Lighthouse Tour
By Gary Gilbert
Friday, September 03, 2004
The Lighthouse Tour is run by Can Am Wheelers http://www.canamwheelers.com
This was a beautiful 6 day tour. I flew to Boston and hitched a ride with a (non-cycling) friend up to Portland Maine. I took a short ride into the Maine countryside before heading over to the ferry terminal. The ferry was an overnight trip to Yarmouth Nova Scotia of about 11 hours. I went up on the top deck to look at the stars and awoke around 2 AM with a great view of the Milky Way. Unfortunately I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and the temperature was around 45 degrees Farhenheit.
We started in Yarmouth, up to Annapolis Royal, south the Liverpool through the Kajimkujik National Park, and then back to Yarmouth via Shelburne.
A couple of pre-tour photos taken just outside of Portland Maine.
The Portland harbor.
Cyclists and fossil fueled vehicles waited in line to board the ferry. Cyclists were assigned rooms for sleeping. We docked in Yarmouth early in the morning and after a quick check of our bikes were on our way.
This is the Lighthouse Tour after all, we saw several each day.
A rather short draw bridge.
The sky was clear and blue for days 1,2,3, and 6. Sometimes the fog would roll in for an hour or so and then the skys would clear up again. On days 4 and 5 it was raining lightly.
It was a great tour for photography.
I went on the tour without knowing anyone. One rider was friends with someone I had met in Kansas the previous year.
The group below rode together on future rides. Michigan West Shoreline Tour and Erie Canal Tour
Cal Linda Rich
Bill Anne Joe and Donna
We stopped for lunch in Digby and had to try Digby scallops. It was a great meal with a nice view of the harbor.
This town was built on stilts. The tide being quite high when it comes in. There is a power plant that generates electricity when the tide comes in or goes out.
The day we rode from Annapolis Royale to Liverpool was a 70 mile day. I decided to ride a century that day and left earlier than most riders. The ride through the Kajimkujik National Park was slightly uphill for the first 30 miles or so. The first place open for food was at the top. I rode in the fog, and alone. I only encountered 2 or 3 vehicles during the early morning climb. I loved being in the fog.
After stopping for breakfast, the fog had lifted and I found this in the garden of the restaurant.
And the rest of the day looked like this.
When I got to this lake, I stopped and spent about 2 hours just sitting and enjoying the view and the quiet. After I decide to leave, I walked back up to the road and discovered that the SAG and cookie wagon had set up about 100 feet up from where I had been sitting all my myself.
A couple more lighthouses.
The next morning we awoke to blue skys but the fog quickly rolled in.
The lighthouse on the right is off-shore when the tide is in and on-shore when the tide is out. I visited this near the end of the day as well as the next morning but the tide was in both times. A photo of this same lighthouse was used by Joe in creating personalized license plates for our group in subsequent tours.
Donna organized a sing-a-long. This night we camped inside a school.
After arriving back in Yarmouth, we set up camp and headed into town for dinner. We ate at a local pub while the sun set.
We spent the last day on the ferry heading back to Portland Maine. One more Lighthouse was visible near Portland.
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