Ride Day 23: North to Chester

It seems like there's a price to be paid in Nova Scotia for enjoying a day like we had yesterday. This morning the sunrise was clear but it was obvious that a storm was coming. We checked the weather and saw that the forecast has changed and a storm is moving in from the south with heavy rain and high winds. Luckily our route today is short, only 50 km. I think that our legs are feeling tired. Chester is our end point on the day.   

We had wanted to have a leisurely morning but with storm warnings being posted at Lunenburg we decided that the best approach was to leave as early as we could. We hadn't gone 10 km before the rain started. It wasn't that cold and the wind wasn't bad, but pretty wet. Oh well, it was well worth the fine day yesterday.

A beautiful morning in Lunenburg. The Bluenose even headed out for a sail with what
looked like a group of high school students

They have great bumble bees here!

Clouds are filling in but no rain yet. It came soon enough.

Quite a lot of our route today was on a rails-to-trails route. It was actually pretty nice and it was good to get off the roadway for a while. We'll see how it is tomorrow after a lot of rain.

We were in Chester before long and got tucked into our accommodation - just a room in a BnB that is totally contact-less check in. Not sure if there's anyone else around for the night. Chester seems like a nice little harbour with a lot of history, but it is pretty bleak out so we may not find out that much about it.

There is a brewery in town, so we stopped by. Tiny but a nice stop. 

Tanner Brewing, Chester NS

A memorial to a local who was a famous navy guy

Along the rails-to-trails route

I'm hoping that the inclement weather blows through before tomorrow morning.

A Few Short Days to Halifax; Lunenburg

 

If the weather here in Nova Scotia were anywhere near as nice as it was yesterday, on a daily basis, then I truly wouldn't have much to complain about. It was absolutely gorgeous. Sunny with nary a cloud in the sky, warm and no wind.

Having made the east coast two days ago we are now heading along the east coast in a generally north, northeasterly direction. We are taking it easy since the distance isn't that great and we have time. And it feels kind of nice to ramp the daily ride distance down a little bit. Yesterday we first rode to the small coastal harbour called LaHave and waited for the ferry that would carry us across the LaHave river. LaHave has a nice bakery and they have good coffee.

Riding along the LaHave River, which is influenced by tidal flow at this point

Sailboat moored on the LaHave

General store and bakery in LaHave

Lots of goodies and good coffee

The ferry terminal is just up the road from the store and the ferry departs every 30 minutes. We were soon on the north side of the river for a short ride up the coast to Lunenburg.

The LaHave ferry on its way

About 20 cars, 1 truck and 1 bike

One of the many small bays long the very scenic road to Lunenburg

Lunenburg from across the harbour

Here's our 2-step routes. An easy ride except for one short hill that was maybe 100 m long and both Lorie's and my GPSs registered the gradient at 21 percent. That's the steepest we've ever gone up with this bike. We made it, barely!

  

Lunenburg is the most popular tourist destination in Nova Scotia and it is easy to see why on a day as beautiful as today. Historically, Lunenburg was a fishing village. Today, the old buildings have been restored and painted in beautiful bright colors and house a lot of restaurants and shops with all sorts of things that nobody really needs. But the town is a delight. Our apartment is right on the waterfront and has a grassy area in front of the expansive windows that give a perfect view of the harbor. We put lawn chairs out and just sat there all afternoon watching the boat and people traffic. It couldn't have been a better way to pass a lazy afternoon.

Lunenburg

Old, well-maintained and gayly painted houses

The Bluenose (a replica) is directly across the dock from our apartment

Part of the main street

As we watched the town go by a light breeze picked up in the afternoon and several sailboats took the opportunity to raise their canvas.

The view from our apartment

The view from the grassy spot where we spent the afternoon

Some refreshment to help pass the time

The town's moto

Lorie's dinner, a lobster roll. It was good but not as good as the one she had in Victoria Harbour

Our path continues north and today we're off to Chester, another picturesque historic fishing village about 50 km north.