Bound for Cape Breton.

Danny and Dana's home Rain clouds gathering.

I didn't have a full tank when I left the Island.  The DL 650 is good for several hours in the saddle, well at least the tank-age is.  My butt... not so much.  I am going to look for a pull back extension to move the stock handlebars back and elevate them somewhat.  I find that with my short stature, the bars put me in a stretch position that in turn exasperates my existing back and shoulder problems.  I did think of installing a set of 'ape hangers' but rejected the idea after much thought :)

Storm clouds were gathering farther east as I pulled off at Antigonish and filled the tank.  I wouldn't have to stop for fuel until my return to the mainland in a few days.

Cape Breton tourist outlet.  Wonderful service!

From this pretty little town... I would explore more on the backside, it was but a short ride to the Canso causeway and the Island of C.B.  The Canso strait separates the island from the rest of Nova Scotia and once across depending on your destinations, you have several choices of route. 

Highway 19 will take you up the west side towards Cheticamp, before you cruise into the National Park on what is well known as the Cabot Trail, named after 15th century Italian explorer, John Cabot. Let me correct that, he was Genoese, Italy as we know it didn't actually exist at the time. 

Trans Canada route 105 will take you through the lovely community of Baddeck which is also famous.  This was the summertime home of Alexander Graham Bell and the frozen lake below the family estate was the site of the first heavier than air flight in an aircraft in Canada.  The Silver Dart was piloted by John McCurdy.

Shores of Bras d' Or lake

You can also choose the following route 104/4 to the Sidney area or from there, the historic Fort Louisburg just outside the town by the same name, is but a short detour.


Dan and Dana live just outside of Sydney Mines but I would be visiting them at their summer home on the Saint Andrew's Channel, an arm of Bras d' Or Lake, which by the way is actually a salt water inland sea that is reputed to have over a thousand kilometers of shore line! 

I've been to Cape Breton numerous times in the past and I must say, it has to be one of the most diverse geographically speaking Islands and certainly one of the most scenic that I have ever had the pleasure to visit.  Hordes of tourist come to soak up the beauty, the fresh sea air and the history of the Island.  Motorcyclist of course travel it in droves and though it may not be quite as famous as the Angeles Crest highway in California or the Blue Ridge Parkway in New England, nevertheless it is dang pretty.

Bailey Bridge 1 lane

Crossing the strait I was met with a fresher hint of rain in the air and soon after I was ducking around thunderheads and sometimes passing through rain showers or just skirting them.  I didn't stop to don rain gear, because
1) I didn't have any for one thing, and
2) I know from experience that here
 you could be heading for rain or sunshine and there was plenty of both today.  The temperature was in the mid 20's so an occasional dousing didn't turn the day into a poor experience.  I passed through Port Hawkesbury, then Soldiers Cove, Johnstown, Irish Cove and on to the Sydney area.  Finding the D's not at home I connected with them by cell and proceeded down the 223 to their summer digs just under Barrachois Mountain.  

Looking over St Andrews Channel

In the rain of course.  I turned off and shortly after crossing a Baily bridge I managed to ride down the steep rocky trail to their wonderful little cabin on the lake!

The Lake access road,  "She's all downhill from here lads!"

No sooner had I shut down than I was greeted by Dana (who was a student of my Fort Mac motorcycle training course waaaaay back when) and her husband Danny.  I hadn't seen them since coming through CB back in 2013 when my long time (also
 from FM) friend Ron Moropito and I, riding my Triumph and he on my VX 800 stopped in for a visit. 

Ron was on the East coast from his home in Kamloops British Columbia on holidays. 

Once I lounged out, I met Finnegan, Fonz and Miss Piggy (who is in actuality, a boy but with a complex

Gorgeous next morning.

The gang!!!

) Over the next couple of days, I got lots of furry attention during my stay!

Beyond Tidnish!

WE that grew up around the Rockies can perhaps be a little jaded in our views.  Fortunately in my own case, I've traveled a lot beyond those extra special mountains, and have learned that majestic snow capped peaks aside, the planet has much to offer an intrepid motorbike traveler.

Confederation Bridge

Take for example Cape Breton and the North shore of Nova Scotia.  Only a few hours ride from my home, there are ample opportunities for jaw dropping.

I was on my way to visit long time friends from my Fort Mac days, who reside just outside Sydney Mines Cape Breton.  This ride would be little back roads, some without names or numbers or painted lines. I've been to CB countless times in the years I first discovered the Maritimes but generally to get there I'd travel the highways at highway speeds.  This time around I was determined to get off the beaten fast track and meander along the coast, in and out of tiny hamlets, often with the speedometer needle hovering on the low side of 60 kph from one bend, one valley, one hilltop, one inlet to another.  The Trans Canada is never far away and if you feel the need for speed, it's only the next on ramp away.

WITH the DL 650 otherwise known as V Strom , serviced, saddlebags and top box mounted, map in hand, well pocket... I set out early towards the Confederation Bridge from my home on PEI. I would be traveling by myself as I most often have during my riding career.  I pulled into Borden to multiple lines of vehicles leaving the Island.  Since the completion of the bridge severe weather aside, getting off the Island is pretty simple.  Today however I was greeted by dozens of cars, RV's, transfer trucks and even one or two motorcycles, shades of the old days waiting for the boat!  After 10 minutes in a slow moving Credit Card only automated line-up, a female employee approached me and instructed me to take an alternate lane.  her explanation, for some reason the system was not recognizing motorcycles.  I looked across the pad and there were lines of vehicles backed up almost to the first curve into Borden.  not to worry she yelled, follow me!  This rather squat tiny woman in her bright orange vest, parted several lanes of traffic for me with only the wave of her authoritative hand and delivered me well, not to the other side of the Red Sea, but to the same approximate placing as I had just left several lanes ago.  I was grateful that I did not have to go to the back of the bus.

WALLET once again stowed and clear of several lanes of converging traffic, I was on my way.  Accelerating  up to 80 kph, the legal maximum bridge speed, I counted pavement cracks on this marvel of engineering crossing the Northumberland Strait.  Unlike crossing by car, the Strom sits me up high enough that with a little neck stretching I could glimpse the blue green waters below.  There were a few fishing boats about but of course there is an absolute NO stopping rule on the CCTV camera covered bridge.  The emergency lane is barely 4' wide so one must hope for the best and there is no photo op stops!

AFTER a very brief stop at the Port of Entry into New Brunswick, I rode the most boring stretch of road in the world to the roundabout at Port Elgin.  From here I would be literally off the beaten track with the exception of a few score miles of TC1 later in the day.

Road is definitely closed!

Port Elgin and Baie Verte are most definitely OtBT*  If you didn't know the route you could easily think you were going nowhere but if you are familiar with this little piece of forgotten roadway you would know that this is the back door to Nova Scotia! Of course even here in such a little traveled space you can expect the unexpected.  I saw the Orange sign but continued anyway.  It had warned of a detour bypassing a construction zone.  Now in the past I have often come to just such signs and indeed to bypass a piece of construction or some other such obstruction would have been impossible in a two track vehicle but many a time I was able to make it through riding a dual purpose motorcycle beyond where other traffic could go.  Now I will be the very first to admit that the Suzuki I was riding today, which by the way, belongs to the genre of Adventure Touring (ADV) bikes made popular by BMW GS models, Mega KTM's and scores of others including Suzuki, is most definitely NOT a dualie!  At well over 500 pounds, of which 50 can be well  up high on the frame, tall seat heights and wide bodywork running on tires that mimic knobbies but aren't... you didn't ride this bike on single track mountain trails!

Unrestored late '60's W 650 Kawasaki at the Blue Cat in Baie Verte

Today even I was not that lucky as just before approaching my T cut-off that headed south to Aulac or east to Tidnish... the road indeed, was impassible.  Heavy equipment, a barrier holding back the incoming tide and construction sheds indicated a lengthy repair.  As so often happened in my riding career... I was "So near and yet so far."

Seeing no readily available alternative (more on that later) I turned the big bike around and headed back to the detour.

THE road into Tidnish NS is narrow, winding, mostly flat following the coastline and very stress free.  If you happened to be riding a V Strom, on this rough patched paved road, you were now in ADV heartland.  The psuedo knobby tires put plenty of rubber on the pavement, the narrow 90 degree Liquid Cooled V Twin sourced from Suzuki's line of sporty SV models, was now in its element.  With loads of power on hand, 100 kph on this little strip of tarmac shows the attributes of riding a bike such as this.  With pretty soft suspension, wide MX style handlebars, a six speed transmission that made use of the 645cc Twins torque and horsepower both, this is where the ADV lives! I could run well over 400 kilometers on a tank of fuel and if I were really frugal with the help of the one tooth over stock gearing, I could pass 500 km between fill ups.

Riding the Sunrise trail Nova Scotia

For my plans of the three digit back roads some of which had dodgy pavement and others NO pavement, this was where the 40 c.i. Suzuki was meant to live its life.  No fanfare, just lots of carrying capacity, fuel to explore back road hamlets that often ended at some local wharf and reasonable comfort. I had bought this bike two years ago in preparation for a X Canada ride.  As time became short I could see that spending two weeks on the highway droning along (do you realize how big Canada is?) wasn't going to be constructive and besides I'd done it west to east and back 40 years prior.  I ended up flying to Edmonton and riding Liz's old Suzuki Savage through the west.

AS many of you know, I like to ride alone. No disagreements with stopping points, bathroom breaks, where to eat and how fast (or slow) to travel.  No one to complain that I take too many photo ops, or that I often U turn on some dinky toy back village road.  To me its the only way to actually "tour" while on a motorbike.

There are few people I would ride long distance with, I could likely name them on one hand with a finger or two left over and today, while ripping along at what seems like obscene speed on this highway marked 370... I thought of how lucky I am to have discovered motorcycling before I turned thirteen!

Metro Tidnish

In them days, parents, law enforcement and the general public were not accustomed to seeing hundreds of bikes on the road, in fact if you saw a group of riders in jean jackets, they most often had patches denoting their affiliation with some bad biker gang or other.  There were NO Christian Bikers or Atlanticades or Gold Wings in those days!

Once at the Tidnish junction with NS highway 366, the road widens, traffic is more tourist than local at this time of year and  the presence of people although not great, is felt.



RIDING the Sunrise Trail as this stretch of road is referred to, is an abundant joy on two wheels.  Plenty of easy corners, wide shoulders, pretty good pavement especially on my knobby tires (!) and the added bonus of European style villages placed at every whistle stop.  Lorneville, Northport, Linden with larger centers like Pugwash (what a cute little burg that!!) and Wallace to fuel up or grab a bite to eat. There are zero the number of buildings higher than 3 stories, brightly painted homes and always the water, never far from the water.  You could ride around back here on a dual purpose bike of virtually any size for a week and not see all their is to see or do.  Tatamagouche , then onto towards Pictou where left takes to the summertime ferry crossing to the Island or right into the community of New Glasgow.

So typical of riding the East coast.

It was getting late in the afternoon by this time, I had spent so much time puttering, that I took a bit of the 104 towards Antigonish where I filled the enormous tank and from there headed to the Canso causeway and the gateway to Cape Breton. So far the late summer weather had been fabulous and I mean fabulous, but now I could see black thunderheads forming to the east.  I wasn't carrying any rain gear, my riding clothes offer some protection from occasional wet weather so I wasn't particularly worried.



Here is where the ADV bike shows its true colors for they are all really street bikes in disguise.  Back in the day when Paris to Dakar west Africa was the premier off road rally the world had ever known, bikes mimicking the racers were the grandfathers of what I was riding now.

I twisted the throttle upwards merging with fast movers on the TCH, my speedometer settling around 140 kph for many miles until approaching the narrow strait that would dump me in Port Hawkesbury on Cape Breton.  No RCMP cruisers were in sight and of the many cars in the stream passing me, some were equipped with radar warning devices, which of course are illegal in the land!  I was safe only venturing into the left hand lane on occasion to pass someone traveling at the posted limit.

Even though the thunderheads were well off to the SE, the odd spatter on the V Storm shield foretold of weather to come...

*OtBT  Off the beaten Track

Abby... wrong place, wrong time.

"Hey... where's those Friskies, this box is empty!"

People that know me well, know I am a cat guy.  Ever since my first encounter with 'Smokey' as a child, I have rarely been without a cat or cats.  There have been many, some only for a short time, others like Einstein, living with me for nearly 20 years.

Willy sitting with Abby

It's hard to explain why we take to such animals and I'm certain that other cat people would have their own reasons for living with cats.  I was going to say 'possessing' but as we all know we don't possess a cat, the cats possess us:)

For me growing up a cat represented company and friendship at a time I didn't have much of that elsewhere.

Caring, loving and dependable.  Not judgemental.

Smokey used to run to me from our yard and jump up into my arms as a boy coming home from elementary school.

Snoopy used to wait by the driveway at my Silver Springs home and she would jump into my arms and perch herself right on my shoulders.  Willy the little cuddle bug, whom we refer to as our "boy in the bubble" for all his ailments and who now sits atop my TV within reach, toothless but undoubtedly happy.  He'll purr away all day in my arms.

 Little Phoenix I brought back with me to Canada in early January 2011.  He'd found his way into my home and heart and when I could find no one to take him and provide a home for him, I sat him in my Blazer and drove the 2500 kms home to Calgary.


The following year when it came time to move east, in those last few hectic and depressing weeks, he was my constant companion, making me laugh when I wanted to cry, keeping me warm on the last few cold evenings after everything but the blow up but rapidly deflating mattress had been packed.



Once on the Island we quickly found ourselves two more pussy cats.  Willy came from the humane society and almost didn't even make the trip home.  He has peculiar problems that perhaps will ultimately shorten his life and were a deterrent to adoption. Yet here he sits, within reach and has provided such joy to us all as to be almost beyond belief.

Liked being close to us

Then there was Abby.  I spotted her online, a private owner needing to move and not having a suitable place to take her to.  I know it was very hard for Tammy to let her go but I felt that she could be secure in knowing that I especially, loved the 'underdog' or more appropriately, the under cat!  People don't want older cats generally.  Kittens are cute cuddly funny and adorable.

"I'll get to you in a minute, after I soak up a few more rays."

Older cats like to lay in the sun and soak up the rays.  Which is pretty much what Abby has done with us.

These two spent much time together.

However, once we'd got her weight down substantially and not by starving her, oh no... Abby ate lots, but she also got lots of exercise.

She responded well to Brenda and I.  Less so to Anna but then again sometimes teenagers aren't well tolerated by an older soul that just would rather be left in peace.  (I may be referring to myself here!)

There have been many nights when we would hear the stampede as I described it, Abby running around our rather large house, tossing play mice or birds into the air.  Honing her not forgotten skills.

Close they were.

The odd time she would go outside, she often came home with a present to our door, surprising us with her amazing patience and huntress' ability.

The patient huntress, would sit for hours next to our house.

It's hard to say, "who's" cat Abby was, she seemed to enjoy cuddling with Brenda under the sheets on a cold winter night or sitting in her lap while TV watching.  With me she was happiest when I was brushing her fur and whispering sweet nothings into her ears, or applauding her latest prize.

You see I am referring to Abby in the past tense for last Friday, a week ago... while outside later than I would have liked, she was struck by a car just outside our driveway.

With flashlight in hand I was going around the house looking for her, but arrived a moment or two, too late. I had seen the headlights of the car coming down the hill thinking, 'people drive too fast coming off that hill'

I picked her up in my arms and brought her into the garage.  I thought, hoped she may have still been alive but it was obvious immediately that was not the case.  Normally never out of range of the house, I don't know what she was doing crossing our little country road which gets a hand full of cars an hour, I had never seen here venture even close to it before.  Perhaps the promise of mice in the newly cut hay field across the street, I don't know...

What a beautiful soul this kitty.

She was 10.

She'd lived several years with Tammy, after straying into her yard, and her final 4 years with us.

Abby was much loved and respected in our household's, she was beyond doubt an AMAZING friend.  A truly beautiful cat both inside and out.  She learned quickly to 'high five with me for treats' and to prove she knew what she was doing, she would change paws when I would say, to her... 'other paw please'

Abby now lies next to Einstein and Phoenix and little Georgie, a kitten I found hit on the highway shortly after our move and brought home to our yard.  She is in a hallowed place, right next to those others that went before her.

Abby... my loving caring friend, till we meet once again at the Rainbow Bridge.

Loved hanging about the deck laying in the Sun!  Never wandered.  R.I.P.  my girl.  Dad loves you.