Day 109: Antigonish to St. Pierre

September 21, 2010

There was a mix of sun and cloud today. It was very windy with the wind being from the north or north-west.

It was quite a challenge to get across the Canso Causeway. It's about 1 km long with no shoulders. I checked the weather records and when I was there the winds were 40 km/h gusting to 65 km/h. Waves were hitting the causeway and then being blown over the causeway. I got a bit of a break here. There was some construction which narrowed traffic down to a single lane. A flagman would let people go in one direction and then the other. I waited at the start of the causeway for one wave of traffic to pass and then went for it. I made it most of the way to where there was a bit of a shoulder and then pulled off. I was able to make it the rest of the way after the next wave of traffic passed. I got completely soaked from waves spray over the causeway, but I never felt more alive.

On the other side of the causeway there is a tourist information centre. I stopped in and made a reservation on the ferry for tomorrow. The ferry to Port aux Basque cost $58 including the bike and a dorm bed for the night.

Stayed at Canal B&B in St. Peter's ($73.60). It is very well kept. It was almost so clean that I was afraid to touch things. However, the couple that ran it were very friendly and I can recommend it.

http://www.canal-house.com/index.html

The news was dominated by Hurricane Igor and the impact on Newfoundland. It dumped up to 200 mm of rain in places and there were winds up to 140 km/h. There was a lot of damage inflicted. The Avalon Peninsula near St. John's seems to have been hit the hardest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Igor

End point:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.65835,-60.87616&ll=45.65835,-60.87616&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

The Canso Causeway. Note the waves hitting the Causeway and the spray going over.

Another picture of waves going over the Canso Causeway.

Approaching the Canso Causeway just before making a break for the other side. It was quite exciting with waves spraying over the Causeway. There were a couple of trucks that passed me headed the other direction. It was like getting hit by a wall of water.

Canso Causeway from the other side. The waves are still going over it.

Today's ride: 96 km (60 miles)
Total: 13,270 km (8,241 miles)

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