Gray Skies but Great Cycling

• Post script on yesterday’s blog:  For obvious reasons we stopped for dinner at a restaurant called “Joe’s”.  When we sat down our waitress told us that it was spaghetti night and servings were only $2.88 with the purchase of a drink.   Since most of our meals have been expensive on this trip, we thought that we were going to get off cheaply.  So we each ordered spaghetti and a beer.  Only when the bill came did we realize that our beers, at $7.00 each, were more than twice the cost of our meal.

Now on to today’s events were our goal was to witness Fundy Bay’s famous tidal bores. 

o     Tidal bores are the phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) of water that travels up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay's current.  Some tidal bores have been reported to be as high as several feet and resulting in a high tide that can be 50 above the low tide level.
 

We asked several people where the best place to witness the tidal bores was and got a different answer each time we asked.  Even our internet search produced more options.  We chose one that could be gotten to by bicycle.  From Wolfville we headed north along the Minas Basin and towards Fundy Bay.  Once again we were under very gray skies (see the second photo in our album).  Just out side of Wolfville, we had a small and gentle climb that gave us a wonderful panoramic view of the valley. The land above the valley was full of apple orchards, grape vineyards, and horse stables and equestrian centers. We cycled gently rolling hills for about 20 miles until we got to our selected spot. However, like Thunder Hole in Acadia National Park, our timing was lousy.  We expected to see the fishing boats viewed on the internet laying in the mud.  Another tourist there shared a picture he had taken earlier with just that shot.  While the boats had some water around them, they were still not floating.  Judging by a ladder off the dock, we witnessed the water rising over 2 feet in one-half hour but saw no surge of water.  The crews of the fishing boats were waiting for the tides to get higher so they could cast off and get to work.  We have a plan B that will hopefully allow us to see the tidal bores tomorrow as we drive to Cape Breton.

On our return trip we stopped at the Blomidon (short for “blow me down”) Winery. There Janet, the Winery’s retail manager offered us samples and told us about the winery. Blomidon Winery is a boutique winery nestled on the shore of the Minas Basin, near the community of Canning. Their first vineyards were planted in 1986. At that time, the owners sold all of the grapes and did not produce any wine. After some tumultuous years of ownership, the property was sold to new owners who were responsible for constructing the winery and extending the vineyard plantings. The Blomidon Estate Winery label was created in 2002. Since then the property has been resold and the current owners have expanded the facilities and increased the production of the winery.
 

On the way back into town Joe broke his front derailleur cable so we searched out a bike shop for a replacement.  Joe had a spare, but didn’t want to be without one along the Cabot Trail.  We found a place called Valley Stove and Cycle.  That is correct, stove and cycle.  In the bicycle off season they sell wood burning stoves. According to the manager, the store was first opened in 1978 to sell wood stoves. Then, when the first mountain bikes rolled into Nova Scotia in 1980,” they were immediately hooked and realized bicycles were the perfect complement to their stove business.”


We purchased a new cable and fixed Joe’s bike. Once again we are drinking wine as we write. Tonight we are drinking a bottle of Blomidon’s 2011 red wine called Blow Me Down. Finally, the gray skies opened up this evening and it is raining. We are happy since our ride is over and the local residences are happy because they have had a very dry year.

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