Day 113: Ingonish, NS -> North Sydney, NS

Date: Tuesday, September 5, 2023
Start: Ingonish, NS (Cape Breton National Park - Ingonish Beach)
End: North Sydney, NS (Sleeping on the ferry)
Distance: 100km

I woke at 6am to the sound of the waves pounding at the shore some 500 meters away and found that my rain fly was soaked again.  I'm sure by the end of this trip I'll get better at figuring out how to prevent this.  I was treated to some beautiful clouds in the sky reflecting the sun as it was rising.  It felt oddly warm for so early in the morning and the sun seemed very bright already so I figured I would be able to dry my tent out quickly once it was up high enough.

The mosquitoes and black flies were out in full strength though, and so I grabbed my food and retreated to one of the enclosed cook houses where I made my oatmeal and ate my breakfast.  While eating I listened to the end of Master and Commander, the audio book I've been working on.  Can't say I understood much of the nautical jargon, but it was a great story!  I also spent some time researching my route across Newfoundland, where I might camp, and how long it might take me.

That's because today is the day I head for North Sydney, Nova Scotia to take the ferry to Newfoundland!  There's so much more to see, but my friend in St. John's told me that they've already had a frost and it has got me anxious.  Also I'm ready to be done this trip...so there's that!

After breakfast the sun was almost where I needed it and I went to tear down the tent to start it drying.  I noticed that some new heavy clouds were moving in.  Once I set out the tent...the sun disappeared.  The air was still warm so it might just take longer to dry, but the clouds were ominous.  I packed and changed into my now well soiled bike clothes while the tent dried.  I planned to do laundry this afternoon when I arrived at my destination.

I started packing up the tent and just as I got the last of it away I felt some mist and the odd rain drop.  I grabbed everything and ran it up on of the cook shelters to stay dry.  I still didn't have everything fully put away and didn't want to get caught out.  I managed to get it all stowed away and was ready to go.  It wasn't raining, but I made sure my rain jacket was handy.

Not far down the road I got another view of shoreline where the waves were exploding against the rocks.

The goal for today was North Sydney, Nova Scotia.  This is where the ferries to Newfoundland depart.  No more detours.  It was finally time to be leaving Nova Scotia.  There were two major climbs I could see on the map, so it wasn't out of Cape Breton yet!  The forecast was calling for rain to start in the afternoon, but the weather radar looked like bands from one of the hurricanes (or former hurricanes) somewhere out in the ocean might be about to hit us.  I blanched a bit when I read that there are currently six systems that are either post-hurricane, tropical storm, hurricane, or pre-hurricane systems being tracked in the Atlantic Ocean currently.  None had bothered Nova Scotia yet, but I'm not sure that will stay true once I reach Newfoundland!

It took only about 5 minutes of biking before the first rains hit, I could see them in the distance as the mountains disappeared.  I stopped and tossed my jacket on.  The rain lasted only a few minutes but was enough to dampen everything.  I stopped again and took off the jacket as I couldn't see anything ahead of me for rain.  I continued to bike.

Only 10km into the day I reached the first major climb known as Big Smokey Mountain.  It was 5km worth of climbing, but the inclines were nowhere near the climbs I'd done the day before.  I only stopped once for a construction site where the road was a single lane of controlled traffic and oncoming traffic had to wait for me to get through the section as I pumped uphill.  Not too far past the construction I found the top.  There were a few lookouts and I snapped pictures.

It wasn't long at the top and I was starting down the other side.  The road up had been without a shoulder and in rough shape, but the road down was only a year old and with a beautiful wide shoulder.  It allowed me to coast down easily!  The road was full of switchbacks and I gave my breaks a thorough scrapping.

At some point I could see rain moving up towards me and I stopped to put my jacket on again.  Just as I stopped the rain started.  It didn't stop till I reached North Sydney.

There are almost no pictures for the rest of the day as I biked.  It was far too wet for me to take my phone out while I was riding.  But the day went between misting, raining, and pouring.  At times I was sure the air was just completely saturated and I was simply biking through fog that stuck to me as water.  At other times it poured rain.  Thankfully I was able to bike enough - aka there were enough hills - to keep me warm.  I had my rain jacket on to make sure I didn't get too cold.

Most of the morning was spent on The Cabot Trail going through forests.  After about 40km I found a restaurant/bakery and stopped in for a snack.  I needed a break from the relentless rain.  I got a piece of cheesecake, a date bar, and a cup of coffee.  I sat and watched the wind and waves pound the coastline and enjoyed the feeling of being warm!

Eventually it was time to hit the road again and I put on my jacket, my wet helmet, and started off.  About 5km down the road I broke off from The Cabot Trail and took a minor highway to start the trip to North Sydney.  This technically means I have not biked ALL of The Cabot Trail, which is a ~300km loop.  But I can say I've done 200km of it and I believe it to be the most scenic section.

But I was now on Highway 312, which seemed to be cut out of the side of a steep hill.  I biked along, getting sights of the water through the trees to my left.  It continued to rain down.  About another 5km down the road the trees ended and the I was biking across a narrow peninsula.  It would be an isthmus, except for one small water filled gap.  To cross that gap I had to take the Englishtown-Jersey Cove Ferry!  I hadn't anticipated this one, so it will bump my total ferry count on this trip up to nine!

Biking across the peninsula to the ferry was difficult.  There were no trees on this thin strip of land, and so I was fully exposed to the winds which buffeted and pushed me.  Once I reached the end of the peninsula I found a spot out of the wind and waited for the ferry.  I managed to snap a few pictures.

The ferry was just setting off from the other side and the winds were pushing it strongly.  I noticed it seemed to be getting pushed away from where we were waiting to load, but then noticed it was slowly making its way back towards us.  Turns out this was because the Englishtown-Jersey Cove Ferry is a cable ferry!  I noticed that there was a fairly thick cable that seemed to be tied to each bank and ran through the water.  The ferry had the cable running through its underside, and so it dragged itself back and forth along the cable as it went back and forth.  This is possible because the crossing is only about 150 meters.  Without it though, I would have had to bike an extra ~30km so I wasn't complaining!

We boarded, crossed, and I was on my way again.  The rain calmed a bit but the winds remained and they were not tailwinds anymore.  I biked up and down and eventually reached the Trans-Canada Highway once more.  I turned onto it and was once again treated to a wonderful shoulder.  Unfortunately, I had another climb.  It was almost 5km of uphill with a beating rain and headwinds.  After about 4km my frustration boiled over and I cursed the heavens aloud.  I doubt they noticed.

Eventually I crested the hill but the moment I did I was hit with a wind that almost stopped me in place.  To get down the other side of the hill required me to pedal.  At one I point I managed to hit 31km/h and then was hit by a gust that slowed me from 31km/h to 17km/h and I felt the bike slow down so quickly that I had to hold on to stop from going over the handlebars!  It was going to be a long ride...

And sure enough it was.  The highway had no gas stations or rest stops until North Sydney another 30km ahead.  I stopped at the first gas station I encountered and bought a muffin from a coffee shop in the station.  I chatted with the gas station cashier a bit and then tried to buy a bag of chips and he insisted on buying it for me.  I thanked him but didn't want to accept, and then my credit card and debit card were declined...because the cashier had cancelled the transactions.  He smiled and insisted.  I thanked him, ate the chips while chatting with him.  I went outside and grabbed some maple candies I'd bought in Trois-Pistoles and gave them to him as a small token of thanks.  It was a small thing he'd done, but I'm not sure I'll ever forget it.  I was tired, cold, and soaking wet...and he decided to help me.

I was only a short distance into North Sydney at this point.  The ferry to Newfoundland didn't leave until 11:15pm and it was only 4pm so I decided to head to the local grocery store to stock up.  From there I needed a place to hang out for a few hours and decided to go to the local library.  I worked on blog posts there, changed into dry and casual clothing for the ferry crossing, walked up and down main street, and at 8pm went to the ferry terminal building to check in and wait.

At the ferry terminal I met two guys who are hiking the International Appalachian Trail and traded stories with them.  They started in Key West Florida back in December 2022 so I suddenly wasn't feeling as tired!  I wished them happy trails.  I also talked to a man from Norway who is an airline pilot and who was traveling to Newfoundland.

At around 10pm we started loading.  I stood outside and waited to be given direction, very happy with the fact that the rain had stopped a few hours earlier!  At some point I was directed to line up behind a group of cars and bike onto the ferry.  There were three motorcycles who were behind me as we waited in line and the constant noise was grating.  This trip has left me with a much lower opinion of motorcycle owners.

Once onboard I found a seat near an outlet and settled in for the evening.  As the ferry started to rumble and set off I walked out on the outdoor deck and watched as we backed away from the pier.  There was a song I've been saving for this exact moment, so I popped in my earbuds and found it.  This is a Canadian folk song that is one of my favourites, and there are many versions that I enjoy...but the one I'll pick for you is a Canadian folk duo from the 60s folk movement: Ian and Sylvia.

Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea bound coast
Let your mountains dark and dreary be
For when I'm far away on the briny ocean tossed
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me

After we were well away I went back to my seat and tried to sleep.  I woke up once at about 2am to the ship heaving and rolling in the waves.  There were people sleeping in chairs and on the floor all around.  I took the opportunity to take a walk around the ferry and went outside again where the winds were blowing so hard that I dared not take my phone out lest it be blown out of my hand!

I went back inside and did my best to sleep.  There was more biking ahead on the other end, and I needed my rest.

And with that I say goodbye to Nova Scotia!  My odometer read 9527 when I boarded the ferry meaning I'd biked a total of 993km along that sea bound coast.  Lots of detours and sightseeing had made for a long ride through the province.  I have to admit...it was rough.  There were few - if any - shoulders on the roads and the cars and dump trucks buzzed me day after day.  I'm happy to be leaving.  But happy for what I saw.

9 provinces down, 1 to go.