Lake Ainslie to Dingwall, 149km: Cabot Trail here I come!

Today was the day that ended up being the biggest physical challenge of the entire tour because we were combating the Cabot Trail. My parents had told me after they found out I was going to cycle on the Cabot Trail that when the speed limit signs say go 30km/hr around a corner, I was to go 30km/hr because those turns were tight. Plus, the reason for those turns was to slow drivers down because of the steepness of the mountain descent. This also meant it was a steep ascend. I would be lying if I said I was not anxious to climb those hills.

   

The first chunk of the ride was outside of Cape Breton Highlands National Park and it was an easy section to cycle. Before I reached the national park, Mary, Louise, Becky, Clarke and I stopped for lunch at a bakery just outside of the town of Cheticamp. I noticed a sign before we reached Cheticamp that there was a bakery ahead. I told the others that I thought it would be a great spot to take a break. We cycled through Cheticamp and we did not see this bakery; however, I was adamant to find it so we cycled out of the town and still this bakery was nowhere to be seen. I was getting nervous because the others wanted to take a break at a coffee shop but our next opportunity would not be until another 50km. But my perseverance was awarded because just when I seriously doubted whether the bakery existed it popped up. The bakery was called La Boulangerie Aucoin's Bakery and it was awesome. I had a yummy sugar donut and cheese croissant, a great energy boost for the challenge ahead. 

 The climb to Mackenzie Mountain was easy. When we reached the sign indicating we made it to the top we were surprised because it felt we had not climbed at all. Nonetheless, we still took a photo under the sign. Two down, one more to go. 

The last mountain, North Mountain, was smaller than French, with a height of 445m; however, it was the most difficult to climb. One of the riders said some of the sections had a grade of 17%. Unfortunately during this climb I had to get off the bike and walk a portion of it because of its steepness. However, I still made it to the top but I must admit I do wish to cycle up that mountain again without getting off the bike.

 The descent from North Mountain was awesome. I was constantly holding onto my brakes otherwise I would be flying into the ocean; it was quite thrilling. Once we made it down North Mountain we steadily cycled our way to camp. We were quite exhausted so it was a relief to finally make it to camp. Overall, cycling the Cabot Trail was significantly more difficult than the Rocky Mountains. But I was happy the Cabot Trail was part of the tour because it was gorgeous, a definite highlight of the trip.