Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Cabot Trail by Bike - Day 1 (July 22, 2005)
Ok, here it is, my retrospective account of my first big adventure in Nova Scotia
After getting a late start (how unusual for me!!), I finally got underway. I drove myself and gear out to Englishtown and left her parked at a campground for the duration of the trip. They didn't even charge me! Nice!
I got to bypass all the cars in line for the Englishtown Ferry, and I didn't even have to pay the $5 to cross the ferry. From then on, it was a bit of a slog. I stopped in several stores along to way but eventually (unfortunately) found myself at the base of Cape Smokey.
OMJ, was it steep! (OMJ = new Eastcoast saying: Oh My Jesus!). 221m assent in 2.1km. I biked... perhaps 200m up the slope and just couldn't do it anymore, so I ended up pushing my massively heavy bike almost the whole way up. And it was just the right time of day to have to glaring sun beating down onto my already overheated person. Sunstroke, hear we come!
But Newton was such a considerate man, and I certainly took advantage of his dictums, because although the "what goes up" sucked, the "must come down" was heavenly! A nice 6km coast down to Ingonish. I found a campground, got set up, cleaned up, then headed out for some food at a nearby restaurant. Oh, but my butt was not happy to get back on that bike though! I'd have to say the steak and prawns was worth it though, as was the sunset from my view in the restaurant. Not bad for a first day, but I (and by butt) was glad it was only a 1/2 day of biking because of the late start.
After getting a late start (how unusual for me!!), I finally got underway. I drove myself and gear out to Englishtown and left her parked at a campground for the duration of the trip. They didn't even charge me! Nice!I got to bypass all the cars in line for the Englishtown Ferry, and I didn't even have to pay the $5 to cross the ferry. From then on, it was a bit of a slog. I stopped in several stores along to way but eventually (unfortunately) found myself at the base of Cape Smokey.
OMJ, was it steep! (OMJ = new Eastcoast saying: Oh My Jesus!). 221m assent in 2.1km. I biked... perhaps 200m up the slope and just couldn't do it anymore, so I ended up pushing my massively heavy bike almost the whole way up. And it was just the right time of day to have to glaring sun beating down onto my already overheated person. Sunstroke, hear we come!
But Newton was such a considerate man, and I certainly took advantage of his dictums, because although the "what goes up" sucked, the "must come down" was heavenly! A nice 6km coast down to Ingonish. I found a campground, got set up, cleaned up, then headed out for some food at a nearby restaurant. Oh, but my butt was not happy to get back on that bike though! I'd have to say the steak and prawns was worth it though, as was the sunset from my view in the restaurant. Not bad for a first day, but I (and by butt) was glad it was only a 1/2 day of biking because of the late start.
Cabot Trail by Bike - Day 2 (July 23, 2005)
So today was... rainy. No other way to describe it. It started out muggy and overcast, which I 
appreciated after the inferno of the sun on my back while sloggin up Smokey the previous day! I stopped for a lovely coffee and cake (no idea at what time as I didn't bring a watch; who cares what time it is when all you have to do is get up when you wake up, eat when you're hungry and sleep when you're tired!). Anyways, as I was saying, after the coffee, I came out to a light drizzle. I pulled out my rain gear and headed out, having quite a good time getting wet (I love the rain).
The torrential downpour held off until after I got past Neils Harbour and Smelt Brook,
but I was only part way to Cape North when she let loose! Massive sheets of water coming down continuously. I took shelter for a bit in a store, but it didn't look like it was going to ease up, so I just slogged on. I finally got to Cape North and stopped for lunch / dinner. I went to the bathroom and literally rang out my clothes first! I even had the kitchen staff come gauk at me! After eatting my dinner, staring out at the continued down pour... and the motel across the street, well, I broke down and got a room for the night. In stead of spending the night wet in my tiny little coffin of a tent, I dried out all my stuff, had a several hour long bath, and finished Harry Potter, the Half-Blood Prince. Awesome!
appreciated after the inferno of the sun on my back while sloggin up Smokey the previous day! I stopped for a lovely coffee and cake (no idea at what time as I didn't bring a watch; who cares what time it is when all you have to do is get up when you wake up, eat when you're hungry and sleep when you're tired!). Anyways, as I was saying, after the coffee, I came out to a light drizzle. I pulled out my rain gear and headed out, having quite a good time getting wet (I love the rain). The torrential downpour held off until after I got past Neils Harbour and Smelt Brook,
but I was only part way to Cape North when she let loose! Massive sheets of water coming down continuously. I took shelter for a bit in a store, but it didn't look like it was going to ease up, so I just slogged on. I finally got to Cape North and stopped for lunch / dinner. I went to the bathroom and literally rang out my clothes first! I even had the kitchen staff come gauk at me! After eatting my dinner, staring out at the continued down pour... and the motel across the street, well, I broke down and got a room for the night. In stead of spending the night wet in my tiny little coffin of a tent, I dried out all my stuff, had a several hour long bath, and finished Harry Potter, the Half-Blood Prince. Awesome!
Cabot Trail by Bike - Day 3 (July 24, 2005)
Today was the day of the mountains! First North Mountain, 445m, then a nice cruise down in to 
Pleasant Bay for some food (crab and lobster, Keith's, and an ocean view for $19.95!), and back on the road to head up MacKenzie Mountain, 335m, along a little plateau and then only a mild up to the top of French Mountain,
455m, and then a LOVELY downhill coast and a spectacular view on the west coast of Cape Breton.I ended up camping that night in the Cheticamp campground and was treated to a free concert of Acadian music. The bad thing about that is it started shortly after I got the campsite, so I didn't really get a chance to eat dinner. But the time I got back to my tent for the night I felt about as lively as a fish left on land for a few days!
Cabot Trail by Bike - Day 4 (July 25, 2005)
Today was my 'hit the wall' day. My plan was to continue around the Island on the Ceilidh Trail towards Port Hawksbury, and if time permitted, back towards Sydney on the Fleur-de-Lis Trail, 
calling for a pick up when I ran out of time. But from the get go that day, my body was saying, nope, not going any further. Nope. Not going to do it. Nope. Sorry. Probably a result of the lack of food the previous night. So I gave up on my grand plans and only made as far as into Cheticamp before stopping for a nice big meal.
My outlook improved vastly after some food, so I headed out and did start along the Ceilidh trail, but decided to turn down towards Lake Ainslie. Then I missed the campsite I wanted to stay at (either I passed it, or it wasn't where it was supposed to be on the map), and there wasn't another one, and it started to rain, and it was getting dark, and I said Frig it! I'm camping HERE. So I just camped on a beach in the middle of no where. It was actually quite a nice site, which I didn't appreciate until the morning, as it was dark by the time I got my tent set up, and it had started raining. But I had a very pleasant morning watching the mist clear off the lake and singing songs
to the scenery, as there was no one else around! Turns out there was a campsite 300m down the road! Doh! Oh well, saved myself $20 and had fun singing songs too.
calling for a pick up when I ran out of time. But from the get go that day, my body was saying, nope, not going any further. Nope. Not going to do it. Nope. Sorry. Probably a result of the lack of food the previous night. So I gave up on my grand plans and only made as far as into Cheticamp before stopping for a nice big meal. 
My outlook improved vastly after some food, so I headed out and did start along the Ceilidh trail, but decided to turn down towards Lake Ainslie. Then I missed the campsite I wanted to stay at (either I passed it, or it wasn't where it was supposed to be on the map), and there wasn't another one, and it started to rain, and it was getting dark, and I said Frig it! I'm camping HERE. So I just camped on a beach in the middle of no where. It was actually quite a nice site, which I didn't appreciate until the morning, as it was dark by the time I got my tent set up, and it had started raining. But I had a very pleasant morning watching the mist clear off the lake and singing songs
to the scenery, as there was no one else around! Turns out there was a campsite 300m down the road! Doh! Oh well, saved myself $20 and had fun singing songs too.Cabot Trail by Bike - Day 5 (July 26, 2005)
Today was gorgeous. Not only was it a bright sunny day, but the biking was easy, AND I was on the home stretch. I had a lovely bike towards Baddeck, stopping for a snack and some sun tanning... in a cemetary of all places... but hey, there was no one around but long dead people, and it had a nice view! The High Wheeler in Baddeck supplied my very appreciated lunch / dinner, and then I was on my way again. Instead of staying on the highway to Englishtown, which would have been shorter, I turned back up the Cabot Trail and finished the 'first' section of it, to the Englishtown ferry. I got back to my car, which was just as I left it, and made it back home in time for a shower and a dash out the door to catch cheap night at the drive in. All in all a VERY successful outting!
Friday, August 19, 2005
Jen's New Car
As promised, some more pictures of my new toys.
It's a 2005 Nissan X-Trail, new this year, and I LOVE it. It's a 5 spd standard, but it's only a V4, so it's really good on gas; it costs me about $55 to fill up an empty tank (well, it did back in the day when gas was $0.99/L!!) and I get over 500kms out of that! Not bad, eh? I decided on the one model up from the base model. That gave me a huge sun roof, a 6 CD changer stereo and tape deck, and, best of all, heated seats! I'm going to love that come December. Now all I need to do to totally prepare for the winter is treat myself to command start!
The back seats fold down and make it just long enough for me to lie down comfortably in the back. And trust me, I've already used this feature several times for some naps when the lids have gotten too heavy for safe driving. I just bought a foamy and sleeping bag that are going to live in the car for just such occassions.
This is a picture taken a few days after I first got my new car / truck / vehicle / SUV / whatever you want to call it. I hadn't yet added the roof rack, but that was the first modification to be made. I can now carry my bike, kayak and surf board, and although I haven't yet tried to do all those at the same time, I think it'll definitely be possible.
Oh, and if anyone is wondering, this picture was taken just outside of Meat Cove, the northern most community on Cape Breton, just off the Cabot Trail. My next blog will be a bunch of awesome pictures from my bike trip around the Cabot Trail (that's pedal bike, not motor bike!).
JEN
Monday, August 15, 2005
Jen's New Bike
Hey Everyone!! I've joined the Blogging World!! Instead of group e-mails with pictures that tend to get bounced, I've decided to try this route. Hope that works for everyone, and if not... too bad!
So I'm behind the times and will have to spend some time posting notes and pictures about all of the fun stuff I've been doing up until this point, but my LATEST adventure has been.... my motorbike!! I have been contemplating learning how to ride a motorbike for several years, and when the opportunity came to take advantage of a sweet deal on a bike, I jumped at the chance (with a little encouragement from some other bike enthusiasts). It's a 2003 Yamaha Virago 250, just a little bike, but I figured it would be good to learn on. Here is a picture of me with my brand new (used) bike and all my fancy new motorcycle gear... cause you gotta have the gear, right?
Oh, and although I will get around to pictures of that too, behind me is my brand new (not used), red (of course), 2005 Nissan X-Trail. LOVING it! What a great car / truck / SUV. And thankfully, it's great on gas... not as good as the bike is though! $6 to fill up my tank, and I get at least 200 kms out of it! Not bad!
Take care and keep in touch if you have time!
JEN
