Prince of Fundy Tours
800.341.7540
www.princeoffundy.com

After two and a half days of riding in 90 degree heat, the shower was just like the commercial says, "priceless." Robin did manage to nearly flood us out of the cabin as a result of a slow drain. The ferry only developed a slight list to the portside. Fortunately, the captain was able to compensate for it.

We arrived at Yarmouth and started up route 103 and 3. Known as the "lighthouse route." It jumps back and forth between the two. it was only about 60° and a little rainy. This felt cold after two plus days in the upper 90s. We had a great fish chowder lunch in Shelburne at the Loyalists Restaurant. It was time then to go across the street to the German run bakery for an apple turnover. It was a brisk day for us so we stayed in the saddle and rode hard for Halifax staying mainly on 103. We rode into Halifax and made our way to Shubie Municipal Park (Dartmouth) and threw the tent up. Robin's idea of camping or, "roughing it" is a hotel with only 32 cable channels and no room service. She looked at the tent, then me and said, "let's go eat dinner." Food is a source of comfort for Robin. We rode two-up on Robin's BMW F650 to the harbor front for dinner. There is a nice harbor front area. We ate at Mckelvie's. It was great! Then it was back to the camp for pay showers and laundry.

July-7

The ride from Halifax up to Baddeck wasn't much. You saw a lot of woods and some small mountains. From time to time you would see some great views of harbors, lakes and valleys. The causeway at the entrance to Cape Breton Island was interesting. They had cut away the face of the mountain and there was a big quarry on the top. They would send the rock and gravel over the side. At the bottom they processed it and put it on a ship. The road from there was very scenic with mountains, lakes and harbors. Baddeck was a nice little town. Alexander Graham bell lived here. I wondered what his thoughts would be regarding the Internet.

July-8

We stayed at a KOA campground in Baddeck. There was a lobster restaurant where they offered all you could eat mussels, colesalw, drink, a dessert and a lobster for about $19.00 U.S. Two Lobsters and a drywall bucket of Mussel shells later, we left.

The next morning we folded up the tent and set off for the Cabot Trail (The CT) and the Cape Breton Highlands. The start of the trail was very reminiscent of Scotland, particularly the Argyle region. Just before Ingonish, the road went out to the coast and climbed to about 2,000'. It had a wonderful view.

On the way to Ingonish it started to rain. I thought we would ride out of it. Well, that was not to be. We got wet, then we put our rainsuits on. We stopped for a small lunch and it cleared up. We re-packed our rain gear and dried out as we rode. We headed from east to west on the Cabot Trail. We passed Neil's Cove and headed east for the turn off to Meat Cove. During a conversation with Chris Ratay, before they left on the Ultimate Journey, and he recommended that we ride out to Meat Cove. Meat Cove is the northern most settlement in Nova Scotia. The last 5 miles to the cove is unpaved. Robin was nervous about it but did fine. Then again, with our helmets on, I couldn't hear the whines and griping so I'm just guessing. When we got to the cove it was worth the ride. It was very rugged and remote. We stopped to take some pictures. The next thing we see is the group of riders from North Carolina we met on the ferry. We last saw them at the south end of the island. Small island I guess. We rode back to the main road and stopped to take some pictures of us riding with a nice background. We rode toward Chéticamp. There was a nice winding climb up a mountain. As I looked back over my shoulder the view was wonderful. We stopped at the overlook to take it in and take pictures. It seems that there are several faults running through this part of Cape Breton Island. They go out to sea near Meat Cove. That would explain the rugged look aad the foliation of the rock strata. There was an equally nice winding road going down the eastern side of the mountain toward the coast. The road them climbed back up which gave you a wonderful view of the Atlantic and the Highland coast. Scotland would be hard pressed to beat this. We stopped for fuel in Chéticamp. As it had been a long day we decided to stop for dinner and then ride on down the coast. We ate at "Le Pub" which had a definite French influence. It was a small wonderful place sitting on the little harbor. Wow, after six days I started to feel like I was really there and on vacation. We stopped to take a few sunset pictures and then I turned up the throttle for Inverness as it looked to be the next largest place.

We got there and things looked grim. We were getting cold and everything looked full. A gas station attendant suggested we go back to the "Beach Side Cottages." Their cottages were full although they had one with a bad hot water heater. Fortunately, they had turned several people away prior to us sliding into the parking lot. They had just gotten it fixed when we arrived and gave us a break on the price. Robin can do a pretty good homeless puppy imitation when the opportunity presents itself. The cottage sat 100' from the beach complete with a fabulous sunset. We were also treated to a lightning storm down the coast to the south. It was a great combination at a great price of about $65.00 U.S.

Inverness Beach Village
www.macleods.com

July 9

We had a plan to get up early and click off some serious miles toward Quebec and the Gaspe' Peninsula. We had settled on a point on the map we would have to reach if we wanted to be able to make it around the Gaspe' and still see Quebec City. Well, we didn't figure on meeting Larry at breakfast. Larry could best be described as the AAA, the local welcome wagon host, restaurant greeter, and Canadian Tourism Bureau all wrapped into one. When we arrived at the Cafe in Inverness, Larry was already working over a table of senior citizen travelers from the states. I didn't give him much thought until, the next thing I know, he is sitting at our table and chatting like a life long friend. One thing lead to another and then he is telling us about his motorcycle journey across Canada on his Triumph twin. It seems he decided it was time to leave the island for greater adventures. He headed across Canada with a couple of dollars in his pocket. Of course, he waited until October to do this so you can imagine the weather. He made it to Gary, Indiana and decided, that was enough of that and turned around. Larry was quite the character and made for a great morning. Ah, we'll ride the Gaspe' the next time.....

We headed south for the Cape Breton causeway and turned west toward New Brunswick. After lunch it got VERY windy. We had to really ride the bikes every foot of every mile. There were times we took right hand bends on the road while leaning to the left. Think about it. We finally packed it in for the might in Rexton, NB. The weather was pleasant enough, we were just tired of fighting the wind gusts. It was physically and mentally tiring.

July-10

We started out in what looked like okay weather. It was the typical cool morning we had grown used to with some light sprinkles. It went from poor to poorer to worse and finally downright unpleasant. The temperature dropped and it went from misting to drizzle to raining to pouring at times. We took NB108 across NB which is the middle of nowhere. The map indicated nothing for 60+ miles and it was right. There was a "cafe" at the half-way point. I had some chicken-rice soup to warm me up while I imagined this cafe as the perfect setting for s Stephen King or an Alfred Hitchcock story. Hey, is that Rod Serling over there in the corner. As it was wet and in the upper 50s it felt very cold. I was at my limit without my electric vest. We ate at a little cafe/gas-stop just past Edmundston. As was our experience with the cafe/gas-stops, it was very good and somewhat unique. The weather cleared a bit as we rode toward the St. Lawrence and Reviere' Du Loup which was great for our chilled morale. As we turned east toward Quebec City it got colder. Just for fun it started raining hard again. At one of our warm-up your hands stops we came across some Canadians on their Goldwings. I gestured toward the sky and asked, "Summer in Quebec?" They replied, "Normally not this nice!" As we rode down the interstate we were distracted from the cold from time to time with great views of the St, Lawrence Seaway. We came into Quebec City at speed and found the tourist information center. I made some calls and found a room. I must have been VERY lucky as it was the week of the summer music festival. Even though Robin had her electric vest and heated grips on high, she was done for.

July-11

I had done a fair amount of reading before I left on this trip. I try to read and research as much as possible before I leave on a trip like this. From what I read about Quebec City, it was not to be missed. We were not disappointed. As I mentioned, we arrived the same weekend as the Summer Festival. Normally, this would be a recipe for pushy crowds, higher prices, trash, parking problems, road barriers and sort tempered police officers. That was not the case in Quebec City. I started noticing that everyone we spoke to about old town pointed out that all businesses spoke English and French. I started out by tossing Robin off the bike somewhere in Vieux town so she could attend mass. From there I wandered and rode around looking for a place to park. I found a place for $5.00 Canadian for all day in a secure lot in the middle of everything. It was a deal at twice the price. You would have never known it was one of the largest festivals of the year. The streets were clean, with a reasonable amount of traffic. The city provided you with great history and architecture at every glance. Quebec is one of the oldest cities settled by Europeans in North America. The explorer Champlain established the Palace Royale in 1608. Many battles were fought over, what Churchill called, "The Gibralter of North America." The British captured the city in 1759 and it is felt by many that this was the true beginning of the American Revolution. We spent the day seeing old town and Vieux town. Both were spectacular with the food to match. As you've discovered by now we rate the quality of the location not just on the geography, but the culinary opportunities also. Just to give you an example of how friendly the Canadians of Quebec City are. We arrived at the visitor's bureau, unbeknownst to me just before closing time. I was grabbing brochures, calling and searching for a room with the wealth of information they had. After finding a room, I went to leave and they unlocked the door to let me out. It was twenty minutes after closing time and nobody said a thing. Quebec City, go there!

July-12

After a wonderful time in Quebec City we headed southwest toward Montreal. The weather was a far cry from what is was when we entered Quebec City. We by-passed Montreal and turned south toward the U.S. border and the U.S. customs station. Historically, I've had more trouble getting back into the U.S. then leaving it. Maybe they are trying to tell me something. I prepared my answers in my head and prepared to empty the contents of the K75 for their viewing pleasure. It turned out that the U.S. still wanted me, other than just on April 15th, as they let Robin and me back in.

Shortly after that we were riding into the Adirondack region of upstate New York. Again, I was frustrated that we didn't have more time to see more of this area. So I checked the area off as one more place to come back and see. We could feel the temperature climb as we headed south toward Albany. It wasn't as uncomfortable as when we started on the trip, but we could feel the change none the less. By coincidence we slid into the parking lot of a motel I had stayed at before while on a business trip. Unfortunately, the company wouldn't be picking up the tab for this stay. Tomorrow we take a leisurely ride to Rhinebeck for the BMW National Rally.

July-13

We arrived at the rally site and found ourselves a place to throw up the "Hilton-in-a-bag" for probably the last time. The rally site was nice, spacious and offered the potential for some shade. Robin and I were able to connect with Court Fisher, from the BMW Owners Magazine, Crist Costa, #K225 who was hosting Philip Carr, #K111 on a BikeShare. We ventured into town to an interesting Italian restaurant that was housed in an old church. It was great to hear about their BikeShare experiences and they passed on many good suggestions.

The next day I was able to catch up with Ted and Irene' Warren, #K301. They were visiting the rally with their son and daughter-in-law. Ted and Irene' had gone to great lengths to put together a rally banner for Trans-Atlantic BikeShare and it looked great.

As it turned out this New England, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec City, BMW National Rally covered 3527 miles. We didn't get to see the Gaspe' Peninsula and we didn't spend as much time in Nova Scotia as we would have liked. Robin's BMW F650 proved itself very well. We made some adjustments to the rear suspension to stiffen it up. However, the front end is very mushy and a bit disappointing for this type of a motorcycle. I could live with one in my garage though. After the trip was over I thought, "Okay, I saw Nova Scotia." However, I think the kids need to do a little whale watching, the lobster population is probably recovering and I didn't make it to the Gaspe' Peninsula and Leslie would like Quebec City and .......... I'll Be back!