Through Nova Scotia to Newfoundland

I write this from the MV Smallwood, crossing from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland. The ride from Halifax went quite smoothlly through some beautiful terrain. Jenn's is doing very well, and zips past me on each downhill!

Two days from Halifax we arrived in Antigonish on an enormous tailwind. We were receiving so much conflicting information about Hurricane Bill that we decided to book a motel room for two nights and just sit it out. We stocked up on food and lazed in front of the weather channel. Although Jenn did see something fly past the window at one point, the hurricane didn't hit us as hard as they were expecting. Also, I had another broken spoke outside of Antigonish, so I spent a few hours truing the wheel in the motel room ... and surprisingly did a pretty good job!

Hurricane Bill from our motel room blew this way.

And then that way ... with lots of rain.

After this we set out for Cape Breton. The island has quite a neat feel to it, with many small towns in cute little coves. It sure was hilly though, and the road frequently travelled into one cove, steeply up over a ridge, and down into the next cove. Since the hurricane caused us to miss our original boat, we were able to take a small detour to see the site where Marconi sent the first trans-Atlantic radio transmission and spend an afternoon visiting Sydney.

Jenn coming through one of many really steep hills along Hwy 4.

St. Peter's from Battery Provincial Park.

Rita's Tea House in Big Pond, NS ... home of Rita MacNeil!

Near the causeway to Cape Breton Island we stopped for a bowl of lobster chowder at a roadside restaurant. The chowder was really tasty, but the owner of the restaurant was a real character. He was running around yelling and lighting off fireworks, and made a big scene when he found out I had come from Vancouver by bicycle.

Our campsite in Ryan River.

Glace Bay, NS. It was really windy, I couldn't imagine being here in the winter.

Of all the enormous things I've seen, Sydney's giant fiddle is by far the best!

Lobster Rolls in Sydney ... mmm.

Now we are on the ferry to Argentia, Newfoundland. It's slightly larger and more comfortable than the BC Ferries vessels ... a necessity for the 13 hour ride on the Atlantic! At $110 each for a foot passenger it's quite an expensive trip. It would have been nice to take the shorter ferry to Port aux Basques and do the 1000km ride through Newfoundland, but unfortunately we don't have enough time. Instead we will ride to St. John's and then take the bus to visit Gros Morne National Park and some of the West Coast.

You can pay extra for a cabin on the boat ... but this works OK too.

There's no mistaking the Atlantic for Georgia Strait. Very awe-inspiring!

In Sydney I met a blind fellow who is also doing a cross Canada ride. He rides a tandem recumbent with a sighted rider in the front. You can look at his setup and goal here. He's very dedicated to providing opportunities for those with disabilities to attend the special olympics, and is an inspiring person to meet.

The next time you hear from me will be in St. John's!