Day 6: Guysborough to Port Hawkesbury - Nova Scotia and Cape Breton 2003 - CycleBlaze

September 4, 2003

Day 6: Guysborough to Port Hawkesbury

I slept until 8:15 to recover from yesterday. Got away at 9:55 under mostly cloudy skies, feeling much better than yesterday. Moderate traffic on Hwy 16, then almost no traffic after turning on Hwy 344 which follows the coast around the north side of Chedaubucto Bay and then along the Strait of Canso. The pavement on Hwy 344 was in very bad condition but it's easy to wander on the road to find the smoothest spot when there is no traffic.

Typical bad pavement on highway 344.
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There are large hills along Chedaubucto Bay. I could see the water in the distance but never up close. The area is sparsely populated but there are occasional houses along the highway.

Many houses fly the Canadian flag. Not so many fly the Nova Scotia flag.
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The road gets flatter as I round into the Strait of Canso. I could see Cape Breton Island for the first time and I started to see more houses along the roadside, some obviously vacation homes.

Many houses have a water view.
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I was surprised to see a real estate sign catering to German speaking people.
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Traffic got much heavier as I approached the town of Mulgrave which has port and quarry facilities. Clouds got darker and more ominous looking. I passed through Mulgrave without seeing a restaurant and continued on to Auld's Cove for lunch at a touristy seafood restaurant/gift shop. The service was very slow and it was just starting to rain as I got back to the bike at 3 PM. From the restaurant it was only 1 km to the Canso Causeway. Traffic was backed up on the causeway because of a ship going through the canal. It takes a few minutes to rotate the bridge to allow a ship through the canal, and then a few more minutes to rotate the bridge back into position.

This bridge rotates to allow ships to pass through the Canso canal underneath. Photo taken 6 days later when it was sunny.
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After biking across the causeway I turned south towards Port Hawkesbury on a 4-lane highway with heavy traffic. It was by far the most populated area I'd seen since leaving Halifax. Port Hawkesbury is a rather gritty industrial town. The rain was gradually building in intensity. I rode 10 km and stopped at a supermarket to stock up on groceries. I asked about the weather forecast and was told that it's supposed to rain all night with possible severe storms. So I went across the street and checked into the Maritime Inn. It's rather expensive but is the only lodging in the area. I didn't want to backtrack 10km to the cheaper places near the causeway. In the room I cleaned up and spread out my stuff. The pannier contents didn't get very wet because I only rode in the rain for about an hour, mostly in light rain.

Later I ran through big puddles to a pizza place next door to get a carry out pizza. One of the worst pizzas I've ever had. Then into the hotel bar for a couple of Sleemans and a nice sweat in the sauna got me ready to sleep like a baby. The weather forecast on TV indicated that it would probably continue raining until late tomorrow.

Distance: 69.9 km (43.7 mi)

Average speed: 16.9 km/h (10.6 mph)

Maximum speed: 79.8 km/h (49.9 mph) fastest speed on this trip

Climbing: 617m (2036 ft)

Today's ride: 70 km (43 miles)
Total: 467 km (290 miles)

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