Day 6: On the Trail

Now it's abundantly clear. All that crappy weather was Mother Nature clearing the way for sunshine and blue skies for this important day. Day 6 contained what would be arguably the most significant destination of our entire trip: the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton. The Trail snakes through the mountainous coast on the northwest side of Cape Breton. It was everything we expected and more. The roads were great from a motorcycling perspective. The pavement in general was decent. Some sections were freshly paved and thusly fantastic. The views were absolutely breathtaking. There were plenty of scenic lookout points to stop at for photo opportunities. As traffic was pretty sparse, we were able to enjoy this section of the trip to its full extent.

By early evening, we arrived at the Glenora Distillery, home to Canada's first and only single malt whisky. We didn't arrive in time for the last tour of the day, but since we were staying there for the night, we made sure we would be on the first tour the very next morning.

Route for the day:

Lunch:

On the trail:

View from the trail:

Break at a lookout:

Day 3: Portland to Yarmouth, Yarmouth to Lunenburg

How exciting!  A fast-paced ferry ride from Portland to Yarmouth.  The CAT Ferry was a 5 hour experience that we won't soon forget.  How so, you ask?  Well!  Let me tell you!  All the bikes had dedicated parking spots on the vehicle decks.  Pretty nifty!  Each bike spot came with a tie down that went over the bike's seat and anchored to the deck like a giant seatbelt.  I somehow managed to get my bike tied down before Matt did. ;)  Once the bikes were secured, we made our way to the passenger deck and had some breakfast.  Every thing was fine.  We were having a great time, we met a nice fellow from London, ON who was on his way to meet some friends in Halifax.  And then things went to hell.  The ferry heaved.  A lot.  Continuously.  Up and down.  Furiously.  Yes, the ferry was well equipped with stacks of sick bags everywhere.  And yes, they were put to good use by a good portion of the passengers, including us.  We made it to Yarmouth.  Breakfast wasn't so lucky.

In Yarmouth, we met some nice locals from the riding community.  They accompanied us for the initial portion of our ride to Lunenburg.  In Shag Harbour, we stopped for a bowl of the most AMAZING SEAFOOD CHOWDER.  EVAR.  It was THAT good.  The ride along the Lighthouse Route were quite scenic and twisty in a good way.  Lunenburg at night?  Pretty quiet.  I'm sure it will be more lively in the morning.  Just like us!

And now, pics:

Today's route

CAT ferry

Matt's tied down bike

Chowder "shack"

Bluenose II at night

Prep work

What a flurry of activity!  In all the years that we've been riding, this is the year that we've spent the most money on our bikes in a very short period of time.  Besides getting new bikes, there were numerous trips to Eurocorsa and GP Bikes.  There were non-stop package deliveries of things that Matt ordered on-line.  We now have a small mountain of bike luggage and various pieces of trip related items assembled in our living room area. 

Prior to this trip, we've only done one multi-day trip on our bikes.  Hence, I am quite excited about the adventure that we are about to embark on.  Matt did the majority of the route planning and  I tried to take care of most of the accommodation booking.

Update on Monday, July 20, 2009 at 8:01PM by Matt

Pile of luggage!