288 Kilometers
2857 Total Kilometers
We were up bright and early today. By 6:00 we were in the parking lot, cleaning our windshields and loading up the bikes. By 6:30 we were on the way to downtown Bar Harbor for a brief sightseeing tour. Downtown Bar Harbor is an impressive collection of historic buildings full of shops and restaurants and tourists like us.
We then arrived at the Cat Ferry parking lot.
The Cat Ferry is a 316 foot tri-hulled catamaran that hauls over 750 passengers and 250 cars, while traveling across the water at 55 miles an hour. We had tickets for the 180 mile trip from Bar Harbor to Yarsmouth, Nova Scotia.
We gathered in the parking lot with the 30 other motorcycles. It was an interesting scene as the group of motorcyclists walked around and talked bikes. One guy practically slobbered over Bo's BMW RT but then quickly scooted away to slobber over another, newer BMW. Fickle, very fickle.
My bike's better than your bikeThey gave the order to board the boat and hundreds of cars and motorcycles rumbled to life.
Riders lined up and ready to board the Cat FerryOnce on board we found the buffet and sacrificed yet another pig to the breakfast gods.
Bill with an apple, tangerine and porkThe Cat Ferry has two buffet lines, a casino and four small movie theaters. They even serve Starbucks coffee. The accommodations are very nice and the two hour and forty five minute trip was smooth and uneventful. Well, Jim did lose $20 in the casino.
The Cat Ferry is comfortableWe arrived in Yarmouth, exited the ferry and got in line to pass through Canadian customs. Here's when it got interesting.
Bo was in a different line than Bill and Jim. He was the first to reach a customs agent and was quickly passed through.
That was no surprise since Bo is clearly an honest, law-abiding citizen that any nation would gladly accept within their borders.
Bill and Jim on the other hand appear to be the type of people who present a clear and present danger to Canada and the fine people who live there. They reached the customs agent and were sent off for a more complete customs experience. Their saddle bags were taken off their bikes, x-rayed, opened and inspected. Providing no immediate threat to Canadian national security, they passed through customs and we had finally arrived in Nova Scotia.
We reset our watches because Nova Scotia is on Atlantic time, which is one hour ahead of U.S. Eastern time.
We then got on Highway 1 and headed clockwise up the coast. The coast was very foggy today, which lowered the temperature into the mid-60's. That was a welcome relief from the heat we have ridden through for the past couple of days. Once the fog burned off the temperature rose into the high 70's.
Our coastal route took us through the heart of Nova Scotia's Arcadian region.
The towns we passed through are full of neat clapboard homes, many painted is vibrant primary colors. Most store signs were in French. Homes displayed Canadian and Nova Scotia flags and many flew the French Tri-Color.
We stopped by the side of the road to check our maps and wandered into the nearby Honda dealership. The parts counter man directed us to a restaurant ten kilometers down the road called the Roadside Grill. We arrived there and found a nice clean place with a good menu. We sampled a couple of regional dishes. One was poutine; french fries smothered in gravy and melted cheese. Think of it as cholesterol extract.
The other is called rapure. Rapure is basically a pot pie without the pastry. It is made with a lot of chicken stock and is rather gelatinous. Rapure comes with either chicken, beef or clams. It's an ugly dish but tasty, nonetheless.
RapureImpaired by our poutine and rapure high, we rode on. As we moved away from the coast the temperature reached the mid 90's.
It was almost 7:00 when we reached our motel in Falmouth.
As this is being written, Bill and Jim are in the parking lot with wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers and frayed nerves installing handlebar risers on Bill's rented Honda. They are about finished and it appears to be going well.
Getting Bill's rental bike ready to rideOur plan for tomorrow is to spend less time riding and more time roaming around, meeting the people and experiencing the culture of Nova Scotia.
Our planned update for Day 6 is delayed once again. Maybe tomorrow we'll get everything up to date.
