Cross Canada Cycle Blog

Saturday September 7, 2013. Final Post

Canada is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-boggling big it is.  Douglas Adams, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (as modified) Had it not been for the lure of sleeping in our own beds and the excitement of seeing our grandchildren, we might have spent a few more days in St. John’s, if only because ...

Wednesday September 4, 2013. Day 87

Whitbourne to St. John’s As Isy has said, we have finally run out of road! After 7,340 km, we are at the end of our journey. We are tired and elated and can’t quite believe we have actually done this! We arrived in St. John’s after 7 hours of some of the hardest cycling we’ve done ...

Tuesday September 3, 2013. Day 86

Argentia, NL to Whitbourne We had a smooth and enjoyable 16.5 hr  sailing on board the  MV Atlantic Vision, with its many amenities, including an excellent restaurant and comfortable cabins. We did not take advantage of the casino or cinema (Skyfall), but did listen to some live music in the bar for a while, before retiring ...

Monday September 2, 2013. Day 85

Baddeck to North Sydney As we keep reminding ourselves, this trip isn’t over until it’s over. It can still throw anything at us, and it does! (Paul is convinced that snow will be added to the list of potential elements, even though none is forecast for the region in the foreseeable future!) We suspected that the 57 ...

Sunday September 1, 2013. Day 84

Port Hawkesbury to Baddeck We waited for Haven Coffee Bar to open at 9:00 for our morning espresso fixes and for sandwiches for lunch. We then headed out along the #105 east (TCH), following the Blue Ridge. There are no more coal mines on Cape Breton and only one in Nova Scotia, at Stellerton near New ...

Saturday August 31, 2013. Day 83

Antigonish to Port Hawkesbury We very gratefully accepted a lift back to Antigonish (with our bikes in an attached trailer), where John and Alison were making a regular visit to the Saturday Farmer’s Market. We all had breakfast at Tall and Small before we headed out. Highway #4 offered a quiet and very enjoyable alternative to ...

Friday August 30, 2013. Day 82

New Glasgow to Antigonish It poured with rain overnight and was cloudy when we left the B&B. The forecast was still for strong blustery winds, but now from the north. After espresso and a latte at the Baked Goods Cafe, we took the #4 for a few peaceful kilometres before joining the TCH. It started to ...

Thursday August 29, 2013. Day 81

Pictou to New Glasgow We knew that the forecast was not good as we headed south across the Pictou Causeway. Although the wind was behind us and it was not yet raining when we joined the TCH, we got an idea of the headwinds to come when we would turn east. Stopping for coffee in New ...

Wednesday August 28, 2013. Day 80

Charlottetown to Pictou, Nova Scotia The three staff at McQueens Bicycle Shop all helped us this morning by installing four new tires on our bikes in a very short time. For those who are interested, these are Schwabe Marathon Plus 700×32. Suitably re-equipped, we went to Young Folk and the Kettle Black  for coffee, sandwiches ...

Tuesday August 27, 2013. Day Off

To our surprise, we discovered that our B&B offers a free laundry service! With that chore gratefully delegated, our first stop this morning was MacQueen’s Bicycle shop. The tires on both bikes are showing the wear of nearly 7000 km, but the rear tire on Lois’ bike looks particularly ripped up. We got advice and ...