Second day of riding: Sarah drove the van, and brought us a lot of map advice and mobile support as we dealt with rain, wind, a number of climbs, and a descent on an unpaved road. We ended in a motel in Pleasant Bay. [38.2 mi]
in the morning it was raining |
preparing to bike in the rain required a large amount of milling about and general panic |
flags flapping in the rain |
the clouds look ominous |
south along the coast in the rain |
the tops of the mountains are in cloud, but we head out anyway |
we are super intrepid |
us, looking intrepid (Sarah is not here because she is driving today. Intrepidly) |
a house with blue shingles |
the road ahead |
coast view |
houses in the foothills |
a mountain lake |
clouds |
bicycle touring bingo: a picturesque church on a hill becomes visible in the distance |
we think this is the turnoff for the Old Cabot Trail |
lake in front of mountains |
more lake |
Scott on a bridge |
lake, mountains, clouds |
i stopped and went back for a picture of this stream cutting through a marshy area |
this isn't fall colors per se, but it's definitely some colors |
houses across the harbor from the road, near Cheticamp |
closeup of glorious metal roof of that church we saw earlier |
the Doryman Pub; we were much too early to hear live music from our bikes, but hold that thought |
the end of the point across from Cheticamp; are those clouds a bad sign? |
north along the coast from Cheticamp |
south from Cheticamp |
the clouds over the point still look pretty ominous |
We stop at a bakery, where Sarah meets up with us, and shares a map of the national park we are about to enter. The forecast is for three small hills followed by an extended climb. |
view approaching the first climb |
the road ahead (Scott is in the distance, camoflaged as a tree with a reflective taillight) |
the road behind |
caution: cliff |
looking south along the coast at the mouth of the Cheticamp River |
the first hill, which we just climbed |
looking back along the coast after the first descent; the view during the descent was incredibly beautiful, but i couldn't stop to take a picture |
the road ahead after the second climb |
north along the coast after the second hill; yep, that's our route |
boy, those clouds look ominous, don't they? |
Remember all that foreshadowing? Look, heavy rain and wind |
we had to stop and walk along this stretch of road because the wind was blowing too hard to feel safe riding |
north along the coast |
south along the coast; that little hill by the water was our first climb/descent |
some scenery while stopped |
war memorial |
the road behind |
it's hard to tell where the ocean ends and the sky starts |
the road ahead; we're on the big climb now, and you can see Skyline Ridge |
hikers on Skyline Ridge |
the road behind |
the road ahead |
a lake visible at the top of the climb |
we're at the top now |
Scott at the top of the climb |
we skip the Skyline Trail for today because it's so overcast, but meet the van in the parking lot to walk the bog trail |
this informational sign has information about bogs and fens, and also a helpful overview map |
boardwalk through the bog |
the bog is pretty neat |
pitcher plants! |
one of the characteristic colors of the bog came from these reeds, which were everywhere |
water plants |
more pitcher plants |
more bog colors |
more bog plant life, including cottontails |
enough slacking, back on the road |
view down to the ocean past some ridges |
view up some ridges in the other direction |
Scott approaching |
my bike is still on this trip |
Scott is still on this trip |
a river reaching the coast |
landscape |
that river reaching the coast again, now with more clouds |
an informational sign explaining the topology of Cape Breton |
the sun made neat shadow patterns on the hills near the coast, but this is hard to see because of the clouds |
me, by a scenic overlook |
inland landscape |
coast view while descending |
better coast view while descending |
our descent was on this surface, which was both steep and unpaved and wasn't particularly awesome |
more coast view |
more inland mountain view |
Scott demonstrating the incline |
north along the coast; last corner! |
stream at the bottom of the descent |
bridge over the stream, looking towards the coast |
coast view |
the ocean |
the beach at sunset, seen from the Rusty Anchor where we went for dinner after checking into our motel |
i told you to hold that thought; Scott and i drove back to the Doryman Pub after dinner to see the aforementioned show |
south along the coast in full darkness, when we stopped on the way back from the Doryman to look at stars |