Kilometers today: 189.8 (3,217.7 so far)
Hours in the saddle: 2:36 (49:11 so far)
Theme music: Tartanic, in honor of the Cape Breton Highlanders
After a fantastic morning at the Cove Motel, we headed out towards Cape Breton under an overcast sky. We had drizzle pretty much all morning. On the upside, it was not hot today! Which is a good thing because apparently nobody has ice machines this far north. ? This whole ice thing is new to Julie.
We are taking the advice from the scenic driving book and doing the Cabot Trail backwards / counter-clockwise. A random dude at our motel recommended this to us as well. (This is the outer loop for you Washingtonians out there.) There is supposed to be less traffic this direction, and from what we saw today it’s true.
The Cabot Trail is some great riding. It was really cool at one point when we could see the road twist up a mountain, and then we did it.
Just past the aptly named Wreck Cove, when coming around a decreasing radius turn going 30-35 km/hr (~20 mph), Julie hit an oil patch and went for a slide. The drizzling rain didn’t help, and the 50/50 (road/offroad) tires don’t grip as well on wet road. Either way there’s not much you can do when you hit an oil patch. The Tigress is fine, she has crash bars, and the soft luggage is a little scratched but fine. Julie’s safety gear did a good job and I just have a bruise on my forearm. Several cars chirped and squealed their tires coming thru that turn while we were taking a break. That’s why they say to dress for the slide and not for the ride! Klim is going to get a couple of warranty repair requests when we get home.
We went to get some lunch to address post-adrenaline shakes. (We’ve been snacking for lunch to save time and prevent afternoon sleepiness.) Jaron found a cottage available on Ingonish Harbor nearby and we decided to bag it the rest of the day. Our cottage has a nice view and we could see the barrier reef that protects the harbor both on the map and with our eyeballs.
After some lazing around and reading all afternoon, Jaron went to pick up some food and came home with popcorn, brownies, & a chocolate whoopie pie for dinner, because Jaron is THE BEST. 😍
There’s still quite a bit we want to do in this area, but lodging options going in to the weekend are pretty slim. But we found a private room at a hostel and we’ll see what that’s all aboot. It’s got very good reviews. We are taking advantage of our hot shower while we have one!
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