70km
A bear!!!! 5 provinces and only our second bear on the trail – great excitement 😆
But we had to do a LOT of climbing for that reward.
Fortified by a handful of nuts we climbed out of Digby in the morning fog and towards breakfast in Bear River. The climb defied the laws of logic – Bear River is a hamlet at the head of the river; it’s on stilts to manage the huge tide swings, so the ridiculous climb made no sense. But just before the town the road fell off a cliff and we undid every metre of altitude gain in our legs flying down into town.
Amazingly all three shops/cafes were open. So we went to all of them. Coffee first at Sissiboo’s (friendlier service than their sister shop in Annapolis Royal). Then breakfast at Myrtle and Rosie’s. The food took ages to arrive because this is a popular place and there’s one person in the kitchen. Worth it though. Over brekkie we memorised the route for the rest of the day, knowing we would have no cell signal. Then takeaway sandwiches and fruit at Granny’s next door.
“There’s no easy way out of here except by helicopter” said a local cyclist. But he and his buddies were heading back down to the coast while we were climbing inland. The pic showing the profile of our ride says it all.
But the road was quiet and lovely. Soon we were on a gravel backroad that got more rustic – potholes – as the kilometres passed. Our only encounters in 26km were 1 bear, 2 cars and 1 local mountain biker. And we were out of the Tim Hortons radius for all towns – zero litter.
Those sandwiches were appropriately eaten on a rock in a lake. This is how we always see this trans-country ride in our heads. Without the climb.
Once we hit the tarred Route 8, it was another 26km of relative boredom but fairly easy riding to the Whitman inn near Kejimkujik National Park.
It’s old, and the host Mark is delightful. As are the goose, dog, goats, cats and kittens. Mark drove us the 11km to Caledonia to buy locally made chili and cider to take back to the inn for dinner. Which was just as well – while there we discovered the restaurant wouldn’t be open for our planned breakfast stop tomorrow 🥹
Today: 70km
Climb: 891m – almost all in the first 25km
Total distance: 4,742km
Trans Canada Epic 