August 6 CK and I head to the Red Barn to leave his van while we ride the Cabot Tail. After unloading our bikes and gear we head up the road on the Cabot Trail to Baddeck.
We stopped for lunch at the Lobster Gallery in St. Ann’s. The ride to here was without a bit of fuss. CK had forgotten to load the Canada maps into his Wahoo so he had a blank screen with only the arrows of the route. He did not have any roads to follow. I had forgotten to load the Cabot Trail route that he found on the internet so I had only a map on roads and no route to follow. We ended on a closed back class 4 road in the woods. We decided to turn back and get back onto a road that brought us back to the Cabot Trail. We met a couple from Quebec touring to Sidney to board the ferry to Newfoundland. The storm with wind and heavy rain caught us as we began riding to our campsite at the Cabot Shores Campground and Resort.
The rain faded to a drizzle as we set up our tents.
Today, Day 2, we are off to Ingonish Beach Campground. Today we rode a low mileage day because of the long hard climb ahead of us. We got over the first significant climb on the Cabot Trail, Smokey Mountain.
We are in the National Park now and will be for a few days. It is now cool and windy. Heavy rain is predicted, so we will see what happens.
Day 3 MacIntosh Brook Campground is our goal. This is a small tent site campground that is first come, so we can not reserve a site. This campground is also after our second massive climb and in a valley before our third big climb.
We got wet. We got tired. We arrive late but before sundown. He met some wonderful people camping here. Three of these people were also bike touring. A couple from Toronto came in and set up quickly before settling in for the night. Moritz, a German, was touring and heading our way.
We slept on our mattresses in the pavilion both for comfort and to save time in the morning. It rained all night so this was a good choice. We were able to leave early for our next mountain pass. This time we would be riding along the ridge before descending.
Day 4 We start the steep climb up the mountain in rain and strong wind.
At the top we rode the ridge into the strong wind. The road is winding and so we switch for headwind, crosswind, and tailwind. We stopped at French Lake for a break and photo op. Leaving with a tail wind I clip one foot into the pedal and push off. The wind instantly pushes me to a 20 mph coast. This wind is called LaSuettes and blow at 200k per hour.
We get to the coast and start the drop to the ocean below. The views are out of this world gorgeous. We stop many times to take photos.
Riding along the coast we experience strong winds coming at us from all directions. I am blown off my bicycle twice and forced to walk. I mount my bike again and try to ride. While stopping to photograph a view, I straddled my bike and bent over the handlebars. The wind hits me head on and I am pushed back on sliding feet for twelve inches.
We get to our campsite outside of Cheticamp to find Moritz waiting for us.
Day 5 We woke to steady rain on the tent. I was able to break down my tent and pack all my gear under the rain fly. The fly went into a dry bag. Today it rained and drizzled with some wind. A wet day on the bike. Hunter Mountain was the last climb and it was long and steep.
We ride to the van, load the bikes and gear and drive to Whycocomagh Provincial Park. We are sitting in camp with clothes and gear drying in the wind.
Nancy now has her car and is on her way here to meet and be with us.