Good Samaritan

Canso Causeway

Port Hood, NS Aug 15

Today 106km, Total 1962km

Up bright and early, pretty much packed before any signs of life from Pete's tent, so I headed down to the campground rec hall to get some internet. Door was locked, so I plugged into an outside power outlet and sat on the doorstep using wifi and charging my batteries. Pete came by after half an hour, and we rode the two blocks into Main Street for breakfast.

Inner men satisfied, we headed east, alternating between highway 104 and the "old" highway four.

After about an hour, we were standing at a turoff debating which way to go, when a man pulled up in a pickup with the customary "hows she goin, boys". we told him we were trying to decide between the short or scenic route. He showed us which way to go, saying "its not really scenic, just farms and houses". We followed the route anyway, and the combination of just houses and farms, rolling hills, deserted roads and a wind that managed to give us a good boost as well as a cooling breeze contributed to a spectacular ride all the way to the Canso causeway. Some people don't realize what treasures they have.

Cape Breton Isalnd is separated from the Nova Scotia mainland by a narrow channel that connects St Georges bay in the north to Chedabucto bay in the south. In the fifties, a causeway was built to accommodate road and rail traffic, with a swing bridge to allow large ships to pass through. This posed an interesting engineering problem, as the causeway caused a tide difference of up to a meter from side to side, which would cause very strong currents through the shipping channel. This was solved by building a large lock to raise or lower ships as big as great lakes freighters from side to side. Our day's target was Port Hood,about 45 Km up the west coast of the island, chosen because it was the only place with a campground within a reasonable distance.

The road was two-lane highway with no shoulder to speak of, with some moderate climbs which we polished of easily with a slight cooling headwind in the 30+ temperatures. A rail-to-trail route paralleled the route, and we tried it for a few km until the fine crushed granite turned to lumpy railroad ballast. However we then picked up a nice coastal road, with long sections of new surface that served us very well all the way to Port Hood. We stopped at the Port Hood beer store for a cold six-pack, and asked the way to the camp site. We were told that the site ws for RVs only, which gave some consternation but turned out to be untrue.

Just as we were finishing our liquid reward, Jocelyn a biker-lady from France arrived with a flat tire. We offered to let her share our camp site which she accepted, and helped her fix her puncture, which turned into a bit of a gong-show as first Jocelyn and then Pete managed to damage new tubes - rather aan awkward situation when you're trying to help somebody. We managed to rustle up another tube, and Pete and I headed off in search of dinner. Several restaurants in the area, but we soon found out that they all close at 7pm - even on a saturday night - and it was now 7:05!

We knocked on the door of one palce and pleaded for an extension, which was granted after we played the good-samaritan card, and had a pretty good meal of clam chowder and sandwiches. Jocelyn showd up 45 minutes later, but was out of luck as the cook had gone home, but she managed to find some fish and chips at the takeout down the road.

Turns out that Jocelyn had picked an interesting route to Canada, starting in Scotland and taking ferry via Iceland.

Don't know if I will be able to post this blog tonight, as the camp's wifi was wiped out by a lightning strike a few months ago. I'll give it a try on Pete's air-card.

I'm typing at a picnic table by flashlight, with a strong warm wind blowing in from the south - if it keeps up tomorrow, we'll be flying.

Best wishes to all,

Barney

PS Check Pete's blog at www.transcanada09.blogspot.com