Truro to Halifax, Nova Scotia

Today I rode another metric century, and I reached the Atlantic Ocean in Halifax!

The morning began with eggs benedict in the Belgravia Bed & Breakfast's dining room.

After Highway 104 yesterday, today was secondary highway and back roads. This is Highway 2, the old primary highway to Halifax. Not a good shoulder, but not a big deal, because traffic was minimal. 

I had another gorgeous day and the scenery was lovely. 

I left Highway 2 at a place called Fall River, and ended up on some trails that were really not suitable for my outfit!

I had to push the bike through some of it. This was the underpass under Highway 102.

I rejoined paved road at Waverly, with about 20 kilometres more to go to Halifax. Here I was biking along Lake William and past cottages and it was really gorgeous riding, but I was enjoying it too much to take a picture!

After five kilometres more or so I was able to join the Shubie Trail, which would take me the rest of the way into Dartmouth. 

I got a bit lost in Dartmouth, trying to get onto the big Angus Macdonald bridge to get into Halifax itself. Eventually I found it.

Once off the bridge, I was able to bike a couple of kilometres down to the waterfront and to "I Heart Bikes," where I unloaded the bike and returned it. Time for a celebratory beer!

Amherst to Truro, Nova Scotia

After a light day yesterday, it was a full metric century of riding from Amherst to Truro today, mostly on Highway 104. 

This part of Nova Scotia is very sparsely inhabited and there was not much traffic and very few exits for most of the day. There were, however, some decent hills.

I hit 100 kilometres after 4:27 of actual ride time, which I was pretty pleased with, and this was more or less the same time I left Highway 104 and reached Truro. I checked in at my bed and breakfast, in a big old house. I was able to stash my bike in the basement, where the home's stone foundation was very evident.

For the rest of the afternoon and again in the early evening I enjoyed Truro's main street, where I visited a cafe for an iced coffee . . .

. . . and walked by some of the town's old buildings.

Moncton, New Brunswick to Amherst, Nova Scotia

I am back on the bike this year, riding from Moncton to Halifax. 

At one time I had planned to have my cross-Canada bike trips finish in Halifax, but I have since decided to end in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, so this trip will not be my last leg. It will, however, take me to the Atlantic for the first time.

I flew to Halifax on Sunday, and yesterday I rented a bike at the Halifax harbour and caught the bus to Moncton. I had a brief scare at the bus station when the attendant who sold me the bike bag told me the bike might not be able to travel today, but the bus driver figured out how to fit it on and off we went. I got off at the Moncton airport, where I had finished my ride (with a flat tire) in 2019. From the airport, it was about six kilometres to my hotel in Dieppe, just outside of Moncton. 

This is my bike in the hotel lobby--you can see I Heart Bikes fitted me up pretty good!

Dieppe is a nice little place, apparently the largest French-majority city in Canada outside of Quebec. I stayed right on the city's main square. 

This morning I wheeled out of the hotel after breakfast and began heading south on route 106.

There is a lot of Acadian heritage in this part of New Brunswick.

I enjoyed cycling past poles painted with the Acadian flag, like this one in Memramcook.

I was trying to avoid the main highway as long as I could, and I was following the route Google recommended. This was mostly nice, but at some point it took me off down a gravel road, past the Dorchester Penitentiary firing range, and down a road that I later realized was supposed to be closed. I was too busy trying to navigate boulders and orange-mud puddles to photograph the "road," but it was a real adventure! 

Eventually I reached pavement and the town of Sackville, home of Mount Allison University. 

Now very close to the border with Nova Scotia, I gave up on the back routes here and joined Highway 2, which is divided, four lanes, and has a very good shoulder. I was traveling at a much higher average speed on here than I had been on some of the less-traveled roads!

Here I was leaving New Brunswick, which means I have now biked across: BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick!

Amherst is just across the border, and I arrived around 14:00. Today was only a 68 kilometre ride, but I was still plenty tired. 

Power was out around town, which made checking into the hotel interesting. For example, the key card did not work! It came back on eventually, so I headed over to the nearby laundromat, which was a bit of a blast from the past...

But, after a few quarters deposited laundry was done, and the rest of the afternoon and evening I was able to relax in Amherst.

Cobden to Ottawa, Ontario

I finished off cycling across Ontario at 10:00 this morning as I crossed the Ottawa River into Québec east of Shawville.

I still had another 100 kilometres to get to Ottawa, however (where I would re-cross the river). I could have stayed in Ontario for the whole day, but I was excited to ride on Quebec's Route Verte #1. I actually got really lucky, because due to COVID-19 the Quebec/Ontario border has been closed for weeks, and only reopened today!

I had to cycle on Highway 303 for 15 kilometres to reach Shawville, but from there it was beautiful, forested trail for 17 kilometres.

Unfortunately, soon after I resumed riding on rural roads, I had a puncture in the rear wheel. I checked the tire pretty well as I changed the tube, but failed to check the rim. Anyway, I cycled on, occasionally along Highway 148 when the Route Verte joined it, but often on rural, sometimes gravel, roads as well. 

In Aylmer I was able to join the multiuse trails along the river, which were wonderful. When I stopped at one point, however, I realized I was losing air again in the rear tire. I assume now that something must have been in the rim and punctured the new tube as well. I pumped it up and hurried on, hoping to avoid having to change the tube again. I still had 12 kilometres or so to go.

Soon I was across the river from Parliament Hill.

I crossed the Alexandra Bridge and at 16:00 reached the Auberge des Arts where I am staying. My wife had amazingly sent over a couple of beers and a piece of cheesecake to help me celebrate!

The tire was flat again when I checked on the bike after a shower, but I opted to simply wheel it back to Escape Cycle instead of deal with it myself. I was done!

With the North Bay to Ottawa gap closed, I have now biked from the Pacific Ocean to Moncton, New Brunswick, and probably just have one summer left to get to the Atlantic Ocean!

Whitney to Cobden, Ontario

While all restaurants in Whitney had been closed yesterday afternoon, this morning the gas station across the road had a restaurant that opened for breakfast. I ate a burrito and packed another before taking off east on Highway 60.

I reached Madawaska about 20 kilometres east around 9:30, and stopped at a beautiful riverside park to finish my breakfast.

There were some serious hills along my route today, especially in the first half.

I was not making particularly good time, but it was a pleasant day and the highway was mostly good and the scenery was lovely; plus, I had the three sandwiches from yesterday which meant I was well fed!

I passed through Wilno, "Canada's first Polish settlement" (but failed to stop for a photo), skirted the north side of Golden Lake, and passed through Eganville (where I stopped to buy a beer). Soon after Eganville I left Highway 60 on Highway 8, which had an even more rural feel than Highway 60.

Then, just before meeting the dreaded Highway 17, I headed south on gravel for a few kilometres.

I then joined Highway 17 when I could no longer avoid it, and arrived just after 15:00 at the Logos Land resort where I am staying tonight. Yes, the front office is supposed to look like Noah's ark.

It was a 130 kilometre ride.

The resort has a few motel rooms behind the Noah's ark, and that's where I stayed. But further down they have camping spots by a lake, and a laundry hut, where I could do my laundry. I sat by the lake and read a book and enjoyed my beer while my laundry washed.

For dinner, I had to bike north on Highway 17 five kilometres to Cobden, where I bought some groceries, some takeout dinner, and an ice cream cone!