i want to get to cabot trail but avoid most major highways. bad idea?

[iblastoff]

i want to take about 2 weeks to get there and back sometime in August. will it be loaded with tourists around then?

i know some people have literally ridden all the way to moncton in one day, but thats not me.

i'm also riding essentially a cafe racer style bike with a small tank and don't really feel like gunning it on the trans canada highway the whole way either. i dont mind the occasional highway jaunt but 20'ish hours doesn't seem fun, much less on a naked fairing-less bike. is it dumb to try and make it all the way there on mostly 80km/h roads? and i'm assuming the roads leading east are gonna be much less busy than the 401/DVP etc around here?

my initial thoughts are:
- ride about 5-6 hours a day depending on weather and tiredness. so by ideally by day 5 i should at least be in NS.
- from previous threads, someone said to take rte 132. thoughts on that?
- i'd like to hit the 1000 islands parkway and long sault parkway along the way. i know they're not supposed to be *amazing* but i haven't ridden on them before. not entirely sure whats nice in QC thats on the way though. would love some suggestions.
- this is my first solo longest multi-day bike ride.
- i'm not really sure if i care to cut through the US since it doesn't seem to save any time and i mostly want to keep things simple as i'm terrible with directions without gps. it seems you have to go pretty south in vermont to get to the better parts of adirondacks. not sure if this is accurate though!
- not really purposely after crazy curvy roads or anything. just want to cruise for the most part.
- want to stay on paved roads!
- NO camping

some obvious stuff to bring:
- offline gps maps on phone and paper map as backup
- rain gear (have waterproof boots and pants but jacket or gloves yet)
- layers of clothes
- bike tool kit / lube / bug cleaning stuff for face shield etc
- possibly a small gas can as i have no idea where the big gas station gaps are. ideally i'd try to find gas every 100km or so (although my bike should be able to go 250-300'ish km per tank). i may just alternate on trans canada and 80km roads just to be able to hit gas stations more frequently. my understanding is don't ever assume there will be 24h gas stations along the way.
- i have CAA membership in case its ever needed

are there maybe less obvious things i should be thinking about?

my goal is to "leisurely" get there ideally by day 5, spend a few days in NS, do the cabot trail in a day and then ride home. i don't plan on stopping for sightseeing much elsewhere unless its like the end of day riding and i'm relaxing in the evening somewhere. i'll be checking into various motels or whatever along the way. might as well take advantage of that 20% staycation tax credit!

im sure a lot of people will say the route will be mostly boring but i dont mind. after years of just commuting around in this shite city, i'll take a straight open road any day.

 

[boyoboy]

taking your time and avoiding major highways - sounds like a good ride to me !

 

[Wingboy]

My kind of touring. Enjoy.

 

[ReSTored]

I can't give you specific route numbers but you can plan a trip just about anywhere on google maps or some other mapping program that will avoid highways. When we travel to new areas I look for a Lakeshore Road, River Road, Coast highway etc............ that follow water and are usually good for a nice, slow pace scenic ride.

I'd bite the bullet and do the 401 to get to the Montreal area then head to back roads. This will get you past most of the busiest places in one day and you can still do the 1000 Island and the Long Sault Parkways. After Montreal I'd really be looking at Sherbrooke, Quebec and then Maine and heading south to Highway 1 on the coastal and then head north to NB. On the other hand 132 is great as well if you want to stay in Canada.

You do not need to bring gas if your tank is good for 250 km. You doing route planning at home so you'll be able to research gas and food availability in some the more remote areas, shouldn't be a problem.

If you're going in August this will be pretty much prime tourist season and you can expect hotel / motel available to be a challenge in some areas, you might want to prebook in some areas.

If this is your first long trip I'd strongly recommend you do a 2 - 3 day trip in Ontario to experience what it is like to be on a bike for back to back days. Do all of your debugging close to home.

I did a trip to the Maritimes from Montreal years ago and by hugging the coastline north of Quebec City to Gaspe, Caraquet, Shediac, PEI, Cabot Trail then south to Lunenberg, then Bay of Fundy and home we racked up 6,500 km over a 3 week period. Fantastic trip. We drove through just about every small town on the coastline, certain beat a boring drive on the Trans Canada.

 

[Ash]

Yup, should be fine. Your pace looks reasonable. I've done the trip a couple of times on a bike. For me, the routes were either 2x10hour days on the Trans-Canada or 3x10hour days through New York / Vermont / New Hampshire / Maine, but I'm impatient and I like to cover as much ground as I can. That's only possible with a really comfortable touring seat though.

As preparation, I would suggest that you try at least one 5 hour day locally here in Ontario to work out whether you need to change anything on the bike before committing to 5+ days. What might feel like discomfort on the first day can be pain on the second day and agony on the third day. On my first trip, by the second day my ear canals started to get really sensitive to the pressure from my earplugs, and they were extremely painful by the third day. It was bad enough that I don't think I could have done a fourth day of riding. Custom molded silicone plugs fixed that problem for the second trip.

Personally, I'm sick of the Trans-Canada route because I've done it so many times in a car, and it was always just to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible, but getting off onto the side roads is a great idea if you're not trying to just get somewhere fast.

 

[xrljoel]

Yes, it will be VERY busy in August. You'll need to book ahead. The decline of COVID and the opening up has released the tired masses back into the greater world. Apparently, PEI alone is 900 rental cars short of demand in mid July for example.

Don't let that stop you, just be prepared.

I enjoyed riding Hwy. 132 on the south shore of the St. Lawrence. Sweeping curves , good surface condition, lightly travelled and interesting scenery. I followed it around the Gaspe, crossing into NB and keeping to the costal roads. I found that particular area to be fairly lightly travelled. Again, nice/interesting scenery, lightly travelled but with varied surface conditions. All paved, just not very well in some places.

In Ontario stay close to the shore of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, which is mostly Hwy. 2 , though I'd probably swing through Prince Edward County and take the ferry from Glenora to Adolfustown following 33 into Kingston. I've enjoyed riding the Thousand Island Parkway and Hwy. 2 east of Kingston. It's the old highway and there's plenty of interesting history left along the way.

I recall reading an article in Cycle World many moons ago where Peter Egan suggested that the ideal touring day was 300-400 miles (500-600km.). That way you could avoid local rush hours, get accommodations early and a good nights sleep so you can enjoy the experience.

 

[GreyGhost]

No camping is going to be your biggest obstacle. You'll need to prebook hotels for the entire trip and stop at the booked destination every day.

Should be a fun trip. Expressways are boring. Last trip I wandered east and expressed back to beat a snowstorm. It was about 16 hours from the Confederation bridge to GTA.

FWIW, I liked mainland NS almost as much as Cabot. There is a ring of roads around the entire province. Decent riding, awesome.experience. I started cabot trail at 05:30. Saw a handful of vehicles in the entire lap. Spent 30% of the lap in the clouds.

 

[Baggsy]

Try and give yourself an extra day or two for the Cabot Trail.
First day we got there the fog was so thick you couldn't see anything.
The next day the views were awesome.

 

[danp]

I did this trip a few years ago on a sport bike, and plan to do it again this summer. The worst part of the trip was the highway going north from montreal, it's very long and boring and also heavy traffic. It might be nicer to go north into quebec on the north side of the st lawrence river, then take the ferry back across, but the ferry is expensive.

If your bike can do 250 kms to a tank I wouldn't bother carrying extra fuel. It's western canada where you have to worry about fuel, fuel can be hard to find in the prairies if you don't stay on the trans canada.

 

[HarleyHare]

Put things in perspective. The Cabot Trail is about 20 minutes in length riding at moderate speed. A sign showing that you are entering the trail then another stating you are exiting, are the only markers. The only thing that is unique about it is that it hugs the coast and you are closer to the ocean than elsewhere.

But know that the propaganda on this drive is over-hyped given how short it is. You get lots of ocean views elsewhere all over the Maritimes. Plan your trip with much more other activities and sights in mind than this trail alone. It was anti-climatic in my experience to say the least, given the distance and hours traveled from Ontario to see it.

 

[MacDoc]

You can do it but I'd suggest going north to Rouyn Noranda and then down. If you do that you might be fuel short in one park in Quebec ..then stay north of everything until Bay Comeau.
This is just rough ...but we did a similar trip a few years back going this route.

https://goo.gl/maps/q8Ue4hwfBG11oGdV9

accommodation will be a challenge and traffic anywhere near Montreal in August - you need to stay north.
AirBnB likely your best bet.
That's 430 km a day average

I would add in Gaspe for sure if you can.

 

[GreyGhost]

Put things in perspective. The Cabot Trail is about 20 minutes in length riding at moderate speed. A sign showing that you are entering the trail then another stating you are exiting, are the only markers. The only thing that is unique about it is that it hugs the coast and you are closer to the ocean than elsewhere.

But know that the propaganda on this drive is over-hyped given how short it is. You get lots of ocean views elsewhere all over the Maritimes. Plan your trip with much more other activities and sights in mind than this trail alone. It was anti-climatic in my experience to say the least, given the distance and hours traveled from Ontario to see it.

Ummm. It's close to 300km around. I don't think 20 minutes is possible unless you were in a very fast plane. I think I was ~2.5 hours from Petit Atang to Baddeck (part of that is outside the park).

 

[iblastoff]

I can't give you specific route numbers but you can plan a trip just about anywhere on google maps or some other mapping program that will avoid highways. When we travel to new areas I look for a Lakeshore Road, River Road, Coast highway etc............ that follow water and are usually good for a nice, slow pace scenic ride.

I'd bite the bullet and do the 401 to get to the Montreal area then head to back roads. This will get you past most of the busiest places in one day and you can still do the 1000 Island and the Long Sault Parkways. After Montreal I'd really be looking at Sherbrooke, Quebec and then Maine and heading south to Highway 1 on the coastal and then head north to NB. On the other hand 132 is great as well if you want to stay in Canada.

You do not need to bring gas if your tank is good for 250 km. You doing route planning at home so you'll be able to research gas and food availability in some the more remote areas, shouldn't be a problem.

If you're going in August this will be pretty much prime tourist season and you can expect hotel / motel available to be a challenge in some areas, you might want to prebook in some areas.

If this is your first long trip I'd strongly recommend you do a 2 - 3 day trip in Ontario to experience what it is like to be on a bike for back to back days. Do all of your debugging close to home.

I did a trip to the Maritimes from Montreal years ago and by hugging the coastline north of Quebec City to Gaspe, Caraquet, Shediac, PEI, Cabot Trail then south to Lunenberg, then Bay of Fundy and home we racked up 6,500 km over a 3 week period. Fantastic trip. We drove through just about every small town on the coastline, certain beat a boring drive on the Trans Canada.

good idea about just getting to montreal on the 401. i'll make note of that.

and yah my tank only holds about 12.7L but i've been keeping track of fuel consumption and it gets about 25-29km per litre on highway riding.

im starting to think maybe shifting it to september might be a bit better so all families with kids and stuff are back in school and not on the road. but we'll see.

 

[iblastoff]

No camping is going to be your biggest obstacle. You'll need to prebook hotels for the entire trip and stop at the booked destination every day.

Should be a fun trip. Expressways are boring. Last trip I wandered east and expressed back to beat a snowstorm. It was about 16 hours from the Confederation bridge to GTA.

FWIW, I liked mainland NS almost as much as Cabot. There is a ring of roads around the entire province. Decent riding, awesome.experience. I started cabot trail at 05:30. Saw a handful of vehicles in the entire lap. Spent 30% of the lap in the clouds.

yah i'm just not a camper. with 20% staycation credit which i THINK allows upwards to $1000 total back on hotel/whatever stays, it should be alright.

just curious did you go clockwise or counterclockwise on the trail?

 

[ReSTored]

im starting to think maybe shifting it to september might be a bit better so all families with kids and stuff are back in school and not on the road. but we'll see.

Be aware that after mid August, in the Maritimes in general, you can expect a significant uptick in precipitation. Best time to go is June or July.

Sydney, Nova Scotia - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[GreyGhost]

yah i'm just not a camper. with 20% staycation credit which i THINK allows upwards to $1000 total back on hotel/whatever stays, it should be alright.

just curious did you go clockwise or counterclockwise on the trail?

I did clockwise. I was sleeping in someone's driveway so I needed to get out before they woke up. Had a nice breakfast in Baddeck, then up to ferry (wait was too long), then to confederation bridge, then the south end of PEI counter clockwise to ~cove head. The next day it started snowing so I pulled the plug at noon and headed home.

 

[HarleyHare]

Ummm. It's close to 300km around. I don't think 20 minutes is possible unless you were in a very fast plane. I think I was ~2.5 hours from Petit Atang to Baddeck (part of that is outside the p

I went in 85 so unless they changed the route? I was there for another reason, on business, and rented a car and we were so under-whelmed and actually stunned that all this hype went into this drive. We actually laughed when we read the exit sign. If it's 300 km now, then the only change that might have occurred (as I'm sure they couldn't have created new raodway since 85), is that the exit sign we saw has been moved to further down the road so that the "official" drive has been lengthened?

I have ridden US 1 the California coast highway and that is hundreds of km and certainly mind-blowing. And that is the one and only road with ocean views. Maritimes on the other hand has lots of other roads with fantastic views.

 

[Lightcycle]

I went in 85 so unless they changed the route? I was there for another reason, on business, and rented a car and we were so under-whelmed and actually stunned that all this hype went into this drive. We actually laughed when we read the exit sign. If it's 300 km now, then the only change that might have occurred (as I'm sure they couldn't have created new raodway since 85), is that the exit sign we saw has been moved to further down the road so that the "official" drive has been lengthened?

The 300 km Cabot Trail was built in 1932 to join all the fishing villages around the coast. I think you missed a turnoff somewhere.

The only 20 minute route close to the Cabot Trail is this one:

Victoria, Subd. B to Barachois Pond

goo.gl

 

[xrljoel]

I went in 85 so unless they changed the route? I was there for another reason, on business, and rented a car and we were so under-whelmed and actually stunned that all this hype went into this drive. We actually laughed when we read the exit sign. If it's 300 km now, then the only change that might have occurred (as I'm sure they couldn't have created new raodway since 85), is that the exit sign we saw has been moved to further down the road so that the "official" drive has been lengthened?

I have ridden US 1 the California coast highway and that is hundreds of km and certainly mind-blowing. And that is the one and only road with ocean views. Maritimes on the other hand has lots of other roads with fantastic views.

Looking at Google Maps I think you might have driven the ROAD called Cabot Trail.

It's always been my understanding that "The Cabot Trail" is Hwy 30 which goes around Cape Breton.

 

[ifiddles]

@iblastoff if I'm not mistaken, the staycation credit is only valid for holidays/vacations taken here in Ontario...double check that, but I'm pretty sure I'm right...and if I'm wrong, then I apologize...

@HarleyHare like others have already said, me thinks you didn't ride the whole road which goes around Cape Breton Island...me thinks you ran Cabot Trail Road which from one end to the other is 27.3 km according to Google maps...