2inTandem: NOVA SCOTIA - Yarmouth to Blomidon

The start of our three week tandem bike trip in the maritime provinces of Canada begins with a car ride to Portland, ME by Laura's parents to take the ferry across the Gulf of Maine to Yarmouth, NS. We were dropped off in Portland near the ferry terminal and quickly loaded up the bike and, having a couple of hours to kill, took a test run around town. We were wobbly, and certainly felt overloaded and in need of shuffling things around. We re-arranged gear a bit, but still felt wobbly. Past experience has shown that a few hours on the bike generally got things feeling more under control as we became more use to the required handling of the bike. Time would tell a very different story on this trip.

Laura playing with a puppy.

At the Portland, ME ferry terminal waiting for the ferry.

We watched as the Portland to Yarmouth ferry, "The Cat" arrived. We got in line at the pedestrian gate and chatted with some fellow bikers going on a week long credit card tour. Boarding the ferry was easy, and we strapped the bike on the car deck. The ferry was quite comfortable and we got a couple of seats near the front. The ride was smooth with good entertainment from a couple of guys playing Celtic music using a multitude of stringed instruments, hand drums, and an electric bagpipe. We arrived in Yarmouth and waited in line with the other cars and motorcycles to get through customs. It took a while for the lines to move, but we enjoyed our time chatting again with the other bicyclists and wondering what questions the customs officer would ask. Turns out he was a very nice fellow who inquired about length of time and where we would be going. With no issues, we headed off into Yarmouth and arrived at our AirBnB by 11:30 pm. Rachelle, the owner of the AirBnB, was waiting for us when we arrived, and after storing the bike in the garage showed us to our room. The house originally belonged to the church next door, and Rachelle was able to get a good deal on the price. She and her father have been working on fixing it up, and doing a very nice job. There is still a lot of work to do, but it was very comfortable, and we were happy to be able to contribute to the continued renovation of the house.

The bike strapped on the ferry ready to go.

Monkey enjoying the view from the ferry.

Waiting in line at Canadian Customs.

AirBnB house in Yarmouth.

The adventure now begins. We got down the street and promptly lost our trailer rounding the corner. First time to ever have that happen! Confidence shaken, we reattached the trailer and started off again. Half mile down the road and the trailer falls off again. Confidence now is non-existent. Given our past couple of tours, we had become over-confident in our abilities, and the capabilities of our equipment to perform. We have purchased some new equipment for this tour and have packed differently then in the past. In this case, the trailer was too top heavy and could not handle the load. Essentially we screwed up and did not properly prepare ahead of time to determine where and how each piece of gear should be packed to provide optimal performance. The result is that we spent the next half hour on the side of the road repacking. As we got going again, things felt better. Success, until a few miles down the road and the bolt holding one of the trailer pegs snapped and there goes the trailer toppling into the middle of the road. This happened right across the road from a house where the owner just happened to be in his front yard and as we dragged the trailer off the road he graciously offered his driveway for repairs. Fortunately I had the foresight to pack the extra quick release skewer with attached pegs to pass through the rear hub to which we can attache the trailer. Repaired and on our way again. Success for sure this time, yes.


Losing the trailer, the first time.

Working our way down the street in Yarmouth.

We altered our original route slightly so we could stop for a brief visit with my cousin Steen Gates in Lake George, NS. We enjoyed the visit, used the facilities and replenished our water supply. Leaving the house the bike was handling strangely, sort of sliding around a bit. Looking down, I saw our rear tire was near flat. Ugh! Turns out it was a slow leak, but instead of taking tthe time to unload the bike and change out the tube, we pumped up every 5 miles. This worked out for the day and we were able to make decent time. Roads were undulating and we grew tired, but the views we're beautiful. The first few days are always hard as we need time to condition ourselves for the riding. It never seems the work done at home prior to the tour is ever enough to get us fully ready. As we ride, we pass a group of teen cyclist from Massachusetts, taking a break on the side of the road. Shortly thereafter they quickly catch up to us and passed us with hellos, hoots and howls. They were a fun group and were ending a two week trip around Nova Scotia and were taking the ferry from Digby to St. John, NB the next day to head home.

Working our way down a rail trail.

Rail trail surface too soft, so walked some of the way.

Brief visit with Steen Gates, a second cousin of Jamie's.

Pumping up a slowly deflating tire.

As we continued, one of our objectives was to find rappie pie. Rappie pie, or rapure pie is a traditional Acadian dish from this part of Nova Scotia and is a casserole-like dish traditionally formed by grating potatoes, then squeezing them through cheesecloth to remove some of the water from the potato solids. The liquid removed is replaced by adding hot broth made from chicken, pork or seafood along with meat and onions, and layering additional grated potatoes over the top. I had some years earlier, but I don't think it was properly prepared and was more like mush. I had heard great things about it, so wanted to give it another try. Unfortunately, due to our biking issues, we were too late at the two places we had selected to stop. Ended up having a much deserved ice cream across from a beautiful large wooden church instead, and watched the sunset out to the west. We eventually arrived at our campground with a site right on the water. Made camp and promptly went to bed.

Dinner at a small day park.

Much deserved ice cream.

Beautiful sunset. Always looks better in person.

Day two, the bike worked great (after changing the rear tube). Again undulating hills and some dirt roads through the countryside. Our spirits were high as we settled into the adventure of the ride. We were even able to test out some shoulder straps that I put together to allow us to pull the tandem up hills rather then push along side the bike (see picture below). Stopping at a small town for a break, Laura went to fetch a coffee and came back with rappie pie, so we got our rappie pie after all! And, it was really good. Another break in Bear River and we finally made our way to Annapolis Royal. We stopped at a bistro for a treat and Wi-Fi, and found that Pam and Don (Laura's parents) were there also. They met us at the bistro and we chatted for a while. Camping that night was behind the high school, our first stealth camping of the trip.

Packing up after first night of camping.

Packed and ready to go.

Rappie pie!

Laura pulling the bike up hills of gravel road.

Eating dinner on the road.

Enjoying dessert in Annapolis Royal, NS.

Stealth camping location on soccer field of high school.

Day three, we got on the flat Route 1 for a while, good riding. Short break at a park brought us close to a bald eagle sitting in a tree. We all watched each other for a while. Outside of Bridgetown we tried the adjacent rail trail but found it too soft for easy riding, so we continued up to Route 201. This brought us back to undulating hills again. After a brief verbal lashing to the gods for creating such roads, we headed back to route 1 for flatter terrain. In hind sight, the undulating roads were really not that bad, we just weren't physically ready for them yet. We did discover that finding amenities was a little more difficult then anticipated, but we were usually able to eventually find food and water we needed. Camping that night was again of the stealth variety behind a Mennonite church school.

Bald eagle sighting.

Looking for potential real trail options.

Lunch on the side of the road.

Dinner on the side of the road.

Stealth camping.

Day four, got ourselves to Kentville and a Tim Horton's for coffee, the kind of place you start to crave after a while because there will be air conditioning, food and water, power (for charging electronics), and a bathroom. While relaxing we got to chatting with a group of elderly gentlemen, and we spent a good hour talking with them about everything from politics, to the economy, to housing costs on Cape Breton Island, to where we should go next on the bike. Moving on we stopped in Canning for lunch, then Blomidon Estates Winery for a taste of some of their wine (we picked a bottle of Banco Noir), then to Kingsport down on the coast of Mina's Basin for some milkshakes. More undulating hills got us to the base of Blomidon Provinvial Park. We got out the pulling straps and Laura pulled the bike up the mile long, 600 foot climb. I just held on to make sure the bike didn't topple over (those straps were a good creation). The views from the top of Blomidon are spectacular, and worth the effort. So much so we stayed an extra night and hiked around the park. We needed the rest.