Bicycle Tours

From: Bridgetown
To: Digby
Mileage: 34

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What comes up, must come down. After breakfast we left Valley View Park and had a 5k downhill ride. The Rear Admiral kept the rear disc brake on until the final switchback (poor road conditions and cars). As soon as we rounded the last switch back, we "released the hounds" and reached 38 mph! Not the fastest speed, but a safe one. We road about 15 miles into Annapolis Royal and spent a couple of hours at the Tidal Power plant, and then the Royal Gardens. Next we had lunch in front of the fort and afterwards explored the downtown of Annapolis Royal. Our afternoon bike ride took us to the town of Digby. Rte 101 merges with rte 1 here, and it is not a very pleasurable ride. We arrived at Jaggars Campground and set up camp and lazed around. At night we went into Digby. Digby is famous for it's very large scallops. Since this really is an eating tour and not a biking tour, we went into town and ate the local fair (Large Scallops, Yummy!) and after dinner we explored Digby.

Tomorrow will be our last day of riding. Dad will drive us to Belliveau Cove so we can avoid the traffic on rte 101. Todays weather was near perfect again! We have been very very lucky!

From: Brooklyn
To: Bridgetown
Mileage: 62

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Then there was a hill . . . .

But first, we carried the bikes on the back of the motor home into Grand Pre from the campground, since we didn't want to back pedal. We visited the Grand Pre Historical site and learned about the Acadian people and their farming techniques (Dyke building). In 1755 the Acadian's were expelled from this part of Nova Scotia by the British (mostly New Englanders) after the French beat up the British in a sneak attack. Someone had to be blamed, and since the Acadians were non-violent, they became an easy target. Longfellow's poem "Evangeline" tells of their hardship. Grand Pre is a must see, and don't forget to visit the gardens and outside exhibits. By the way, we are now on the Evangeline Trail, following the Bay of Fundy (and in Acadian country). This is the last route we will be able to do on this Nova Scotia trip because of the time limit. We then rode into Wolfville and biked around Acadia University, Next on to Kentsville and had a delicious Santa Fe Chicken pizza at Pizza Delight. We then visited the information booth at Kentsville. Almost all the information centers are brand new and very helpful. Stop in and ask questions. They are also putting in bottled water, they must have been listening to my suggestion that cyclist need water!

At the information center they told us of a rails-to-trail that runs all the way to Yarmouth. We just had to try it, but found that you really need fat tires. SeeMore did ok, but Mary and I fell twice (at a slow speed and no injuries) and Georges had a very tough time. So we had to follow Route 1 (busy) until we got off the Evangeline trail and rode route 201 for the rest of the ride. We had our first dog run in on the trip, but SeeMore out ran him and he was too tired to chase Georges. We also saw a skunk, SeeMore also quickly put some distance from the sighting.

We are camping at Valley View Provincial Park. . . .and now for the hill.

Here is the lay of the land. The Bay of Fundy is towards the west; then there is a mountain range, then farmland; and finally Route 1 in the valley. The campground is almost at the very top of the mountain. If you are biking, there are private campgrounds in Bridgetown. But we agreed to meet Mom and Dad at this park. The road up to it has 4 switchbacks and a very steep grade. We made it about 3/4 of the 5k climb, walked about 50 yards for a rest, then finished it off by riding the remaining. When we got to the park, there was yet another climb to our campsite! Dinner was spinach and roasted chicken (which is more expensive up here than lobster!). Mom out did herself again. The weather today, again, was near perfect! The hill took a lot out of us, so we decided against playing cards and went to bed after dinner.

From: Truro
To: Brooklyn
Mileage: 81

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Had breakfast at the Best Western in Truro. I would again recommend finding other lodging, we got up to enjoy the continental breakfast but it was so poor that we had to go to the restaurant (bait and switch?) We left Truro via Wal-Mart were we loaded our pictures onto a CD for $3.97 Canadian. Mary also found a camera case that was missing the battery charger and bargained the manager down to a very fair price, for both sides.

Today, we continued to ride on the Glooscap Trail. This ride gave us great views of the Bay of Fundy and small family farms. There was very little traffic, but the road was in very bad shape. Georges' butt took a beating! We passed through Noel and took a photo of me under the town sign, then had some fig newtons by the Noel cemetery. Then we saw the Noel United Church across from the Noel town park.

We stopped in Walton to have lunch at the pub, then went out to visit the Walton Lighthouse.

Finished our ride at Smiley Provincial Park. Mom had fish stew waiting for us (double yummy). I've said it before, it's not about the riding, it's about the eating! Another day of great riding weather. It was mostly cloudy with the temperature in the low 80's today.

From: Cape Chignecto
To: Truro
Mileage: 44

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Happy Birthday Aunt Lynn.

We decided to travel via motor home to see the Cape d'Or lighthouse. This would have been one heck of a ride by bike with a dirt road that went up up up and down down down. Then it was off to Parrsboro to the Geological Museum. The museum is brand new, and was worth the stop. After the museum we began the day's ride. At Parrsboro we picked up the Glooscap Trail again and the road was in very bad condition. The hills became numerous and we got SeeMore up to 44.6 mph! We had lunch/dinner at the Masstown Market (OH BOY!), what a treat! Tonight we are staying in the Best Western in Truro which IS NOT WORTH THE MONEY. We chose this hotel because we were going to use the Hot Tub, but it was a semi-warm tub, that seemed filled more with chlorine than water. We visited/walked Victoria park (recommended) and downtown Truro. Just one example of the friendly people of Nova Scotia: As we entered into Truro a gentleman pulled us over and asked us where in Truro we were staying. He then gave us a motor escort through town, stopping and waiting for us to catch up, right to our hotel. It's about 8:30 now, and I'm ready for lights out.

From: Amherst Shore
To: Cape Chignecto
Mileage: 84

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A near perfect day for riding! Sun/cloudy/a couple of rain drops (maybe enough to drown an ant) and in the high 70's. Start out on the Sunrise Trail and rode to Tidnish Bridge. This is the home of Ketchum's Folly. Ketchum persuaded the Canadian Government to build a railway that would transfer loaded boats from Tidnish to Fort Lawrence (Northumberland Strait to the Bay of Fundy) saving ships a dangerous five hundred mile trip around Nova Scotia. The project got 90% completed when the Canadian Government stopped funding it. Now all that is left is a wooded trail with some stone bridges. After walking the swing bridge that was there, we rode into Amherst where the Sunrise Trail turns into the Glooscap Trail. Amherst has old beautiful Victorian homes (on the west side) lining it's streets. We grabbed some subs to eat later and rode to River Hebert. As we rode across bridge into River Hebert a tidal bore occurred! We had lunch at the River Hebert Park, listening to live music. Next we stopped at Joggins Fossil Museum. This is a small museum, but the fossils taken from this small area are numerous. At the information center we were warned about the large hill outside Shulie, one girl said "I don't think I would walk up it", another said she doesn't like driving her car down it. It was large, but we have been up steeper on this trip. From Joggins to Cape Chignecto we left the Glooscap Trail and followed the Bay of Fundy Scenic Drive. It reminded us of parts of Alaska and the Yukon. You could see glimpses of the Bay of Fundy, but I'm not sure why they called it a scenic drive. It was void of traffic, which allowed for a lot of side by side riding. When we entered Cape Chignecto it was low tide and the fishing boats were lying on the mud. We arrived at a private campground to the smell of sauerkraut and pork, Mom was keeping us well fueled, we are eating like kings and queens! A long ride today, we are going to sleep well tonight.

From: Dartmouth
To: Amherst Shore
Mileage: 0

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Traveling day - After cereal we packed up everything and headed into Truro for laundry and supplies. Spent the morning doing laundry and walking downtown Truro. Bought a new speedometer for SeeMore and a new helmet for the Rear Admiral. We then had lunch at the tidal bore. There are many tidal bores on the Bay of Fundy. In some areas on the bay, the tide rises and lowers as much as 50 feet. Tidal bores occur when the rising ocean water comes in and goes up the rivers. A wave (depending on location you can surf it) comes in and fills the riverbanks. It's not the most exciting thing to see in the world, but if you have time, I would recommend seeing one.

We then headed to Amherst Shore Provincial Park for the night to camp. We will begin on the Sunrise Trail tomorrow and then follow the Glooscap trail around the Bay of Fundy.

From: Mahone Bay
To: Dartmouth
Mileage: 60

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We were awakened by the smell of eggs and sausages cooking at The Red Door B and B. We all had an excellent night's sleep. Georges said that 7:30 came way too fast! Today, weather-wise, was almost perfect for a bike ride. We did encounter some strong headwinds from time to time, but for the most part it was overcast all day in the high 70's. After breakfast we began our journey to Peggy's Cove. Staying on the Lighthouse Route for 85 percent of the way. The car traffic got busier the closer we got to Halifax. The hills also got steeper. We did not ride very much side by side today. After riding through Chester, we stopped at the Hubbard's information center. There we met some young cyclist from CT, MA, and NH. They were fun to talk to. We also received news of the terrorist bombing in London, which saddened us. Whether you bike, hike, motorcycle, or travel by car; the Nova Scotia information centers are a great place to stop. Most have free Internet, lots of info, and bathrooms!!! We wish they would also have water, and have told them that bikers would really appreciate it!



We rode into Upper Tantallon and pulling in behind us was Mom and Dad. So we had lunch in the motor home, what a treat! We then headed for Peggy's Cove. Peggy's Cove is probably the most photographed area in Nova Scotia, the photo below and above should help you imagine the sights of the fishing villages that filled this part of the Lighthouse Route.

Just outside Peggy's Cove is a memorial to Swiss Air Flight 111 that crashed into the ocean just east of Nova Scotia. We stumbled across it quite by accident. Georges noticed a neat rock formation so we hiked up to it and just as we got to the top, the memorial was right there. The trail leading up to meomorial also had signs all over the place asking people to "stay on the path". . . .oh well. . . We spent (not enough time) about an hour at Peggy's cove. There is a lighthouse at the end with a post office inside.



We finished the Lighthouse Route at this point. We have no desire to ride into Halifax, and since we have Mom and Dad, we took advantage of them. We loaded the bikes on the back of the motor home and we thankfully drove through Halifax and Dartmouth, spending the night in a municipal campground in Dartmouth.