Author: russloomis

Last night was my last night with Erin and CK. It is raining, a heavy downpour, with some flooding on the roads. CK comes home from the University around 11:30 to bring me to my Warmshowers host in Lancaster, PA. We have a quick snack and load my bike and gear into the van and off we go.

It is a thirty-five mile drive with a stop for lunch at a great diner in Conestoga, PA. This is a diner CK found while riding a local century a number of years ago.

After eating with a half an hour to spare we drive to 365 Cycles to see the place where I buy components for my bikes.

We arrive at my hosts at 4 with Paul was waiting to greet us. We unload all my gear and say our sad goodbyes. Hours before Erin and I did the same. This is the saddest part of touring, leaving friends and family behind. It will be two months and thirteen days before I will be with Nancy again.

I am now in the good company of Paul and Wendy. The evening went by quickly with a wonderful dinner and conversation. I am now in my space settling in for the night.

Tomorrow morning I will set off for York, PA. Tomorrow morning is one day closer to being with Nancy again.

March 30, my birthday. It is amazing how fast seventy-two years have slipped behind me. I am here with CK waiting to start my trek west to be with Nancy again. She is home eager to leave for Colorado in early June. I am in Delaware waiting to head to Colorado in four days.

My original plan was to tour Delaware State Parks, an annual event since 2022, and then start riding west when the C&O Trail opens for the year. We cut the early tour short by a few days due to heavy cold rain. This decision added three days to the break between tours.

I have now delayed my start yet another three days to April 4 to avoid more cold rain. As it now stands I will have warm dry days to begin my journey.

(K)nightly walks with Diamond a.k.a Little Black Dog.

We have been watching the weather and made the decision to end our tour early, ending warm and dry. I will get more than enough rain as I head west.

Today is another short day so we enjoyed a relaxed breakfast before breaking camp. Once on the road we enjoyed nice country roads with hints of Spring colors. The trees and plants are waking up for the new season.

We stopped in Milford for lunch. We found this restaurant last year and the food is too good to not stop.

We explored some new roads on the way and one took us to the ocean, Big Rock Beach.

We got back to the van, loaded, and drove to CK’s house. Now I get ready to continue west to meet up with Nancy in mid June.

The drive to Newark, DE.

We have a short day so we plan a late start. It was cold last night and into this morning so a long time was spent in the tent. After crawling out of our tents we enjoy a leisurely breakfast with plenty of coffee. Before leave we had a long visit with the camp host about touring cross country.

We head inland leaving the coast behind.

Into camp and set up more time to eat and relax.

Heading to the start!

Today is getting ready to tour West. Making sure my gear feels right as I ride. Also to reacquaint myself to riding with a full load of sixty pounds.

The day, cool to cold with strong wind.

It is nice to just sit under the moon and talk.

CK left Whycocomagh to head back for D2R2. We stayed two nights to relax.

We pack up and drive to the Cabot Shores Resort for a two night stay. We will leave the camper here and I will drive Nancy around the Cabot Trail so she can relax and enjoy the sights.

Finishing the Cabot Trail we spend our last night at this campground.

Now we head over to Bird Island Boat Tours to see Puffins, seals and many other species.

Now we are off to Battery Park Provincial Park for a two night stay.

We have arrived at Linwood Harbour Campground in Harve Boucher for three nights. We are on our way the Amherst Shore.

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.

August 1 Nancy came back to camp with a rental car to Laurie Provincial Park with the news that it will be at least a week for her car to be looked at and diagnosed. My friend CK is at a campsite in Maine. We had planned to meet up in Cape Breton to ride the Cabot Tail together. With all the setbacks, the flooding and car trouble, I will not be able to connect with him where we had planned.

August 2-5 Last night CK and I made plans to meet in Truro at the Bay of Fundy Discovery Center. This is the tip of the Bay of Fundy and just off the highway 104. Ck will be passing here on his way to Boylston Provincial Park for a two night stay.

Now we are off to Bear on the Lake Hostel in Aberdeen for a two night stay before we begin our tour of the Cabot Trail.

July 30 I decided to stay at the campsite to check over my bike and be with the dogs. This, unknowingly, was a very wise choice. Not long after Nancy left I got a frantic phone call. The car that she had recently bought for this trip died on the roadside. Hours went by and then I got another call, her car was towed to a Dodge dealership. Being Sunday it was closed so she booked a motel room and planned to go to the dealership in the morning.

The dealership informed her that it was most likely the transmission and sent it off to another shop that specializes in transmissions. A frantic night for sure!

July 31 Nancy talked to the transmission shop, they confirmed this is the problem and they searched for a good rebuilt transmission. Now the estimated time to get her car back is at best a week but most likely two weeks. Nancy was able to get a rental car but it won’t be available until 3PM tomorrow, Tuesday.

We have now skipped over Plan B and landed on Plan F because this is such an F’ed up mess. I will see Nancy again late tomorrow after she gets the rental car and drives back to camp.

Oh, the canister of dog food is in the car! A camp neighbor gave me enough food to feed boys last night and this morning. Another neighbor offered to drive me to a store today so I could get enough dog food until Nancy brings the canister back with her.

Pics of the lake at the campground. The boys and I walked over there tonight.

A long hot and tiring day. A hand full of detours because the roads and bridges are gone from the rain two weeks ago. This area got a years worth of rain in 13 hours! I came across a bike shop/cafe at 3 PM so I stopped for my first meal since breakfast.

McNab’s Walk, a cut through from one road to another.

I finally got to camp with daylight but it will be gone soon. Tomorrow is a rest and check bike day.