Title: Day Four – To Truro
Date: August 20, 2007 2:06 PM
Category: Bike
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The GPS seems to be very touch and go today. It sometimes reboots for no reason and often loses reception, even in a clear sky area. Todays route, while not that bad, is somewhat less direct than previous days.

Today, I have to leave behind the charms of the delightful Dunroamin and head to Truro, where the highest point of the famous Fundy tide was recorded. The road is highly promising, at least on the map, though after yesterdays rattle and shake down route 8, I’m somewhat apprehensive. Checking the bike this morning, I notice one of the fairing bolts has actually rattled it’s way out and been lost. Not a good sign, but given the road, I’m not entirely surprised.

It’s going to be the Evangline trail most of the way. This is mostly routes 1 and 201, the road(s) that is clearly replaced by the 101 highway. As such, it’s potential is huge. Decent, twisty road with nice, new straight road nearby for all the cars. Aside from the aforementioned surfaces, the only problem is that it’s designated a “scenic” route. No matter. I don’t want near the highway.

Setting off, I am not disappointed. The road is pretty average quality, with few bumps. Perhaps it’s less touristy as there are less villages here so you at least get some chance to work up some speed. It’s a little grating until I reach Greenwood and from then on, it was much better. The surface was cleaner and the bends were faster. There were also some very nice villages along they way, providing some excellent scenery. At Kentville, the GPS freaks out and sends me in a loop around the town. I should have paid more attention as it sent me down the same street three times and eventually just ignored it, though it turned itself off shortly after. It wasn’t so bad, except the correct way to leave town from the way I came in was “straight on”.

Past some beautiful towns now, such as Wolfburg, and some not so beautiful ones such as New Minas, or to give it a more accurate name, New Stripmall.

Through Falmouth, I turned the GPS on again and all seemed fine, until I hit Windsor down the road. The same thing happend and I would up going round in a loop. On the outskirts I stopped due to both a desire to get my bearings and hunger. I chose somewhere called something like Mama’s down home cooking. This was perhaps the worst road meal I have ever had. Ordering something I figured was safe, I went for the Turkey with mashed potatoes and their “legendary” gravy. The Turkey was a croquette which literally disolved and couldn’t be picked up. The mashed potatoes were completely dry, almost like powder. It seems the legend of the gravy is that someone survived it. It was gray and certainly didn’t taste like any gravy I’d tried. I can only conclude it was probably a roadkill skunk. Suffice to say, I left most of it having lost my appetite.

Leaving Mama’s it was up the 14 all the way to Truro, but my GPS kept insisting I turn around and head back to Windsor to reach a checkpoint I must have already been through at least twice. Ignoring it, I continued along the 14 and it continued to tell me to turn around or take some dirt path that didn’t exist. The 14 is a good fun road. Like the 8, it’s totally deserted and I think I passed maybe 10 cars on this stretch. It’s also very fast with good, clean surface. As such, I made up the time the GPS detours had lost me and proceeded to ignore it’s futher protestations to turn back.

As I arrived at the hotel, the GPS was still telling me to turn around to make the waypoint. Screw that. I’d just done 286KM and the 14 wasn’t that good…

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