What's the Buzz? It's hot, hot, hot!

Hello from Cape Breton, where tomorrow we tackle the 3 big climbs in our clockwise assault on the island. I'm taking advantage of the campground's computer to post some text; photos will likely have to wait until I return to Ottawa.

Day 64
Another coastal day in New Brunswick - if we put together 5 of these would we be pentacoastal?

Despite my having felt pretty good at 4:30AM, my back was really killing me through the ride.   We crossed 2 bridges closed to traffic (which necessitated lifting my bike over obstacles)

Bridge 1 was relatively easy to negotiate

Bridge 2 was a little more challenging!

and it seems my 'best  roads' award to NB may have been hasty: although the heavily-trafficked routes are fine - even exquisite, in fact - the remaining highways that cyclists are prone to take are as quilted and rutted as elsewhere, and my butt felt every defect. Even worse, every ka-chunk (transverse crack) sent a ripple of pain up my back as my vertebrae compressed with the impact. To make matters worse,  the recommended side-trip I endured instead of taking the smooth highway (a detour that added an extra 5km to the day) was not scenic at all, despite having been advertized as such. 

Scenery was not entirely mundane, however,

Now that's a deck!

 although people could have been more courteous when queuing for the requisite photo in Shediac.

And the moquitoes have returned, although the NB variety are slower-moving  than their Ontario counterparts. They leave a big smear of blood when swatted, too, but did not keep usd from enjoying the sunset.

Day 65
Today was frustrating, as some of us had to wait almost 3 hours for the shuttle across the Confederation Bridge to PEI.

You can see it, you're just not allowed to ride on it :(

The shuttle trailer, which normally holds 13 bikes at a time, was restricted to 7 because of a shortage of parts. Fortunately, a second vehicle was eventually despatched to handle the recumbent on our tour, and was able to take some other bikes and riders as well. A few enterprising folks also managed to hitchhike and avoid the delays that way.

The day was sunny and warm, and although I remained unsuccessful in my quest for a gear cable (to replace the one I had borrowed when mine broke), we all succumbed to The Island's charms and had a wonderful, relaxing evening in our waterside campsite.

Day 66
The heat continued to build as summer reasserted itself, but most of us managed to make the 11:15 ferry departure. As we passed fields of corn growing by the shore, I wondered if it grew pre-salted.

"Would you like a cookie while you wait?"

The scenery on the NS side was mostly non-descript, and there was this visual non-sequitur

Mostly it was so hot that I hardly minded when the shower ran out of hot water. The mosquitoes continued their resurgence as well, but we endured the onslaught to watch a long and glorious sunset over the water.

Day 67
I tried to take it easy today in order to remain fresh for tomorrow's climbs, but things didn't quite work out that way: once I crossed the Canso Causeway into Cape Breton, the wind shifted and grew in intensity, and I had to labour against it (and battle 17 km of bad road) to get into camp.

Intro to Cape Breton 1:  rolling hills and good road (that we later abandoned)

There's also a hurricane brewing in the Atlantic that may affect my travel plans, either the ferry to Newfoundland or my flight back home through Halifax (or both).

On the other hand, signs now appear in both English and Gaelic,

you can get interesting fare,

Intro to Cape Breton 2

(although some menu items are definitely odd)

On the other hand, a woman who noticed my MS Bike Tour apparel spontaneously offered me a donation. There's also a pleasant view from our campsite.

And I still have the Cabot Trail to enjoy (or endure, depending on how things go). Let's hope the weather holds...