September 7, 2020
Margaree to Cheticamp
Day 2
Waking early from a terrific night’s sleep at the Salmon Pool Inn, our host, Kathy rustled up some hard-boiled eggs and coffee to add to our watermelon and homemade muffins for breakfast. We rolled out an hour earlier than yesterday, with lots of suggestions of what to see and do along our way. Thank you Kathy for your great Cape Breton hospitality!
After crossing back to the east side of the Margaree River, we warmed up with an invigorating car-free run up a gradual incline to the top of a hill where we were treated to our first view of the Gulf of St Lawrence on a blue sky morning.
We briefly joined the Cabot Trail (Hwy #30) before turning off once again for our morning adventure. Steve had plotted a route along the edge of the mountains on MacGarry Road, which was actually a dirt track where for much of the way you would need 4-wheel drive (our 32 mm wide tires were fine). It’s interesting that these back routes all show on the map as regular roads with names, even though you would never make it through with a car. This time I used my bike bell to scare away the bears!
Preferring to ride off the highway, we crossed over the #30 to meander along an unpaved coastal road with fantastic views of the sea and sky.
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Coming in to Cheticamp we ended up back on the 30, but were delighted to find a wide paved shoulder all the way to our night’s accommodation at the charming Doucet Inn. We had a picnic lunch on their outside table with the harbour spread out before us, and then rode into town to check out the sights.
Delicious coffees and buttery scones fueled a relaxed afternoon at the Frog Pond Cafe’s outdoor patio, chatting with locals and tourists. We did get a few raised eyebrows when we told them of our cycling plans for the next day.
For supper we sat outside at the L’Abri restaurant, albeit at farmer’s hours of 5 pm. Actually we started with drinks by the lobster traps and then moved to our patio table for the more reasonable dining time of 6 pm. Sitting cliffside, overlooking a stunning vista while sipping a crisp NS Tidal Bay white wine and eating a delicious seafood dinner, was perfect. Just to prolong the evening we shared a dessert, darn it!
It was an incredible feeling to be sitting on the edge of the world and soaking up a warm summer’s evening in September!
Today's ride: 40 km (25 miles)
Total: 95 km (59 miles)
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