Nova Scotia Bicycle Tour -- Day 3 Bartlett, NH to Portland, ME

Nova Scotia Tour

Day 3 Bartlett, NH to Portland, ME

Most of our group went hiking for the day. I wanted to make some last minute preparations for the Nova Scotia portion of the trip. Lorraine was tired and wanted to rest. Kathleen wasn't up for a long hike with her broken arm. The three of us got in my truck and headed for the town of Glen a few miles away.

Last minute chainring replacement.

I recently replaced the chain and cassette on my mountain bike. However, I had lingering doubts about the condition of my chainrings. I asked my friend and ace mechanic Dave Baumgartner to look at them. Dave said the chainrings. were marginal. He advised me to replace them if possible.

Our first stop was the Red Jersey Cyclery. I figured the new chainrings. would be a quick job. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. Being a holiday weekend, the shop was very crowded. When they finally got my bike in the stand, we ran into compatibility problems thanks to Shimano (the King of Incompatibility and Microsoft of the cycling industry). They also replaced my front derailer which had developed a lot of play.

While the mechanic worked on my bike, Kathleen talked to a sales guy about a new road bike. I give her a lot of credit. Shopping for a new bike just two days after breaking her arm in a nasty crash.

We had lunch at a bagel shop in North Conway. On the way back, we stopped at Ragged Mountain's outlet store. They always have a big sale Memorial day weekend. I picked up a down vest and some other odds and ends.

We got back to Steve's. I packed the Poor Boy Touring Rig in the back of my truck. I had arraigned ahead of time for Dave to take my road bike home. I was about to leave when the rest of our group returned from their hike. I said goodbye to everyone and left for Portland.

Driving to Portland

I took the picture at left while driving. The drive was uneventful, exempt for getting lost in Portland while looking for the ferry terminal.

I finally found the terminal and parked my truck. I picked up my tickets at the ferry terminal. Despite getting lost, I had a 2 hour wait for the boat. The Nova Scotia tourism people maintain an information booth at the Ferry terminal. I picked up a detailed map of the province and inquired about various destinations in Nova Scotia. I exchanged $500 US for $675 Canadian at a small bank office in the terminal. The low value of the Canadian dollar in 1998 was a boon to American tourists.

Shortly before the ferry arrived, I left the terminal and rode to the boarding area. The ferry people told me to park my bike at the front of the queue (ahead of the cars). I was sitting on the curb looking off into the harbor. I was wondering when the ship would arrive. Suddenly, I was startled to hear a voice behind me holler "Take off your back pack please". I turned around. A couple of Customs inspectors stood over me with one rather large dog. My first thought was "What did I do?". I said nothing and I tossed my Camel Bak on the grass behind me. One of the Customs officers commanded the dog to "find it". The dog sniffed my Camel Back then my bike and trailer. The woman behind me opened her car door. Before she could step out, a Customs officer hollered "Get back in your car". After they finished with me, they ran the dog up and down the line of parked cars. After a few minutes the Customs officers left us and prepared to process the arriving passengers.

These draconian tactics failed in the 20's during Prohibition and they are failing now, I don't advocate legalizing drugs. The billions of dollars spent on enforcing drug laws could be better spent educating kids and rehabilitating those addicts that want to get clean. The so-called "War on Drugs" has degenerated into a war on America's civil rights.

I talked to the woman named Bryan in the car behind me. She is an artist from Virginia traveling to her summer house in Riverport, Nova Scotia. She gave me her phone number and invited me to stop by when I get to that area.

They finally allowed us to board. I rode right into the belly of the ship. I secured the the Poor Boy Touring Rig against the wall with some bungee cords. I picked up my dry bag and headed to my cabin.

The Scotia Prince Ferry

My cabin was a tiny 6" X 10' closet sized compartment with 2 bunks and a sink. Good thing for me, I'm not claustrophobic. I strolled out to the deck to watch the ship pull out of the harbor. Many of my fellow passengers talked to me about my bike and the episode with the customs officers. The BOB trailer attracts a lot of attention.

Once we got out of the harbor, I took a walk around the ship. The ship has a Casino. But, I'm not into gambling. I'm a very sore looser. I would have more fun throwing money into the sea than loosing it in slot machines or a card game.

I ate a late supper in the ship's restaurant. After that, I retired to the lounge for a beer or two. I listened to the ship's band. They weren't bad. They even played a couple old of blues tunes. However, the place was dead. Only 20 or so people occupied the lounge and half of them were asleep. After a while, I got bored and returned to my cabin.

I tried to sleep. Unfortunately, the ship is not conducive to a good nights sleep. In addition to ship pitching and rolling on the sea, the walls and ceiling of my cabin vibrated from the noise of the ship's big diesel engines. I spent most of the night laying on the bunk staring at the ceiling. That said, taking the boat still beats driving 800 or so miles to Nova Scotia.

Continue to Day 4.