Story by Quint Marcaletti
Editor’s Note:This story was originally published the Nov. 2014 edition of the MSTA Ohio Chapter newsletter. The story has been edited to match the MSTA website’s style.
Tuesday July 1
We were up early to start our trek toward New Brunswick and later found a diner just before reaching the Canadian border for breakfast. It was decided to use a daily routine of getting started riding for an hour or so before finding breakfast so that could also be our first break of the day.
We crossed the border at St. Stephen and stopped at an ATM for some Canadian cash, then started rolling up to Canadian Route 1 toward Saint John. Not many businesses were open, as July 1 is Canada Day! The national flag was out everywhere and most people had the red maple leaf on their person somewhere. You could really sense the pride.
We noticed the high fences along the highways with moose-gates. These gates allow the moose to leave the highway area, but they can’t get back in (not sure how they get in, in the first place). And there were sections with flashing lights that would come on when “Moose detected on highway”. I guess we were lucky that we never saw one along the road!
The roads in New Brunswick are very well maintained. It must be where the 13 percent sales tax goes!? I had to change my GPS to kilometers to make sure I was near the posted speed “maximum.” At St. John, we took a break to watch the “reversing falls,” then moved on to Fundy National Park then the Rocks at Hopewell. We were there at high tide and couldn’t walk among the rocks, but it was still an incredible experience. Here the tide change can be more than 50 feet!
We added a few more miles on to the trip and spent the night at a hotel in Moncton, New Brunswick. Mark had great service (NOT) in the restaurant! We started to notice a pattern of less than stellar restaurant service north of the border. That night, we acted like a couple of foolish school kids by repeatedly barreling down a spiral water slide at the indoor hotel pool. What fun! I hope the videos don’t make it YouTube!
Wednesday July 2
The previous night we saw a ratty old Kawasaki KLR650 in the hotel parking lot. We met the KLR owner, Chuck, at breakfast.
He was an interesting fellow, proudly wearing patches from riding in South America, Asia, Europe, etc. We thought for sure he was bound for the Horizons Unlimited meeting to be held in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, on Friday. He hadn’t heard about the meeting, but we had, and intended to drop in. Later that day, we passed Chuck puttering down the Trans-Can highway. It wouldn’t be the last we saw of him!
As we neared the border into Nova Scotia, The wind picked up and the temperature dropped suddenly. This would happen anytime we got close to the downwind side of sea water. I snapped some nice pics at the border and continued east. We had agreed to stay on the Trans-Can highway to cover miles, but somehow I took Route 6 towards Tatamagouche instead. I really think this was a worthwhile shortcut since we got to see so much more, and probably didn’t take much more time. Mark may have other opinions! At Port Hawkesbury, we turned north towards Cape Breton and found an interesting little campspot in Cheticamp on the “island.”
There were several local cars outside one restaurant in Cheticamp so we figured it was a decent place to eat. Turns out there was some entertainment — guitars and singing. The food was pretty good too…Halibut Cheeks for me! Alexander Keith’s IPA was served. Good stuff! And that evening there was more great weather for camping.
Thursday July 3
I was up early, packed up and went for a stroll on the beach. I remember all the man-made plastic garbage that had washed up there — but it was otherwise gorgeous. Then it was on to Cape Breton Highlands National Park and the Cabot Trail. It was amazing, though the mountains here were taller than I had expected. There also were twisty roads with perfect surfaces.
Dense forest of pine and birch was everywhere. We later stopped for a six-mile hike at the top of one of the mountains and found an overlook above the ocean at the end. Near the water, the wind was fierce and you had to be careful walking near the steep vertical cliffs. (Note to self…Motoskiveez shorts are great for riding, but NOT for walking…OUCH!) Then it was up through the pristine mountains of the park, with one incredible view after another.
We heard about Meat Cove, so we had to go. It was about 12 miles of gravel to get there, and it’s the most northern point in Nova Scotia … or very close to it! On the way out, a fast-moving minivan met me at a corner and I was forced wide, into deep sand…ALMOST crossed-up the front, but I planted my foot and was able to save it. Slow speed maneuvering proved quite a challenge with the extra load on the GS, as it’s already very tall for me. Back on tarmac, we continued south on the eastern side of Cape Breton.
Picturesque coastal scenes were in store over every hill. It was getting late in the day, but I saw a sign for waterfalls near the exit of the park. It was hot, so I took a chance. Another six miles of gravel and we found a fantastic little waterfall with a swimming hole at the bottom. We had to take a dip and cool off. That didn’t last long, as there were plenty of mosquitoes around. The water in rivers and streams here is a dark brown, from all the tannins of decaying plant matter. It looked like Coca Cola!
Our late afternoon caused us to settle for the first motel that looked OK in Ingonish. Not many places had air conditioning, but this one did — which helped to dry out our riding undergarments after washing them in the sink! Our lateness also limited our food selection for the night. The famous restaurant in town closed at 8pm — which was 5 minutes before we arrived! We had to settle for some take out deep-fried grub. While waiting we had to put our helmets and gloves back on, because of MOSQUITOES! And it was windy too. Wind doesn’t seem to affect these huge and hungry vampires.
Friday July 4.
We found an interesting place for breakfast: “The Clucking Hen Café and Bakery.” It has some really good pastries.
By this time I had stashed my CamelBak in the camping gear. We were stopping often enough to get a drink from a bottle or store, and it is just a real pain to put on and off. The process takes time, which when trying to keep up with Mark, can be an downfall!
We headed south to the Trans-Can Highway and then east to North Sydney to catch the ferry to Newfoundland. We had made reservations a few days prior, and I received a message that the boat was leaving two hours early due to Hurricane Arthur. It’s normally a 16 hour trip but this one would take 18. We had also scrapped the idea of turning back west to hit the HU meeting in Nova Scotia, for two reasons. One, the hurricane looked as if it was going to be worse there (and it was), and two, it would add a few hundred miles to the trip, and therefore less time in Newfoundland.
We got to North Sydney early in the day and had some time to kill. We grabbed some food for the boat ride, knowing the meals would be expensive. We also grabbed some beer and liquor…it was gonna be a long ride! We washed our bikes at a car wash, and had some lunch.
Mark had installed a volt meter on his bike prior to the trip to monitor the charging system. Suddenly it began to read about half of what it should. This was bad timing. We did not want to hop on the boat knowing the bike had issues. We found a repair shop and asked to borrow a volt-meter. They said that Mark couldn’t borrow one but would have to buy one! Well I thought that was pretty poor business. So he bought one and we ripped open the bike and checked all the connections. The only thing that looked abnormal was the onboard meter itself. So we disconnected it completely, and buttoned the bike back up. It was very cool riding onto the ship.
The front and rear open up to let all the cars, trucks, heavy equipment — you name it — on board. Motorcycles went to the front of the line! They didn’t provide much guidance once they pointed you in the general direction. I didn’t know what I was doing. I pulled beside another bike, thinking I was helping to save space. “NO!” said one guy. ”You gotta get centered between these tie-down points!” So the whole line of bikes had to back up because of my mistake! You had to figure out the tie-down process on your own too! We had a berth cabin with four bunk beds — really tight quarters, but it had a nice bathroom with shower. It was smooth sailing, but really nothing but fog to see outside. We worried that Newfoundland would be covered with dense fog too and that we would not be able to see much. We also tried to watch a movie in their little theater, but the audio was all messed up.
Someone went to find somebody to fix it, but when they tried, it only got worse! No loss, it was a really stupid movie anyhow.
Saturday July 5
Fresh off the boat, we pulled over to get all our gear on. Mark pointed down at my bike and said, “What’s that?” I had left one of the tie-down ropes dangling from my engine guard bar! I walked it back to one of the guards at the shipyard. It probably ended up in the trash! Out of Argentia/Placentia, we headed south along the coast on Route 100 to see the birds of St. Mary’s. Wind and fog greeted us. It was a strong and chilly wind that made us put an extra layer on, and water droplets collected on the face shield. Visibility was maybe 75 yards by the time we reached the reserve. I asked Mark if he thought it was worth taking the three-mile hike, since we probably couldn’t see much anyhow. We asked one person coming back out, and he said yes, you could definitely see something. So off we went stepping between the sheep droppings, leaving our riding jackets and pants on to keep warm and dry.
As I posted in my ADVrider report, “Simply one of the most spectacular things you can see on this planet!” You really have to see it to believe it — nearly a thousand foot drop to the ocean, and thousands of birds…at least three different species at three different levels along these cliffs. The gannets are big, with six-foot wingspans.
The fog just gave it a more surreal feeling, and added to the spectacle. We were warned by the girl at the museum that the alternate route back was littered with potholes — but hey, we have the bikes for potholes so I said why not? Well the fog just thickened and the wind picked up, and before long Mark stopped and said that it would probably be better along the coast, the way we came in. So we turned around and soon stopped at a place that advertised moose-burgers. I had to try one, with poutine of course! It was delicious. It warmed up some and the fog cleared a bit as we continued north toward the Trans-Can highway. 126 miles to get to St. John’s, our prime destination.
The first thing you notice on Newfoundland is that the trees are smaller than back in Nova Scotia and Maine. I assume it’s due to the harsh winters. But still, the forest is extremely dense. It’s hard to imagine how something as large as a moose can navigate through it. The next thing you notice is the lack of people. As you approached St.Johns the traffic increased of course. But outside of the few populated areas, it is a very pristine and desolate island. And there is a tight control on the signage that is allowed to be posted along roads. You see extremely few billboards — a very nice change. There is one main artery that crosses the island, for 561 miles. And yet there is little traffic on most of it. We found our way, finally, thru a maze of roads to Cape Spear and the most eastern point in North America! Mission accomplished!
Windy and foggy is a common theme there. Here was also a deserted WWII bunker complete with huge cannons. We found a nice motel for the night in St John’s. No A/C though, and the windows were tough to open! Had a few at the attached pub and Mark showed off his billiards skills.
Too late for food there, so we walked for several blocks to find some low-end grub.