Tandem Tom

Has anyone toured these provinces??

Sangre

I haven't yet. Going to this spring tho..

axolotl

There are a bunch of threads about touring in the Maritimes. Personally, I liked Cape Breton, but was disappointed with the rest of Nova Scotia. PEI was OK, but the Madeleine Islands were better IMO.

Tandem Tom

Sangre, Do you have a route yet??

MassiveD

I live there in the summer. But have only toured the main roads, I like any part of it I have been through, but it depends what your preference and alternatives are. If I lived on the east coast and could fly to the west coast, I would feel myself luckier than the reverse.

mev

Newfoundland, Nova Scotia (and Alberta) are three of my favorite Canadian provinces for cycling. I went through the area as part of a ride from Fairbanks to St John's Newfoundland (Mike's Bicycle Across Canada pages). During that ride, I came through all the Maritime provinces and left with following impressions:

- Newfoundland: Unpredictable weather, not quite "discovered" and hadn't quite figured out tourism - but for people that did visit was very friendly. I stayed on trans-Canada between Port Aux Basques, but got impression one would really see lots of little quaint "undiscovered" towns and left rugged areas leaving the main road. Also got impression economically struggling with many people left. Still on my list for future is trans-Labrador Highway rugged largely gravel road that starts in Quebec but continues through Labrador City and then via Happy Valley and now to Red Bay.
- Nova Scotia: Relatively bike friendly and much more set up for tourists. Multiple "routes" to cycle along including well known Cabot Trail. Little towns and fun to travel via bike.
- PEI: Relatively small and fairly focused destination for tourism. However, cycling across one still got to countryside that was rural.
- New Brunswick: Bilingual. Less touristy than PEI or Nova Scotia. Rural and interesting coastline. Languages different but otherwise shares bunch with Maine as areas I've traveled.

Overall, compared to more developed parts of the (US) East coast, I prefer Candian Maritimes to more developed areas and busier areas further south. Due to ocean current oddities, PEI also had warmer waters than one found until a fair amount further south. In similar fashion to how I like Maine - but best parts of Maine are when you get past Bangor and if you get off US1.

elpy zee

I toured Nova Scotia and a bit of Newfoundland last summer. Stuck to coastal roads where I could, put about 2,300 miles on the meter there. Camped out or stayed in campgrounds. Worth it.

Sangre

not really, Leaving April 1st, Toronto to Cape Breton. (staying in Canada) Circle the Cabot Trail, Then Across NS to Yarmouth .The Ferry to Boston starts up May 15. From Boston Im gonna follow the coast south until I run out of money or get murdered.

Its 12% of a plan...

Burton

I was born in Nova Scotia and even after relocating to Montreal, have spent countless hours over the past 30 years exploring small towns and beaches all over that province as well as the coastal areas of New Brunswick, PEI, and the Gaspe.

If you post some goals, objectives and interests it might help because otherwise it's possible to put in a lot of miles and come up with nothing worth remembering. The really interesting stuff isn't sitting on the road waiting to smack you in the face - you have to actively go looking for it.

elpy zee

Is there a ferry to Boston?

BobG

I think that Sangre is mistaken. Ferry service was restored to Portland ME from Yarmouth NS on May 15 of last year, 2014. I haven't heard of any new service to Boston.

Sangre

ya, my bad. I meant Portland, sorry for the confusion. Had Boston on the mind because the Mrs. Is planning to fly down to meet me when I go through there.

Tandem Tom

Burton, Thanks for your reply! Tentative thoughts are drive up to some friends who live NE of Montreal. Ride Montreal,Quebec City,New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia. Stop in Halifax and take the train back to Montreal? I saw a journal, but I cannot remember where about a similar route. The Gaspe sounds beautiful but am not sure if it would be too intimidating!! Time frame 6-8 weeks.
Thoughts,advice?

WarrenR

I'm in Halifax, here's some sites that might be worth looking at.

https://www.atlanticcanadacycling.com/

https://www.atlanticcanadacycling.com...ing-directory/

Cycling

Trails in the HRM | Halifax.ca

ExploreHRM Disclaimer| Halifax.ca

If I can be any further help don't hesitate.

Erick L

With 8 weeks, you could ride the whole gulf coast from Montreal or Quebec City, around Gaspésie, down New Brunswick, across to PEI, back to Nova Scotia, around Cape Breton, across to Newfoundland, up to Labrador and back to Rimouski on the Relais Nordik and to Montreal by train. It's a beautiful trip.

Tandem Tom

Thanks Northern Neighbors!! I just ordered a book off Amazon about Cycling in the Maritimes. I will checkout your links also.
BTW how is Canadian train travel with bikes??

WarrenR

Doesn't look good, course maybe that depends on what you're used to.

The Bike Train | VIA Rail

BobG

There are three trains per week from Halifax to Montreal. "The Ocean". They run on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The Friday train has a baggage car all the way to Montreal that you can check the bikes on just like Amtrak. They may or may not sell you a BIG box requiring little disassembly and charge you a moderate oversize fee. It departs Halifax at 11 AM and arrives at Montreal at 9:15 AM Saturday morning. The Wednesday and Sunday trains make a connection at Quebec City that will not transfer checked baggage on to Montreal. "The Bike Train" that Warren links to is for roll on service trains.

Montréal-Halifax train - Overview | VIA Rail

edit: They provide the box for free.

Protecting bicycles

• Bicycles require specific protection. We recommend that you store your bicycle in a special protective box, which you can obtain free of charge at the station. You’ll need to turn the handlebars and remove the pedals, so bring the necessary tools with you as we cannot supply them.
• If you cannot remove the pedals from your bicycle, we can provide you with a protective bag instead of a box.
• However, if your bicycle is not boxed, VIA Rail accepts no liability in the event of damage.

Tandem Tom

Thanks Bob! I copied and pasted this to a Word Doc for planning purposes.
I found the CGOAB journal that REALLY peaked my interest. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/acadia2013

Erick L

I rode from Quebec City to Matapedia last year just a couple of days ahead of them. The headwind was insane!

If you buy a Via Rail ticket online (cheaper when bought in advance), look for a baggage icon. That means there's a baggage car and you can bring your bike on. Now some stations don't have a baggage service but most big towns do. I usually use a box even if they have bike racks because Via Rail won't take any responsability if something happens to an unboxed bike. I also caught a glimpse of their rack and they looked like better-made wheel benders with an "arm" coming over the front wheel for stabilization... which doesn't work on bikes with a hooped front rack. It was a very fast glimpse so I may have totally wrong. I didn't use the box twice and once had a bent fender and the other time, they forgot to take my bike off the train.

MassiveD

If you are pressed for time, I don't think the Montreal Quebec bit is all that good. Montreal is a fabulous city, and fine for biking, but the trip to Quebec is not as nice as what follows. You can do the same loop through Quebec.

There certainly are some very steep hills through the Gaspe. I'm would not do it due to one game knee, but if you are all there, it would be extraordinary. I also like the Petit Temis, that cuts the whole corner and takes you down the Saint John river valley. If I had the knees, I might prefer to go from Quebec to Saint Simeon on the NOrth shore, take the ferry (you can always access this one, some of the others require a reservation to be sure)to Rivierre du Loup, go overland to Edmunston, rather than around the Gaspe.

Sheldon enjoyed travelling in Quebec:

Sheldon Brown's Québec Page

Erick L

I agree with MassiveD about MTL - QC. It's nice but east of QC is nicer and gets better.

The Route Verte website has a pretty awesome map: Vélo Québec. You can zoom in for details.

I read the CGOAB trip and they missed a really nice part east of Trois-Pistoles. There's some gravel roads with steep grades but it's worth. At least take the Route Verte from St-Simon. After a smooth dirt road, you'll find a winding paved bike path with short but really steep grades. Quite different from your typical bike path. I read another CGOAB guy who thought it was dangerous. It's one my favorite place. The views are worth the effort. And it's really really short.

BTW, the Via Rail boxes are big enough that I only remove the left pedal.

Are you camping or staying indoors?

skimaxpower

Not exactly the maritimes, but last fall I toured the St. Lawrence seaway along the Quebec Route Verte (green route) from Quebec City to Gaspe. Enjoyed most of it, but even in early September, weather was pretty chilly for camping.

Tandem Tom

We wouldbe doing both camping and some hotels.To give my wife a break!!

Burton

I'll kinda echo the thoughts already expressed by some other posters. I've done the drive from Montreal to Quebec City countless times by car and would never consider doing it by bicycle. It's too boring - there aren't enough stops to distract me and the landscape isn't all that interesting. Although you're following the river - there are times the trees will hide the water altogether for long stretches.

Parts of New Brunswick are very similar. But the upside is you can take the train and start your trip at any number of interesting places. The Bay of Fundy is a good place to start - the North side is New Brunswick and the south side is Nova Scotia. You can drive around it or cross on a ferry.

Briar Island has whale watching and some national parks on the way there have balancing columns of basalt. The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world and there are countless attractions that exploit that. Check out the Reversing Falls, Flower Pots and mud shrimp on the Internet.

Brown bread, apple pie, lemon meringue pie, clam chowder, fried clams, lobster boils - that's typical for the area and you'll find the best stuff isn't at the big chain restaurants.

School kids do the Cabot Trail every year on cheap bikes so it's not all that difficult. The scenery is varied and breathtaking if you're lucky enough to get a clear day. Check the weather and remember it can change fast. There are issues with coyotes in some park and residential areas so read up on it.

Books have been written on bicycling in NewBrunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI so suggest you do some research or ask really specific questions. Eight weeks might seem like a long time but you could spend 8 years there and still have lots left to explore.