Thanks, Wayne. I think I've seen the name Cape Breton a couple of times, but that's the extent of my knowledge about it (so far.) Whether I explore very popular tourist destinations on bike tours is always determined by how cycling-friendly the area is (I hate dealing with traffic.)

The latter part seems mostly fun if you are able to take refuge indoors during the worst periods of horizontal rain.

That seems to be a recurring them when I've mentioned to people that I'm thinking of riding in Newfoundland :)

Hi Jeff,

Newfoundland is a pretty sparsely place, only about 500,000 people in total and over half of them live on the far east Avalon peninsula (where St John's and Cape Spear are). Our experience, which is 10 years old but the place hasn't changed much, was once you got past Corner Brook on the far west coast, there was minimal traffic on the TCH and the shoulders were good. Minimal applies to pretty much everything along the Nfld TCH, not just traffic .... people, towns etc with the exception of moose (more moose than people in NFLD!)

The traffic did pick up once you hit the Avalon peninsula and it was unpleasant at times, but there were also alternate roads and routes to take once you were on the Avalon P.

With respect to the rail trail, I've heard that it is pretty rough. It sound like they just took up the rails and left it at that. Not fine gravel crush to ride, more like boulders. I've spoken to a few people who tried riding it but bailed to the TCH (similar to what you did on US-20).

I've also spoken to a number of folks who just focused on touring on the Avalon peninsula area on the coastal roads. This sounds like a great Newfie experience as you can experience the small fishing villages and there's some infrastructure around (there's next to nothing except scrub forrest and moose in the interior of the island).

 You can fit in a several hundred km multi day-tour on the Avalon P and get a great NFLD experience. We've been toying with the idea of an Ireland / Nfld (Avalon P) tour. It's only a four hour flight from St John's to Dublin, and it would be even better if we could find some way of getting a boat between the two to get a more authentic historical feel!)

Hi Jeff,  Sounds to me like good idea!  Make a plan, and go for it.  I live in Ottawa, and I've been privileged to visit Atlantic Canada (and hence, points in between) a number of times, with different modes of transport. Give a shout if you want to chat about any of the notes below. (johncsaxby[at]rogers[dot]com)

Here's a suggestion a bit different from others you may hear or have heard:  On a circuit of the Gaspé Peninsula (by bike) in 2010, my buddy (from Manhattan) and I met a fellow who was doing a circuit of the Gulf of St Lawrence:  from Québec City along the north shore, across to Newfoundland, by ferry from Port-aux-Basques to Sydney, around Cape Breton on the eastern side, along the Acadian Coast of the Gulf, then around the Gaspé counter-clockwise to Matane on the south shore, across from Tadoussac.

Full disclosure here:  I have a soft spot for the Gaspé and Québec City. My first sight of Canada was in late May 1956, when we sailed up the St Lawrence & disembarked at Lévis, across the river from Québec, to begin a new life in Canada.

I had planned a 3-week tour of the Gulf coast of New Brunswick & Nova Scotia in 2020, but the pandemic and two hip-replacement ops banjaxed that.  Happy to share the details of that if you like.  One place I still want to visit is Louisbourg. 

A few additional bits & pieces:  Do consider a visit to les Îles de la madeleine/Magdalen islands.  Ditto St-Pierre et Miquelon.  If you're going to the area, go to Québec City.  There's nowhere quite like it in North America.  Halifax is the northernmost ice-free harbour on the western Atlantic coast, and has its own magic.  Gros Morne on The Rock (a.k.a. Newfoundland) is spectacular.  Do consider a circuit of Nova Scotia's mainland -- or, at  minimum, the Fundy Shore is a splendid ride, and you can reach Yarmouth NS readily via the ferry from Portland ME.

Dang! nearly forgot!  Have a listen to some of the music:  Stan Rogers, Édith Butler, the Rankin Family, Rita MacNeil, Natalie McMaster, Gilles Vigneault, Rawlins Cross, Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellas, Kate & Anna McGarrigle -- just a few names to get you started.

Cheers, John

A PS, after reading John Picket's mention of the black flies:  Ummm, yes, well, magic has its price.  One benefit of the critters is that "over-tourism" is unlikely.  Be advised:  they are savage.  Some folks have told me that they're present in Cape Breton all summer long (unlike Ottawa & surrounds, where you stay out of the bush for the first three weeks in June.)  That wasn't my experience on a couple of trips in July and August.  Making a virtue out of necessity, here's Wade Hemsworth's song "The Black Fly":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

I've cycling in the Maritimes quite a bit in the day. Can't beat it for the respect for cycling and the network of trails on and off road. Just want to give a suggestion not to overlook Prince Edward Island. Quiet roads, beautiful towns all along the water and of course the Confederation Trail. 

Thanks, Lyle!

We've been toying with the idea of an Ireland / Nfld (Avalon P) tour. It's only a four hour flight from St John's to Dublin

I've never been outside the USA except very briefly into Canada (Alberta and Ontario) on two different bike tours, so maybe it's time I finally go to Europe ;)

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions, John! You've given me a lot to think about while I plan (or rather in the case of my unorganized ways, "plan") a tour for next summer.

One of the things I'm somewhat hesitant about is traveling where I don't speak the language (French in the case of many of the places you mention, presumably). Do you think that would be an issue?

Thanks again,

Jeff

Just a few thoughts since you already have lots of good suggestions; 1.) I quickly grew tired of riding on the Erie Canal path and opted for paved parallel roads instead, 2.) the ACA maps of the Northern Tier might be helpful for some of your routing through the northeastern states, 3.)  I don't know the extent of black fly season, but the black flies were horrible in mid to late May in upstate New York, and 4.) lodging will become expensive and harder to find in NH, VT, and ME commencing around mid to late May as the tourist season begins.  Looking forward to following your next adventure,

Thanks, Jeff.  Glad my comments were helpful.  To follow up:

First, +1 for Patty Louise's mention of PEI.  

Second, on language: French is the official language of Québec, and New Brunswick is Canada's only officially bilingual (Fr/Eng) province.  If you're a "come from away", as I am, my experience is that people have been very welcoming and generous, and most people in most parts speak English.  As you probably know, being on a bike helps greatly as an icebreaker, as does a smile and simply asking for help.  If you can manage a phrase or two, such as a "please" or "thank-you", that helps too.  Being a visitor from the U.S., folks will cut you some slack as well.  

(If a visitor is an Anglo from elsewhere in Canada, maybe a wee bit less slack. I'm privileged to be able to work in both French and Portuguese as well as English, but I've been retired for a decade, hence rather out of practice.  But, on a long weekend in Qué City two months ago, asking a question or ordering food in French brought a surprised-and-delighted response.)

Third, some thoughts on history:  Without getting into politics here, you may find it interesting/helpful to look into the history/ies of the region.  Beyond the linguistic and cultural mix, the A-grade food, the music and the scenery, lie some deep tragedies.  To cite just three, you might look into the expulsion of the Acadians, for example; the siege of Québec and the Battle of the Plains of Abraham; and the founding and destruction of Africville.  Then, as an unorthodox take on European settlement in Newfoundland (before the Vikings), I found Farley Mowat's The Farfarers a treat.

Hope that's helpful, Jeff, and not too much.

Cheers,  John

PS:  My mum's family is Scots/Irish -- my grandfather's name was Robert Burns (not that one, of course) -- so I have some Nova Scotia anecdotes, but I'll spare you those :-) ...

Thanks, George. I actually did (most of) the ACA Northern Tier route in 2008, and like you, a little of the Erie Canal Path went a long way with me. I think I did 70 miles of it before getting on roads.

Since I already did the Northern Tier route in 2008, I'm looking to ride different roads this time. 

I had a couple of days in the Adirondacks in 2008 where the black flies were bad. I even camped in a black-fly ridden campground. I'd like to avoid that this time.

Will you be able to do a tour in 2025? I hope so, and look forward to reading about it.

Well, my interest piqued because your post mentioned cycling in Newfoundland, an area we loved touring. I wrote about some of the logistics here. On a different tour  (here) we wanted to cycle out our door in eastern West Virginia and cycle up the coast toward Maine which may be an option if you want to see more of West Virginia.  Much of West Virginia is scenic but be prepared to defend against territorial dogs. A recommended route from Huntington across the state does not spring to mind as we don't cycle much in the western part of the state. However, resist any impulse to cycle US 50 which goes east from Clarksburg. It's a beautiful two lane road but in many places has blind corners with minimal or no shoulders.