One of the main drivers of our trip's timetable was to accommodate this day's ride. We liked the idea of staying in the Markland, right out on the Atlantic, and we had heard that the there-and-back to Meat Cove was both worth doing and arduous, so we wanted to give that ride a day to itself. I don't seem to have gotten any pictures either evening of the Markland's dining hall, but the food was tasty and the live music was nifty and cemented our impression of Cape Breton as the land of Stan Rogers covers. [42.3 mi]
sunrise from our cabin |
looking north at sunrise |
sunrise on the beach |
sunrise with more waves |
view north from the beach |
sunrise with more clouds |
out towards the Atlantic |
sunrise with more dining hall, where we are about to go eat breakfast before our ride |
fields and clouds |
one last shot of the sun hiding behind some clouds |
the long dusty road... |
...to where our van is parked behind our cabin |
it seems to be raining; should we panic? |
bikes parked on our porch |
it's definitely raining |
rain on the roofs around the B&B |
don't panic, though, while we were eating breakfast it cleared up |
Dingwall is reputed to be a peaceful fishing village |
platonic ideal Cape Breton church (1) |
the road ahead, up the coast (yep, as usual we have to climb that) |
marsh along the road |
marsh is marshy |
house with metal roof |
lake |
view south, showing White Point and the sandbar by Dingwall |
more view south |
nothing but weirdly blue skies ahead. and clouds. and mountains |
out to sea |
south view again |
we were riding next to a fairly steep cliff to some trees below |
the road behind as we climb to St. Margaret Village |
the road ahead as we climb to St. Margaret Village |
we found this vehicle in the parking lot of the Co-op at St. Margaret Village where we stopped for refreshments |
our first view of Capstick, which we will pass on our way to Meat Cove |
closeup of Capstick |
Scott in front of the ocean |
Scott got very curious about what implement had been used to shred these trees |
west along the coast |
east along the coast |
north across the Gulf of St. Lawrence |
spray on the rocks |
the view east |
waves crashing on the other side of trees by the road |
the fields as we approach Capstick |
the water as as we approach Capstick |
evidence that we are, in fact, approaching Capstick |
whoa, there's land out there. We assume it to be Saint Paul Island |
iconic Cape Breton storm shutters, on account of the proximity to the ocean (also pictured) |
we saw a lot of crab(?)apple trees along our ride |
we have been in Canada this whole time |
cliffs |
view east |
we had to ride on this dirt road |
it was okay, especially because neat ocean views kept popping up |
view west towards Meat Cove; you can actually see the chowder hut now |
the road goes back and forth between dirt and paved, with the steepest climbs paved, fortunately |
the next point past Meat Cove to the west |
Meat Cove! If you really squint, you can see David's bicycle parked on the porch of the chowder hut |
our last switchback down into Meat Cove |
view east from Meat Cove |
panorama from the chowder hut porch |
the chowder was in fact pretty good |
it's called Meat Cove because people came there to hunt, apparently |
view east |
someone had built a bunch of little rock cairns on the beach |
there is totally land out there. with a boat in front of it. idek |
nothin' but cloud |
thanks to a stiff tailwind and the fact that i'd taken all the pictures of scenery i wanted on the way out, i actually got ahead of Sarah and Scott for the first time all day, so i could take pictures of them approaching |
Sarah still approaching |
Sarah riding by |
Scott approaching |
Scott riding by |
a river leading out to the ocean |
mouth of the river |
Scott approaching the bridge i was standing on to take these pictures |
traffic overall was very pleasant on these roads, but there were a lot of gravel trucks |
hey, look, we're back at the sand barrier by Dingwall |
this is what comes of having apple trees everywhere |
a different platonic ideal of a Cape Breton church |
We stopped at the North Highlands Community Museum in Cape North, and poked around for a bit, starting with this map of Cape Breton |
rugs are apparently a thing in Cape Breton |
clouds are interesting; don't just take my word for it |
nothing like this to make you appreciate being able to drive down to your nearest hockey superstore and buy a pair of skates with enclosed feet and everything |
incidentally, we learned on this trip that Alexander Graham Bell has a Cape Breton connection |
sample desks, complete with sample Peter Rabbit and his sample holiday |
more latchhook |
a loom |
the history of the transatlantic telegraph cable race |
i don't know what that does, but it looks neat |
i know what that does; it tells time |
model boat |
we had to move to a new cabin for our second night at Dingwall because a big bike tour group came in; here's our new view |
remember how i made you look at a million sunrise pictures? well, now it's sunset, and guess what? |
but, i mean, look at the clouds |
panorama from the porch of our new cabin |
clooooouds |
on the beach at sunset |
beach, ocean, and a little bit of sky |
view north from the beach |
a wave coming in |
there was more-or-less a full moon, so you can see moonlight reflected on the clouds and the water |