Bridgetown to Coldbrook, Nova Scotia
9/19/23. 51 miles. AIS: 4:23. 11.6 mph. Elev 1430 ft.
It rained all night last night… and I’m talking pouring rain! When I woke at 6:30am it was still pouring rain. My phone weather app said it rained more than 1/2” of rain! It continued to rain, pouring rain until about 9am. Just like that it was over and the sky was clearing to blue. Yeah yeah yeah!
Our cabin had angle worms that came in overnight!!
8am this morning
We took off about 9:30. When our clothes don’t dry overnight we strap them to the tops of our panniers to “hopefully” dry while we ride. This usually works pretty well and it did work today. We had partial sun for about an hour in the morning and then it returned about 3pm or so. Even though our weather has been dismal with rain the temperatures are not cold. We are very comfortable while riding.
We are still following the Annapolis River…up river. We crossed from the south side of the river to the north side. On the north side we found a road called “Brooklyn St”. It had great smooth asphalt, no shoulders, farms dotted the way, but most importantly very quiet with very little traffic. It was a litttle higher than the valley floor and the views looking across at the farms and woods were really beautiful and pleasant.
I wonder how old it is?
After a couple of hours we rode down into Middleton and stopped for coffee and a scone. Had a visit with a young man who lives in the area. He was really nice and genuine. He happens to be a local missionary. He suggested we take the “trail” or Hwy 1 to our destination of 17 miles. We tried both options, first the Hwy 1. We knew it was busy in addition to crumbling sides and no shoulder. Cars were respectful but it was BUSY! We jumped on the trail when it turned to asphalt. That was good but didn’t last long. It turned to gravel that was pretty rough. Just fine for the ATV’s that use it but we didn’t like it. So we went back to Hwy 1. About that time (2:30pm) the school buses left the yard. No less than 8 school buses had to leapfrog around us! We weren’t riding close to each other because the back person can’t see the road hazards on the right edge of the highway if you follow to close together.
After the 8 buses, we made a quick plan to get off Hwy 1 and head back to the northside and get back on Brooklyn St! So happy we made that move.
All these kids bikes were for sale.
Brooklyn St,..the views of the valley, the apple orchards, the dairy farms, beef farms, corn fields and pea fields turning rusty yellow. We had a strong tailwind today and the sun came back out! We were cruising all the way to Coldbrook where we planned to stop for the day at a RV Campground.
Easier to go down the rows and pick I guess
About 4 pm we came whipping into the quiet campground. It becomes immediately apparent that the place is closed. The office says it’s closed with a phone number to call. There’s a guy near the office working on the gate at the entry He tells us it closed Sept 15. Ugh. It’s 9 miles to the next campground. I ask Jim to call the number. The man then tells us that that’s his phone number. We ask him if we can just tent camp tonight. He says he will let us do that! The water and electricity are actually still working. Awesome! Place to stay ( because we were ready to quit today) and bonus… free!! We are literally the only ones here (except the owner). There are all the seasonal campers still here but they are mostly buttoned up tight for the year. Kind of nice having a campground to ourselves. Backpack meal tonight and we’re happy.
Today was a good day. Once the rain quit it all got a lot better. No rain in the forecast for the next several days. We will be leaving the Annapolis River valley and head into the Minas Basin. It’s at the end of the Bay of Fundy.
cinnicrew 