mattlavallee

I'm looking at possibly doing a trip up to Cape Breton and Newfoundland late May through mid June. I understand weather will not be ideal, but that's the time I can get off from work. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions on where to go/not go? I've done self-supported tours before, but I'll probably be touring light on this one and stay at hostels/cheap spots if possible just to fly with less gear. Is it a problem to find buses around those areas in case I want to make up some time? Also, I'd like to do some hiking around Gros Marne and maybe some on Cape Breton, does anyone have tips on where to head for that?


thanks,
Matt

avatarworf

How long do you have and how much ground do you intend to cover?

I've never bike toured there but I am from Nova Scotia originally (grew up there) and you can easily spend 3-4 days driving in a car around the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton -- there's a lot to see.

With say 3 weeks to spare, you might want to concentrate on just Cape Breton and western Newfoundland. Don't miss Gros Morne National Park and riding up to L'anse Aux Meadows would be beautiful and rugged, if very isolated.

I don't think you can take a bike on a bus in Canada unless it's boxed or bagged. In theory the bus company will provide the packing materials for a small fee but knowing that sometimes the bus just stops at a local corner store or gas station I would check this ahead of time. They might have the materials at the bigger bus stations but I would be surprised if they have bike boxes and bags in every small village.

https://www.acadianbus.com/

Chris_W

My wife's family lives next to the Cabot Trail, so I know it quite well. Two of the best hiking trails in Cape Breton are the Skyline Trail, about 20km north of Cheticamp, and the Coastal Trail, south of Neil's Harbour. If you're going around the Cabot Trail, make sure that you take the longer, far more scenic coastal road that goes almost to White Point rather than the inland route over South Mountain. North Mountain (between Pleasant Bay and Cape North) is the hardest climb - around 10% gradient for a few kms in either direction - very tough on a touring bike. Smokey (just south of Ingonish) is also tough, but not nearly as long.

The buses only go on the major roads (the closest stop to the Cabot Trail is near Baddeck). Lack of bike boxes is certainly a problem. I once rode all the way to L'Anse Aux Meadows / St Anthony, Newfoundland. I spent the afternoon before getting on the bus for the long journey back to Ontario making a bike box out of random boxes that the local grocery store had, plus a roll of packing tape. Thankfully, the bike made it back OK, despite going on many buses and a ferry in my homemade box. A friend of mine had to do the same thing when taking a bike back from Deer Lake, Newfoundland. Riding your bike on and off the ferries is no problem. Bikes can be taken in their box as a foot passenger on the ferry (when transferring between buses on either end), but this will seriously confuse the check-in staff - they had a hard time deciding whether mine counted as a bike, standard luggage, oversize luggage, ???

If you are lucky enough to see my mother-in-law out riding her bicycle while you're on the northern section of the Cabot Trail, then there's a good chance that she'll invite you home for coffee, cake, pancakes, or whatever else she has to offer - she often does this when she sees bike tourers, especially if they are alone and look hungry. People are very friendly up there.

If you need anything during the trip, there are a couple of bike shops in Sydney who are very helpful, plus Sea Spray Outdoor Adventures are near the top of the Cabot Trail and will help you out with emergency repairs, and even offer a recovery service for you and your bike if you are stranded somewhere around the trail.

Pedaleur

I don't have a whole lot of real ideas, but a couple thoughts/comments.

We honeymooned in Nova Scotia (by car), and thought it was very lovely (mid-August). Cape Breton was particularly nice -- we alternated between camping and B&Bs, without any trouble finding either. The Cabot Trail rings the park, and it's easy enough to "head inland" for hiking.

As for buses, I have no clue, but at least on Newfoundland, isn't there pretty convenient ferry service all along the coast? Shouldn't be any troubles with bikes on those.

Sorry I'm not of more use, but have fun!

Erick L

Half of the Skyline trail is an old dirt road so you can bike that part. Bikes aren't officially allowed but a park employee told me it was ok.

In Gros Morne, I suggest taking the road south of Bonne Bay and ride to Trout River. The ride through the Tablelands is surreal. You can hike the Green Gardens trail (just hike to the coast and back, not the whole loop) and cross Bonne Bay on the shuttle (6$ in 2008, 10$ two-ways). Gros Morne Mountain is a fantastic hike as well.

I know there are busses. I read a couple's diary where they biked Newfoundland's west coast and came back by bus. You're gonna love it.

mattlavallee

I've got 3 weeks and I'm more concerned with getting a good look at the place than covering any specific distance. In the past I've averaged 70-90 km/day fully loaded and thought that was a good routine. I've also done 730 km in a week and felt that I didn't have enough time to enjoy what I was seeing. I'll be on my Bike Friday, which should make the luggage problem easier on the bus or ferry. What is the attitude/law regarding hitch-hiking there?

Chris, are the hikes that you mentioned best done as day walks or multi-day trips? And for anyone who's hiked Gros Marne, what kind of time should I allot for that? I'm all about catching the scenic views.

Erick L

Gros Morne Mountain is a full dayhike. Green Gardens is 9km to the coast and back but you'd probably want to hike along the coast as well. The full loop is much longer.

See: https://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/nl/gro...v/activ2d.aspx

I wouldn't hesitate to hitch-hike.

Chris_W

The hikes I mentioned are really just half-day hikes. There are no multi-day hikes in Cape Breton Highlands national park, I believe because they don't want to encourage people to camp anywhere except the official, roadside campgrounds. The locals know several good hikes in the area to the north of the park that can be done with an overnight stop in the middle, or as longer day hikes, but there are still no real long-distance trails.

mattlavallee

Rough itinerary is this: Fly to Sydney, bike Cape Breton for a week, ferry to Port aux Basques. From there, ride north to Gros Morne, hang out for awhile, and ride up to St. Anthony. Make my way over to St. Johns and fly home from there. I'm hearing that there is no longer a scheduled bus route in the western peninsula, which would pretty much leave me biking the same road back south from St. Anthony or hitch-hiking. Another issue is that I wouldn't be able to use my bike suitcase unless I shipped it from Sydney to St. Johns.

Is the coastal road north of Gros Morne to St. Anthony worth the effort, or would I be better off just biking part of it, and then heading back south? I would love it if I could catch a boat from St. Anthony down to central or eastern NL, but I haven't seen anything along those lines yet.

Is the road from Port aux Basques to Deer Lake good for bikes or too busy? I'm not especially sensitive to traffic, but if the scenery's not all that special, I'd just as soon bus it.

Erick L

Not sure it still runs, but the Viking Express goes to St-Anthony: (709) 634 - 4710

I loved the northern peninsula and it's easy cycling. I'm going back to Newfoundland and my first idea was to fly into Red Deer and cycle the peninsula again. The dominant wind comes from the south or southwest and it can be pretty strong. The Atlantic Canada Cycling database rates it at 5 stars. Their ratings have been quite accurate IMO.

The scenery out of Port-aux-Basques was beautiful at the beginning but it slowly becomes a little boring as it goes inland. It also gets more hilly. The road itself has a fair amount of traffic but also a good shoulder. The tailwind was insane at the beginning. Corner Brook to Deer Lake was nice despite traffic. If you must bus a part, it would be Port-aux-Basques to Corner Brook. I don't think I'd want to cycle southbound anywhere on the west coast.

Chris_W

I agree with what Erick said - not too much traffic between Port aux Basques and Corner Brook, but also not a particularly interesting ride. I had an insane tailwind when riding north up the peninsula to St Anthony - I don't know if I'd have been able to ride in the other direction at all. The scenery was awesome though, some of my best memories. You can take a ferry over to Blanc Sablon on the Quebec/Labrador border from the peninsula, and do a bit of riding around there, too. I did that (after waiting for 15 hours for the wind to calm down enough for the boat to go), and after riding from Blanc Sablon to Red Bay in Labrador (about 70 km I think) I found out that there was a boat from there to St Anthony leaving the next day, so I waited for that rather than returning to Blanc Sablon. That boat went only once every two weeks I believe, it stops all along the Labrador coast, then goes to St Anthony and then onto some places on the main northern shore of Newfoundland I think, maybe even as far as St Johns. There was no problem taking a bike on board. That was 2002, so I don't know if it is still the same.

One week in Cape Breton means that you should have time to get to and ride the Cabot Trail, which is certainly the best riding on the island (and Bicycling Magazine labeled it one of the best rides in North America!). You could even start by taking a bus from Sydney to Port Hawkesbury / Port Hastings then ride all the way up the west side of the island, do all of the coastal part of the Cabot Trail, and end up back in Sydney to take the ferry. Again, riding north along the west side of the island would be better than south due to the prevailing southerly winds.

lucille

Wow! Incredible photos!

Matt, the trip sounds amazing, sorry I don't have any real advice, but just wanted to say that the people you'll meet will probably be some of the nicest and most generous you've ever met. I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up in somebody's kitchen eating dinner and chatting for hours.

Please let us know how it went and maybe post some pictures, if you don't mind. I've very interested in how your Bike Friday does on that trip, as I just purchased a NWT myself. Have fun!