Bright morning sunshineI woke this morning to a rising shining orb - the sun - in a clear sky, and to the loud cries of the sea gulls.
Following coastal waters
Glide in to Yarmouth
Another wonderful breakfast started my riding day - this time heart-shaped blueberry pancakes plus eggs. Sitting at breakfast and gazing through the window, I finally saw the lighthouse that escaped my vision last night. It's on an island in the distance, showing (from here) as a little tiny stalk of a building with a intermittent flashing light. Given its size at this distance, I'm really not surprised that I couldn't make it out last night.
The photo album on my breakfast table showed pictures of Phil's three-year-new lobster boat, named Papa's Lobsters. It surprised me that the back of the boat is open. It makes sense in that they don't need to lift the traps, but I keep thinking about getting swept off the back of the boat. Lobster season here runs from November through May so it is now relatively close to the end of the off-season. It also sounds like they don't go out much in January and February. Brr... cold! I can't imagine being out in the North Atlantic at that time of year.
Today's ride started with unrestricted water views. Unsurprisingly, that changed relatively quickly, from open waters speckled with islands, to views of more sheltered water, and then back to landlocked sections of road. Windmills cropped up ahead of me, then disappeared, then appeared again across Pubnico Harbor. They looked close enough to touch at one point, but there was still a bit of water standing between me and the towering blades. On this quiet wind day, the windmills weren't generating much power, turning in very lazy circles. And at the point of my (finally) unrestricted view of the windmills, the Lighthouse Route also presented me with the vision of a rather small lighthouse.
Most of the day my bicycle wheels rolled down Route 3. Once I reached Pubnico (after passing through the towns of Lower East Pubnico, Middle East Pubnico, and East Pubnico), Routes 3 and 103 looked almost parallel. 103 is the newer of the two roads and carries more traffic so I believe that 3 gave me a more pleasant ride. And no, I'm not going to go back and ride 103 just to verify that impression! It was another riding day where I had long stretches of time when the road belonged just to me and my bike. I still find it amazing how few cars traveled that road.
I was getting closer to the end of my riding day when the road decided it was time to confuse me. I was in Tusket, still following Route 3 when the road forked into two roads with no signs to indicate the names (or numbers) of the roads ahead. Luckily there was a store at the wacky Y intersection, and it was a very good time to stop for both a Gatorade refill and verification of the roads ahead. The left fork was the continuation of Route 3, and the right fork headed to Route 103, so from a direction standpoint it really didn't matter which of the two roads I took; both headed into Yarmouth. As it turned out, deciding to continue to follow the less traveled road wasn't the best choice I made today. The smooth but somewhat aged road turned into grooved pavement for what seemed like a long time, probably a good two or three miles. That's not my favorite surface for riding, but I didn't want to retrace the road I'd already ridden, so grooved pavement it was. And this is the first time I've ever seen a sign at the beginning of grooved pavement that said "cyclists take care".
I've noticed some odd signs over the past two days that gave the distance to a place in minutes instead of using distance. Luckily they were for very short distances, but I still found it a bit disconcerting. Just how far away is a place that is noted as "3 minutes from here". Walking? Driving at the posted speed limit? Riding a bike? What? Who comes up with these things?
Dogs continued to behave too. I had a number greet me today by barking, or by barking and running across their property. But my luck continued to hold, and none of these 4-legged friends followed me down the road. They all appeared to be either leashed or confined in a fenced yard, a very happy sight for this cyclist. I don't mind chatting with the animals I meet along the road, but I hate it when they decide to chase my bike.
My wheels rolled into Yarmouth at 3 o'clock this afternoon. I'm a little early for my Monday afternoon ferry reservation, and I've been toying with the idea of renting a car and heading out to Briar Island - but of course I didn't reserve a car. There was no one at the car rental desks at the ferry terminal, so I headed to the visitor center to see if they had any ideas. I attempted to call the car rental places from there, no luck. I'll try again later, or in the morning. For now, it looks like Yarmouth is my end point for today. I asked the woman who was helping me at the visitor center to call the Guest-Lovitt House to see if they have a room available for tonight. They did, so I rode the few short blocks there and was greeted by Twyla and Bruce. My bike is happy with a garage for the night (sleeping next to the Model T), and I'm happy too.
Ah, that end-of-the-day shower felt really good today, the warmest riding day of my trip. Then I headed to the kitchen for a late afternoon treat - blueberry cobbler, tea, and conversation. And, before dinner, a real treat - Bruce & Twyla took me for a ride in the Model T. What fun!
What will tomorrow bring? I hope a rest day for my bike and a driving day for me. Hopefully I'll be able to rent a car for the day to explore Digby Neck out to Brier Island. No car? Well, then I'll probably do some riding and wandering in the Yarmouth area.
