Great endings are really just beginnings.....

Today was our final ride together....for this trip! We started with a great breakfast at Hometown Kitchen Restaurant where we had a great dinner the night before! Highly recommend it and the Oceanview Motel and Chalets if you want a place to stay on the Trail!

 

It was a beautiful morning for a day that was forecasted as rain...as I said to a lady who inquired about what it was like to ride in the rain, it is really not all that bad. However if you waited for the perfect day or perfect week, you would never go anywhere and there still is no guarantee it won't rain. Our philosophy has always been it is hard to rain on a moving target and so far we have had way more sunny days than rainy ones. This week was certainly the case.

We headed out on the Cabot Trail for the Cape Breton Highlands. If you haven't done this route or were a wee one when your parents took you through, it is nothing like you would imagine or remember. And if you rode it three years ago, it is still not what you remembered...probably because you are so focused on either the scenery or just keeping your rubber on the road lol!

 

The boys had a blast, as did I! They, however, had a little more thrills than I as we road through some of the hairpin turns. Funny how some guys get so excited when you wave them bye bye! As you can see by the pics the boys rode "the wall" a little more than I. The wall being to the side wall which is usually an indication of how much lean you use in a turn...oh my..as you can see I haven't "cleaned" my tire all the way to the "wall"!

Larry's tire

Jerry's tire

It was a great ride up and down the highlands full of stories, memories, lessons in riding and friendship, some spoken and some just accepted.

One thing for sure is that Jerry won't be taking the Trans Canada after getting off the ferry on his next visit...he wil be taking the "high" way!

 

 

 

 

A stop to wait at the Englishtown Ferry gave Larry enough time to check out one of HIS favorite pastimes on this trip...

After crossing we came to the end of our ride together. As we part ways we know that this has been a trip of firsts...it is by no means the last! It is the end of a really great week and an incredible and memorable ride, but is just the beginning of things to come!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nova Scotia's Coastal Route

Today was a riding day...almost 530 km! After leaving Moncton we stopped in Amherst for breakfast....highly recommend Breakfast at Brittany's! Food was awesome and plentiful. If you have a sweet tooth you will find baked sweets large enough for a giant...no kidding..! Macaroons are made with ice cream scoops and I can't even begin to tell you about the Nanaimo bars!

Anyway, we followed the road along the Sunshine Trail, through the beautiful communities of Pugwash and Tatamagouche, stopping only for gas. We were able to follow this until just below New Glasgow where we had to hop on the Trans Canada for only two exits, then we moved off the highway to explore the Antigonish Route we rode on a previous trip.

As we moved closer to the coast where we would hit the "twisties" I waved Jerry past me knowing he and Larry would have a blast navigating at a little higher speed than I was up for. By the time I reached Ballantynes Cove, the two of them had grins from ear to ear and were trading their own version of their experience through there....boys!

We headed out to Antigonish to catch the highway and cross the causeway to Cape Breton which only took another 40 minutes. There we hit the Ceilidh (pronounced Kay-lee) Trail which is Route 19 going counter-clockwise around the trail (Mary Ann breathes sigh of relief).

It was a beautiful ride through the communities and the road was excellent. It looked like they were building some new funky hotel rooms in Inverness. We rode past the Red Shoe Pub in Mabou which of course is owned by the Rankin sisters. On past the Glenora Distillery we hoped to catch the sunset at our final destination...Cheticamp!

We arrived in plenty of time, and after a relaxing drink in front of the chalet, we headed over to supper!

Seafood was on the menu for all of us tonight...had my first real go at Snow Crab...with some minor coaching from the crab pro Jerry PRIOR to eating....there was no stopping to discuss the fine art of eating crab once it was put in front of this fellow!

.....and as for the sunset? Well I will let the pics speak for themselves!

 

Good night Cheticamp!

 

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Sunshine and the Saint John River Valley

Rain is gone and so are we....we are off after a quick breakfast. Taking the old road we headed out again avoiding the highways in favour of the byways.

We rode along the valley and the river, into Perth we were able to follow the river showing the areas that were flooded the year before last. After a quick stop for gas we headed out stopping in Bath for a quick lunch.

 

Next stop was Florenceville....home of the McCain French Fry.

 

Then it was on to the Longest Covered Bridge in the world! Gerry and Larry got to ride thru!

 

Jerry

Larry

It was a beautiful day for a ride...another grand day. We got to Fredericton (a little slow thru the North side lol) and then off agin for the final leg through the Saint John River Valley...we stopped at Casey's for some lunch (that would be pie and tea/coffee) and a little tour of all their bric a brac and antiques...

 

We head out again along Maugerville and leave the valley at Jemseg for the final ride through the countryside to Moncton...we arrive at Chez Johnson, a quick change, out to supper, back to the house and off to bed....it has been an awesome week...tomorrow we ride to Cape Breton along the Cabot Trail...but that is for tomorrow's tale.

 

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Day 4 - New Brunswick or bust!

What can I say about today's ride.....RAIN....more RAIN....this however was not the bad part of the day surprisingly...

We had more great roads that brought us away from the water and into the mountains..beautiful roads, beautiful vistas....high WINDS...it was a hang on kinda ride...eventually making our way to Edmundston we stopped for the night having acquired the only two rooms left (good Karma).

Sweet, suite..more good Karma but I should of at least taken pictures before it got to the lived in look.

Sorry for the delays in posts..between no coverage, non-working and slow working wifi and drinking....well it took some time!

Off to do the Saint John River Valley today. TTFN

 

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Day 3 - leaving Pearce

One would think that leaving a place that you already talked about wouldn't be the hi-light of the next days' topic...I can only say our departure was epic...in many ways.

So epic, we left twice.....

We encountered roads only the imagination of those who ride or drive high performance machines dream of. Twists and turns abound every rise and fall of the road. After turning back to experience them a second and third time, we continued on our way.

Today's ride was much different than the day before...we wound through the park on some great roads with occasional interruption due to slow morning traffic or road construction...and that was just the morning!

We made a couple of stops along the way including this beautiful lighthouse. The coast on this side of the Gaspes beautiful, reminiscent of the Fundy coast and some of Newfoundlands.

The afternoon brought road built on a sea wall...riding along the Gulf of St. Lawrence you immediately become intimately aware of the depth and breadth of this body of water....as we continued along we were able to enjoy the sea life, the waves, the smells.....we rode through the many villages, all supported by the sea and we came to the end of our day in Matane.

The beauty of this water is again revealed as we rode the final 70 km to Matane...as the evening began to settle in, the water seemed dressed in shimmering light and calm. Along the coastal road the coolness of the air played hide and seek with the warmth of the land as we rose and fell on the trail as we continued our journey.

It was beautiful and a wonderful way to end our day, gratitude which extended beyond our stop for the night and into our conversations that evening and the next morning.....life's challenges, gifts and simple pleasures.

 

 

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Good morning Pearce!

Photo credits to Mr. J!

Jonathan L. Seagull.....apparently he provided his name!

 

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Gaspesie!

WOW! Today was a fabulous ride. Up this morning and on the road before 8 am. We stopped along the way for a hearty breakfast as we made our way to Campbellton...we stopped there for coffee and a snack.....and a few pics with the friendly salmon!

Campbellton is the gateway to the Gaspe Penninsula from New Brunswick. After riding the coast yesterday and this morning on the New Brunswick side, we finally crossed the bridge to the Quebec side of the bay....I have to say so far it has been the most enjoyable part of the trip. There is not a lot of slowing down..an occasional 50 km but mostly 70 to 90 km/h...and great roads!

We stopped for a small lunch in Carleton-sur-Mer!

A break in Hope!

Finally arriving in Pearce!

We were fortunate enough to find a hotel here for the night! A great supper at la Maison du Pecheur! A bottle of wine, some fresh seafood, great company...a wonderful way to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary!

Looking forward to what the roads have to offer tomorrow...from what I understand it is just what we have been waiting for!

 

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