This page contains references to some of the resources I wandered through as I dreamed of visiting Nova Scotia.
Bicycle Nova Scotia is a starting point to find information on touring in Nova Scotia. This word of warning from the site provided me with what I think it a good sanity check on the terrain that my bike and I will encounter: "One myth that many visitors seem to hold is that, except for Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia is flat. Nova Scotia may be a seaside land, but it is not all sand dunes and seagulls. For the most part it is rough and unyielding rock, giving rise to dramatic rocky headlands. In some areas the rock is hidden under a blanket of soil that creates beautiful valleys, but Nova Scotia has more hills, ridges, and forests than farmland. Some of the hills are steep enough and sufficiently long to require the lowest gears that you can fit to your bike." (Quote courtesy of Bicycle Nova Scotia)
In addition to the general information on the web site, Bicycle Nova Scotia sells a book called "Nova Scotia by Bicycle" that appears to be a decent resource. (Yes, you're right, I did purchase a copy.) I'll have to let you know how good it really is once I get back from my tour. I have to admit that there are a couple of passages in the guide that definitely are smile provoking. The first is a bit dated, and I think I'll choose to ignore it since it seems to be telling me that perhaps women and cycling don't get along - and we all know that isn't true. Funny though...
Medical Warning!
"Considerable discussion has been aroused among physicians and wheelmen by the recent publication of a report that a woman had gone insane from excessive riding of the bicycle... This is not the only case of its kind... The disease of wheel insanity has not gained much foothold yet, doctors say, because it has not had time. Bicycling is as yet in its infancy and so are the diseases connected with it."
The Acadian Recorder, Halifax, 4 March, 1896
The second paragraph that reached out to grab me is more related to the current state of cycling - or maybe I should say cycling and eating. I wonder if the restaurant that's referenced is still there. It's in the description of the ride along Digby Neck to Long Island and Briar Island:
"In the Velo Halifax Bicycle Club this popular tour is known as 'The Peanut Butter Pie Tour', because the Tiny Tattler restaurant, in the middle of Long Island, server unbelievably delicious peanut butter pie. By the way, the commonest family name on Long Island is Outhouse."
Nova Scotia's Official Tourism Website includes a lot of useful information on the province, including what they call their Scenic Travelways as well as interesting sights, accommodations, and (ever-important) places to eat. I ordered a paper copy of the Nova Scotia Guidebook & map, and the requested documents showed up in my mailbox very quickly. The map is decent, but (as you might already know) I'm a bit of a map junkie, so I bought another map that appears to be a little more detailed. My purchased map was from Mapart Publishing. According to to information on the Bicycle Nova Scotia site, there is also a "more detailed book of maps of Nova Scotia's roads and terrain, the publication A Map of the Province of Nova Scotia... This is a book of 46 topographic maps (11"x11") at a scale of 1/250,000 (about twice that of the N.S. Highways map)". For this map addict, that's tempting - but somehow I suspect I won't want to carry that extra weight. I think I'll try to get by with the maps that I have.
After the trip... I found that the Mapart Nova Scotia map provided much more detail than the free map provided by Nova Scotia tourism. The map was inexpensive with a price marked on the map as $4.95. I have no idea whether that is intended to be in US or Canadian dollars, but I purchased in a bookstore in the states.While I plan on wandering somewhat without plans, I find it helpful to know that I will be able to find a home for the night in the towns my wheels wander through. Check In Nova Scotia has a list of accommodations that can be searched by travelway or by town.
Getting there...
Instead of driving through New Brunswick to the land connection with Nova Scotia, my transportation will be a combination of my car over land from home to Bar Harbor, Maine and The CAT over the sea between Bar Harbor and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. And then - of course - my bicycle takes over. She tells me that she's more than ready to roll over the roads of Nova Scotia.
Fascinated by the tidal bore...
Traveling along the Bay of Fundy means that I may again experience the effects of the tidal bore. I spent some time at Hopewell Cape after my tour of Prince Edward Island last year, and I was fascinated by the changes between low and high tide.
Reading the following description on the Highest Tides in the World site brought a smile to my face:
"Like a father pushing his daughter on a swing, the gentle Atlantic tidal pulse pushes the waters of the Bay of Fundy-Gulf of Maine basin at nearly the optimum frequency to cause a large to-and-fro oscillation. The grestest slosh occurs at the head (northeast end) of the system. Because Earth rotates counterclockwise in the Norhern Hemisphere, the tides are higher in Minas Basin (Wolfville-Truro area) than in Chignecto Bay (Amherst-Moncton area)."I think I'll see what I can see there. Curious? Read The Tides, a fascinating article by George Ferguson.
After the trip...I did make it to the Bay of Fundy, but I didn't get as far east as the Minas Basin. So this is yet another of my many reasons that I need to return to Nova Scotia some day.
Conversions, challenges...
Miles to kilometers (and the reverse)... that calculation has always been an easy one for me. I can't tell you why, but it is. So having markers along the road in kilometers and my brain and my bike computer operating in miles really doesn't cause me any problems.
The temperature is an entirely different matter. For some reason, my brain seems to fight converting between the Celsius and Fahrenheit. Maybe I should cheat and carry a temperature conversion chart with me. Or maybe I should just ignore the weather forecasts.
And of course as I get closer to my departure date, I'm curious about what type of weather I should expect in the (really) not too far away province of Nova Scotia. (With thanks to Environment Canada for the forecast...) It's OK to check, right?
Rover just jumped up and said "of course it's OK to check. Curiosity is good!"
Rover said he'd help with the temperature conversions, but he also tells me that he'll keep notes for me during the ride, and snap an occasional picture too. Somehow he gets sidetracked by the scenery and by the side task of eating chocolate. I guess it's a good thing that little red dogs can safely ignore the fact that chocolate is not good for (real) dogs!
