad as a sleeping bag pad.
- Canadians are not all bad. With the exception of a few teenagers, they were universally friendly and helpful.
- Bring a cell phone charger, or have a new, fully charged battery.
- Pay for gas with cash.
- A DP Comfort Seat and a backpack do not a touring bike make.
- While I do want to ride the Cabot Trail, I'm probably going to spring for the ferry next time. 1700 miles in 4 days is a bit excessive.
- Lastly, if everything went according to plan, it wouldn't be an adventure. 

[Markus]

Hey James. Glad to see your pics from the trip!

As you know, the weather here can really go either way - from beautiful, sunny skies to cold, wet and grey - and all in a matter of minutes. But if you time it right and hit a patch of clear weather on some of our twisty and less-travelled roads the results are pretty incredible.

Joanna and I are looking forward to seeing you again soon. And to anyone else considering a trip to Nova Scotia, you're always welcome for beers at our place. That's a standing invitation.

[TiNi]

Thanks for the great write up obsessed 

Glad you made a memory  [moto]

[NeufUnSix]

One of my favourite spots for riding. Trust me folks, the pictures don't do it any justice, the twisties are phenomenal (and well maintained) in the National Park area around the northern half of the CT. Plus the scenery is spectacular in the mountains and along the coast.

[SSSA]

Awesome post.

[Moronic]

Really enjoyed this ride report. Thank you.

Made me wonder whether the forum could benefit from a ride reports category.

There is a site some of you may have visited called Adventure Rider whose top category is its ride reports (with pics, pics, pics).

http://www.advrider.com/forums/

It developed I imagine as a place to share BMW GS tales, and I think has commercial links to a photo hosting site. The trips are primary, the bikes secondary, and it's a brilliant site.

I'm not suggesting we go that way, but this story has reminded me of how even a road ride of only a few days, perhaps especially on a Ducati, can be an adventure more than worth sharing, via some pictures and well chosen words.

I particularly enjoyed the shots of that prissy Sport Classic out soaking up the rain and bugs on the open road.

Way to go. 

[NeufUnSix]

Here are some pics from when I rode the Trail in 2004 with my dad. I had a Honda VFR400R at the time. I used to go to school in Antigonish (St Francis Xavier) about 50 kms from the Cape Breton border, the first time I did the trail I hopped on the Honda at 11am, did the whole trail, and got back to Antigonish at 8pm. I was shaking from the sheer rush of the whole trip. I was cornering so hard I ground up my toe sliders in a way I've never been able to replicate (some credit goes to my VFR for that).

http://www.piczo.com/bikerjason2?g=2997827&cr=1

I also have pics from my trip last year (went with a friend and met Mark on his Monster in Baddeck) but they aren't uploaded on the net yet.

[zvezdah1]

WOW! I thought I travelled light, you made the whole trip without even  tank bag!
Chris