Starting end of June I'm leaving to Nova Scotia, Gaspé, Quebec city, Montreal, Mount Washington and back home.
4 riders from USA and 3 from Europe (they're shipping their bikes) for this trip. I know some of you already did it, so I would like to hear pros and cons, advises and what to take and what not to take.
Here's a map of the trip.
In Internet culture, a lurker is a person who reads discussions on a message board, newsgroup, chatroom, file sharing or other interactive system, but rarely if ever posts or participates.
I guess you have too much time on your hands to post over 2,000 posts comparing to my 163.
Great trip. :)Don't forget to tell your friends from Europe to bring warm clothes and good gloves because temperatures can be in the low sixties in Nova Scotia and in the Gaspé region at the end of june. On the road from Gaspé to Quebec City follow route 132 all the way and do not take autoroute 20. It is much nicer, less traffic, you will see many picturesque villages and will always see the St-Lawrence. Plan a stop in St-Jean-Port-Joli to visit a very nice motorcycle museum- Épopée de la Moto. Visit the tourism site of the province bonjourquebec.com
(Jan 21, 2009 04:47 PM)creativerider Wrote: [ -> ]In Internet culture, a lurker is a person who reads discussions on a message board, newsgroup, chatroom, file sharing or other interactive system, but rarely if ever posts or participates.
I guess you have too much time on your hands to post over 2,000 posts comparing to my 163.
Jose,
Bill is over in the sand pit keeping us in the USA safe. I think what he was say`n was he wishes he was home so he could do a trip like that..
Soon Bill, you will be home..
In that case, Thank you for keeping us safe and please come home ASAP to your family and friends. If you get here before June, come with us.
In the meantime stay safe
If I did it again I would head further north and take the ferry from Bar Harbor. Although the CAT is fast, it's still a 4 1/2 hour trip. If the seas are rough it'll feel like a week.
I was told to pack my own tie downs for the ferry but I didn't need them. Obviously, someone must have though.
If you have Verizon cell service, they don't have an agreement with Canada so it's 100% roaming. They tried to get me to pay $268 for roaming charges, what a laugh, I paid them nothing.
The roads are boring as hell but I guess some people like that. The restaurants outside of major cities are far and few between so eat when you can. Without the 30% exchange rate I was accustomed to I found out that it's an expensive place to travel these days with a 13% tax on top of the high prices of things.
I went there this last June, it never got above 53* and rained 80% of the time so be prepared. My last three days were spent traveling through the White Mountain National Forrest then up into the northern tip of Vermont. Best three days of the trip.
Give me the good 'Ole US of A any day.
(Jan 21, 2009 02:08 PM)creativerider Wrote: [ -> ]Starting end of June I'm leaving to Nova Scotia, Gaspé, Quebec city, Montreal, Mount Washington and back home.
4 riders from USA and 3 from Europe (they're shipping their bikes) for this trip. I know some of you already did it, so I would like to hear pros and cons, advises and what to take and what not to take.
Here's a map of the trip.
Bring rain gear and good under layer (under armor etc).
It was raining most of the time, but we've some nice sunny days out of it.
I did a slow 2 week ride in Aug 2008. NS, PEI and New Brunswick. No Gaspe/Quebec City.
Took CAT from Portland, make sure you book your hotel/ferry way before you get there, all of the hotels were full.
Watch out for moose in Cape Breton.
In the whole trip, I did not see a single speed trap in NS. PEI had them all over.
Excellent seafood, if you see a fish/chips stand try it, it may be man kms away from the next one.
Are you camping?
Thanks for the info.
We're planing on spending 4th of July in Montreal in some friends house. Our wifes will meet us in Quebec city. We're taking the CAT in Portland unless some one advise otherwise.
I'm bringing my regular gear, Olympia jacket and pants, plus good gloves and boots, thermals and rain gear.
We have hotels booked, but I'm bringing my tent and sleeping bag just in case.
Does it rain a lot end of June and July up there?
I have AT&T as my cell carrier, but I'm taking a small laptop with a satelite card.
How boring are the roads and why. Not too many curves or...
As for seafood, we're going to some Portuguese places, since we're all Portuguese and in that area there's a lot of them from Azores.
Anything else you guys want to add.
Jose, this is a wonderful trip... i did it in July... it rains its colder but that is ok if you have gear and hotel it from time to time... food is great but its all seafood so if you are alergic you are in trouble... i never cared about exchange rates or the cost of fuel... it was too much to track and worry about... we camped and hoteled it every few days... i would take the cat even though it was puke fest for most in the bathroom... once you step inside and smell other puking you automatically want to join them... i slept for the ride and i get motion sickness bad so it was not fun but wasting a whole day on the ferry and still gettting motion sickness was not my thing... we had six in our group.
for some reason i think breakfast food is only sold in NJ so forget about breakfast on the road... no one ever heard of a breakfast sandwich up there... lots of chowder and fish sandwiches... PEI was beautiful and the cabotts trail is where you need to spend your time... waste as little time as possible getting there... its what the trip is for...
we skipped the bay of fundy and i regret that... it was raining so dam hard we did not have the stomach to stop... give yourself time to stay an extra day here and there to work around the weather problems...
i did not call home much so the roaming was not aproblem...
what to take... as little as possible... we totally overpacked and that is when i started using the if i don't use it i won't repack it rule... hopefully you are already there so that is less to worry about... the other riders may hold you up with visas and stuff like that... passports and all that business needs to be in order and you also need an insurance rider from your US carrier for canada... most firms just send it to you and don't charge... i also had my debit card blocked once i started pumping fuel in canada... i would call next time to let them know i am going on the road and they will see charges outside my home range... not a big deal but i had to borrow money and make some calls so it was a pita for the guys with me...
ihope that helps...