Quebec, St Laurent , Gaspesie, and Cabot Trail

Camped in Gaspe, QC last night. Had a great ride today from Gaspe eastward, finishing the Gaspesie Peninsula. We made it to Bathurst, New Brunswick for today's campsite. The photo is the view from inside our tent in Gaspe last night. Hope to make it back to Baddeck, NS by Friday.

We had a great ride with Vicki and Dennis is the area east of Quebec City. We are now looking forward to exploring more of the Cape Breton area.

Carmen and I started out on a clockwise tour of the Cabot Trail yesterday, only to be hounded by pelting rain and cold temps. We changed our plans early on and headed for the nearest Tim Hortons for some hot soup. Lots more days ahead for that. We prefer good visibility as the Scenery on the west shore and the Highlands is fabulous.


A rainy day on the Cabot Trail.


Tim Hortons is a popular moto stopover. They have great food and can be found all over Canada.


Carmen is Hungry for a Panini Sandwiche and Soup.


Ready to head back to the campsite


Finishing the day with good friends.

The Mabou Rivers Trail.

I decided to take the GS out for a spin and find some dirt trails. The Mabou Rivers Trail runs along the coast of Cape Breton from Port Hood to Mabou. The pictures dont do the scenery justice. But first we need to find a way to Port Hood.


28 km from Whycocomagh to Port Hood on a gravel road


a few stream crossings along the way








The road from Port Hood to Mabou has beautiful Cape Breton coastline views






back on pavement headed for downtown Mabou




Typical ending to a good day on the Cape. Temps have been around 68f as a high and 50 as a low.

I am aware of the converted RR bed but last time in Newfy, We had the LT. I'm not sure if we are going to do Newfoundland this year or not. This weekend we are headed to Sussex, NB for a baloon fest. After that, we have a few more dirt trails to run along the coast. We will stay here as long as the wx cooperates. Sometimes Oct 1 it starts getting a bit too chilly for the Florida blood.

Standing on the shoreline at Cape North, I wondered what John cabot saw as he approached with his seagoing ship. Today, the landscape is undeveloped and probably looked very similar 600 years ago.

The Cape Breton section of Nova Scotia has some absolutely breath taking scenery. My little Olympus camera does not do it justice.

We could not have picked a better day to do our counter-clockwise tour of the trail. The temperature in the morning was 59F with a high that day of 71F. The skies were clear and the visibility was unrestricted.

If you have not been to Cape Breton, give yourself a treat and visit this riders haven. Carmen and I spend "almost" every summer here. It has become our second home. Enjoy the pix.


We always cross at the Englishtown Ferry.


Wreck Cove has a fine general store and gasoline before you head off for the highlands


Looking back on the road less traveled. Heading north into the Highlands.










We take the coastal route through Neils harbor. It exits at White Point back on the main trail.













The farthest north you can go on Cape Breton on paved road. Meat Cove in a few days by GS.






Lunch at the Rusty Anchor. What a view, Ehh ?








Just a few more miles to go....

and now for the Lobster and corn on the cob.

Harold, next time go somewhere scenic.... geez ;-)

MINERS MUSEUM, GLACE BAY, NS

While the history of mining in Cape Breton is not a pleasant one, Wishie Donovan sure made it sound interesting. Carmen and I got a taste of what is was like to work in a submarine mine. These mines start at the coast and extend out under the ocean. The mine had to be 450 feet deep at the shore and then continue down or it would collapse. Some of them went miles out to sea. Wishie said he eventually hoped to pop up in Newfoundland..LOL.


Coal Miners Museum with Atlantic Ocean in the background

500+ feet below the surface and not much headroom


Seal Island Bridge over Bras D'or Lakes/Inlet

St Ann's Bay look-off on the TC 105

St Ann's Harbor ahead on the Cabot Trail PAGE 2 bmwriderstampabay.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ridereports&action=display&thread=76&page=2

BMW of Nova Scotia (BMWONS)

Winter is in the air and this was the last club ride of the year with BMWONS. We had 14 people stay at Sandras B&B in Creignish www.lonelyplanet.com/canada/nova-scotia/ceilidh-trail for the weekend. BMWONS has been staying at Sandras for 17 years.

Saturday, most of us did a circuit around the Cabot Trail with stops in a few museums and a few scenic loops. Another group did the Bras D'or Scenic loop with a stop in the Railway Museum in Orangedale. www.novascotiarailwayheritage.com/orangedale.htm

At the end of the day, we all met back at Sandras B&B. After another nice evening and a great Sunday morning breakfast, we all headed our own way.

Winter is not far off. Days are 60F as a high and nights 48-52. Almost perfect weather now, but that is a precursor to what is just around the bend. The latest we have ever stayed here is Oct 15th. After that the winter winds kick in almost overnight.






The second bike from the right is a GS from Ft. Lauderdale. We met Ivan and Bee on the Englishtown Ferry and invited them to join us. They rode the Cabot and then headed for Quebec that evening. What a small world, Eh ?

Carmen and I have a few more trip reports to post to this ride before we reach the end. I hope you enjoy this one as much as we did. The road trip started at our base camp in Baddeck and headed for the maritimes via the Canso Causeway. We left Cape Breton and headed for an overnight stay in Sherbrooke. We also made a side trip to Canso to see the old Commercial Cable Building. www.guysboroughcountyheritage.ca/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=16&MMN_position=17:17


A quick stop at Charlenes for breakfast














an old ghost...Commercial Cable Company

She was once the pride of Canso.



Country Harbour Ferry.

El Capitan explains how the cable ferry works