Cabot Trail Nova Scotia

[Tuxracer]

Well as I have said in other posts, my wife and I were born and raised in Nova Scotia Canada and have never seen the Cabot Trail. It is described as a top motorcycle touring destination. We never wanted to take a car, too boring, so now that we are back into motorcycling we said now is the time.  We booked a cabin for two nights to avoid lugging a tent, sleeping bags etc. We planned to leave Wednesday, then tour the trail on Thursday, and return home Friday. We are in New Glasgow which is only 200 kms away from the start of the trail, so we would not be exhausted before doing the actual trail on Thursday 

As I do everything last minute, I changed the oil on the FJ on Tuesday and promptly stripped the oil filter drain bolt.  I went out and bought some high temp thread sealer and a tube of high heat silicone. Fingers crossed, I went to bed Tuesday night hoping it worked. It didn't. We might have to take the car after all I went up to the hardware store Wednesday morning and bought some JB Weld Kwik. It claims to bond in four minutes and fully cure in four hours. I sure hope so! We had hoped to leave around lunchtime, and by now it was 10am. I pulled the filter cover and thoroughly cleaned off the silicone, let it all dry and then applied a liberal dose of JB weld to the threads and threaded the bolt back in as snug as it would go, and then put a good covering over the bolt head and onto the cover to hopefully keep any oil from seeping. I told my wife we would let it cure until 3pm and if it still leaked we would still go, but would have to be on four wheels, which neither of us really wanted. I installed the filter and cover and fired up the FJ. A few minutes passed, no oil  we strapped everything onto the bike and we agreed to ride to Antigonish  which is about 30 mins away. If the oil was leaking, we'd go back home and get the car.

The tank bag is full of tools, zip ties, extra oil, brake fluid, everything I could imagine needing on the road. I figure you can never take too much!

By the time we leave the house, it is 3:40 pm but better late than never

We pulled into the Tim Hortons coffee shop in Antigonish and honestly I had a bad feeling as I went to look under the filter cover. wooohooo NO OIL!!! That was a huge relief and we are not usually lucky that way.



With renewed optimism we headed out and agreed to stop once more at the next Tim's just before crossing the causeway into Cape Breton (I should admit I am addicted to their coffee lol)



Once again I checked, and not a drop of oil thankfully! Now I could enjoy my coffee 



Heading to the causeway, we stop for the obligatory "Welcome to Cape Breton" pic



We are now about an hour away from Baddeck. I should note that Maritimer's are known for measuring distance in time, not kms so it's 100 km for everyone else  We ride the rest of the way to Baddeck, and arrived at the campground shortly after 7pm http://adventureseast.ca/campground.html

We registered and found our cabin which was amazing!










We go to bed after staying up way too late, excited for the next day. We got up and went outside to the most beautiful day!



We had our breakfast and sat on the deck enjoying a few cups of coffee and just relaxed ahhhhhh so nice but we better get moving because we have a long day ahead! They say it takes 4 hours to drive the 300km around the trail, but to allow 6-8 hours to cover the stops along the way. We saddled up and rode a short distance up highway 105 to Saint Anns, the official start of the Cabot Trail



The roads were absolutely awful when we started, and lots of construction working on making them better. Our summers are pretty short here, so we are used to work being done on the roads in summertime. We grumble a little but we take it in stride because it will improve the roads after all. After some slow riding through the construction zones we finally hit smooth pavement and put it all behind us. We stopped in Wreck Cove for a snack (nope I actually did not have coffee this time). The little store was full of little trinkets, so we picked up a few. It kinda reminded us of an old west saloon.

[Tuxracer]

We got back on the bike and when my wife plugged into the intercom, I heard an ear splitting screech and then nothing, no music from the ipod, and the mics were dead.  We kept riding and would try to figure it out at the next stop.

Shortly before the town of Ingonish, we begin the climb up Cape Smokey which is filled with twists and turns as it climbs 309 meters. We stop for pics and manage to figure out how to get the intercom working again.

We're going to the top! I really wished I had a helmet camera to capture just how twisty the road is








We pass through Ingonish in search of lunch, by now it is already 2pm so we finally spot this place and figure the other bikes parked there suggests it has good food




They also are the only place to sell the "official" Cabot Trail biker t-shirt so we each got one of those at $25 a piece, not bad really for a touristy tee.



The food was delicious with VERY generous portions, we couldn't finish it all. We spent about an hour there and then headed out to get some riding in. I will just post some scenery pics, that's what ya came for anyway, right?

[Tuxracer]

Lots of bikes were on the road.......














By now we have passed through the Cape Breton Highlands National Park and are headed southwest towards the town of Cheticamp. We did not see one moose, or any wildlife except one bunny and a few road kill racoons.

We arrive in the little fishing village of Cheticamp and woohooo there is a Tim Hortons and I am LONG overdue for coffee!






We spend some time here looking for souvenirs and then ride an hour or so back to Baddeck and the finish of the Cabot Trail. For a 300km ride, it is a LONG ride. We got back to our cabin at about 8:30pm. We stopped for something to BBQ, grabbed some firewood and relaxed the rest of the evening.



The next morning we had to be out by 11am so it was time to pack up and head home. We rode into Baddeck and enjoyed some time at the cafe and browsed some shops




We had planned to take a more scenic route home but by this time it was late enough and we decided to just slab it all the way. Just past Antigonish we came upon a horrible three vehicle accident, car parts everywhere, a seadoo and a smashed trailer, a pickup over the guard rail into the trees.....thankfully there were NO injuries! Amazing.

Well that's it, hope you enjoyed the pics! If any of you ever do venture this far east, please look us up.

Rob & Dawn

PS: I am getting a spin on oil filter adapter from RPM Randy

[carsick]

Thank you very much for posting such a great pictorial! Always wanted to go, you've given me a bit more motivation. It's nice to have a "local" tour guide!
Doug

[jvb_ca]

Great report Rob. Looks like awesome scenery. I know a few people who have ridden the trail, but were fogged in and couldn't see squat. Now I have seen some pics from the trail. Thanks.
Might have to venture over that way some time. Friends have a cottage over Antagonish way.

Cheers...Jake

[paulfj03]

Looks Awsome Rob, thank you for the pictures....you can tell it was fun.  Cathy and I made it to just beyond Igonish beach in a car as we were tight for time...we will be taking the bike down there and seeing the whole trail sometime soon.  Would you go back to the resort you stayed at? thankyou for the link....that ride, with the people, and the way of life in the maritimes puts that destination at the top of our list!

Paul

[racerman_27410]

Great ride report Rob!


Eric and I heard out west that they only have two seasons...

Winter.... and Road construction   


One of these days i will get up there to Nova Scotia and see those sights in person....I just have to make the time to do it!

Kookaloo!


Frank

[Tuxracer]

Thank you very much for posting such a great pictorial! Always wanted to go, you've given me a bit more motivation. It's nice to have a "local" tour guide!
Doug

Thanks Doug, I'll keep sending pics until you visit us up here, and then someday we will venture into your neck of the woods

[Tuxracer]

Great report Rob. Looks like awesome scenery. I know a few people who have ridden the trail, but were fogged in and couldn't see squat. Now I have seen some pics from the trail. Thanks.
Might have to venture over that way some time. Friends have a cottage over Antagonish way.

Cheers...Jake

Hey Jake, thanks! It was about as perfect a day as we get here. Man, that would suck to come all the way and be foggy I tend to find August is better that way. We have a cottage on the Atlantic coast and fog can be quite thick at times in July, but we have clearer days in August for some reason.

[Tuxracer]

Looks Awsome Rob, thank you for the pictures....you can tell it was fun.  Cathy and I made it to just beyond Igonish beach in a car as we were tight for time...we will be taking the bike down there and seeing the whole trail sometime soon.  Would you go back to the resort you stayed at? thankyou for the link....that ride, with the people, and the way of life in the maritimes puts that destination at the top of our list!

Paul

Hey Paul, yes it was fun and thanks for the compliments. The only thing that would make it better would be to have another couple to ride with, so get your butts down here. Yes we will definitely stay there again. It was an ideal location, close to either end of the trail. Some like to go clockwise, we chose to go counterclockwise. The campground was quite large and very quiet, friendly staff, a nice pool, free wi-fi in the building by the pool, laundry, and the cabin had everything. I can't say enough good about it. We took a few extra things just in case, but we didn't need them. Close to Baddeck, gas stations, stores, restaurants, the list goes on.

[Tuxracer]

Great ride report Rob!


Eric and I heard out west that they only have two seasons...

Winter.... and Road construction   


One of these days i will get up there to Nova Scotia and see those sights in person....I just have to make the time to do it!

Kookaloo!


Frank

LOL Frank! Don't forget the mud season. Our winters are not bad really, much milder than they used to be and not nearly as much snow, but it still makes the bikes go away for a few months. That would certainly be a long trip, but hope to see you up here sometime!

[simi_ed]

I heard out west that they only have two seasons...

Winter.... and Road construction   



Frank

Frank, you forgot Fire season & Flood season.  Road construction is any day, after sunset. 

Come on, you really need to see the west-left coast!

Ed

[racerman_27410]

Frank, you forgot Fire season & Flood season.  Road construction is any day, after sunset. 

Come on, you really need to see the west-left coast!

Ed

i have been all over California thanks to MR Rittner who loaned me his FJ for a couple of weeks back a few years ago when i was out visiting my little sister in Santa Barbara,  Rode the Angeles crest hwy, and the 1 all the way up the coast (fog sucks), 150 thru Ojai (great riding there) lots of other places that Tom SLocum (RIP) took me riding but i didnt know the road names or numbers.


Other than all the traffic around the cities i loved it out there....there is something to be said about being able to sit beside the ocean sipping a nice red wine while looking at snow covered mtns   


KOokaloo!

Frank

[Mark Olson]

Rob, great trip and pics , thanks for the ride report.

I always forget the damn camera

[markmartin]

Rob,

Your write up last summer about the Cabot Trail had been on the back of my mind so when my wife said she had a business meeting to attend in Halifax, I jumped on the chance to make a trip of it.  We trailered the bike and drove 10 hours to Cape Breton on Saturday, and made a 300 mile loop from Port Hawkesbury, up around the park and back to Port Hawkesbury on the bike on Sunday.  It was a great ride.  We had perfect weather, the roads are in great shape, and there was hardly any traffic.  

I handed the camera to my wife so she could take a few shots while we rode.  She found the video button on the camera and took some footage of us as we made our way on a long downhill section before Cheticamp.  I've posted below.  No edit - sorry.   The video's shaky and I apologize about the wind noise,  (We're not professional photographers :-) ) but it should give people an idea of the beautiful scenery and roads in Nova Scotia.

Cabot Trail - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. June 12, 2011

Mark