Nova Scotia Bicycle Tour - Day 11 The Lookoff to Annapolis Royal

Nova Scotia Tour

Day 11 The Lookoff to Annapolis Royal

Annapolis Valley and North Mountain
North Mountain overlooks the Annapolis Valley

The rain ended overnight. I awoke to another picture postcard day.

The BOB trailer attaches to a special quick release skewer. The special skewer has bobbins on both sides. Dropouts on the tongue of the trailer slip over the bobbins. Cotter pins secure the dropouts on the bobbins. If you're having trouble visualizing all of this, you can find an illustration at the BOB web site.

I loaded the trailer and attached it to my bike. I secured the cotter pin on the left side of the bike. When I reached across the bike to secure the right side, the whole rig fell over.

The bike fell to the right and the trailer fell to the left. I picked up the rig and attached the right side cotter pin. Everything appeared to be working fine. I left my campsite on the Lookoff around 8AM.

I descended off North Mountain to the Annapolis Valley. I followed Route 221 to Aylesford. I passed many apple orchards. I missed the annual Apple Blossom Festival by a couple of days. Apparently, this is a big deal in this part of Nova Scotia with beauty contests, parades and other festivities.

The woman who manages the campground in the Lookoff passed me near Centerville. Near Aylesford, I took some back roads and picked up Route 201.

Lupines
Lupines

As I approached the town of Greenwood, I saw a lot of low flying military planes. Most of them were C-130 transports.I found out where the planes came from when I passed a large Canadian Air Force base at Greenwood

My pollen allergies were acting up all morning. I was surprised to find Claritin for sale with out a prescription. Claritin requires a prescription in the United States.

I got back on the road and the winds increased. I saw lupines everywhere.

Cannons at Fort Anne
Fort Anne

I arrived in Annapolis Royal round 4 PM. I visited Fort Anne. Built by the French, Fort Anne changed hands several times as the British and French struggled for control of Nova Scotia. This fort had extensive earthworks and many cannon. Inside the visitor's center I found exhibits and a large tapestry detailing the history of Nova Scotia.

After visiting the fort, I bought groceries. On the way to the campground I passed a power plant that generates electricity using tidal currents.

River front camp site

I camped on the Annapolis River near the power plant. I got a nice site near the river. One advantage to touring early in the season was that I was able to choose nice sites away from the RV's

When I attempted to detach the trailer from the bike, I discovered a problem. I had a very difficult time extracting the cotter pin from the left side. When I finally got the pin out, I discovered why. The left side drop-out on the trailer's tongue got bent earlier in the day when the bike and trailer fell in opposite directions.

My total mileage for the day was 77.

Continue to Day 12.