Cabot Trail Day 37&38

Hello from Sea Parrot Oceanview Manor on the Cabot trail near Baddeck. The Cabot Trail is not realy necessary to the cross Canada run but when we are right here we coudn't resist. Named after John Cabot who was here in 1497. this loop around Cape Breton is world renowned for the scenery and recently a meca for cyclists. The entire route is awesome for the rugged terain, the ocean, the wildlife and the friendly people.
At this point we are a day ahead of schedule, a schedule controlled by the ferry ride to Newfie. This allows days of 120-140 km, that means stopping earlier in the day and a chance to explore. Yesterday we were able to go whale watching for 3 hours. A pod of pilot whales entertained us for 2 hours. Probaby 11 whales and 2 young, that are being raised by the pod. "It takes a village to raise a child"The full grown whale is about 7 meters and 2000kg. They swim and travel as a group and we saw them logging. Logging refers to resting on the surface for a minute or so and seems to be when they sleep. Talk about your power nap.
The captain of the 22 year old fishing boat has been a commercial fisherman for 32 years and taking folk whale watching for 7 years. He is amazing skillfull with the 12 meter boat which has a Perkins diesel engine thatmakes about 12 knots. New the boat is about 150,000, and will last about 50 years. This happened from Pleasant Bay, a community of 150 people. Captain and mate are live long residents. No internet, no cell phones, no movies. A date is a trip to the beach, bonfire and what ever comes next. Good meals at the Mid Way Motel restaurant and a quiet place to sleep.
Today we are just north of Baddeck at a wonderful resort on St Ann's bay. Our great luck holds and we found this place on the recommendation of our waiter at breakfast 60 km ago. We found a vacany but the place is fully booked for next 8 weeks. Awesome grounds and spacious,clean and well appointed rooms. Another place that would be worth a second visit. One km up the road is the Clucking Hen, bake shop and restaurant. Best food anywhere. Named as one of Canada best and written up in Globe and Mail this spring. Roast beef sandwhich, soup, lemon pie and butter tarts made a great snack.
Several shops with local artisans showing their work, beautiful blown glass, stained glass, wood work etc. How do these shops survive? The owner is there and will chat you up for hours and few sales. Good fun for us though.
When it is all said a bike trip is about the biking. The Cabot Trail is famous for the scenery, and all though things you can do from a car. For Bikers the hills are the game. There are at least 4 major climbs and lots of steep ,short climbs that keeps the pulse up. We are travelling clockwise and the first major climb was French mountain, 450 meters of climbing and for me at least was a surprise. This was late in the ride, a good thing as we were well primed. However it was hot, 29 degrees, and a challenge because with every turn the road kept climbing. The descent with traffic all around us was exciting. Even with full braking our speed was well beyond safe. Full braking is a risk as the rims heat to the point that tires fail. Then over you go, no way you can ride the rim. The days run was about 127 km with average speed of 27kph. Maximum was 82 kph.
Today we started as early as possible with several climbs and a hot day we wanted to enjoy the empty roads as long as possible. North Mountain is about 4 km from Pleasant Bay. Not quite far enough to wake up the muscles. This is described as the grand daddy of the hills and it is a steep climb over about 6 km and up to 13 degree slope. As expected a good workout but not overwhelming. The descent is another matter altogether. Tiring going up, ok stop. In trouble going down a 13-14 % grade at 80+ kph and a trauma team will be you best friends. Tom with his usual confidence blew through this with ease, I on the other hand hAD A WONDERFUL RIDE, thrilling through the switchbacks and dazzling at the bottom. This isn't Disney World, the great riders are injured in the Tour de France, but relax you must and go with our old friend gravity. Did I go right back up and do it again? No!Seriously though for you cyclists, it is a challenge but not severe under the conditions we enjoyed, early in the day and no traffic. Pavement is good and safe to let'er run.
The south mountain is dismissed as not as hard. If North wasn't there South would be considered a worthy test. Long climb but more gradual and descent is more fun as you can really LET IT GO. At Neil's Harbour we had a break and I visited with the paramedics and Er staff. Then along down the south run of the Cabot Trail we went innocent and uniformed. Then one of the usual climbs kept on going for km after km, what was this?No one told us about Smokey mountain. Well ok, so what a long but easy climb , lasting too long in the heat but no problem we are at the top, have a drink and a 10 km run down again. Upps, what is happening? Why can't I see the road ahead? Like a ski run when the descent is steep enough you have to cross the lip to see the run. Smokey had a thrill for us!Down 300 meters in about 1 km, brakes protesting and very tight switch backs and road signs saying speed limit of 20 kpha dn we are flying. A complete surprise that was over very quickly and no harm done, just a comment from Tom, "all that climbing and I had to use my brakes all the way down"
Cycling the cabot Trail is great, probably a must for all road cyclists, a challenge, fun and delightfull for all the other reasons mentioned. The theme for this road is "just giv'er" As a bonus to our trip it was worthwhile and the previous 6500 km had us well prepared.
Tomorrow into North Sydney for the ferry and then Newfie's our home.
Today early morning I saw a deer, a fox and almost ran over a chipmunk who coudn't decide whether to cross the road or not, and turned once too often. One tail injury One major surprise is how few cyclists we are seeing. We expected to see hundreds and are seeing only 2 or 3 a day. A little disappointing as the company would be fun. Evidently we are early and August and September are the busy months. That means the risk o
f snow on the high ground and indeed there are shelters available for use. This way seems preferable to me and allowed us to find accomodation without difficulty.
At this point we are all missing out real worlds and look forward to resuming our routines. Birthdays to catch up and lots of people to thank and stories to tell. Whatever you hear divide by half and subtract a little and you will have the facts. Do you know who sang Happy Trails To You? So partner until we meet again keep on smiling. RRM