SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 MOTORCYCLE MOJO 29weather, or if I hadn’t just ridden past
Holger’s shop, or if it was a general
store and not a bike rider-friendly
motorcycle repair shop, or if Holger
didn’t have a buddy who just
happened to have a cabin that was
available at an affordable, biker rate.
Like I said, when one door closes,
another opens. That was proving to be
a theme for the trip.
A Lucky Sign
On my way to Cape Breton to ride the
Cabot Trail, I pulled into Antigonish
for some fuel for both my bike and me.
When I came back out on the highway,
the bike felt a little funny. Often this
can be caused by an odd road surface
and as soon as the pavement changes,
the problem goes away. But I paid close
attention. It wasn’t getting better; it was
getting worse. I pulled over at a level
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the cross street. I got off my bike and
immediately found that the rear tire
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the driver where I was so I could call
CAA. He pointed at a sign. It was a
billboard for a Yamaha dealer. I said,
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- and for that I need CAA.” I didn’t
understand what he was going on
about because the sign was surrounded
by trees and bush; there weren’t any
buildings in view. He said, “No, that is
the dealer. That is the entrance to their
driveway.” Turns out that the dealer
was 300 metres up the driveway and
couldn’t be seen from where I was. I
called the number on the sign, and a
young guy from the dealership brought
out a truck and trailer and we took my
fully laden bike into the shop.
They didn’t have the tire I wanted,
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so I was on my way in slightly more
an hour. I reached Baddeck on Cape
Breton Island, my planned destination,
in plenty of time. Am I lucky or what?
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on a major highway, in this case Hwy.
104 just outside of Antigonish, getting
one about 75 metres from the driveway
to a motorcycle dealership on Pomquet
River Road is the way to do it. What are
the chances? I was beginning to think
they were quite high. One door closed.
Another opened.
Beers and a Book
On another occasion, I pulled over in
Kentville, N.S., to see how far I was
from Parrsboro. The GPS reading said
98 km. I called to tell my cousin that
I was on my way and would be there
in about an hour and a half. I wanted
to go straight there because, of course,
the forecast was for rain. I entered the
destination into my GPS, which worked
out the route: the display indicated I
was going to have a 344-km ride. Ah
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straight across the Minas Basin. I called
again to say I’d be there the following
day and set out for Blomidon Provincial
Park instead.
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lady who was the park employee who
would sign me in. Also there was a
park volunteer – a lady closer to my
age – who helped out. Turns out she
was a motorcycle rider and enthusiast.
After all of the laughs and stories, I
took about half an hour to get out of the
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was a sign that said that alcohol was
banned from the park. Well, I hadn’t
picked up any, so that wasn’t going to
be an issue.
About 10 minutes after I arrived at
my campsite and while I was setting
up my tent, the volunteer showed up
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and a book. She surreptitiously handed
me the bag – there was cold beer inside
- and said to be discreet. The book she
gave me was a one cm-thick tourist
guide called Motorcycle Tour Guide:
Nova Scotia & Atlantic Canada, which is
written by Harold and Wendy Nesbitt.
It is a veritable treasure trove of motor
cycle routes, sites, accommodations,
etc., and became a valuable part of my
tour planning. So, I couldn’t make it to
my cousin’s place. So what. Instead, I
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paper bag, reading my new book and
enjoying being in the outdoors – until
morning, at which time I broke camp in
the rain. Overall, a great experience that
would have been missed had things
gone according to plan.
Fort Ingall
You might call my trip to Nova Scotia
this year my Rain Ride of 2019. I don’t
mind the rain – even riding in the
I GOT OFF MY BIKE
AND IMMEDIATELY
FOUND THAT THE REAR
TIRE WAS FLAT
A lonely canoe sits idle amongstthe mists of a calm lake at thecabin Lewis happened upon.