Introduction

With all the trips I had made to New England I felt it was time to finally see some of Canada's east coast. A small break in my work shedule let me get away for a week, with only a few days to plan for the trip. With cooler weather quickly approaching, I knew this would be my last opportunity for a good (i.e., long) ride this year. I made a quick arrangement with a former Zen Rider, Boomer, who had moved with his family to Quebec City last year, to get together the first night. After that, the plan was fuzzy, but I wanted to include Gaspe, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Maine, and perhaps New Hampshire and Vermont.

September 18 - Home to Quebec City

Trying to escape was the first challenge. Last-minute packing, client calls and trying to put together at least some preliminary route plans meant I couldn't get on the road until 1pm. Highway 401/20 to Montreal was, as usual, the most boring stretch. The weather was great and I was able to make good time, at least until I hit the tail end of Montreal's rush hour. Boomer had warned me to avoid the city between 16h30 and 18h30, and naturally I got there right in that time. Go figure. Once I managed to get past the city on Autoroute 40, I gave Boomer a call and spoke with France. We estimated arrival about 2 hours later. By the time I hit Trois Riviere I had to pull over and add some layers. The sun was going down, the wind picked up and the clouds were threatening (at least when there was enough daylight to see them). It was getting chilly, but the heated vest helped. I got to Boomer's around 8pm and he quickly offered my some hot coffee and dinner. Definitely welcome and greatly appreciated. Gabrielle was quietly reading while Brian and I got caught up. France came home shortly afterward. Once Gabrielle went to bed (school night, of course), France, Brian and I chatted and played Black Jack (France won since Brian and I both had to cash some virtual travellers cheques to keep going). They graciously put me up for the night, and it didn't take long for me to get to sleep.

September 19 - Quebec City to Rimouski

Tuesday began with breakfast with Brian, France and Gabrielle followed by some pictures, natually. Great view of the St. Lawrence from their home. With France off to work and Gabrielle at school, Brian and I hopped on our bikes to head into Quebec City for a tour. Just as we left, the rain started and got heavier once we parked and started walking around QC. We ducked into Chateau Frontenac to get out of the rain for a while, then pushed on to the Citadel. We nixed the idea of a tour since it took 1.5 hours, most of which was outside. Instead we went to a small cafe for lunch, and to try drying out.

Next stop was a Kawasaki dealer to get a bolt for my footpeg. I lost it somewhere along the road between Whitby and Quebec City. The parts guy wasn't able to find a bolt in the back, so he took one from the Concours he had on the showroom floor! Talk about service! Brian got me over the bridge to Levis and we parted ways. I got some shots of the Quebec City skyline and then continued on Route 132 east, towards the Gaspe Penninsula. The rain kept up, not too hard thankfully.

While riding along through a small town I rode past a small motorcycle museum, one I had seen in RoadRunner magazine. I turned around and went in, partly to get out of the rain and partly to see the exhibits. They had a good selection of bikes, from early 20th century models up to fairly recent ones, most in reasonaly good shape. They even had a 72 Honda CB750, a bike I wanted when I was a kid. After making the requisite purchase at the gift shop, I hopped back on the bike (in the rain) and continued on.

Shortly afterwards I ran into my first construction zone. It appears Quebec planners get a kick out of watching motorcyclists navigate mud. They had ripped up the asphalt down to the bare earth, which naturally was a bog with all the rain. At times I wished I had brought my KLR. The Connie made it through, but it was definitely an adventure.

The Gaspe Penninsula ride along Route 132 was amazing. The St. Lawrence on one side, mountains on the other and a thin ribbon of black asphalt between the two. There were signs warning that spray from the St. Lawrence could come onto the road, though the tide was still out when I went through that part.

All along the highway were small fishing villages, usually set next to a cove. Small auberge (motels), B&Bs and cafes could be easily found.

When I managed to get into an area that didn't have rain I'd risk taking the camera out to get some pictures.

I got to Rimouski around 8pm so I decided to stop for the night.

September 20 - Rimouski to Shediac, NB

I got back on the road around 7:30, still in the rain. It was chilly enough I could see my breath, but with enough layers, a heated vest and grips, I was toasty warm. I wasn't on the road very long when I came across yet another construction zone. This one wasn't quite so muddy, but they had a fairly pronounced drop from the pavement. A bit of fishtailing, but not too much. The biggest problem was finding the right rut to ride in. The transport truck in front of me was kind enough to leave 4 of them. Getting to the other side meant gunning it to get back up to the pavement. Back on a real road again I was now heading into the eastern part of Gaspe Penninsula. The small fishing villages and coastline were awesome, especially when set against the St. Lawrence on the left and mountains on the right. Following Route 132 along the eastern end of the Penninsula meant taking lots of turns, including heading west again. Some nice views, including a lighthouse. About mid-afternoon I was approaching the bridge into New Brunswick. Naturally, Quebec had to throw one last construction zone at me. This time, a couple of hundred metres weern't enough. Now it was almost a mile long. More mud, more rain. Ugh. At one point I stopped and one of the workers said I could get onto the new section they were building. Loose gravel, but it was far better than the mud I was slogging through. I even got some half decent speed as I was passing a rather large piece of equipment. Apparently the worker I spoke with hadn't told anyone about me, as the operator of the equipment was a little surprised having a motorcycle fly by him. Just before entering NB I took a shot of the bike. The rain had gotten most of the crud from the front, but mud caked the engine. I figured I'd ride about an hour or two towards PEI then stop for a motel. The road signs weren't very helpful. They'd advertise lodging, but when you get off the highway no signs indicated the direction to take. When they did, I rode for miles without finding anything. When I filled up around dusk, the gas station attendant asked where I was heading. When I said Miramichi and PEI, she said to be very careful since there were lots of moose in the area. Great, says I to myself. That's all I need. Still trying to find somewhere to stay, I resorted to asking the GPS to find me a motel along the route. It suggested one in Miramichi, but when I got there it wasn't in the nicest of neighbourhoods, and the aroma of pot was strong, so I took a pass. It was getting quite dark at this point, so I popped off the covers to the extra lights. It definitely helped light up the road, but there were too may cars coming the other way to make good use of them. To make matters worse, the glare from the opposing headlights made it even more difficult to see anything along the side of the road. Finally I found a motel in Shediac, about 45 minutes from PEI. After stowing my luggage in the room I went to a coin-op car wash to try and get some of the mud off the bike, but it didn't really help. Went back to the motel for the night.

September 21 - Shediac, NB to Peggy's Cove, NS

The temperature was about 9°C when I got on the road at 7:30. When I reached PEI the Confederation Bridge was an awesome site.

I took some shots and then crossed over the 13 km bridge to PEI, and took some more shots. The bridge is fairly high off the water, and it's only 2 lanes, one each way, with 4-foot barriers on each side. I decided to head towards Summerside, and hit another construction site, this time with PEI's distinctive red mud. Sigh. Thankfully it was only a couple of hundred meters long.

When in Summerside I got onto Route 11 to follow the scenic coastal route. The roads were a little rough in places, but the ride was nice with some great views of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

My first stop was West Point and the lighthouse. At this point the wind was starting to pick up, but it wasn't too bad. Darker clouds were starting to approach, but so far, no rain.

More coastal riding towards North Cape. The views into the Gulf with small homes, fishing villages and boats were amazing, with hardly any traffic to mar the view, or the ride.

As I was approaching I could see the wind farm, one of the reasons I wanted to visit North Cape. Then suddenly the dreaded "pavement ends" sign. This time, though, there was no indication of construction. The pavement just stopped. Pressing on, I found the best path was on the wrong side of the road. Things were fine until a dump truck came around the corner and I had to hightail it to the other side. When I rounded that corner I saw the pavement continued again about a half mile ahead. For some reason, a chunk of an otherwise paved road was missing a piece. I pulled into North Cape and took some shots of the lighthouse, wind farm and the Gulf.

I continued along the northeast end of the island, but here the coastal route didn't really follow the coast. After riding between trees for a half hour I decided to make a beeline for Cavendish to see the Anne of Green Gables house. When I got there I found a tourist trap, a la Niagara Falls, though not quite so cheesy (although it did have a Ripley's Museum). I got a shot of Avonlea, a recreated village from the story, just before the heavens opened and I got dumped with rather large raindrops.

I pushed on to Charlottetown to see Founders Hall, but got stuck in construction (again) when I hit the city. I got to the Hall 5 minutes before closing, so that visit was off. I decided against touring the other side of the island and set the GPS to get me to Peggy's Cove, NS. Along the way I saw a scooter on the side of the road and an older guy walking near it. I stopped to see if all was okay and wound up having a 15-minute conversation with a retired motorcyclist who used to live in Manchester, just north of Whitby! He was born and raised in PEI, but ran away from home when he was 16, on a motorcycle, and decided to retire back to PEI. Now he spends his time finding bottles and cans along the side of the road, giving him enough money to put gas in his scooter.

An hour later I was ready to cross the Confederation Bridge. At the toll both I was asked to pay $40! When I reminded him I was on a motorcycle (I guess it wasn't obvious) he apologized and only charged me the $16 and change. The ride in this direction was much more interesting since the wind was now quite strong. It buffeted me the whole way back to the mainland. The 10-minute crossing was white-knuckled the whole way. Safely back in NB I cranked up the speed (to a wee bit past the posted 110 km/h). A couple of hours later I was passing through Halifax. There were some really quick turns to get to Peggy's Cove and the GPS wasn't fast enough. I wound up taking the wrong turn a couple of times, but the GPS got me back on track. By this time it was dark. Traveling Prospect Rd. and Peggy's Cove Rd. is interesting in the daytime (as I found out the next morning), but at night, whoa! Quick turns. Gravel in the corners. Wind. Tree canopy in some areas. I got to Peggy's Cove and found a quaint little fishing village of 40 people with a church and small restaurant, and that's about it. I had passed a motel on the way and remembered seeing signs for others a little further on, so I continued on. A few minutes later I found one and checked in for the night. The clerk suggested a small restaurant a minute away. I had a great meal, fresh seafood chowder and fish. When I got back to the motel I took a quick look out the back window and saw I was about 20 feet from the Atlantic. I left the window open a bit and fell asleep with the sounds of surf in the background.

September 22 - Peggy's Cove to Fredericton, NB

In the morning I took some shots from the motel room. No wonder the surf was so loud during the night!

After checking out of the motel my first stop was the Swissair Flight 111 Memorial. I had a sense the spirits of the people that died in that tragedy were still there. It was quite unsettling.

A quick visit to Peggy's Cove itself. Besides the cove, a small church, restaurant and a handful of homes, there isn't much else.

I'm now on the way back to Halifax to see the harbour. Peggy Cove Rd and Prospect Rd hug the ocean, so it's no wonder I had a wild ride to the motel the night before.

Next was Halifax Harbour. I went to Point Pleasant Park, parked the bike and went on a hike. It seems I can't go on any of these motorcycle trips without doing a hike along the way. This one was a good 3-4 km through the various paths. I got some shots of the battlements and harbour. The area was used to protect the harbour as far back as the 1790's, and as recently as World War II, defending against German U Boats.

I got back to the bike and looked up at the sky. The clouds were dark, but the rain hadn't started. I set the GPS for Hopewell Cape at the tip of the Bay of Fundy.

Three hours later I got to the Hopewell Cape provincial park. I got there at low tide, which meant I was able to walk on the ocean floor. It was amazing. The flowerpot rocks are almost completely submerged at high tide. These formations were 40 feet tall!

This end of Fundy provides the highest tides in the world, 9.5 meters, while Saint John only has 4-5 meters. The higher tide is caused by a funnel effect. As the tide comes in to the larger end of the funnel the water is pushed towards the smaller end. Since the water has nowhere else to go, it rises, and continues to do that until high tide.

When the tide comes back in (something I wasn't able to wait for since it was about 3-4 hours away), it's fast, with the water rising 2-3 meters per hour. There are warning signs everywhere advising people to get back up to the observation deck before the tide comes in, or risk injury or death.

After marveling at this, I got back onto the Fundy drive towards Saint John. It was a nice road with little traffic. In Saint John I saw a boat moored at the dock, with a ladder descending about 30 feet to where the boat was. When the tide comes back in, the boat would be more or less level with the dock. Amazing.

After riding a fair distance and doing two hikes (Point Pleasant Park in Halifax and the ocean floor in Hopewell Cape), I was ready to call it a night. I managed to get to a motel in Fredericton. I peeled off my riding pants and made a note not to do so much hiking with full riding gear on. Boy, I was ripe! An hour or so later, I got a wicked leg cramp that passed about 10 minutes later. I thought it was all done and relaxed to watch some TV, but then it cramped again. It did this 4 times over an hour. The pain was unbelievable, probably caused by all the riding and hiking. Maybe I should just focus on the riding.

September 23 - Fredericton, NB to Home

This day I wasn't 100% sure of my plan. The weather report said rain and cold, neither of which was a surprise. I originally wanted to go through Maine to the top end of New Hampshire for Mt. Washington. I figured that would not be possible given the weather forecast and the elevations, so I opted to go through Maine and then head back home through Quebec. Along the road towards Maine I came across one of the advertised moose, but this one was dead, hit by someone overnight.

I crossed into Maine and boarded the top end of Interstate 95, heading south towards Bangor. I left that road about 15 minutes from Bangor and headed into the hills along smaller state and local roads, most of which were great. Nice curves and few cars.

At first this sign put me off. After traveling through construction sites in Quebec and PEI, I wasn't looking forward to doing the same in Maine, especially with the rain. Thankfully, it looked like someone forgot to take the sign down, because the road was freshly paved and was a great ride!

I saw a few covered bridges in New Brunswick, but those were strictly for show. This one was actually used!

Unfortunately, the rain started just as I was leaving I-95, and didn't let up. The rest of my Maine tour was dodging raindrops and trying to find any opportunity to take some pictures. I got a few, but none of the spectacular ones that would have been possible had the weather been cooperating.

I got into Quebec with the rain still coming down. Damn the roads were rough, at least until Quebec City and Aut-20. As I was heading towards Montreal the rain stopped and I was able to dry out a bit. The rest of the trip home along Aut-20 and Hwy.401 was boring as most slabs are. I got back home around 9:00pm, about 5 minutes before the rain came again. I lucked out that time.

Summary

I started the ride at 1:00pm on Monday, September 18th with the odometer reading 72.958 km. I ended the ride at 9:00pm on Saturday, September 23rd, with the odomoeter reading 78.174 km. Over the course of 6 days I had ridden 5.216 kilometers. All the riding was done alone with the exception of about 50 kilometers when I was riding with Brian (Boomer). I visited 3 provinces (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia) and one state (Maine) that I had never before visited. I saw much more of Quebec. Previously I had only been as far north/east as Sherbrooke. Gaspe Penninsula and Quebec City were amazing. I visited 4 provincial capitals (Quebec City, Charlottetown, Halifax and Fredericton). I met with a fellow Zen Rider and his family who had moved away from Toronto (actually Newmarket) over a year ago.

With this relatively short ride (time, not distance), I really only scratched the surface. There are so many things to see and do out east that I need to make several more trips there. Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative next time!

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