Today we head to the "highlands" of Cape Breton Island, right at the northwest corner of the island. A little over half of the ride is through a National Park, and that includes a big hill that should be fine but will for sure be a challenge. Here's the route:
We had a good sleep in the Red Tiny House. A few coffees helped us get ready for riding and we were off under gray skies at about 0730. The clouds threatened rain, but never made good on the threat. It was cool, but not uncomfortable as we brought plenty of warm gear.
After about 25 km we stopped at Aucoin's Boulangerie and had coffee and croissants. Both were great.
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| A nice spot for coffee and croissants |
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| Colorful, tidy houses along the route |
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| And motels... |
Just a few km from the bakery we entered the Cape Breton Highlands National Park and the road tipped right up. We weigh a lot when we have all of our gear, and tandems are hard to get up hills even without a heavy load. So we geared down and went slow and did fine. The climb was about 10 km long and it took us 2 hours. You can do the math; we go really slow. But the road was really steep, no less than 7 1/2 percent and ramps up to 16 percent. Slow.
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| The park entrance |
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| It got steeper and steeper |
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| Looking back down toward Cheticamp |
It was absolutely beautiful once we got to the top -- we didn't want to stop on the way up since we didn't know if we'd get started again. The road surface was perfect and the snow was all on the side. We rode by some folks who were taking pictures of black bears, but again, we didn't want to stop.
At the summit there are "emergency shelters" that are open and have wood stoves and a phone system. They are for travelers or hikers in the winter who get in trouble.
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| Nearing the top of the climb |
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| Interior of one of the emergency shelters |
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| Exterior |
The place that we're staying tonight is called Pleasant Bay. The road down was amazing, but I kept it pretty reasonable in terms of speed. The brakes got really hot about half way down so we stopped to let them cool off. Amazing views off to the west over the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
We were a bit early arriving in Pleasant Bay and learned that there are no restaurants open (too early in the season). There is a small grocery and that was our backup plan for something to eat tonight. We rode down to the harbour and the lobsterman were just arriving and a commercial buyer was there. Lorie went over to one of the boats and asked if we could buy a couple of lobsters directly from him. "Sure, we'd love to sell a few to you." Nice. So we did the deal, stuffed Larry and Louis in a bag and rode to the little cabin we're staying in (ooh, complete with a hot tub!). We walked back to the little grocery and bought a couple of beers and cooked our dinner.
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| The Gulf of St. Lawrence |
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| Larry and Louis |
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| The lobstermen who sold us their catch |
This is the first lobster that I've ever had. Really. I know that it is fresh, as Larry tried seriously to take a digit from me before he met his fate. And it is very good. The only good comparison that I can make is to dungeness crab. I guess that I'm partial to our West Coast seafood, but in a competition the dungeness crab wins but lobster comes a close second. There it is.
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| The boys, ready for cooking |
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| Larry, ready for eating |
I have to mention the Nova Scotians who we've met and say that without exception they are simply delightful souls. Friendly, outgoing, curious about what in the world we're doing and who we are. And every driver has a wave and/or a friendly honk on the horn, even oncoming cars. I asked Lorie to be the official waver -- I got tired of taking my hand of the bars to wave at every car! And cars approaching from the rear usually wait until it is absolutely safe to go around, and do so at a very slow rate while giving us wide berth. And all the while with a wave.
In 2016 shortly after Trump defeated Clinton in the general election, Cape Breton started an ad campaign inviting Americans to move to Nova Scotia to escape what the Nova Scotians viewed as lunacy in politics. The government would help with immigration. I'm not sure how many Americans took them up on the offer, and I'm not sure how much a provincial government could help, but what a great place to land.
Tomorrow we have the second day in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, and another hill similar to today's. It should be fun.
Until the next post, be well.
