One can't visit the Maritimes and miss the shores of Nova Scotia, so now it's off to Dartmouth to see that part of the world. There was no traffic over the bridge - which is much better than what will likely occur on Monday, when everyone starts leaving the island. You pay the toll on the way out - like Hotel California.
The route followed the coastal highway from Tidnish on Hwy366, to Pugwash on Hwy 6. Drove by the Tim Horton camps for Kids at Tatamagouche, NS - great location by the sea. Had lunch at Pictou where many of the restaurants were closed for Canada Day. Had a smoked meat sandwich while watching the canada day activities on the wharf. Across the bay, was the Northern Pulp mill, belching white smoke across the sound as the cold air from the sea cause the smelly exhaust to drop to water level and swirl with the waves. The restaurant proprietor stated "good thing the wind is not from the south - that smoke would clear out my patio". Now that's a healthy neighbour - but the mill brings jobs to an area that doesn't have a lot of alternatives.
I jumped on 104 to 347, which was the target road. This is a very winding road that leads to the highway 7 coastal road. 347 is remote - there are few homes along the entire route and it provides the quantity of twisties desired by motorcyclists. As a matter of fact, there were more bikes than cars on this road. The scenery changes dramatically in this part of the Maritimes. It feels like Muskoka with hilly sections and lots of pine forests. With the temperature getting over 30C, the smell of pine in the air was refreshing. As Highway 7 moved closer to the coast, air temperature started to drop, which was a relief in my Klim hot box suite. Just before the coast, Sherbrooke was celebrating Canada day with a parade. I seem to have arrived just as the parade was done, but was the centre of attention from a lot of people, still in their chairs lining the streets - You're not from here, are you? Still, it's wonderful to see entire towns celebrating the day.
Celebrating - again, I wanted to get off the road before inebriated celebrators started driving home, so the run along #7 was done at high speed. Saw a sign that advised me that Dartmouth was still 200km away - that's a problem on a bike that gets approximately 280km to a tank, and my last fill was 120km away. Due to sparse population, there were not very many (none) gas stations so far on the road. The first few that I passed in the smaller towns were closed for the holiday, or sunday, or both. Started to ease off the throttle and drive in 6th as much as possible to conserve fuel. I had visions of camping on the side of the road, or in the parking lot of a gas station when Sheet Harbour came to the rescue. They had 2 major stations that were open, so, with a full tank, I could blast all the way to Dartmouth. This road is very fun to drive and is a must ride for any biker visiting the maritimes. Since the coast is rocky, there are lots of hills as well. The sea scape looks like muskoka with pine covered islands so the ride was very scenic. After so many days on the bike, the concentration is starting to tire me (guess I'm getting old). The throttle wrist is also getting sore, so I was happy to roll into Dartmouth, explore a bit and find a room. There are too many sketchy looking guys in this area so I arrange to park the bike right in front of the lobby. Tomorrow, off to Peggys Cove and the coastal road south of Halifax.
575 km today. Bike has 13,008 km. The impact of choosing the twisty roads is that the standard distance from Charlottetown to Dartmouth is 320 km.
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