Stettler and Home

I had an interesting ride yesterday to Stettler. The day started at 42F and around Medicine Hat I saw 92F, just a 50 degree swing. When driving through Havre, and looking for gas, I saw the sign to go towards the border and turned, realizing that it took me out of town pretty quick. So, I thought, no problem, there will be a duty free and gas station at the border, so I continued. It was only when I reached the border that I found out that the nearest gas going forward was 50 miles and going back to Havre was 30 and would require me to reenter the US. So when I finally did get to a gas pump I managed to put 24.76 liters into the bike which has a capacity of 25 or 25.5. I has less than one litre remaining.

After Medicine hat it was hot and windy, with really strong gusts from the left. I was happy to turn that into a tail wind when I was finally able to turn North.

Arrived in Stettler and had a quick bite before meeting Louis and Betty at the store. I got to say hello to Murphy the Parrot.

This morning I had a cold ride home and was pleasantly surprised to see Al and Arlene along the side of the road at Leduc. They had been following the spot and rode out to meet me. We had a quick coffee before I finally headed home.

8 provinces, 4 states, 2 countries, 7,874 miles (12,672 kilometers), and lots of seafood. It was a good trip but to do it again I would want at least six weeks.

Glasgow

I could have gone further than 600 miles yesterday but it got dark and was cooling off fast. Best to start fresh in the morning.

Hope to get to Stettler today where my brother promises a glass of rum waiting.

Home tomorrow.

Bagley

Yesterday I had a cold and foggy start to my ride, so much so that I had to stop and put in my rain gear to stay warm. It soon enough got better and I was treated to many views of the fall colors.

It turned out to be a real pleasant day, and with my return to the central time zone I actually got more daylight to work with. I made it 540 miles and stopped in the small town of Bagley.

I managed to find a wand wash and was able to shine up my ride a bit. The bugs were just a little over the top after yesterday.

Today I have a misty and cold beginning.

Wow

I had to stop a couple of times in the early morning light to share some sights.

Mattawa to Seney

I managed to get in a 600 km day as I rode from Mattawa, ON to Seney, MI. I had overcast skies all day and as I approached Sault Ste Marie it appeared to be raining ahead. The roads had been wet for about two hours already as I must have been riding just behind the rain all day. I finally stopped and put on rain gear as a precaution, but it turned out to be unnecessary. I crossed the border and shortly afterwards the skies cleared giving me a nice late afternoon ride through colorful countryside. The shadows were getting long and the sun was in my eyes so I stopped about 45 minutes before sunset at a small town named Seney. Got a cheap motel room that is actually quite nice and went to the local pub for a bite to eat.

I have about 1,600 miles to go so if I break it into 400 mile days I should be around Grand Rapids Minnesota, then Williston North Dakota, then Shelby Montana, then home on Saturday. I may make a couple of longer days though as I would like to get home in time to see Lucille before she leaves for a few days in Grande Prairie late Saturday.

500 down, 3200 to go

Before leaving Montreal I pulled that nail out of my tire and put a rope plug in. I tried the pocket plugged first, but it wad leaking right away, so plan B was put into action. So far it is holding but if a leak develops plan C is a can of fix a flat, which I want to avoid as I have dyna beads inside the tire to balance it. Plan D is to replace the tire.

So with a late start and a stop in Gatineau park to see the changes in color from when I was there last, I stopped in Mattawa after only 500 km for the day. Today, another 500 will take me to Sault Ste Marie but I hope to get farther as the weather forecast is a little dicey for the area.

Lucille flew home from Montreal so she is now back to her routine.

Mmmm, Montreal smoked meat.

We made our way into Montreal yesterday, stopping at Saint Anne de Beaupre for a bit, where I discovered a nail in my back tire. It is a manageable slow leak for the time being, so I topped up and we drove onto Montreal. I will check it now whenever I stop for gas.

We got into Montreal and went to Swartz's for some Montreal Smoked meat, and the to a chocolate place for crepes.

Today Lucille will explore old Montreal and perhaps visit her uncle that we have not been able to reach yet. I am on my way shortly for my trek home.

Pointe-Au-Pic

So we are now officially on our way home, but we somehow managed to meander to the other side of the St Lawrence yesterday. The weather turned around nicely and we had comfortable riding conditions to easily arrive in Rivierre du Loup, our goal for the day. We felt like continuing and discovered there is a ferry crossing, so we took it and ended up in this resort town Pointe-Au-Pic. The picture is the early morning outside our window.

Since we are on the far side now we will visit the cathedral at Saint-Anne-du-Beaupre on our way to Montreal. We should be able to see a bit more of Montreal this afternoon/evening before I drop Lucille off tomorrow for a visit with family and her flight home. Then my solo trek home begins.

Farewell to Nova Scotia

Well it turns put that the Tidal Bore wasn't any more spectacular in Truro as it was in Maitland. We decided we had sufficient time to detour yesterday over to Saint John. That way when we are asked if we went to Newfoundland we can at least respond that we were in Saint John briefly.

This morning we started in a light rain and went to see the reversing falls in high tide before making our way towards home. We are riding in improving conditions hoping to make it to Rivière du Loup.

I think we are just a little early for mother natures full show but we are certainly getting a nice preview in these parts. Where there is color, it is very bright reds and oranges. I might just have to decorate my bike a little with leaves as a proof of concept for the paint job I was considering.

Lunenburg - Truro

Yesterday we had a great time touring Lunemburg. The picture is of the Picton Castle, which is in their Canadian Home port preparing for another Atlantic trip next spring. Behind her you can see a couple of masts from the Caledonia, which dies more local week-long sailings.

We also visited the rebuilding of the Blue Nose II. The original Blue Nose was sold to work in the Caribbean and sank while laden with bananas.

The Blue Nose II is a replica, but after 47 years was taken out of service as her hull was suffering from a condition called Hogging, where the hull is drooping, or flattening fore and aft. It gets to the point where the only fix is replacement. So they salvaged everything from the deck up, and also the ballast, and they are rebuilding the hull, using better materials and techniques to help prevent future hogging. This is a 15 million dollar project split half between Canada and Nova Scotia, and that is just to replace the hull and reuse the salvaged parts. The original Blue Nose cost $6,400 to build in the twenties, and that was already twice the cost of a normal ship of it's size at the time. That is quite a bit of inflation. The old hull of the Blue Nose II has been cut up into small chunks and can be purchased for a small fee. I think it would be attractive to artists and carvers to make Blue Nose art pieces using wood from the ship.

Anyways, we continued on to Maitland where we observed the tidal bore there. At that location it was interesting and mesmerizing but a little unspectacular. We continued to Truro in the dark and rain and hope to see a more spectacular tidal bore here this morning.

Ride to Lunenburg

Today we had a nice "warm" ride down the East coast, stopping briefly in Halifax so Lucille could buy a new book to read, and then continuing on to Peggy's cove, where we had a late lunch. What an interesting, rugged little place that is. One minute you are riding down a tree-lined highway, and suddenly you are in a boulder strewn, rugged, almost treeless landscape. 35 people call Peggy's cove home but tourism bolsters the population seasonally.

We then continued on to Lunenburg where we are checked into a B&B and walked downtown for yet another seafood dinner beside the harbor.

Tomorrow we will tour the town a bit, visiting the Picton Castle, which happens to be in port, and also the rebuilding of the Bluenose II.

Sherbrooke

Yesterday we began in cold and misty conditions to go down the west side of the Cabot trail. This side opens up much more then the east side and offers many more scenic views. We even came around a corner and there was a young moose standing in the middle of the road. He was only eight or nine feet tall, and he eventually decided he could move off the road.

By the time we left Cape Breton Island, the sky was breaking up and offering us a more cheerful blue sky, but the roads were broken up as well as we came down the east side of the mainland. We took the road less travelled and found it to be quite rough, complete with about 10k of gravel and construction. After a short ferry ride we decided to stop for the night at Sherbrooke, before continuing on our way to Lunenburg tonight.

Cabot Trail

We did half of the Cabot Trail yesterday, taking a leisurely pace for the day. We started with a visit to the Alexander Graham Bell museum before hitting the trail, with a few spots along the way where the view opened up. Lucille built a sand castle on a beach, but it was too cold to go swimming.

We ended the day at Pleasant Bay and enjoyed an outdoor fire pit before having a late supper.

Cape Breton Island

Yesterday we rode onto Cape Breton Island and made our way over to the historic fortress of Louisbourg. Had the French been able to defend it in 1758 they may have also prevented the defeat at Quebec City in 7and I would be writing this blog in French today.

We then continued up to Glace Bay, but everything was closed up by the time we arrived, so we kept going to Baddeck for the night.

Today we will go up and around the Cabot Trail, expecting frequent stops and not trying to do it all in one day.

We're keeping an eye on the weather forecast as it looks to be deteriorating towards the end of the week.

PEI-Nova Scotia

Yesterday we had a leisurely time in PEI, exploring old Charlottetown and a couple of lighthouses before catching the ferry back to the mainland in Nova Scotia. Lucille was in her element as there was a vintage Galaga terminal that was still only $0.25 per play.

Once across we went another hour down the road and stopped at Antigonish.

Today we will see Louisbourg to dip our toes in the Atlantic and probably head onto the Cabot trail a ways. We now have about a week remaining before we need to point her west for the beeline home.