Day 18 – The Cabot Trail
Today we rode the Cabot Trail–clear skies,
calm winds, 82 degrees. Is this really Nova Scotia, or did we take a wrong turn
somewhere?
The Cabot Trail comprises a 180 miles circular
route around the northern part of Cape Breton Island. To avid bikers, riding
the Cabot Trail is a MDBYD (must do before you die) event. IMHO (in my humble
opinion) it is over rated. There are many spots much closer to home that offer
better scenery and much better roads. Nova Scotia is a beautiful provence and
the people are among the friendliest in the world, but the Cabot Trail was
disappointing.
We departed our motel and 9:00 a.m. after a hearty breakfast of porridge and brand muffins. There is considerable disagreement on the best direction to ride the Trail. Some bikers take two days and ride both directions. Following the recommendation of our innkeeper who had been advising bikers for the past 25 years, we decided to ride clockwise.
From a photographer's standpoint, counter clockwise would have been better for a morning departure. As it turned out, almost everything on the west coast remained in shadows until late morning.
We joined the well marked route a few miles south of our motel and bounced our way along an extremely rough road to the western coast of Cape Breton. We then turned right and followed the coast north to the Acadian village of Cheticamp. With the Gulf of Saint Lawrence on our left, we began a climb to Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
The roads improved somewhat inside the park. We still had to spend much of our time watching the road in order to avoid the numerous cracks and bumps in the pavement, many which could easily send a bike careening out of control.
I was impressed with how blue the water was. No photograph can do it justice. From the numerous viewing spots, we had hoped to see some whales, which were supposed to be abundant in these waters. As hard as we looked, we never saw anything which we could even imagine might be a whale. Neither did we see any wildlife. There were warning signs everywhere admonishing visitors to beware of moose and deer. Throughout the whole day, we saw nothing larger than a field mouse. Earlier in the summer, a biker was killed hitting a moose, so I guess there are a few about.
After rounding the north side of the park, we started down the east coast with the Atlantic Ocean on our left. Leaving the park, the roads became rough again and the scenery became less impressive. By this time, I had seen enough of the Cabot Trail and was glad to reach Baddeck.
Baddeck is an attractive village located on one of the tributaries of Bras d' Or Lake.
Baddeck was the summer home of Alexander Graham Bell who did much of his research here. In 1909, Bell designed and built the first airplane to fly from a point within the British Empire. Tomorrow we plan to visit the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site, then start our trek westward.
I would like to return to Nova Scotia some day.
Mileage today: 183; Total mileage: 4,702
We departed our motel and 9:00 a.m. after a hearty breakfast of porridge and brand muffins. There is considerable disagreement on the best direction to ride the Trail. Some bikers take two days and ride both directions. Following the recommendation of our innkeeper who had been advising bikers for the past 25 years, we decided to ride clockwise.
From a photographer's standpoint, counter clockwise would have been better for a morning departure. As it turned out, almost everything on the west coast remained in shadows until late morning.
We joined the well marked route a few miles south of our motel and bounced our way along an extremely rough road to the western coast of Cape Breton. We then turned right and followed the coast north to the Acadian village of Cheticamp. With the Gulf of Saint Lawrence on our left, we began a climb to Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
The roads improved somewhat inside the park. We still had to spend much of our time watching the road in order to avoid the numerous cracks and bumps in the pavement, many which could easily send a bike careening out of control.
I was impressed with how blue the water was. No photograph can do it justice. From the numerous viewing spots, we had hoped to see some whales, which were supposed to be abundant in these waters. As hard as we looked, we never saw anything which we could even imagine might be a whale. Neither did we see any wildlife. There were warning signs everywhere admonishing visitors to beware of moose and deer. Throughout the whole day, we saw nothing larger than a field mouse. Earlier in the summer, a biker was killed hitting a moose, so I guess there are a few about.
After rounding the north side of the park, we started down the east coast with the Atlantic Ocean on our left. Leaving the park, the roads became rough again and the scenery became less impressive. By this time, I had seen enough of the Cabot Trail and was glad to reach Baddeck.
Baddeck is an attractive village located on one of the tributaries of Bras d' Or Lake.
Baddeck was the summer home of Alexander Graham Bell who did much of his research here. In 1909, Bell designed and built the first airplane to fly from a point within the British Empire. Tomorrow we plan to visit the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site, then start our trek westward.
I would like to return to Nova Scotia some day.
Mileage today: 183; Total mileage: 4,702
Posted: Fri - September 19, 2003 at 04:59 PM
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Published On: Apr 13, 2005 09:51 AM
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Published On: Apr 13, 2005 09:51 AM