2016-07-17

2016 Alma and the Bay of Fundy

Well, Sunday threatened rain, but it also threatened a weekend without a serious ride, as my brother and his wife were visiting from Ontario, and Saturday was their last day with us on the island.

I'd asked if the boys were up for a ride, along with our friend Mike on his Suzuki Bandit 1250, and Mike offered up Alma as our destination so early Sunday morning I heard a knock at my door as my sister asked me if I was still planning on joining them for a ride. It happens, sometimes you take a back seat and let others do the planning. Wendy made us all breakfast before we rode out to meet Mike, but I left a few minutes early as I needed some cash in my wallet so I could pay the 18.50 toll to get off of the island.

"Meet me at the Irving at 0945"
We few, we happy few.
Borden-Carleton PE to Alma NB and return


 Okay, so what if it was closer to 1015? Mike knows us.

Please may we leave the island?
It's free to come to the island, but they charge you $18.50 to leave by motorcycle, and those two guys on the end? The one on the Triumph Scrambler and the KLR? It's their first time riding a bike across this bridge. :)
Tyler got stuck behind a slow mini van for the entire trip across the Confederation Bridge, all 11kms of it.

 Have a look on the map and you will see that the Confederation Bridge is located at the end of a pretty straight stretch of road. It's darned straight and chock full of RV's and other tourists, along with a smattering of tractor trailers... But none of them take that gem of a road, the 955 along the coast. You won't be dragging your knee on it, but it's a lovely twisty windy bit of road that meanders along the coast and hooks back up with 15 to Moncton further to the North West. Enjoy!



Mike on his Bandit

Ryan on his Mom's Bonnie

Dad on his Beemer

Nate on his borrowed KLR

Tyler on his Scrambler

Somewhere on the road to Alma

Once you get over the Petit Codiac or "Chocolate River" in Moncton onto the Riverview side, it's pretty much one road that leads you straight down to the Hopewell Rocks, The Bay of Fundy, and Alma NB then up and over Fundy National Park. The ride South is the fun bit, and takes you through a few small towns, and along the coast where the world's highest tides have a great impact on the rivers and streams. If you time it right, your ride will be near low tide so you can swing into the National Park at Hopewell Rocks and really see the sights they have to offer. It's a busy park, so if you don't mind colder weather, you will find it not nearly as busy after Labour day in September.

I'll not forget this street name...


You know you're home when you see your last name on street signs instead of wanted posters.
My ancestors were United Empire Loyalists and settled around New Brunswick, and thoughtfully named some mountains, streets after us, then went on to populate the province. :)

The pictures just don't do this justice.
Sorry gang, there are many more shots of this area and the coastline in my other albums that are hot linked at the bottom of the page. 

Downtown


We got stuck behind some slower moving bikes that didn't have any rearview mirrors

Sigh, all we need is a good stretch of road to pass three bikes at the same time (they aren't leaving enough space for a single pass)

We made it!

Nate got taken up by the local constabulary for excessive speed, his defense was to show them the KLR and all charges were dropped.

Up and over the park!


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Tyler loses it, and BRAPPPPP! He's in the lead!

But, it's a Triumph and was blowing oil past the rings, or maybe he fouled a plug... :P


When we hit the Transcanada 1, we got hit with some sprinkles of rain, and I had to stop in Sackville, so when they stopped roadside to gear up, I waved adieu and took off towards Moncton. Slabbing it back saved me riding in the late afternoon rain for the most part, but it was a bit boring so I'll leave you with these two shots.


Rain clouds over Moncton

Can I sneak by? Yes!!!!
 And it was back to the island for a nice hot cuppa after filling my tank, but alas, the rain came and I tossed my tea and headed for home.

I took more pictures of the gang, as I've ridden out this way four or five times in the past couple of years, so search this blog for 'Alma', 'Fundy', and 'Hopewell' for more.

Cheers! 

2016-07-03

2016 The Advocate Harbour Ride

In which I convince family that a day riding the coastline of Nova Scotia along the Bay of Fundy is a good thing...

Advocate Harbour Nova Scotia


I'd ridden this loop a few years ago courtesy of Canada Moto Guide's Dawn to Dusk Rally and if you are in Nova Scotia with time to kill, then check out the rally map if you want an engaging ride.

The weather was looking good for the morning, although it was stronger winds than normal, which tend to happen on occasion on the island, so we seized on the chance of a perfect day of riding and set off across the bridge in force with my brother-in-law Captain Kirk in the lead on his BMW F800GS, followed by my nephew Ryan on his KLR, my sister Wendy-Sue on her Bonneville, and our friend Mike on his Bandit 1250, while I followed up on my Versys 650.

Borden-Carleton to Advocate Harbour NS
I've been over the bridge many times by now, so I'll spare you that part, and I started taking pictures once we crossed the border from New Brunswick into Nova Scotia on our way to Amherst NS where we left the highway in favour of the back roads. 

As long as you have decent suspension and exercise a bit of caution on the back roads, then you'll no doubt enjoy your ride as much as I did. The roads are a mix of pristine asphalt right down to potholed and patched, and with all the twists and turns, those potholes can cause you a bit of bother.

Wendy-Sue crossing into Nova Scotia