Heading to Cape Breton

Halifax to Margaree Falls, July 6, 2009
Having secured an engine and having nothing but time until it arrived, I took the opportunity to check out one of Canada’s most famous motorcycle roads: The Cabot Trail. I left Woot’s place a little late but got everything packed and headed out. I stopped at Stewaike and walked around at Mastodon Ridge. They had exhibits talking about the history of Nova Scotia, from the formation of the land to the people and animals that inhabited it over time. It was pretty cool for a side-of-the-road information building.

Woot had told me the approximate range for the bike and that when the fuel light comes on there’s about 30km worth of gas in the tank. In the morning I noticed the trip meter had been reset so I thought he might have taken it out for a quick run to test the new windshield and filled the bike up. Just as I leave Mastodon Ridge the fuel light came on. Not wanting to stop so soon after a break I passed up Truro knowing that there had to be fuel within the next 30km. Well, there was only ONE exit that had gas in the 30km and I passed it. One thing to note is that once you’re outside a major city the freeway exits aren’t very regular. Having passed the exit I needed I had to drive another 10km to the next exit only to drive back that same 10km… That was a big tank to fill.

I made it in to Cape Breton without too much fuss and filled up shortly thereafter. Not more than five miles later the heavens opened up and it started raining hard, just what I didn’t want to have to deal with. The rain kept coming in spurts and so did the road construction. The roads were pretty bad, with gravel and dirt sections that were hard to see ahead of time because of the rain. This is usually a bad thing to deal with but I was really paranoid because of the more powerful bike that I was on. The road construction continued and got worse. I came up to a section where on lane was closed so traffic was stopped, waiting for an escort truck. I sat there in the pouring rain for ten minutes before we were able to get going. The lane that was open looked to be just as bad as the one they had closed and was covered in dirt and gravel that had me hyperfocused.

After several kilometers of crappy roads I finally laid tires on unbroken asphalt and needed a break. I stopped in at the first gas station I came across. Coming inside there was a guy named David messing with a chain saw that I started talking to and telling a little about my trip so far. Once I mentioned that I was going to be camping in this weather he offered up the use of a camper trailer that he had in his yard. I quickly accepted. His house wasn’t too far away so I got set up and out of the rain quickly. David even made a delicious supper with spaghetti sauce that his skipper made.

I went back out to the camper with some reading material that David sent with me and it included a really cool book about the Cabot Trail. The book was a compilation of articles and stories relating to the trail from old newspapers and other sources.

There weren't too many pictures today because of the rain but the ones I did take are HERE

The Cabot Trail

Day 26 - July 7, 2009

It was a little odd walking up in a camper trailer on someone's front lawn but man was it nice to be dry and warm! I got up and David invited me in for some delicious breakfast. After that I loaded up the F4 and went on my way, hoping that the clouds above me would clear. By the time that I got to Cheticamp the sun had come out and the clouds were gone, a beautiful day. I stopped for gas and to get pictures of the bay and David's Coast Guard boat. Very cool.

The Cabot Trail is located partly in the Cape Breton Highlands Park. I'm not sure which came first, the trail or the park but they compliment each other completely. I didn't make it more than a quarter of a mile into the park before I had to stop and take a picture of the beautiful forested hills surrounding the road ahead of me. If this first quarter mile was any indication of the next 80 to come then I'd be here a LONG time...

I only made it another short stretch up the road before coming to a halt because of two stopped cars in the middle of the road. Saying "WTF" inside my helmet I was trying to figure out why these two cars were both stopped even though they were traveling in opposite directions. The answer came trotting out between them in the shape of a cute little fox. The fox stopped and sat in the middle of the road as everyone (including me) grabbed their cameras and started shooting. As the car in front of me started to leave the fox trotted alongside for a few yards, expecting an edible handout, I assume. Wildlife picture taking over, I take off to continue the glorious stretch of road before me...

Again, only a couple minutes pass before I have to stop and take more pictures of the scenery. This time it is of a signature overlook with a crescent beach expanding beneath me. I'm not much of a beach/ocean person but views like this still take my breath away.

The trail ahead of me beckoned once again so I pushed off. Needless to say I stopped for several more picture taking sessions along the trail but they were all worth it.

While trying to find a elusive sand beach I found another gorgeous beach, albeit rock. I stopped for a quick snack and more pictures. One of the cool things about this beach was that the waves had a completely unique sound to them. it took me a while to figure it out but the waves were pushing rocks up the beach as they came in then tumbling them back out. The "unique" sound was the rocks hitting and rolling on each other.

Progressing through this area there is a marked difference from the region I just came from. The road signs from as late as Cheticamp have the traditional English and French languages. As you go deeper into the park the signage changes to English and Gaelic! In this part of the country Scots are a big influence (Nova Scotia means "New Scotland") and that was really driven home when I passed by a university where there was a man walking around in a kilt and playing the bag pipes. I did a double take on that one.

I kept on riding as I had an engine waiting to be installed. The rest of the ride back was pretty uneventful and I managed to go through an entire tank of gas without stopping. I guess a 600cc doesn't have to be a torture rack...

Getting back to Woot's place we cracked into the engine and checked the valves and got the motor hung. It was a LATE night, we were in the shed until 3am.

Pictures