Canada
2023
The finale! It’s a wrap…
We’ve got some numbers for you. Jim compiled all the info and came up with final stats. LODGING19 camping, 17 motel, 5 B&B, 7 AirBnB, 1 WarmShower, 3 Friend RIDING/MILES per Province 23 days (18 riding / 734 MILES) QUEBEC6 days (3 riding/173 MILES) NEW BRUNSWICK23 days (17 riding/658 MILES) NOVA SCOTIA Total Days: 52…
Day 51. Caught the bus!
10/6/23 After laying low yesterday and anticipating the day today we shut the tent fly doors early and curled up into sleeping bags in our comfortable little tent nest. Up early and made breakfast (the usual), loaded panniers… for the last time and pedaled the final 4 miles to our “favorite” gas/bus stop. Jim felt…
Day 50. Hold your horses… not so fast…the bus is SOLD OUT!!
Nyanza Trailsman Lodge to Wagmatcook Gas Station/Maritime Bus Stop and back to Baddeck Cabot Trail Campground 10/6/23. 9km. What we thought was going to be a transit day turned very quickly into a logistical nightmare! Woulda,shoulda,coulda….buy the bus ticket in advance. We knew what day we were leaving. We asked the “kid” (key word here)…
Day 49. Day 5 -Cabot Trail. And that’s a wrap…
Belle Cote to Nyanza, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia 10/5/23. 34 mi. AIS: 3:07 11mph Elev. 1627 ft. The final day on our bicycles. Short ride but it was absolutely the perfect final day. We were riding in the Margaree River valley following the river for the first 10 miles or so. The leaves were really…
Day 48. Day 4 – Cabot Trail…Ride like the wind
Pleasant Bay to Margaree Harbour, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia 10/4/23. 41 mi. AIS: 3:54 10.5 mph. Elev 3002 ft. Pretty damn good day! After a tough one it’s nice to have one not so tough. We started the morning with the climb of MacKenzie Mtn within the first 5 minutes in the saddle. We could…
Day 47. Day 3 Cabot Trail….woop, woop, high five!
Ingonish to Pleasant Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia 10/3/23. 45 mi. AIS: 4:45. 9.4 mph. Elev. 4104 ft! We got today under our belt… it was a whopper. High fives all around. We conquered today and it was a beast. Feeling happy we’re done, fed and comfortable. Here’s how today played out.. Woke up and…
Day 46. Day 2 – Cabot Trail…!!! So far so good!
Indian Brook to Ingonish, Nova Scotia 10/2/23. 31 miles. AIS: 10.1 mph. 3:02. Elev. 2057 ft. Great night’s sleep at our homey house last night. Well rested snd ready for ANOTHER beautiful day! To our surprise and delight it wasn’t really chilly when we departed at 9am. No hats, no gloves. The second jacket and…
Day 45. Day 1 Cabot Trail. Meeting Andre!
Baddeck to Indian Brook, Nova Scotia 10/1/23. 35 mi. AIS: 3:00. 11.6 mph. Elev. 1654 ft. Ready to go at 8:30am…Andre was prompt. Only one problem… the fog. We spent about 30-40 minutes chitchatting with Andre and it lifted some… so we were off. Andre took our bags as planned and headed off to deliver…
Day 44. Last layover…major reveal released!
Baddeck, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia Final home of Alexander Graham Bell (more on that to come) 9/30/23. 68* and sunshine, wind 4mph🥰 It looks as though the weather gods are shining upon us for our final week… Week 7… of our Canadian ride! We couldn’t be more excited and delighted about the weather. God knows…
Day 43.. Hit the road today… travel day
Mabou to Baddeck, Nova Scotia 9/29/23. 40 miles. AIS: 3:25. 11.6 mph. Elev. 1358 ft. We made it to Baddeck (BAH-deck) pretty quickly today. It was about 2pm and we even had our church step picnic lunch in Wagmatcook. We needed to stop in Wagmatcook to make certain the Maritime Bus stops here and has…
Day 42. Today was a most beautiful day! 🙌
Port Hastings to Mabou, Nova Scotia 9/28/23 40 mi. AIS: 4:13. 9.5 mph Elev. 705 ft. Today was the kind of day you’re hoping to have when you plan these bike rides. Scenic, interesting, favorable temps and it’s fall, so it’s quieter. Of course you’d like them all to be like today, but realizing it’s…
Day 41. A day on a bike
Antigonish to Port Hastings (Cape Breton), Nova Scotia 9/27/23. 40 mi. AIS: 3:50. 10.4 mph. Elev. 1801 ft. We had another pretty simple easy day. We didn’t have to travel far to our next stop for the day. The weather forecast said sunny but we saw very little of that today. It peaked out for…
Day 40. Seashore ride…
Merigomish to Antigonish, Nova Scotia 9/26/23. 36 miles. AIS: 3:24. 10.8mph. Elev. 1093 ft. Because we had a short ride today we didn’t have to start early. We took our time getting out of camp and it was close to 10am when we left camp. The night in our A Frame was just great…comfortable and…
Day 39. And the wind blowwwwws….
Pictou to Merigomish, Nova Scotia 9/25/23. 40 miles. AIS:3:57 10.3 mph. Elev. 1772 Trip Weekly recap: Distances: 1193 mi total 255 miles. Week 5. (6 days). Elev. 11,115! 173 miles Week 4. (5 days – 3 riding, 1 layover, 1 transportation) 218 miles week 3. (5 days) 291 miles week 2. (7 days) 222 miles…
Day 38. Layover Pictou NS
9/24/23. The basic layover day…relaxing sleeping in a nice hotel. Leisurely breakfast, lube bikes and adding new brake pads to Jim’s bike. Securing lodging and camping for the next week of riding. We have about 2 weeks left of this amazing bicycle adventure in eastern Canada! We took a stroll around this little historic harbor…
Day 37. Joy!
Truro to Pictou, Nova Scotia 9/23/23. 41 mi. AIS: 3:35. 11.5mph. Elev. 1627 ft. To quote my sister Margie “ You have to know miserable, before you can experience joy”. Boy, howdy… I had a pretty low low this week which was made up for today in multiple ways! If you’ve been following you know…
Day 36. Mud sliding for the win!
Shubenacadie to Truro, Nova Scotia 9/22/23. 30 mi. AIS: 3:06. 9.7mph. Elev 1211 ft. We were not rushed to leave camp this morning since it was going to be a short day to Truro. Thank you Lord (I say)! The sun was shining today send the wind had calmed immensely. We were not expecting it…
Day 35. Glitches in uploading photos
If it matters to you… visit the website Www.Cinnicrew.com Day 35 has photos now! Could not republish… not an expert that’s for sure!
Day 35. It’s SO hard… today
Newport Corner to Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia 9/21/23. 44 miles. AIS: 4:37. 9.5 mph. Elev. 2795 ft!!! Had some download issues with this post. This one has photos!! I almost couldn’t find the post ride energy for this post today! It was a test of physical energy and attitude today. Not my favorite day by any…
Day 34. Bicycle mechanics!
Cold Brook to Beachbrook Campground (Newport Corner), Nova Scotia 9/20/23. 47 mi. AIS: 4:53. 9.6mph. Elev 2123 ft! Last nights campground was called the Sherwood Forest. It was in the pine trees and behind it was a huge forest. Sometime in the night I heard coyotes howling… but I thought they were wolves! Do they…
Day 33. Took the high road
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…
Day 32. Back in the saddle… and it feels good😊
Digby to Bridgetown, Nova Scotia 9/18/23. 42 mi. AIS: 3:45. 10.8 mph. Elev. 1929 Beautiful sunrise in Digby and we left our 3 day layover town heading south along the Annapolis Basin and eventually along the Annapolis River valley. First stop was a little artist community and indigenous community named Bear River. It was a…
Day 31. Waiting… as the storm leaves
9/17/23. Another day passes as we get ready to start riding again tomorrow (Monday). The storm moved out last night with some wind this morning. The clouds moved out and the sun came out by afternoon and the wind decreased. It was beautiful by 4pm… a little chill in the air but the air was…
Day 30. A day in the wall…
Digby, Nova Scotia Hurricane Lee… tropical storm… Cat 1 winds Distances to date: 194 miles Week 4. (5 days – 3 riding, 1 layover, 1 transportation) 218 miles week 3. (5 days) 291 miles week 2. (7 days) 222 miles week 1 (6 days) TOTAL: 925 miles, 22 riding days. Avg. 42 miles per day…
Day 29. Explore the Digby neck
Digby to Rossway, NS and Rossway to Digby 9/15/23. 21 mi. AIS: 1:55. 11.1 mph. Elev. 1020 ft. When you stay at a Bed and Breakfast you get a nice, fresh homemade breakfast and this one has a great, tasty cup of coffee! Going to be a good Hurricane layover spot. We also seem to…
Day 28. Bus ride/Ferry ride…travel day…fast forward
Fredericton, New Brunswick to Digby, Nova Scotia 9/14/23. 12 miles: (6 mi. to bus, 3 mi to ferry, 3 mi.to B&B) Will we miss New Brunswick (New Bum-stick)? Nope, not one little bit. I hate to judge a province by the weather in 4-5 days but our experience has been unflattering to say the least.…
Day 27. Fredericton rain delay
Fredericton NB. The Capitol of the province New/Noveau Brunswick 9/13/23. Today was a good day. It’s all about perspective, right? As one of my followers reminded me… there are days when it’s all fun… and there are days it’s fun when it’s over! Yesterday felt like the latter. It’s nice that our plans are not…
Day 26. Tough as nails today!
Woodstock to Fredericton, New Brunswick 9/12/23. 59 mi. AIS: 5:50. 10mph. Elev 1919 ft. There are days when 50 miles feels like 80…today was certainly one of those! When the All Trails route shows dozens of little ups and downs on the ride profile and Google says “moderate hills”… it turns out to be challenging……
Day 25. Can’t escape being wet!
Perth-Andover to Woodstock (not NY), New Brunswick 9/11/23. 50 mi. AIS: 4:33. 11 mph. Elev 1312 ft. Woke up to the rain. Headed to a little cafe for some breakfast… and check the weather radar. Looks like the afternoon will improve. Our goal today was 50 miles to Woodstock. Decided to get started. We had…
Day 24. Pounding the pavement
Edmunston to Perth-Andover, New Brunswick 9/10/23. 64 mi!! AIS: 5:38. 11.4 mph. Elev. 2151 ft. Nice 8am rollout. We were planning to go about 40 mi to Grand Falls…. And camp. The forecast for tonight and all day tomorrow is rain. The road conditions today were really, really good. We were on single lane highway…
Day 23. Layover in Edmunston, New Brunswick
8/9/23. Week 3. 218 miles (5days) A short walk to get some supplies in town today. It is a paper mill town. One here in Edmunston and a big one across the St John River in Madawaska Maine. It is not our plan to do much exploring in Edmunston today. We have some chores to…
Day 22. After 24 days…New Brunswick! Maritime Provinces
Temiscouata sur de La Lac, QC to Edmundston, NB 9/8/23. 39 mi. AIS: 4:13. 9.3 mph. Elev 652 ft. We didn’t feel the need to rush this morning. Waited for the boulangerie to open for a bite to eat. Had them make a sandwich “to go” for our lunch today. Just a light rain as…
Day 21. An escort and a fast forward
Riviere du Loup to Temiscouata-sur-Le-lac, Quebec 9/7/23: 47 mi. AIS: 4:30. 10.5 mph. Elev. 2027 ft. (* mileage was not on the bike) The sun is up early… we are close to the start of eastern time zone, so we are up at 6am. It is a beautiful sunny morning, nice temp. Off on the…
Day 20. A foggy start
Riviere Ouille to Riviere du Loup 9/5/23. 46 mi. AIS: 4:38. 9.9mph. Elev 1016 ft. Last night was very peaceful and quiet..all night… happy in my tent, warm and comfortable. No drama!! We woke up to a very foggy morning. We started off in the fog along the River coastline. I say coastline because it…
Day 17. Layover…Quebec City
9/3/23 Mileage stats for Week 1 and 2: 291 miles week 2. (7 days) 222 miles week 1 (6 days) Looonnnggg one……. After a relaxing croissant and coffee breakfast in a cafe we took a long walk through a Parc along the Riviere St Charles. A big part of heading to the north side of…
Day 16. Exploring QC.
Quebec City. 9/2/23. We took the day to put on 7.5 mikes walking the streets (up and down) in Quebec City. We are lucky enough to be staying in an apartment in the terre-haute (top) village area of the city. We walked down Rue St Jean to find coffee and croissant. Then strolled into the…
Day 15. Heading into Quebec City.
Lyster to Quebec City 9/1/23. 51mi. AIS: 4:52. 10.4 mph. Elev. 941 Our Hosts Marietta and Irenee have been hosting cyclists since 2014. They are retired dairy farmers. Sold the cows and land to neighbors. They’ve cycled the US from west to east and Mexico to their home, cycled Europe too! I’m guessing they are…
Day 14. Where are we going to stay???
Danville to (5km outside of) Lyster, Quebec. Mariette and Irenee’s place. 8/31/23. 60 mi. AIS: 6:03. 9.9mph. Elev. 843 So much happened today. Where to start?! Our bed n breakfast had a great continental breakfast for us at 7am. On the road early… needed to get 60 miles. Compared to yesterday it was a beautiful…
Day 13. Weather happens
Pura Vida Lodge to Danville, Quebec 8/30/23. (3 hrs of sitting it out in Tim Hortons’s. 9am -12 noon) 29 miles. AIS: 2:57 9.8 mph. Elev. 761 ft. I have to apologize for the headline with the wrong day count yesterday and for all the typos (pretty sure my sisters noticed them all…haha. We were…
Day 11. A day in the mall
Campground Lac Magog to Pura Vida Lodge and Sup (campground) near Windsor Quebec. 8/29/23. 28 mi. 3: 05. 9 mph. Elev 1184 ft. A little rain fell on the tent at about 6:15am this morning. It was very light and very short. Poaching on the dry picnic tables under the wall tent we packed up…
Day 11. A bit tough today😜
Eastman to Camping Lac Magog (near Val du Lac, Quebec 8/28/23. 40 mi. AIS: 4:33 8.6 mph Elev 1841 ft. Not sure if the AIS stat records time when we are pushing. It might be too slow to register. Sure felt like more than 4 hours!! Even though we went about the same distance as…
Day 10. There will be hills to climb
Abbotsford to Eastman, Quebec 8/27/23. 38 mi. AIS: 4:09. 9.3 mph. Elev. 843 ft. Good news… no rain on us today! The sun didn’t break through until early afternoon. Temps are perfect for bike riding. Today’s high was 70. Doesn’t hit that until about 4 pm. We took some scenic routes today through a regional…
Day 9. Friendly Canadians…met a few people
Montreal to Abbotsford, Quebec 8/26/23. 47 mi. AIS: 4:25. 10.6 mph. Elev 272 ft. Up and out of Montreal at about 9am today. The rain was suppose to start about 11 so we had a sunny start over the Pont Jacque-Cartier bridge. Saturday morning was quiet so we easily slipped through the streets of the…
Day 7 and Day 8. City of Montreal
8/24, 8/25/23 This is a very long blog😊. Hope you enjoy my view of Montreal. It’s a great place to visit! First of all you need to know that Montreal is on a big island between the St Lawrence River and Riviere des Prairies. It has 2 million people in the city…4 million in the…
Day 6. Easy breezy ride into the heart of Montreal!
St Jerome to Montreal. 8/23/23. 37mi. AIS: 3:34. 10.3 mph. Elev. 206 ft. We left camp and started on the south end of P’tit Train du Nord toward Montreal. We literally were on separate dedicated bike trail or paths all the way into the heart of the city where our little rental is located. That…
Day 4. Up to Mont Tremblant Resort
8/21/23. LaBelle to Saints Agathe de Monts Stats: 51 mi. AIS: 5:26. 9.3 mph. Elev 1243 We had a little riding and a little climbing to do today. Actually today is our longest day in time and distance. We had a change of trail surface today. The last 2 days were asphalt… some of it…
Day 3 Lakes and Rivers…and train stations
8/20/23. Val Barette to LaBelle, Quebec Stats: 45 mi. AIS: 4:12. 10.6 mph. Elev. 642 ft Perhaps many days on our ride will be lakes and rivers but todays ride along the trail was in the Laurentian Mountains! It is THE summer and winter mecca for Montreal-ites and Q-Citians. There are many, many cabins on…
Let’s roll…Montreal to St Jerome.
Day 1. 8/18/23. 42.5 mi. AIS: 4:21. (Ass in Saddle). 839 ft elev. 10mph It was raining in the early morning so we weren’t in a big hurry to depart. Forecast was to improve as the day progressed. 10am start. Within minutes we were on a nice separate bike path. This lasted a few miles,…
Touring bicycle…the Horse
Our touring bike of choice is the Trek 520 disc. We bought these about a year before our Southern Tier ride and have loved them since we got them. Trek has been making the 520 since 1983. They came out with disc brakes in 2018 or so. These touring bikes are steel framed so they…
Here we go again…. Cycle Eastern Canada 2023 eh?!!
WHERE NOW?? WHY CANADA? After completing the long dreamed about transcontinental tour of the United States in 2022 (Southern Tier) the main question I received is: “Where are you going next?” We decided we would like to tour a foreign country. Neither of us had spent any time in eastern Canada and it qualifies as…
cinnicrew 