I was exhausted when I finally arrived at the ferry terminal near Digby Nova Scotia at 4 AM. I had a nasty pain in my neck from the day before that was just starting to get better after two brief naps that I took in the ferry terminal in Saint John and on the ferry itself. I had nothing else to do so I started pushing my unridable bike down the desolate highway. After the ferry traffic cleared through there was not a soul to be seen nor heard. The empty road hugged along the coast with soft waves lapping below and a million stars gleaming in the cloudless sky. There was a light breeze coming ashore bringing me air that was cool and fresh with the salty scent of the Atlantic Ocean. I decided to find a place to pitch my tent as I absolutely needed some rest before trying to hitchhike into Halifax, besides there wasn't a single car to be heard. I hiked up a hill in a clearing and found a spot hardly level or smooth but perfectly good enough to camp for the night.

Well after the sun had risen I packed up and continued pushing my bike down the road. I came by the tourist information and went inside to find two nice smiling girls who were working there and were more than happy to find me a piece of cardboard and a pen to make a sign for Halifax. Pretty much right after that I was picked up and on my way to Halifax with a direct ride from a wealthy businessman in his shiny new truck. I felt terrible watching the scenery blow by at 110 km/hr but I was looking forward to arriving in Halifax and seeing my friend Nicki from Vancouver that was studying in Halifax and had a bed for me to sleep in. Also she said if it was possible that I should arrive on that exact day because she was writing her MCAT that day and was going to go out partying in the night.

I got dropped off right downtown even though that was not at all where my ride was was going. I tried to phone Nicki but I couldn't get a hold of her so I decided to book myself a bed in the hostel because it was almost full with only two beds left. A little later I tried her again and we met up. That night there was a big house party at her boyfriend's house and I dare say it was one of my favourite house parties ever. It was full of musicians and the whole night the house shook and swayed to different music from different rooms. Downstairs in the kitchen two guys had guitars and were jamming out Neil Young "Keep On Rocking in The Free World" while several people sang and rocked along. The living room kept to a beat with a full set of drums hammering softly and accompanied by the rythmic sounds of a bongo drum. Upstairs there was an electronic keyboard switched to organ mode and a tall guy with round glasses and a blond beard keyed out fanatically to The Doors. Several people stood around him possesed by the dark sound, their voices roared along imitating the passion of Jim Morrison. By the end I had drunk all my beer and I sat happily around on the outside deck telling people about my journey, where I had come from and where I was going. I knew but one person at the party but by the end I knew just about everyone or atleast everyone knew who I was.

My other days in Halifax were very chilled out and I didn't do much. The buskers festival was on the pier so I spent lots of time watching incredible free shows of fire dancing and machete juggling. I finally met up with Cameron who ended up way behind me after taking a long rest in Thunder Bay. We were really happy to see eachother and we had a great night at the bars downtown. One day we were sitting on the front steps of Nickis house and reviewing our trip. It seemed incredible to think that we were both there so far from home on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean having come all the way on bicycles. It was nice that we were able to share the experience. The only people who seem to fully undeerstand my trip are other cyclists that are doing the same thing.

I had a bit of a hard time fixing my bike. First I tried every bike shop for the bearing that I needed but not one had it, not one of the many bearing manufacturers had it either. I was lucky one of the bearing manufacturers was able to order them from Toronto in two days. I got two extras to avoid a similar problem farther down the road. Then I found out the outer ring of the bearing couldn't be removed from the free hub and it was unlikely to find one that might fit my hub. I almost had to get a brand new hub which would have probably included new spokes and a totally rebuilt wheel assuming that the flange sizes were different. A very expensive option. "Ideal Bikes" was the one store that wanted to really help me, another one asked me to leave my wheel for a week because they were so busy but I was pretty sure they didn't have the right part anyway, finally when I didn't know what to do the guy in the store said hed check if they had the part. Sure enough in two minutes they found it and an hour later my wheel was good to go. Having replaced the free hub and two new bearings I was out $100 but so happy to be ready to go. I went straight home put my wheel on and headed out.

I headed east on the coastal scenic route and found it to be very nice. It wasn't right on the ocean but many inlets came in and under the road. Due to my late start I rode late, the sun went down and pastel colours streaked across the sky. I kept riding because I decided that I would camp at Taylor Head Provincial Park just because I saw it on the map and the peninsular shape of it looked promising. Upon entering big signs said no camping but it was almost dark and the park was deserted so I wasn't worried. It was an excelent choice because there was an incredible bay with a pristine white sand beach surrounded by sand dunes. I got up very early while it was still dark. I watched as the day slowly grew up from the night and the horizon began to burn. The sun slowly lit my side of the world and then finally appeared over the Atlantic Ocean. I packed up my tent but did not leave in haste. I went for a hike and then returned to swim in the chilly bay. I had the entire park to myself until about 8:30 when the first people arrived; I left the park for them and headed back onto the highway. I had plenty of time but decided to take it easy and only biked about 100km. I wasn't feeling very motivated partly due to my wheel problems and also I was in a way jealous of Cameron who was going home to rest in Vancouver. Then I met a solo Austrian cyclists coming my way. he had ridden a similar trip as me but with an even longer route and was just coming back from St. John's. He told me how beautiful Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island was which was very encouraging. He convinced me to take the long ferry to Newfoundland and then the short ferry back. We stood on the side of the road adn talked for a long time, obviuosly we were both sharing similar feelings of to much biking and lonely biking. I continued on with a renewed motivation and was thrilled to be taking the long ferry meaning that I was only 350km away from Cape Spear but still much more than that because I was definetly riding around the Cabot trail around Cape Breton Islands National Park.

Arriving on Cape Breton Island I checked the ferry schedule and decided to take the Friday ferry because it was the only one that didn't leave me to arrive in the middle of the night. This meant I had 5 days to tour up the west coast and around the Cabot Trail, a famous scenic coastal highway, and then to the ferry terminal. Riding up the coast was beautiful and got progressively better towards Cape Breton Highlands National Park. I could hardly believe my eyes one day when I looked out to sea and spotted a pod of whales splashing around just off the shore. It was the first time that I've properly seen whales clearly and it made me feel very good. Later that day I spotted another pod so I pulled over at an abandoned dock to view them, they passed within 100m of the dock. By this point the scenery was getting spectacular, huge cliffs dropping to rocky shores. The hills were getting bigger aswell. People always warned me about these hills but I wasn't to worried. On one morning the road started from my camp climbing a steep winding hill. It went straight up to almost 500 m before flattening out. I rode along the plateau for a while and then met the descent. The hill was absolutley freakin spectacular. Wonderous views the whole while as the road dropped about 450m over just a few km. Sometimes the road was so steep and the view was so open infront that it felt as if the road was plunging me right into the ocean ahead. While ripping down these hills suddenly a 25km/hr. hairpin sign would appear and I would bomb into the hairpin wide and then cut in tight at 55km/hr listening as my rubber tires barely held onto to the road surface. Wow that was a rush, so worth any gruelling climb up.

I had a nasty day on the trail when it rained and the wind blew unrelenting for the entire day. However, that day I had arrived on the Atlantic Coast of Cape Breton Island and the sea raged against the shore line which is something that I love seeing. I camped at an icredible free spot I found just sheltered off a beautiful beach. I was wet but the inside of my tent was dry and so I slept well. In the morning the sun was brilliant and I went for a swim in the good size waves. I climbed a pretty big but gradual hill that day that's decsent was nothing gradual at all. The descent down Smokey Hill was one of the best experiences in my life. I had actaully just met a bunch of other cyclists who were participating in La Tour du Canada an organized cross-Canada trip where a truck carries your gear so you can travel fast and light. I was riding with them at the top of the hill but they slowed to enjoy a slower descent down the spectacular hill with %100 pure Atlantic in your face. The road quality was outstanding here and I simply couldn't hold back. I let go of my brakes and immediatly my bike exploded down hill. Accelerating in the grip of gravity I tucked low and watched as the soft turns jumped towards me. I was laughing like a maniac. With the sun shining and the scenery all around I listened to the hum of my trustworthy tires. It was similar to snowboarding but more thrilling and the best part is that I would just keep going at the bottom, no looking back.

After that I met and rode with different members of the tour so I camped at the same campsite that night. It sounded a lot different than my experience of Canada. They had hardly left the road taking rest days wherever each 7th day landed them. It was the same trip as mine minus the mountains, the quiet peaceful moments off the road, the cities of Canada, the spontanuity, and a far less degree of adventure. Also its possibly less rewarding in the end having not done it self sufficient. Nonetheless they all rode their bikes across the entire country and loved it but they didn't recomend it at all as the tour organizer is extremely rude and a definition jerk. I had the grave mispleasure af meeting him myself and I think over my whole trip he stands out the most as the most disrespecful and mean person that I've encountered (Sorry Buddy, but I dont want anyone to support you.) What Im saying is do it yourself!

The next day we rode into town and killed time waiting for the ferry, it was very exciting because once off teh ferry we were only a day's ride from the end of the world. Also I knew the 15 hr. ferry ride was going to be one hell of a party. I think it always is but now I was with 45 other cyclists many of which were eager to celebrate there accomplishment. We boarded the ship and steamed out into the wild Atlantic ocean. A powerful headwind tried to fight us back to Cape Breton Island but succeeded in nothing more than rocking the huge ferry from side to side. There was nothing that could stop us now.