Nova Scotia June 2013

[98288]

The highways in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have fairly frequent Irving gas stations and they all seem to have small Subway and Tim Hortons shops, so you won't starve or endure coffee withdrawal on the long haul up New Brunswick RT 1.

#9 has services but having a full tank is always a good practice. It's only 90 miles long and very well traveled....not remote/desolate like 30 years ago. Excellent road up from St Steven, NB to Saint John. #1 in N.B is 140 miles long. Road from Saint John to about thirty miles past Sussex has some poor road repair but as you get on from there (actually on Trans Canada then) road is fine (blah but fine). - Bob

[tommcgee]

The highways in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have fairly frequent Irving gas stations and they all seem to have small Subway and Tim Hortons shops, so you won't starve or endure coffee withdrawal on the long haul up New Brunswick RT 1.

There's a new border crossing at Calais and many many miles of new road into New Brunswick, replacing the old Rte 1. It was still under construction last fall, the further east you went. I do get nervous about gas in NB and NS and carry a gallon can or a couple of litre fuel bottles, just because I hate to stop. Sometimes, like early Sunday morning or late Saturday night, it can be hard to find an open fuel station.

[98288]

There's a new border crossing at Calais and many many miles of new road into New Brunswick, replacing the old Rte 1. It was still under construction last fall, the further east you went. I do get nervous about gas in NB and NS and carry a gallon can or a couple of litre fuel bottles, just because I hate to stop. Sometimes, like early Sunday morning or late Saturday night, it can be hard to find an open fuel station.

Late at night is a VERY difficult time to find gas stations (getting a bit better but long way to go). - Bob

[Patch]

I just ran the coast of Maine last fall over Labor Day week, all of route 1 up to Madawaska. Agree with the above post - Hartford to Portsmouth, NH not much to see so maybe a good idea to have the wife fly into NH depending on rates.

Even with tourist traffic, once past the turnoff for Bar Harbor traffic disappears on Route 1. Mt Desert Island is nice, but don't skip Schoodic point just to the north. Run 1 all the way to Lubec - roads are smooth and fun. There was a nice coast road 191 towards Cutler that was worth riding. If you're into lighthouses you should consider Lubec's West Quoddy Lighthouse - the eastern most point in the US. If time permits, cross to Campobello Island for a walk to East Quoddy Lighthouse (only accessible during low tide but very cool) and Roosevelt's Estate. If I recall there were a few smallish motels and B&B's there but I camped at Herring Cove Provincial Park. They have huts available, rustic, but covered and they were very accommodating and welcoming to me.

From Lubec, some fun roads (most freshly paved) north to Route 9 and Calais. Depending on the schedules - you can ferry from Campobello to Deer Island and eastward to N.S. Once I got to Campobello I wished I could keep on east, but that will be another trip - actually this coming fall if I'm lucky

East Quoddy Light

[bmwrider88]

From Lubec, some fun roads (most freshly paved) north to Route 9 and Calais. Depending on the schedules - you can ferry from Campobello to Deer Island and eastward to N.S. Once I got to Campobello I wished I could keep on east, but that will be another trip - actually this coming fall if I'm lucky

East Quoddy Light

We rode all the way out to Lubec hoping to island hop over to mainland NB last June, (mid-month) but the ferries weren't open yet. We wound up back-tracking to Calais and crossed into Canada, hopping on the 1 for the run across to Saint John. Leaving Bar Harbor area around noon, with some back road riding (to view the submarine communications array) into Lubec, including the blast to Saint John, we made it just after after sunset.

SO.... not sure when they open the route across the various Islands/ferries, etc. but if you plan to try this, you better go the extra mile to sort their schedule. If you have more time [than we had], I am quite certain it is worthwhile to spend some time noodling about out there. We were "on a mission" to get to Saint John and tho the diversion would have been lovely, it wasn't happening. and yeah- RE: traffic on Rte 1 above Bar Harbor- nobody there.

[tommcgee]

I had an interesting ride around Deer Island when I took the ferry in 2007. Garmin didn't have a clue where the ferry to Eastport docked, sent me down a couple of private driveways and gave me the cook's tour. Pretty nice diversion, actually.

Bike, rocky beach, Canadian Customs Agent and his Dog on Deer Island: