Atlantic Canada Part 3

It’s damn tough to try to keep the blog posts current, so I hope my few readers do appreciate the efforts. Please leave comments, it would be nice to answer any comments or questions that you may have. 

New Brunswick is underrated and utterly beautiful. I hear so little about New Brunswick, (is there an old one, other than the one in Ohio?). Instead of dashing through this province I think I should have decided to spend the entire trip here. There are mountains, forests, lakes and oceans and without a doubt fabulous biking roads, I am putting a trip to thoroughly explore New Brunswick on the bucket list. Unfortunately, today I am just riding through, I suspect that is what most people do, pass through to get to the coast. Which takes me to my first complaint, I’m riding on the Trans Canada Highway, through the most gorgeous countryside, yet this province has provided ZERO, and I mean ZERO places where one can stop and rest and take in the view. No rest stops, no scenic outlook points, nothing. WTF, this is perhaps the loveliest province to drive through and the only places to stop for a rest are god-awful gas stations without a single tree to break the horror of the tarmac. Really, a leaf out of Quebec’s book is called for, actually the cousins down south do this really well. I am sure that I am not asking for billions from the provincial budget, just some creative thinking, a place to stop that has a view, with a picnic table and a chemical toilet would be a great start…and a few employees that travel around and tidy-up after the idiots that are unable to.   

So I ride through New Brunswick and stick to the Trans Canada, it’s not overly busy and the blacktop is in reasonable shape. New Brunswick is a really bilingual province, so everything is signposted in both languages, it’s nice, the rest of Canada should make more effort, guess me included. The other nice thing is a slightly more sensible speed limit, 110 km/h on the motorway, makes me more inclined to obey it. Actually as the day goes on and it gets hotter and hotter I find myself slowing down a bit and riding between 100 and 110, in sympathy with the KLR’s overworked 650 cc motor. It’s not really designed to be hammered at 125 in boiling heat all day long, so far it’s given me everything I have ever asked it for, but perhaps I am asking too much today. I’m also getting into a rhythm of stopping about every 100 km, even if it is only to stretch the legs for a few minutes and have a drink of water or Red Bull, the bony old backside is managing better this way, but as already complained about, all stopping has been at gas stations.

Finally, I reach Moncton and traffic is quite busy, the road to the PEI bridge is very busy and has some pretty rough patches. I am tired and the last stretch has me counting down the kilometers. I resolve to find a place to stay immediately upon crossing the bridge into PEI. For the benefit of my non-Canadian readers that stands for Prince Edward Island. It is a province of Canada, and an island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, it has a population less than twice that of the town of Newmarket where I live, so I guess the provincial status is historical rather than practical.

Confederation Bridge

The bridge that connects PEI to New Brunswick called the ‘Confederation Bridge’ it’s about 13 Km long, impressive, but a mere plank across a puddle compared to the Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge in China which is almost 165 Km long. I must admit that one of the reasons for including PEI on the agenda was to ride over this bridge. It was fun, but honestly, not something I’d bother with again. Now that one in China… except it’s a rail bridge only. The ride today has been just north of 700 Km, and frankly I am done for, I find the nearest and dearest motel (it’s not too dear, but a lot for the basics that it provides) and get done for the night.

 

Morning arrives and I’m faced with some choices, tour around the island or move on. I decide to ride towards Wood Islands, where the ferry to Nova Scotia departs, and make up my mind along the way. I can’t say that I’m disappointed in PEI, because I really had no expectations, if I was to do a tour of Atlantic Canada, then that had to include PEI, right? It’s nice enough, and would be a great place to rent a cottage on the beach and chill out for a couple of weeks with friends or family, but from a motorcycling perspective, it’s ok, just not spectacular. Very rural, bits of forest left here and there, but mostly farming, and then mostly potatoes. Interesting, the spoil is red, just like the farming areas around where I grew up in the (then) Transvaal Highvelt. The rich red soil, lots of iron oxide. I decide to head for the ferry, potato fields are indeed a spectacle, but there are just so many that one needs to see.

I just manage to miss a ferry, so have a couple of hours to kill before the next one. There is a couple, about my age, they are riding on a Harley and we get chatting.

The couple from Saskatchewan 

It’s amazing the ice breaker that motorcycles are. Its also notable that it’s mostly my generation that are touring around on motorcycles, sure I see lots of young people riding, but it’s mostly sports bikes, naked bikes and café racers, short distance bikes that they favour, it takes an old geezer to want to ride 6000 km. The couple are from Saskatchewan, now that is a damn loooong ride. They are heading more or less in the same direction I am, so I may bump into them again, nice people. Another old guy on a big BMW GS, (like the one Ewan MacGregor rode) arrives, I met him earlier at the motel, he’s from North Carolina. He advises me to do the Cabot Trail, that definitely is on the list, weather depending, start Sunday or Monday. He says it’s best to go clockwise, so I’ll give that a try.  

Bikers chatting, waiting to board ferry

Not so Easy Rider with Bike tied don

View from ferry  

Live music.. he was actually quite a decent musician

Arriving in Nova Scotia

The ferry ride is nice. I like ferries as much as I like bridges, maybe more. This one has something I’ve not encountered before, live music. It’s awesome.