Another Day, Another Province

As previously reported, I woke this morning to visions of Nova Scotia on the horizon. Well, technically it was still dark when I woke this morning – but that doesn’t mean Nova Scotia wasn’t on the horizon. It was just resting – like I should have been. However, the lounge apparently is pretty good acoustically as sounds of snoring filled the room and returning to sleep really wasn’t as option.

The ferry arrived at the North Sydney terminal on schedule and, given my mode of transportation, I was the second vehicle to leave the ferry. It was about 10:30 and I officially had no plan for the day – other than to cycle in the direction of Halifax. What I probably should have done was cycled into North Sydney in search of food and water. But I didn’t. That thought didn’t occur to me until I was about 5 km down the road. At that point I was torn between backtracking for sustenance, or moving forward and hoping something would come along. Ok, I wasn’t really torn. I moved on. It turns out that was a reasonably good decision as the road would reveal a Tim Hortons only 2 km later. I think I was happier to have WiFi than food.

With my blog updated and some food consumed I was ready to roll. It was now close to noon and I was beginning to suspect that today would be a short day of riding. It was recommended to me that I take the Trans-Canada Highway even though that would mean climbing Kelly’s Mountain. I have to say, with all the hills I’ve climbed on this trip the notion of climbing Kelly’s Mountain didn’t really concern me. I mean, how big could it really be? I found out about 25 km later – and you don’t get to laugh at me this time as Kelly’s Mountain was not a significant challenge (especially with the unexpected tailwind I had today).

I stopped at two lookouts (actually, apparently in Nova Scotia they’re called “Lookoffs”) along the way and that further confirmed I had made the right decision in climbing the mountain. The second lookoff was St. Anns, which had a very nice view and was where I met a woman from Sherbrooke. She was waiting for her husband who was cycling up the mountain at the time (the opposite direction of me). They were also doing a long tour with him biking and her driving. As usual, we discussed our respective trips, the price of campsites, the town of Baddeck, and various other relevant topics before I moved on again down the mountain. About five minutes later I crossed paths with her husband who was taking on the hill and the headwind. There was a quick wave as we passed each other.

The town of Baddeck was now only about 20 km away and it seemed more and more likely that I would be spending the night there. The only thing adding any doubt to that idea was the wind. Part of me wanted to keep cycling to take advantage of the uncharacteristic wind from the east. The other part of me was content to grab something to eat and find somewhere to have a good night’s sleep.

Upon arriving in Baddeck, I stopped in at the Visitor Centre. The ladies working there were very friendly and helpful. I picked up a road map for Nova Scotia as well as a couple of tourism books for Halifax and then was on my way. Well, by “on my way” I mean I went across the street in search of an end of day chocolate popsicle. And I was not disappointed. And by “not disappointed” I mean I was borderline giddy when I saw a stack of chocolate popsicles in the freezer. Personally, I think it took great willpower to only buy one. Then again, it was a severe lack of willpower that had me eating said popsicle before taking a picture. Hmmmm … now I HAVE to buy another one. Ok, I didn’t, but I seriously thought about it.

With the popsicle gone I moved on down the road for real this time. An anonymous tip pointed me towards the school as a possible site for some free camping. A quick survey of the land confirmed the tip. It was still a bit early to set up so I returned to the Visitor Centre which brings us to this very moment in time.

Oh, I failed to mention earlier that I met another cycling tourist during my previous stop at the Visitor Centre. He is from Guelph but started his trip from Charlottetown and is now doing the Cabot Trail. Again, trips, bikes, and camping were all discussed. As were dogs. But not in a good way, as he proceeded to tell me he had been chased four times and bitten once (by a doberman) in the span of 24 hours. That’s a lot of attacks even for Jack Bauer. Apparently New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are somewhat known for having a high number of not-so-cycle-friendly dogs that are free to run wherever they choose. And they frequently choose to chase cyclists. At least now I know what to look forward to tomorrow. I’m not going to lie, the prospect of having to kick a dog does not make me happy. Maybe I should get some jerky-treat countermeasures.

Today’s Totals:
Distance travelled: 62.43 km (not including the ferry)
Time on bike: 3:01:14
Maximum speed: 60.84 km/h
Average speed: 20.67 km/h