Digby, NS to Middleton, NS

June 17, 2015

Another nice day here in Nova Scotia. We woke to bright sunshine and warming temperatures. After a pretty standard breakfast at the B&B, we loaded up our bikes and headed inland.

Today's ride to Middleton

Heart

Comment

Link

My only complication today was getting out of Digby and heading north and/or northeast. Our original plan had been to head to Ponhook Lake and then up to Halifax. But after deciding to eventually head to Yarmouth to take the ferry to Portland, we decided an approach to Halifax via the Annapolis River Valley would be better, as it would not entail traveling the same terrain twice. Same amount of time, but we see more of Nova Scotia!

So to do this required crossing two rivers: Big Joggins and Bear River. The first was easy; there was at least a rail trail across it. The second looked more challenging as the rail trail stopped short of Bear River at NS-101, and RWGPS wanted us to follow NS-1 and cross about five miles upstream. And I wasn't sure if we were even allowed on NS-101. So we sort of figured it out on the fly.

And we did it by choosing to leave town on the rail trail, an unpaved trail with rough patches here and there.

The Digby Rail Trail, located on the former right-of-way for the Dominion Atlantic Railway.

The Annapolis Basin as seen from the Digby Rail Trail.

Another view, this from the crossing over Big Joggins, that shows the town of Digby and the Digby Gut (the passage to Fundy Bay).

After we crossed Big Joggins, we decided to ride NS-1, which for this stretch is very local and only serves the houses between the Big Joggins and Bear River. We actually alternated between NS-1 and the trail a bit but ultimately stayed on NS-1 as far as Bear River. There, we were able to assess the situation at NS-101 a bit better and decided to go ahead and take the on-ramp and cross there rather than trek upstream.

NS-101 is a fairly major highway and the backbone of travel up and down the west coast of Halifax. But we managed the crossing fine and found a good shoulder on the far side to climb up from the river on. And at the top, there was an exit for NS-1, which we took, and so were not on NS-101 for very long at all.

NS-1 is also known as the Evangeline Trail. It is named after the principal character in the book "Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie," published in 1847 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The character's depiction is also part of the logo used by the Dominion Atlantic Railway (which is still an active corporation). So for the balance of the day, we followed the Evangeline Trail, or NS-1, up the Annapolis River Valley as far as Middleton, our stop for the night. Amazingly, we could not get accommodations at the Best Western in Kingston!

After traversing many hills along the basin, we arrived in Annapolis Royal, a small town at the mouth of the Annapolis River and, I suppose, the real beginning of the valley. Here, the terrain flattens out a bit and becomes more gentle and rolling. You are still climbing as you are headed upstream, but it is mostly easy cycling with beautiful views all about and almost no traffic.

I could have taken many more pictures but didn't lol. But you get the idea. This valley is considered the breadbasket of the province and the rail trail, if you choose to ride it. It follows the river very closely. Being unpaved and fully loaded, we preferred the paved NS-1 but enjoyed the sections we did ride close to Digby.

Middleton was our destination by default in some respects. I would have preferred to get an additional ten miles in today, but we couldn't tie down accommodations in Kingston. I wanted to get as much flatland riding in as possible so that our push into Halifax on Friday would be a short day. That probably won't happen now, as the next reasonable stop looks to be Windsor, about 50 miles from Middleton. We also need to make a pit stop at the bike shop in Kentville to have my drivetrain looked at (again!), as it's making a terrible racket. Not slipping yet, but I need to (permanently) fix whatever the problem is!

Our hotel looked not so good from the outside but turned out decent enough inside. And Middleton has lots of food options (which Kingston does not), so we ate well tonight. Room 7 again (inside joke for Linda!)

I believe our last Room 7 was at Leonardo's.

Today's ride: 50 miles (80 km)
Total: 2,921 miles (4,701 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0