Better and Better

Each day, something improves. Today it was the wind, which was a little stiff when we started pedaling but calmed down to regular by mid-morning. The day was mostly overcast with some scattered mist, but that’s pretty comfortable for cycling. We rode from Annapolis Royal to the tiny town of Bear River where I had a delicious cortado. Then a loop along the Bear River estuary that somehow, was nearly all uphill.  We met up at Bear River winery for a lovely lunch and wine tasting before returning to Annapolis Royal.  For those who care, the morning route was 31 miles with ~ 2000 feet of climbing, none of it overly steep except for one last bit that led to the winery.  Here are photos from today’s cycling adventure, plus some of Annapolis Royal.

 

Sissiboo Coffee in Bear River.  Excellent coffee! 

 

Bear River Winery lunch stop

 

 

 

 

Around Annapolis Royal

 

 

We're not staying here but we can look at it from across the street

 

 

Enticing Real Estate in the area.   $550,000 Canadian currently equates to around  $407,300 US

Hmmmmmmm

 

 

Nova Scotia, Tour Day Three

We awoke to terrible weather – whipping winds and moderate rain – but the weather apps had warned us of this so we weren’t too freaked out.  Also, our morning plan called for a van ride across the province to reach our bike ride start point, and as it turned out, the rain dissipated en route.  We still had to contend with wind and gusts, but the ride was do-able and enjoyable.

We started from Bridgetown and rode 18 miles to Annapolis Royal where we had lunch at a café at the town historic gardens. After lunch we pedaled down the peninsula to Victoria Beach (which has a wharf but the beach was underwater at high tide).  The wind persisted, which added some challenge to this route of rollers, but it was a fun ride in overcast but warm conditions.  

 
The weather apps tell us that our remaining ride days should be sun-shiny and not-overly-windy.  Our guides continue to make adjustments to optimize our experience – no small feat as the logistics are like a puzzle; change one piece and all the other pieces need to change too.

 

 

 

 

Annapolis Royal Gardens - lunch stop

 

Weathering the Storm

The hurricane blew in/over Saturday afternoon and night. Halifax experienced plenty of wind but not as much ocean surge as feared.  I ventured out a few times but it was hella windy and I didn’t want to be the stupid tourist someone would have to rescue so I mostly stayed put.  I had hoped for clear skies Sunday morning, but it was still windy and rainy so instead of walking the ~ mile (with rolling suitcase and backpack) to our tour meeting point, I navigated the city bus which worked out fine.

The plan for Day 1 of this Backroads tour was to drive all of us from Halifax to Gold River where we would get situated with bikes.  We’d ride from there to Mahone Bay for a lunch break and then on to Lunenberg where we would stay for two nights.  Most of this didn't happen; the weather improved but the coastal roads we were to ride had been trashed with downed trees and power lines – unsafe for us and an aggravation to the workers trying to clean up. 

So instead, our guides drove us to our hotel in Lunenberg where there was no power in either hotel or town. They tried to get us excited about playing board games but nobody was having that, so we ended up walking the closed town, then driving to Peggy’s Bay and Mahone Bay for a sightseeing excursion.  It wasn’t what anyone wanted to do but better than Scrabble, and better than sitting in a dark hotel room with no internet or tv. 

 

 

 

Our guides salvaged the evening hours by switching our dinner plans to an establishment that got back power by mid-day.  It was a pretty fantastic meal, after which we walked back to our dark hotel and spent the night hoping for hot showers in the morning but NOPE.

On the plus side, the weather and roads today (Monday) were such that we could do our day’s activities and rides as planned.  Everyone was relieved, most of all our guides who have heroically and frantically altered plans and logistics to mitigate the fiasco.  When we returned from today’s ride, the hotel and town power was restored so things are back on track.

 

 

Storm Watch

It’s Saturday at noon:30 right now and things are starting to get real. The storm didn’t get here overnight but is on the way now. About an hour ago, I walked/climbed back up to The Citadel (only about ¼ mile away) in hopes of witnessing the noon time canon blast again.   

Yesterday, we were assured that the canon goes off every day, no matter what, rain or shine.  I thought maybe there’d be one lone canon-operator there to keep the promise alive. Alas, the place was deserted except for me and a few other wind-buffeted tourists. No friendly ranger-types and no kilted sentries who, I imagine, were under orders to keep their bonnets dry.  

The Citadel is at the top of town so it was especially windy, and we could look over the town to the now-choppy bay. After noon came and went with no explosion, I thought I’d walk down toward Lower Water Street to see what I could see without going all the way to the waterfront. But wind gusts en route convinced me otherwise. If I were to go missing, after all, nobody would even know.  I returned to the hotel. 

 

Water chop in the distance

A street-person's tent blowing all over. Unfortunately, Halifax also has unhoused folks. There are a number of tents pitched in a small park nearby.  They were still there (except this one) when I returned to the hotel.