Day 83 - New Glasgow, NS to Antigonish, NS

Day 83 - New Glasgow, NS to Antigonish, NS

August 4 (Tuesday)

Start Time: 6:30 am

Stop Time: 11:00 am

KM Travelled: 84 km

Elevation: +748/ - 757 m

Special Stuff: Oceanfront property, motel rooms,

Leaving my motel this morning, it's a balmy 21 degrees Celsius and overcast. It rained last night, but it looks like today's going to be dry. The route seems to be a very round-about - which is a mixed bag of annoying (because I prefer to be efficient) and interesting (because I get to see the countryside). I suspect there may be a mountain or something that the route is avoiding - I don't investigate too much as I'm not all that bothered with taking it easy today.

I slow-poke my way through the old downtown of New Glasgow and then out into the countryside that will take me along Northumberland Straight and then in towards Antigonish (I find this town name very difficult to pronounce).

In the first hour of my ride, I'm climbing a little hill with bushes on both sides, when suddenly to my right, I hear a sniffing noise that I can only describe as a dog's squeaky toy that has a broken squeaker. I look up to see a deer bounding across the road in front of me. When she gets to the left side of the road, a little speckled baby deer joins her and they run off into the bushes together. We gave each other quite the fright.

My ride has some beautiful waterfront homesteads. Observing the Northumberland Straight through the four seasons from the comfort of one's kitchen or living room must be endlessly entertaining.

I stop at a memorial plaque about the Battle of Culloden - there is a cairn to commemorate the battle - I've never heard the term "cairn" before - it is a pile of rocks used as a landmark or memorial. It's hard to believe there was once bloodshed in this remote, peaceful place.

I've been recommended to go to Cape George (it's that little bit of land on the map that looks like an elf's hat or the profile of a little bird's head). Getting there would be a breeze (literally) as the first part of my ride has me travelling northeast (wind as my friend) - unfortunately, but when I round the cape and start heading to Antigonish, I would be travelling south - which would be a slog of a ride (wind as my foe). With Brian back in PEI, I don't have anyone to call for an emergency pick up (which is one of the safety practices when biking in high winds). I opt to stay on my original planned route, which turns off before Cape George - I make note to visit Cape George on my way back home.

The last third of my ride, I turn the corner from travelling northeast to the southeast and I feel the power of the wind! As I suspected, the southwest wind is a challenge to ride in. Thankfully my route has lots of trees that serve as a wind break and makes the ride manageable. In areas where there are no trees, I struggle to keep the bike to my edge of the road - there are other moments when I am biking, that I seem to go nowhere (which is an interesting experience).

In Antigonish, I come across St. Francis Xavier University - a small university that I have heard about. As I enter the campus, the welcome sign says, "Welcome to One of Canada's Best Universities". I get a kick out of the signs across Canada, because, let's face it, on a sign, you can make a claim to be what ever you want. This one, for example, how "best" measured? I'm sure they are 'best' at something (e.g., Celtic studies, graduates with excellent work/ life balance, clean bathrooms) - it's all very subjective. I think it's a missed opportunity...they should have just said "Welcome to THE BEST university in Canada" and let other's be the judge of what 'bestness' refers to. I ride around the modest campus. There is a cozy feeling to the university and the university town of Antigonish.

I get to my campground which is on the eastern outskirts of Antigonish. True to my conviction to use my tent more this last stretch, I pay for a site and start setting up camp. First task is to put up my tent. I place a pin the tent footprint (it only has one hole that I can pin down) and the other side flies up like a kite. I try to put the tent over the footprint and a gust of wind pulls the footprint off the peg and both the tent and footprint try to make a getaway into the nearby bushes. I grab both and stuff them under my arm and check my Windy app to find out that the strong winds will last through the night. I think to myself: "I'm too old for this." I stuff everything back into my panniers, go back to the office and get a motel room for the night.

In the motel room, I notice that my puffy eyes are now starting to get sore. I treat myself with the pink eye drops - but I'm not sure it's the right treatment- it might be time to get things checked-out by a doctor.

The weather report shows a 'yellow alert' for high temperature in this region the next few days. I revisit my travel plans and determine that I will push a little harder to get to North Sydney sooner.