history of the house and how he came to be in Nova Scotia (moving from Vancouver). I mounted up and headed out after


breakfast relying on some advice from Phil and a newly acquired iPhone for directions. Sidney seemed like a good place to spend a second night. Another beautiful day pro- vided a pleasant ride east on Rt. 6 along the coast with a stop at Pictou for lunch, and then up along the Bras d’Or Lake to North Sidney where I had fortunately reserved a room at the Heritage Home (the only reservation necessary on the trip). North Sidney is the location of the Newfoundland ferry terminal which might account for the higher occu- pancy rate. In any case, I was treated to another nice stay in an old Victorian house overlooking the harbor. Juana Moreland proved to be an amiable host, providing a delicious breakfast and stories of local goings-on for her guests, including tales of one-eared men from up Meat Cove way at the northern end of Cape Breton (ears had appar- ently been lost in the frequent brawls). She had verified these stories herself when Meat Cove natives had occasion to be in the Sidney area. Sure enough many were missing ears. This was all tongue-in-cheek of course with no disre- spect toward the Meat Covians intended. The following day, another fine one, I headed north out of the Sidney area for the


piece de resistance, my ride around the Cabot Trail, with no itinerary in mind other than to avoid Meat Cove. A short ferry ride and a crossing over a beautiful “through arch” bridge brought me to the east shore of Cape Breton and toward Cape Breton Highlands Park. The road had next to no traffic. East of Neils Harbor and within the


motorcycles. The afternoon weather was picture perfect. That night was spent at the Mabou River


Inn where a custom pizza made on prem- ises and an ice cold Keith’s beer on their outside deck hit the spot. Once again I was the only overnight guest. I thought I’d make Saint John, New Brunswick, the next day and spend the night there before heading home, but a heavy downpour stopped me in my tracks just outside of Sussex, north of St. John. It turned out to be a fortuitous stopping point, as I was able to get a room in yet another beautiful old Victorian B&B, the Jonah House. I was, not surprisingly, the only guest. Deb- orah and Phil Sellars were great hosts. Phil even cleared space in his garage so my bike could be out of the rain. Sussex is known, among other things, for its numerous large wall murals around the town center. Appar- ently Phil was instrumental in making that happen, and the Jonah House has at its entrance the first of Sussex’s murals. The weather had cleared over


park, the road gained elevation. Some of the more than ten feet of snow Nova Scotia received the past winter was still around. The “trail” seductively curved and dropped from the highlands toward the west shore of the cape. The road then ran along sea-side cliffs with more curves just meant for


Above, Jonah House, a Victorian era Bed and Breakfast located in Sussex. Below, North of Cheticamp.


night for my last day’s ride home. I won’t say anything more than it was a pleasant ride, but I was glad to get home after 1,400 miles with no mishaps and no electrical or mechanical issues other that a broken back pack zipper. Cape Breton and New Brunswick


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