Day 84 - Antigonish, NS to Whycocomagh, NS

August 5 (Wednesday)

Start Time: 6:00 am

Stop Time: 1:30 pm

KM Travelled: 108.6 km

Elevation: +1,013/ - 1,030 m

Special Stuff: Canso Causeway, Bakeries, Sleep

My daughter's dog gets eye infections from time-to-time. When this happens, I see my beloved grand-dog turn from sparkly, zippy and energetic to sad, lethargic and mopey. Past experience with eye infections, lets me know that my eye infection trajectory looks very much the same as my daughter's dog - I'm in a risky zone where if I don't take care of it soon, it could take me out for a few days. I book a phone appointment with my family doctor - thankfully there is an opening this afternoon.

Given the issue with my eye and a 'Yellow (Heat)' weather warning, I've decided to change my travel plans so that I will get to North Sydney a day earlier.

My eye infection puts me on edge, to put it bluntly, I'm cranky. I need to travel about 110 km today, and the route meanders a lot the first 60 km when it is the coolest part of the day and when I have the most energy. If I would go direct on the highway, I could save 20 km, but, I'm not sure what the elevation climb is on the highway (my Ride with GPS app and Google maps won't let me plot the ride that way). I'll make my final decision on what to do when I get to the crossroad - a gas station 3 kilometers from my motel.

I stop at the gas station and have a chat with the gas station attendant (who does not drive) and a middle aged customer (who just arrived to pick up a drink). They give mixed reviews, but I pick up a few things to consider about the highway: construction (the highway is being twinned), oversized loads (there are massive wind turbines being transported) and traffic. I ride up to the highway on-ramp - it looks okay...but I decide to call Brian who travelled this stretch of road yesterday. He says "I don't quite remember, I think there are hills" - which annoys me, my crankiness starts coming out so I find a reason to finish the conversation quickly. I remind myself that it is not Brian's job to scout the road for me - he's my companion on this journey. This is my ride and I am responsible to gather the information, make the decisions and live with the consequences - I hold myself accountable to manage my expectations better.

I take all the information I've gathered and make a decision. I go back in the direction of the gas station and take the original route and ride the extra 20 km.

As suspected, the first 60 km of the ride goes really smoothly. I actually enjoy the meandering country roads (in spite of knowing that it is a waste of my precious energy). I see more glimpses of water - this time St. Georges Bay. I see another church - the style of churches in this area have tall windows along the sides (sometimes stained glass) that match up with the windows on the other side of the church - sometimes I can see clear through the church when the windows line up just right. Many people in the maritimes use lighthouses to decorate their yards. Somewhere the last few days I even saw a lighthouse shaped bus shelter (you know the kind that parents make for their kids to catch the school bus) - I think that was the coolest bus stop I've ever seen.

I get to the edge of a place that I see on the map that looks like a bridge of some sort. I realize with trepidation that it is THE Canso Causeway! The Canso Causeway is a rock-filled structure (basically a bridge) that connects Nova Scotia to Cape Bretton Island. I've heard about this place in Facebook group chats - and I'm so glad that coming upon it is a surprise because I would have worried and fussed about it. There is a tiny bit of room for bikers, so I wait for a break in the traffic and make my way across the bridge. Half way across, I am pleased to find very few vehicles coming from the front, and the traffic behind me isn't in a rush to cross over. Near the end of the causeway, I see flashing lights and realize the oncoming traffic is being held back - maybe the traffic behind me sees the lights and is going slowly because of a safety issue. When I clear the bridge I quickly pull out of the way of the vehicles and let them pass. I watch the traffic flow and see what the fuss is all about - there is an extra wide load with a house being transported - it was right behind me on the causeway. Good grief! I'm feel alot of different feelings - 'relief' that the oncoming traffic was stopped for my trip across the causeway and 'shock' that one of the things I am very concerned about on the road (an extra wide load) was RIGHT behind me on the causeway and I did not even know it was there. None the less - I'm grateful that the Canso Causeway is over and done with now.

The last 40 km I am riding along the now busy Highway 105 during the hottest part of the day. There is a strong wind that I cannot tell exactly where it's coming from, but I know I'm wrestling with it for much of the ride - the upside of the wind is that it's keeping me cool. It's a hard ride and I pull out all my strategies to help keep me motivated.

I get to Whycocomagh and stop at the "Farmers Daughter" bakery/ restaurant to have some lunch and a cold beverage - what an absolute pleasure to have a bakery/ restaurant at the end of the day's journey. All the motels in town are booked up, so camping is an absolute must tonight. I buy a few extra bakery items to take back to the campground with me.

At the campground, I meet another biker - a Dutch woman in her late 30's - who is biking where ever she feels like in Canada. We spend a bit of time chatting together. She's spent the last 3 months biking all over the place - she's amazing! It is great to hear of her experiences. We both agree that overall, Canada has not done a great job of building a good infrastructure for bikers.

I picked up a can of ravioli for dinner. I find I've gorged on enough bakery foods that I have no desire for dinner - which means, no dishes (yay) - but it does mean I need re-sort my panniers to accommodate this new (heavy) item. I spend some time fiddling around with my luggage and organize myself so my departure in the morning goes somewhat quietly and efficiently.

I was ready to go to bed when I got to the campsite at 1:30 pm, so at 8:00 pm, I'm under the covers and instantly fall to sleep in the noisy campground. At this point, I don't care where I sleep, as long as it feels safe.