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NOVA SCOTIA
Watch for nightly updates as we progress on this
ride. RC - Dan Harvey
Ride Expenses - Cat Ferry
($255.00) + Mt. Washington COG Railroad
($124.00) + Hotel ($1,159.00) + Gas
($530.00) + Food ($945.00) + Toll ($25)
+ Misc = ($57) =
$3,095.00 (FINAL)
Total Mileage 4,394
GARMIN GPS FILE - MAPSOURCE NT 2009
July 4th -
Knoxville, TN. to Winchester, VA. - It seems like every trip starts off with a few glitches and this one is
no exception. I lost my credit card last night after buying gas and Ron
Hooten forgot his cell phone at home. I called my bank and had the card
turned off and I do have another card to fall back on. Ron can pickup
another phone when we find an AT&T office. Nothing major and the
problems do not diminish our attitudes. The day was a good one. We
made it to our hotel just after 4 PM which was pretty much on schedule. We did
have some rain in the last 50 miles but it was not a big deal. Jim left from his home in North Carolina a couple of days
ago. Don and Denise were scheduled to leave from their home in
New Jersey today as well. We will all meet in Bangor, Maine on
Sunday.
Today's Miles =
394
Weather - Low 65 High 82
Light Rain late in the Day -
PHOTOS
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July 5th -
Winchester, VA. to West
Springfield, MA. - The radar this morning was dismal at best and
rain was forecast all along our planned route. To make matters
worse, it was raining when we left the hotel which is my least
favorite thing to do. The good thing is that it never did rain
hard. Sometimes it was a light rain but mostly, it was more like
a hard drizzle. The ride had his high points despite the
weather. We got on Rt. 209 and rode up the Delaware Valley which
was a new experience for me and a nice break from the
Interstate. We saw several deer and our road ran along the river
in several places. Traffic was a little thick though. There are
two things you will notice almost as soon as you get North of
Maryland and that is that the roads get worse and the gas gets
higher. I wonder what the politicians use the taxpayers money
for in the Keystone state?
The oddest thing happened to me today. So odd, you may have a
hard time believing it, but I have witnesses. While riding at
Interstate speed, I noticed a black blur from my 1 o'clock
position out of the sky. I felt a thumb in the top of my helmet
and quickly realized a bird hit me in the top of my head
(helmet). In a moment, Ron keyed his microphone and asked "did
you just hit a bird?". I told him what had happened and he said
he saw it happen and saw the bird hit the pavement behind me.
Odd huh?
We have decided to publish our expenses for this trip to see if
we are close to our $3,000 budget. We will see. More to follow.
Today's Miles = 454 Weather -
Low 67 High 82 Rain on and off all day.
Never very hard just annoying.
PHOTOS
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July 6th -
West Springfield, MA. - Bangor,
ME. - I think we were all excited this morning when we woke up
to the promise of sunshine and clear skies later in the day.
Yeah, it was a little overcast at first but the sun won out and
the clouds disappeared. Of course, the sun brings another issue.
Sunburn! Janet looks a little like Ricky Raccoon tonight. We
stayed on the MASS PIKE and I-95/295 for a large part of the day
but did manage the last 100 miles on state highways. We are now
at our motel in Bangor and the end of Interstate travel for
awhile. Janet, Ron and I arrived at the hotel first,
followed shortly after by Jim Brown. Don and Denise made it
before dark. The ferry leaves at 9AM and we have a 50 mile ride.
Heavy Fog is predicted so we are meeting at 6AM to analyze the
weather situation. Hopefully, it will be clear.
Today's Miles = 332 Weather -
Low 60 High 82 Overcast early but the sun
won out and it was a beautiful day. PHOTOS
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July 7th -
Bangor, ME - Yarmouth, N.S. -
Shelburne, N.S. - It was foggy when I walked out of the motel.
Foggy on our ride to the Cat Ferry. Foggy during the whole
crossing and foggy in Yarmouth when we landed. Temperatures were
a mixture of warm and clammy to down right cool and foggy. The
air off of the water is definitely less than 60 degrees and for
the most part, the air temperature gauge on my Harley hovered
around 60 for most of the day. Obviously, this made for poor
sight seeing but there were a few moments where visibility was
better. Hopefully, Tuesday will be better.
Today's Miles = 268 including 95 miles on the
ferry. Weather - Foggy with
temps. varying from 55 - 68 degrees -
PHOTOS
MOVIE (90 megs)
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July 8th -
Shelburne - Digby, N.S. - The
ride across Nova Scotia was enjoyable even though we did have a
near miss. Jim did a U turn to photograph a local animal in an
"easy to photograph" pose. As I continued to lead, I yelled back
at Jim on the CB asking him to also photo a unique sign for me.
Don recognized that Jim could not hear me so he did a U turn to get
the photograph for me. Jim passed Don just as Don was doing a U
turn so I had a good report when Jim caught up. I tuned the fire
up a little on the Harley not thinking too much about Don
catching up. At a pace somewhat above the speed limit, Don
encountered a near miss with a deer. Somehow, the deer hit his
running board and folded it up....but caused no damage nor
injury to Don and Denise. (Thank goodness). The weather started
off foggy in Shelburne but we saw BLUE as we headed inland. We
went back to the west coast almost to Yarmouth , and then turned
North. This road runs along the coast on the Bay of Fundy and is
very scenic. We stopped briefly at a very old church and later
had lunch arriving in Digby with a lot of daylight left. Digby
was an area that I was not able to visit on my trip here a few
years ago and it looks like I may have to come back again some
time in the future. At the end of Digby Neck, there is a ferry that takes you
over to a small island and I was hoping to have dinner on that
Island as it was suggested by another rider, but it did not work
out mainly because visibility was poor. Oh well, maybe next visit. Overall, the
day was a good one.
Today's Miles = 172 Weather -
Foggy and cool in the A.M. warming and becoming sunny as we
traveled inland.
PHOTOS
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July 9th -
Digby to Halifax, N.S. - This day
was my favorite, so far. We crossed the width of N.S. today and
rode a lot of the Lighthouse Route up the coast. The inland
roads had just enough twisties to keep it from getting boring
and the coastal roads had awesome views. Peggy's Cove was the
highlight today. Everyone seems to be doing well, sleeping good
and having a good time.
Today's Miles = 189 Weather -
Early morning fog and overcast becoming
mostly sunny at Noon.
PHOTOS
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July 10th -
Halifax to Port Hastings, N.S. -
The ride today was much like the past few days. Fog in the
morning and cool air that warms if we head inland. By afternoon
there is some clearing. When I say "much like the past few
days", I mean just that. So much in fact it is getting a little
boring. Now understand, we are seeing great little villages and
old harbors. Boats are pulled up on dry land to have warm
weather repairs done. Inland, the road is twisting and sometimes
rough. This place is very much like going back in time. Most of
the cars are older, the farm tractors have several years on
them, the houses are mostly wood siding and were built at least
50 years ago and everyone hangs there clothes on a pulley and
line system to dry.
Our hotel is on the Cape Breton Causeway. We watched a large
ship come in to dock assisted by a tug boat, Eventually, it will
be loaded with Gypsum which is abundant is this area. Cape
Breton is an island off the North end of Nova Scotia and Cabot's
Trail is on the island. It is on our route for tomorrow and
should make for a change of scenery.
Today's Miles = 235 Weather -
Same as always. Foggy in the A.M. and
clearing in the afternoon. Some rain late afternoon.
PHOTOS
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July 11th -
Port Hastings to Cheticamp, N.S.
- The ride started off under blue skies and warming temps. It
was just what we needed to brighten everyone's spirits. We
stopped in Baddeck, N.S. which is where Alexander Graham Bell
lived. We toured a museum about him and learned a lot about his
involvement with the deaf and in airplane design. We traveled up
to Cabot's Trail and rode it around the entire Northern end of
Cape Breton. We took a short jog off to explore Meat Cove which
required a 8km ride on a hard packed dirt/gravel road....and
then back to the pavement. The ride was great as was Meat
Cove but I would suggest at least moderate experience in riding
as there were two fairly steep hills that had a lot of gravel.
The ride down the western coast was spectacular at the very
least. We saw several Moose and a great sunset. The road went
over North Mountain which was roughly 1,500' in elevation.
Twisties, the Atlantic and smiles on everyone's face ended the
day.
Today's Miles = 195 Weather -
Sunny and clear with a few clouds
developing in the afternoon. High temp. 82, Low 52
PHOTOS
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July 12th -
Cheticamp, N.S to Sunnyside, Prince Edward Island - The ride
today was beautiful. We saw Pilot Whales playing off the coast
of Nova Scotia and ate some great food. The highlite. The
culinary peak of this trip may very well end up being in New
Glasgow, PEI where we ate at the "Lobster Supper". All fresh
caught today, the food was great. Janet ate her first Lobster.
We had a uneventful crossing on the ferry which was free. It
seems odd that it is free to come here, but you have to pay to
leave. Everyone seems to be enjoying the ride but Don and Denise
leave us tomorrow after we return to the U.S. (If they will let
Jim back in.)
Today's Miles = 256 Weather -
Beautiful. Big blue skies. White Puffy
Clouds. High 82 and Low 58.
PHOTOS
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July 13th -
Sunnyside, PEI to Skowhegan,
Maine - The ride today was all about mileage and getting back to
the U.S. Almost everyone I spoke to during the planning stages
had told me the New Brunswick was not much on scenery so, we
crossed the bridge leaving PEI and pretty much rode right
through the rest of Canada. The first leg was about 140 miles
non stop. Don and Denise left us today as he was on a schedule
which committed him to other people and places. They were a lot
of fun and I hope to ride with them again soon. We did manage
an exception to our hasty schedule to see the world's longest covered
bridge. Much to my surprise, it was open to traffic so we made a
short movie as we crossed it. U.S. Customs was not a big deal.
Just needed a drivers license and birth certificate as we
expected.
Today's Miles = 468 Weather -
Sunny for the most part but becoming
overcast with a sprinkle just as we got to our hotel
PHOTOS
MOVIE (101 Megs)
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July 14th -
Skowhegan to Twin Mountain, New
Hampshire - The original plan was to ride 235 miles today but we
were running late for our 4PM reservation on the COG Railway so
we cut took a shortcut. The day was pretty much a scenic day
filled with small New England towns. The COG Railway was an OK
adventure and it gave us a whole new view of Mt. Washington but
it is a dirty ride because the train is coal fired and cinders
get into the passengers car. They only allow 20 minutes on top
of the mountain and that is not enough to see everything. It was
foggy and cold up there, but I never even got to go inside the
observatory when they started signaling us to come back to the
train. Oh well. Everyone is safe and maybe starting to get a
little anxious to get home.
Today's Miles = 194 Weather - Streets
were wet so we put on our rain gear. Improved as it moved into
the afternoon.
PHOTOS
MOVIE
Train #1
#2
#3
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July 15th -
Twin Mountain, N.H. to Utica, New
York - Jim left us this morning. I looked out the hotel window
when I got up at 5 AM and his bike was there but when we went to
the lobby for breakfast at 8AM, he was already gone. Another one
for the record books, eh buddy? Jim must have enjoyed the
perfect day just like us. It was warm and sunny with bright blue
skies and clear air. What Jim probably missed though was some of
the best riding roads we have taken thus far. The owner of the
hotel clued us in on a shortcut to the planned route that
shortened our ride by 40 miles while giving us some breathtaking
scenery. We did get on the Interstate for a short while but that
was only a "direct route" thing. We stopped at the Visitor's
Center when we crossed Lake Champlain and entered New York. WE
are in Utica now which is far enough West that we can avoid all
the big city traffic as we start to get serious now about
getting home.....well, not too serious. It is mostly state
routes the rest of the way.
Today's Miles = 354 Weather -
Beautiful. Low 60 High 84
PHOTOS
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July 16th -
Utica to Altoona, PA. - We did
not get started as early as we have been in past days but it was
not a big deal. The ride was a combination of some Interstate
travel just to shorten the time in the saddle. Once again, we
had beautiful scenery during the transition from quaint little
towns among the hills to large farms and rolling pastureland.
Another good day and now, we can smell home.
Today's Miles = 328 Weather -
Beautiful. A little cool in the A.M. and
warming in the afternoon.
PHOTOS
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July 17th -
Altoona to Beckley, WV - I
noticed first thing this morning that we are only 558 miles from
Knoxville. Of course, we could ride that in one day. After all,
we have had a 454 and 468 mile days, so what's another 100
miles? Well, maybe a lot. The thing that happens here is
acclamation. We have been riding in weather that required
jackets and was usually in the 70's as the peak high for the
day. Also, the humidity was much lower which made it feel even
cooler. As we have been riding South, I noticed my fatigue level
is much lower than when the adrenaline had me going in our
Northbound direction. So, we stop and rest, drink plenty of
water and will finish the 250 miles or so tomorrow. The ride
today was wonderful. The farms in Maryland are so well
maintained. As we rode, you can see barns and farmhouses off at
great distances. A lot of farmers are getting their second
cutting of hay which added a sweet smell to the air. Just South
of Marlinton, we stopped and toured the Pearl Buck birthplace
and Museum. It was very interesting. My final entry and ride
synopsis will be in tomorrows entry.
Today's Miles = 327 Weather -
Beautiful. A little cool in the A.M. and
warming in the afternoon.
PHOTOS
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July 18th -
Beckley - Knoxville, TN (Home) - The ride
today could have been on the Interstate all the way and we could
have been home by Noon. But we elected to venture off the big
road for about 50 miles of twistys up in Virginia. 50 miles of
back roads proved to be fun and we met two more couples who we
gave our club business cards. We got here around 3PM which ended
the ride.
This was my second ride to Nova Scotia. It was much better
because I used my knowledge of the first ride to plan this one.
The overall ride should be rated very high on anyone's scale.
The weather cooperated in that we only had minor amounts of rain
and some fog which was discouraging at the time but was quickly
forgotten when the skies cleared to bright blue. My favorite
points of the whole ride are the west coast on Cape Breton on
Cabot's Trail, Peggy's Cove and the ride from Twin Mountain, N.H.
to Utica, N.Y. We ended up very close to our budget and to be
honest, we could have been as much as $500 under. We burned the
most expensive gas and had a "sit down" type meal almost every
time we ate. Our dinner bill exceeded $50 on several
nights....it could have been less. There were no breakdowns and
our only mechanical issues were limited to loose or lost screws.
There was one parking lot tumble which we have all done....no
injury, no damage. Some riders said this was on their list of
rides to do....it was on my list of rides to do again. Maybe 4
or 5 years from now, it will go back on my list. It was
wonderful.
Today's Miles = 228 Weather -
Beautiful
PHOTOS
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