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Friday, June 4: St. Georges, NL to
North Sydney, NS (89 miles)
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We got up for 7:30 breakfast this morning so we
could make the 11:30 ferry in Port au Basques that would take us to
North Sydney, Nova Scotia. It Was raining when we got up, but stopped by
the time we loaded the bike. Then, on the way down to North Sydney,
about 100 miles, it started raining pretty good. There was a section
about 20 miles north of North Sydney where signs were posted warning
trucks and trailers of the high winds. Sure enough, this was one of
those days and we got blown around pretty good. I could tell one time
Elaine thought we were going down. Fortunately, we made it intact and on
time. |
It was a steady rain at the ferry terminal. We parked the bike and
headed for the terminal building to get out of the rain. We boarded in
about a half hour. They put the bikes on the boat first, and off first.
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We met another BMW rider from New Brunswick
waiting in line for the Ferry. Steve had just ridden the Trans-Labrador
Highway and, like the others I had talked to about it, did not recommend
the trip. He made it OK, but had to get off the bike several times to
move big rocks out of the way. They are still working on a 50 kilometer
portion of the road and it is very rough in places. Steve met a young
strapping man from New York riding a F650 who had dropped his bike
twice, breaking the shift lever. Steve also reported bad potholes in the
last 50 kilometers before Red Bay, and sand in other places. He didn't
encounter any mud. |
| Once on the ferry we found a comfortable place to hang out for the 5
hour trip and soon felt the engines rumbling and the bow thrusters
roaring. Then the captain came on to say it was too windy for the boat
to get away from the pier and we would wait another hour and try again.
Elaine and I had a nice lunch buffet on the boat. And now, just as I'm
writing this, we tried again and got off this time. This is a new ferry
and very nice - and fast. The server said we could make up most of the
lost time. |
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We saw Michael and Michele on the ferry. They are
like old friends - we first met on the Lower North Coast ferry and had
dinner with them several times, then saw them again on the ferry from
Blanc Sablon to St. Barbe, a now third time on the ferry to North
Sydney. They are a delightful and interesting couple, from Ottawa. We
had a great time telling stories of what we had each seen on our
travels, and of health care in Canada as compared with the U.S. Michael
is a physician and Michele a nurse. |
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Once we got underway, we made the crossing
without incident. After docking at North Sydney we went down and untied
our bike and rode to our motel at the top of the hill, overlooking the
ferry. Tomorrow we begin our 3-day ride back to Topsham, Maine. |
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Saturday,
June 5: North Sydney, NS to Truro, NS (195 miles)
Once we got off "The Rock" (Newfoundland) things
seemed less remote and, frankly, less interesting. We were (at least I
was) thinking the leisurely, adventuresome portion of the trip was
pretty much over and we were now headed home, so I didn't take any
photos. (Elaine says this is always the way it is with me the last day
or two of vacation...) Today was overcast and cool -- the rain
held off until early afternoon and then it came down pretty steadily. We
found a Comfort Inn in Truro and settled in for the evening. We decided
to carry in our dinner so we wouldn't have to go out in the crappy rain
again. KFC was definitely not up to the standard we were used to in the
local eating spots we usually found along the way.
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Sunday,
June 6: Truro, NS to St. George, NB (244 miles)
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Today it was rain, drizzle and fog all day. It
rained pretty hard as we rode through St. John, NB, but it didn't come
down in sheets like it sometimes does. We stayed pretty dry, but were
happy to find our motel for the evening in St. George, 30 miles from the
U.S. border. |
| Being a ham radio operator and short-wave
listener, I stopped to snap this photo of the antenna "farm" at
Radio
Canada International just outside Sackville, NB. In addition to RCI
broadcasts, the station relays broadcasts for many international
shortwave stations to expand their reach to North America and other
parts of the world. The station can broadcast up to ten or more programs
simultaneously. We visited the station on an earlier trip, but I didn't
get a photo of the impressive antenna arrays. |
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Monday,
June 7: St. George, NB to Topsham, ME (281 miles)
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This was our longest ride of the trip, 281 miles
and it took us most of the day. We took a "detour" south off the Airline
highway (Maine #9) to do a bit of riding along the coast of Maine. On
our way we passed through the "blueberry capital of the world", and past
Wyman's of Maine blueberry fields and packing plant near Ellsworth on
route 193. It was a long day, but we made it
back to the Wilson's by around 4:00 pm, tired and ready for a G&T
graciously offered by Paul and Linda. That evening we celebrated the end
of our adventure with Paul and Linda at one of their favorite seafood
spots along the Kennebec River in Bath. A great end to a wonderful trip.
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Go next to my
Reflections page for some ramblings about our trip.
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