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Halifax & Cape Breton Island
  • Brian Bell

Halifax & Cape Breton Island

My first bikepacking trip and first trip to Nova Scotia. Read more
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  • Trip start
    May 31, 2024
    Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler

    YEG

    May 31, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Departure from Edmonton

    Well the night did not start well. I arrived at the airport, bike packed up and excited to roll. Upon checking in, I was informed my drivers license was expired. 🤬

    Fortunately the two individuals checking me in were very understandable and made it simple for me. Meg, on the other hand, had to drive back home and then back to the airport with my passport. Thank goodness we filled up the car at the airport before she dropped me off. And thank you Meg for pulling out your Verstappenesk skills on QE2 and the Henday. I’m sure you put down a few PRs on that drive. 😆

    Officially on the plane and hoping to get some rest!    Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler

    Arrived in Halifax

    June 1, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C

    Just arrived in Halifax, local time 5:46 am, time in Edmonton 2:46 am. Overall, my flight went pretty well. Woke up to a bit of turbulence, but at least I got some of sleep on the plane.

    Shortly after a quick stop for coffee and breakfast we arrived at Cory’s. I was pleasantly surprised that it only took me about 30 mins to get my bike built up again. It’s ready to roll for a spin later today. However, our next stop will be a lunch BBQ with Chippy and his family.Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler

    Lunch with Chippy & Co.

    June 1, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    For lunch today we went over to Brett & Tasha’s new place in greater Halifax for a fabulous meal. So nice to see Bria, who just turned 4, and meet Leo, the newest addition to the Chipchase family, even if he was a little hesitant to meet me 🤣.Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler

    Evening at Cory & Jessica’s

    June 1, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Had a relaxing afternoon and evening around the house watching the French open, the latest night of play in the history of the event with the final match ending at 3:08 am in Paris. What an amazing comeback by Djokovic. Florida also beat the Rangers to advance to the Cup finals. Can’t wait to see if the Oilers can close out the series on Sunday night. I’m not used to the games going so late due to the time change.

    Jess and Cory made an amazing feast last night. I love salmon and everything was delicious!!! Tomorrow we head to Baddeck which is where we’ll depart on our epic adventure!    Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler
    1
    212

    Starting Point - Baddeck

    Jun 2–3, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Cory and I packed up the car earlier this morning to start our official bike packing trip. We left Halifax around 12:30 and arrived just before 4. As you can see, the drive was very wet. It poured off and on for the majority of the trip but cleared just as we arrived in Baddeck at the Silver Dart Lodge. I’m happy it was pouring today as we are expecting cloudy conditions tomorrow and I didn’t pack my full rain kit 😬.

    After checking in we prepped our bikes and packed all our gear. It’s pretty amazing how small everything can compress and how much those bike bags fit. I definitely would need panniers if this was a camping bike pack trip, but we’re going fast and light, so credit card bike packing was the way to go.

    The view from our room and front patio is amazing. It still a little chilly out and I’m wishing I brought over tights for the week as I expect my legs may get a little cold with the low temps and potential rain on Tuesday. However, my back up plan is to just wear my technical pants for off the bike, fingers crossed it’s not necessary.

    For dinner tonight we went to The Freight Shed, an amazing waterfront restaurant. Our starters tonight were steamed mussels and scallops followed by a Vegetarian flatbread for Cory and Crab cakes for me. It was an awesome meal, exactly what I was hoping for at the start of our trip. There was a lighthouse in view from the patio, too bad it was chilly with a little mist coming down which meant we could eat out there.

    In preparation for tonight’s Oilers game, we picked up some salty crunchy snacks from the local convenience store. Unfortunately, our hotel doesn’t have Sportsnet 🤬. Of course, it’s not a smart tv so we couldn’t stream to it and I didn’t bring an adapter to connect my phone to the tv, it was on my original packing list but didn’t make the cut.

    The good news is we’ll able to stream the game on own phones, thank goodness for technology!!!

    LETS GO OILERS!!!    Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler
    1
    22

    Baddeck to Margaree Harbour

    Jun 3–4, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Cory and I woke up just before 8 this morning. It was a bit of a late night watching the Oilers It’s been almost 20 years since they won the conference title and I was hoping they would avenge the 2006 loss against the Hurricanes but I’m still excited we’ll get to watch them battle Florida for the right to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup!!!

    We started out the day having breakfast at Highwheelers Cafe and Bakery. Their bagel breakfast sammy and cranberry apple scone were delicious. After we were fueled up we headed back to the room to finish packing up everything on our bikes and stashing our travel bags in the car. The hotel allowed us to park the car there while we are out on our tour.

    The day on the bike started at 9:55. It was cloudy and cool at 10 degrees. It was a nice easy downhill ride about 5 km to the start of the Cabot Trail. Once we got on it, there were no longer shoulders wide enough for us to ride side by side. In reality, there’s not a shoulder at all which makes for some sketchy spots when cars are passing us around corners. But I never felt unsafe.

    Our ride was 62 km door to door with 580 m of elevation. There was only 1 big climb today with 130 m of elevation over less than 3 km. The views were amazing and the sun came out after the first 20 km which made for comfortable riding. We made one stop at Lake O’Law picnic site and snapped a few bike vault pics!, feel free to nice or super nice in comments 😆. One of the highlights of the day was a bald eagle took off from right of us and was only 20 feet away. I couldn’t get my camera out fast enough to get a close up. Seeing a bald eagle always reminds me of my grandfather who passed sway a few years ago. I’ve had quieter a few encounters since he passed, even in the city a few times. I always feel like it’s him checking in on me.

    The Duck Cove Inn, where we’re staying tonight, doesn’t have a lot of curb appeal but they’ve renovated the rooms and it’s much nice that I think either of us expected. The owners were very nice and the women who checked us in was very chatty and excited to tells us about all the work they’ve done on the place. The view from the room is of Margaree Harbour and you can see the Atlantic Ocean from out front.

    We’ve been warned that everything closed early here, meaning if you eat by 7, everything is closed so we’re heading out on our bikes to grab some snacks for the room tonight and an early dinner.    Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler
    1121

    Evening in Margaree Harbour

    Jun 3–4, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    After a bit of rest we ran into the only store in the entire town for some snacks for the evening as well as an early dinner. The stire which was a little gas station, auto and bike shop, had limited options but we wouldn’t need much after our dinner at Belleview restaurant.

    We both took in some fish and chips for dinner and Cory also had some Seafood Chowder and I took in their bacon wrapped scallops.

    On our way to dinner we cycled past Nanny and Pappy Gallants 🤣. Cory informed me that there are a lot of Gallants, no relationship, and Arsenaults out East, and sure enough the next house was an Arsenault

    We played few games of crib series is 1 - 1 right now, and we’re now relaxing in front of the tv.

    The plan for tomorrow is to depart around 10 and stop in Cheticamp for lunch before tackling the big climb of the day.    Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler

    Maragree Harbour to Cheticamp

    June 4, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We started out day again in mid morning departing the Duck Cove Inn towards our next nights accommodation in Pleasant Bay, The Mountain View lodge.

    The approach to our ride was slightly different than day 1. We planned to skip breakfast out and grab a nice lunch in Chéticamp before the ride started to head up into the mountains along the coast.

    Leaving Margaree Harbour there were high wind warnings on the highway and I even had a warning come across my garmin during the ride to lunch. It was cloudy the whole way to lunch at The Doryman Pub and Grill. Cory started with some Fricto, a traditional Acadian dish, and then a club sammy. I opted for a Caesar salad to start and and a chicken sammy, which was much larger than I expected, but hit the spot.

    The views along the coast were amazing and I was really looking forward to the second half of our ride where we’ll climb into the mountains. I expect the vistas to be amazing.    Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler
    2

    Cheticamp to Pleasant Bay

    Jun 4–5, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    After departing Cheticamp the work for the day was going to start. We rode inland from the coast into Cape Breton Highlands National Park and the hills started coming fast. The first two were relatively short, 1 km with 80 m of elevation (7.8% grade) and 0.85 km with 30 m of elevation (3.6% grade). The biggest climb of the trip was next and it didn’t disappoint. It was 5.4 km with 393 m of elevation (7.2% grade). We stopped a couple of times to take in the amazing views along the climb.

    As we crested the climb, the view continues to be amazing. The clouds cleared as we started climbing and it was quite lovely out. The wind also died down a bit as we went inland, however, even on some of the descents a gust would slow us down significantly. The final decent into Pleasant Bay was epic. Super twisty, fun and fast!!! As we approached the bottom we finally saw some other bikers. They were fully loaded for a trip and had panniers, one of them was even pushing their bike up the hill. I’m very glad we went fast and light for our trip as that didn’t look like a fun ride.

    I have to say, once we entered the national park the roads were much better and had a should that allowed us to ride side by side. There was also very little traffic in comparison to the first half of the ride which was really nice.

    The plan for the evening is to head out to the Rusty Anchor for dinner and the come back to the room to rest and relax for another day on the bike tomorrow.    Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler
    12

    Evening in Pleasant Bay

    Jun 4–5, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    For dinner this evening we headed back towards the coast to The Rusty Anchor. I’ve been wanting to have a lobster roll since I arrived and it was delicious. We had mussels again to start, one of my favourite appetizers and Cory had the haddock dinner which he said was very well cooked. It was a couple of km back to our dinner spot and the ride was definitely worth the effort. The clouds cleared and we are now having a sunny evening, not what was on the forecast, a pleasant surprise.

    The view from the restaurant was great and after dinner we walked over to the edge of cliff the restaurant was on which provided a 180 degree view of the coast.

    We’ve been pretty fortunate with the weather so far on this trip. Fingers crossed tomorrow is another day of nice weather!

    The plan for tomorrow is to have breakfast at our hotel tomorrow before we head back into the Highlands on our journey to Ingonish Beach. We’re hoping to arrive in the middle of the afternoon so we can soak in the hot tub with a few beveys before dinner.    Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler

    Sunset at the harbour

    June 4, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Quickly ripped down to the harbour to see the sunset and snap a few pics. After I set up my bike, there was another group of tourists that all posed with it as well🤣🤣🤣

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler

    Pleasant Bay to Ingonish Beach

    Jun 5–6, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    We woke up to rain this morning which we were hoping would be done by 11. It wasn’t 😬. No choice but to pack up and hit the road as checkout was 11. As we said goodbye to Pleasant Bay, we began our biggest day on the bike yet.

    As we started out there was a light rain that slowly dissipated, however, that didn’t make much of a difference. Our first climb was the biggest of the day with 426 m of elevation over 6 km. It was longer than yesterday’s climb but had a lower average grade. I could definitely feel the previous days rides on my legs while on the climbs. As we made our way up North Mountain we disappeared into the clouds, which meant everything got soaked. At the top of the climb there was an emergency shelter with a bench, wood burning stove and an emergency phone. It also had power outlets and lights. Not a terrible place to spend some time if things went really south on a trip.

    The decent down the backside of North Mountain was epic!!! Not too many twists or turns which allowed me to get some fun speed on the way down. As we all passed the turn off to Dingwall there was a stunning view of the ocean, just a sneak peak of what was to come.

    There were three more climbs before we hit the coast, one that had 232 m over 5 km, but the other two very manageable compared to the previous two monsters. As we rolled through Neil’s Harbour the view of the coast started. We made a few stops along the way and I almost caused crash with Cory at one spot, sorry Cory!!! Another pleasant surprise as progressed along our journey is the sun came out for the last 90 minutes of our journey. Both of us are sunburnt and don’t bring any sunscreen

    Before we hit Ingonish there was one more little climb with a nice decent towards the coast. As we rode along the highway we could see our accommodations across the bay, but they were still almost 10 km away.

    When we arrived, it was a welcome break off the bike. We’re checked in and unpacking for the night.    Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler

    Relaxing & Refueling

    June 5, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    After we checked in, it was time to hit the relax button. We quickly unpacked in our bikes and threw on our swimsuits to go for a hot tub. And before you ask, yes, we packed swimsuits and carried them for three days just to use them tonight! It was worth it! The hot tub here is hilarious. It’s a 4 person tub and the water level is so low the hets shoot water out of the Hottub. But the views were amazing and that’s what we really cared about.

    After hot tubing, I walked up to the old building, which is now closed and waiting for a decision on next steps. The view from the pool behind it was pretty cool.

    We went out for dinner at the onsite restaurant, which had a great view and musician playing in the lounge. We sat in the corner and ordered a couple batches of wings and Cory had the Lobster Baked Ziti and I went for the Lobster Risotto. I was starving, as was Cory. Neither of us fueled enough on the bike today and we’re going to have to be on top of that tomorrow.

    After dinner it was time head up to the room for bed. We’re both exhausted and we need to be on the road earlier tomorrow as we’re diving back to Halifax after our longest day yet.    Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler
    111

    Ingonish Beach to Baddeck Part 1

    June 6, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Today started out much earlier than the rest of days on the Cabot Trail. We went down to the hotel restaurant for their breakfast buffet and there were lobster fishing boats out checking all the traps right outside the window. Very cool!!! Breakfast hit the spot and allowed us to load up on some calories for our biggest day of the trip.

    We start out shortly after 9 and our first stop was a convenience store as we didn’t have any nutrition for the day. The snacks we picked up had little nutritional value but we just needed carbs as we had almost 100 km of riding ahead. The day was going to be our longest at 96 km and the second most elevation with over 1150 m. The first little climb of the day, 1.1 km with 49 m of elevation (4.4% grade), came quickly but was just a warm up for the big one, Cape Smokey which started within 10 km of our starting point. The climb started out slowly, picked up in the middle and then settled back down. It was a total of 259 m of elevation over 6.6 km (3.9% grade). Compared to the previous two days, this was tame, however, the decent on the other side was STEEP. The two warning signs in the way down said 10% and 12%. I would have taken pics but I couldn’t slow down enough with out some seriously hard breaking. I even missed the lookout too. It was fast and steep. The Strava segment ‘Smokey Steep Decent’ lists it as 2.24 km with -204 m, that’s an average gradient of -9.1%. My average speed was 49.6 km/h, which felt amazing and super fun. We had some amazing views along the trail and spotted a cafe sign 17 km ahead which would be a perfect time for a pastry and coffee. The next great view we had was after a short climb and it was timed perfect. As we pulled in a car load from Maine pulled in to snap some pics and were more than happy to take a few for us. After that it was about 5 km to our snack stop.    Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler

    The Clucking Hen

    June 6, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Quick stop for a coffee and a scone, which were so moist that some may have classified them as muffins, on our way to back to Baddeck. We’re about half way to the car and this was the first coffee shop on the entire trip on the side of the road that made sense for us to stop at. It was also my first americano of the bike trip, a welcome boost of energy to get me prepped first the remainder of the ride. The scones were delicious and the view from our table was amazing.Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler

    Ingonish Beach to Baddeck Part 2

    June 6, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    After we left the road remained relatively relaxed with mainly rolling hills with a few little climbs sprinkled in to keep us working the rest of the day. We started to spend more time inland and the temperature started to rise as the sun came out. We were pretty fortunate with the weather the entire trip, with the exception of day 3, which in comparison was pretty gross. However it could have been torrential and I’m grateful we were so fortunate.

    As we wiggled our way back to the shores of the inland lakes, the ocean was no longer visible, but that didn’t mean the views wouldn’t be amazing. There was several stunning spots and we stopped to take a few pictures along the way. When we hit the 80 km mark on our adventure, we were back on a main highway with shoulders big enough for us to ride comfortably at quicker speeds, in fact, our last 10 km lap was second to only our 3rd, which is a pretty amazing feat. We eventually turned off the main highway which would lead us back to Baddeck, “…the beginning and the end of the Cabot Trail.” As we inched closer to the end I tried my best to convince Cory to ride another few km to get us to 100 for the day, but he was having no part of it. 😆

    We ended the day back at the Silver Dart Lodge, where we loaded up the car and changed into some clothes that didn’t have a padded bum next stop was the gas station for some fuel for the car and well earned junk food.

    The plan for the evening is pizza and beer!!!    Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler

    Pizza and Beer

    June 6, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    After an uneventful drive home, we ordered Halifax’s top pizza, YeahYeah’s, for dinner. It’s New York style and it’s delicious. We ordered a pepperoni and “The Meats”, great choices. As we celebrated our first bike packing trip, we cracked a couple of Moosehead and ate more pizza that we probably should have😆.

    Time to relax for the evening and get prepared for some Halifax sight seeing and eating tomorrow!!!    Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler
    11

    Final Day in Halifax

    Jun 7–8, 2024 in Canada ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    We woke this morning in a cloud, as seems to be the case at Cory and Jessica’s house. My last in Halifax was very busy and fun. Cory and I started out with a drive down to Peggy’s Cove. So cool to see the views and light house. What a cute fishing village and it was pretty quiet according to Cory too.

    Next up was lunch with Chippy and Cory. I had to try out a Halifax donair and we went to one of the originals, Tony’s. I’ve had a few donairs in my life and Tony’s was up there with the best but I will say that it didn’t blow the rest out of the water. It was a pretty good donair, extra sloppy, the way I like it. We went for a walk around Halifax Commons after lunch which helped from not dozing off on the drive home. Although, once we were home, I was in need of a quick nap to recharge. Could have been from the long day yesterday, the winding roads to Peggy’s Cove, or the pizza and beer from the night before. Either way it was necessary.

    We had dinner reservations at ‘The Highwayman’ at 6:15 so Cory and I came into downtown Halifax early to take in the sights. We did a walk along the waterfront, which was filled with restaurants and shops. I loved the drunken light post installation. What a fun piece of art!

    The plan for the afternoon was to have a few cocktails along the water before dinner, but right after we ordered the first one at The BG, the temperature dropped and more clouds rolled in so we wandered down the street for some buck-a-shuck, one of my favourite ocean treats but not something Cory enjoys. It’s ok, I had no problem sucking back 18 oysters in the half shell😆

    We made one more stop before dinner at the local Mexican restaurant. I tried in of the local breweries sour beer and was pleasantly surprised!!! I was very tempted, as was Cory, to order a few tacos as a snack prior to dinner, but we resisted the urge and were rewarded with an outstanding feast.

    The Highwayman is a Spanish, tapas style restaurant, which I really enjoy as you get to order lots of small bites. I tried a One Horse Town cocktail, which had Bourbon, White Vermouth, Orange, Lemon, and Mint, it was delicious. We ordered half the menu and weren’t disappointed with anything. I think the consensus was that if we had to eliminate a dish it would have been the cheese and charcuterie board, because everything else was amazing. A few stand out dishes for me, in no particular order, were the Beef tartare, albacore tuna, smoked trout rillette, the charred broccoli and the seared scallop with pork belly. Sorry we didn’t take and food pics, we were enjoying the meal and each others company. 😁

    I have to say, the last day was a memorable one and very special enjoyable. It’ll be an early night as we have to get up at 4:45 to head to the airport.    Read more

  • Brian BellHalifax & Cape Breton IslandTraveler

    Departure and Reflections

    June 8, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    The morning came much too quickly today, as tends to be the case when you have to get up in what most would still call the middle of the night. Cory and I were loaded up and out the door before 5, which mean no traffic.

    Our on way home from our bike trip, during dinner with Jessica that night and throughout our last day together we took some time to reflect on the 4 days we spent on our bike travelling the Cabot trail.

    When Cory asked me what my favourite day was it took me me a while to make a decision. There were so many highlights throughout the trip. The first view of coast when we arrived Margaree Harbour was amazing, the sunset at Pleasant Bay was definitely a highlight and the coves on the way to Ingonish Bay were absolutely beautiful too. There were so many wonderful views and experiences over the four days but when asked one, after several discussions, the ride from Cheticamp to Pleasant Bay with the climb of French Mountain. The clouds cleared that day as we entered Cape Breton Highlands National Park and the views throughout the climbs on the coast were spectacular.

    When asked which was the worst day, it was a no brainer, Pleasant Bay to Ingonish Beach. Starting in rain, getting crushed by the North Mountain, climbing into the rain clouds, riding with puddles in my shoes, descending in 5 degree temperatures soaking wet, you get the point. Day 3 started out really tough and being cold on the bike leads to poor decisions on the bike. Neither of us hydrated well throughout the day and we definitely didn’t eat enough that day. However, when we got to the coast and the clouds cleared, we were rewarded with some warmer weather and great views, which made it all worth while. Plus the hot tub and dinner at the Keltic Lodge was also a nice reward.

    This was by far one of the most amazing experiences on a bike I’ve ever had. I’m so grateful to Cory for inviting me out and planning the entire trip, Jess, for letting me take her husband away for a week of vacation, my daughters, Delaney and Anniston, and most of all, my wife, Meghan. Training for this adventure took up a lot of my time and required the support and understanding of my family. I appreciate you filling my water bottles, brining me snacks, and just coming to spend some time with me when I was training alone in the garage. I am truly grateful and understand how fortunate I am to be able to go on such an amazing journey.

    And I hope this shows my girls that if you commit and prepare for anything challenging you can achieve amazing things, because if Cory can ride the Cabot Trail without Cranky Cory making an appearance, anything is possible!!!    Read more

    Trip end
    June 8, 2024
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