This month on The Great Canadian Bucket List, we’re cycling across one of my favourite provinces with one of my favourite people, and working with one of my favourite tour companies. After an inspiring visit to Newfoundland to hike the East Coast Trail, my father and I flew off to the Maritimes to take on a new Great Canadian Trails multi-day cycling itinerary: The Best of Nova Scotia by Bike. A decade ago, we rode across Prince Edward Island in similar fashion, with the resulting story becoming one of the most popular chapters in the book. My goal was to demonstrate that a multi-day bike ride is for everyone, and that you don’t have to be a hardcore cyclist with heavy saddlebags, ripped calves and tight spandex. Mission accomplished.
These days, my dad and I are both significantly heavier, greyer, and arguably wiser too. This is why we chose to conquer Nova Scotia on e-bikes. Push a button, and the pedal assist turns us into fit super-humans, swallowing up hills with little physical exertion. After exploring Halifax, we spent a week riding the Rum Runners Trail on the South Shore, staying in Lunenburg and Chester. We were then shuttled to the lush Annapolis Valley, where we rode the Harvest Moon Trail through communities like Wolfville, Kingston, and Annapolis Royal, with its rich history stretching back to the early 1600s. I’ve written that adventure up for Canadian Geographic, so I wanted to focus on some of the other highlights of our week in the Maritimes: the wonderful people we met along the way.
Let’s start with Sarah. She’s the owner of I Heart Bikes, the largest bike rental store in Atlantic Canada, but also shines her sunny disposition on guests of Great Canadian Trails. Sarah provides the bikes and e-bikes, along with a comfortable shuttle to transfer you, your luggage and your bike to some of the most scenic spots in the province. She’s full of insider knowledge, history, and encouragement to get on the saddle because, as she told me, “cycling just makes people happy.” A native of Halifax, Sarah is a wonderful ambassador for the Maritimes, and I have a feeling my dad wanted to adopt her.
We next met up with Pete, a talented photographer and videographer who came along to capture some truly dazzling images. My dad decided Pete and I are peas in a pod. He’s also passionate about travel, food, people, and nailing the perfect jump shot. Originally from Alberta, Pete and his wife Dalene migrated to Nova Scotia to live in the Annapolis Valley, where they also run a catering business, Luminous Moose Eats. Of all the places in Canada, they decided to settle here because they fell in love with the lifestyle, the food, and the people. You should visit their excellent blog, which covers not only eight years of incredible global travel, but their personal decision to settle down as proud Nova Scotians.
Our guide around Halifax is Mel Zilkowsky of Down East Tours. Mel used to fix copy equipment and scanners, and reinvented himself as a tour guide years ago because he enjoyed showing people around. Today he runs private tours that focus on Halifax, the South Shore, and history, including visits to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and several cemeteries where we the story of the Titanic became so much more real and personal. The best guides always have their own stories to share.
Sarah dropped us off in Lunenburg, where my dad and I took a 10-kilometre ride out to the fishing village of Blue Rocks, acquainting ourselves with the joy of pedal-assistance. We rode through tree-tunnels to emerge along sweeping coastline. A tiny shack at the end of the road sells souvenirs and delicious ice-cream. I ordered the intriguing sounding Moon Mist from The Point General’s owner, Katherine, who runs the store each summer. Moon Mist consists of banana, blueberry, cherry, and the sweet memories of a bubblegum childhood. We spoke to other patrons outside, including a couple from Ontario exploring the Maritimes in an RV with their friendly Doberman Ben. Ben couldn’t take his eyes off the ice-cream. “Who’s a good boy?”
We ride back to Lunenburg where a music festival is taking place on the waterfront. Live folk music greets several visiting tall ships and seasonal crowds, with the bright-painted houses in this UNESCO World Heritage Site lighting up in the sunshine. After noshing on burnt ends at the Smoke House BBQ (because I seem incapable of passing up smoked brisket) we visit the farmer’s market on a jetty where I’m instantly drawn to a sign that reads “Non-Traditional Hot Sauce (because I’m incapable of passing up hot sauce too). Here I meet Darris, an army veteran who values flavour over heat, and hand makes tasty hot sauces in innovative packaging. Darris’s eyes tell me he’s seen some traumatic events, but his heart is bursting with a love for hot sauce, Lunenburg, and meeting strangers in farmers’ markets. I bought a variety pack of nine (yep, nine) different 100ml Nurple Hot Sauces in plastic pouches that are ideal for gifting.
I had a dream about the 90s band Counting Crows. For some reason, my sleeping brain decided to run through every track in their seminal debut album, August and Everything After. The next morning, we were riding on the Rum Runners Trail towards Mahone Bay and see a shack with a sign that reads Antiques, Weird Stuff, Cool Junk. Inexplicably, the cool junk includes a sign that reads (and I’m not making this up): No Parking Except for Counting Crows Fans. Sometimes, the universe can be a little on point. We park and enter a wooden store crammed floor to ceiling with thousands of antiques, weird stuff and cool junk. You’d need years to catalogue the sheer range of stuff – toys, tapes, signs, tableware, novelties, souvenirs, trinkets, knick-knacks, instruments, dolls, tchotchkes, party tricks. A lady emerged with kind eyes and water for my dad’s empty bottle, clearly proud of her unique collection. Her name is Roxanne, she tells me her story, and she lets me take her photo. “And we all want something beautiful…” sing the Counting Crows.
We’re loving the e-bikes. You hit that third level on the pedal assist, the bike takes off, and it feels like an angel is blowing on your back. Pete and my dad, both first time e-bikers, are instant converts. We spend the night in Chester, with Sarah shuttling us north to the Grand Prè National Historic Site in the morning. The site of the 1755 Acadian deportation is a solemn place surrounded by beautiful farmland. We discover the history and deportation of the Acadians, the French Catholic settlers who painstakingly carved fertile farmland from the deep marshes. Their story is told in the memorial church, through various plaques and statues, and inside the Parks Canada interpretation centre with the help of Amy, the Visitor Experience Team Leader. I’ve long felt that Parks Canada employees are hidden gems in this country. They’re full of knowledge, enthusiasm, respect, and passion for the country.
Our favourite accommodation all week, by far, is the Stellar Rose B&B in Wolfville, the garden oasis of Neil, Robyn and their friendly Bernedoodle Chico. Hotels, inns and B&Bs get infused with the energy of the people who own and run them, and when those people are as lovely as this couple, the Stellar is the result. Their garden patio feels like a tropical wormhole, the rooms are cozy, while their homemade breakfasts are simply killer. Neil, an English transplant who coached squash around the world, is full of jokes and tales. He certainly knows his way around an Eggs Benedict. Robyn’s warmth and hospitality shines through wherever you look. My dad fell in love with the place, and as a result, with the university town of Wolfville too.
In Port Williams, Pete guides me over to his favourite distillery, Barreling Tide. Their molasses-infused 5-Fathom Dark Rum is rich and delicious, and of course I added their Windward whisky to my ongoing metaphorical tastings (#112). We chat with Allyson over the counter about the various liqueurs and spirits, although I probably didn’t endear myself when I described the whisky as having notes of swamp water… but in a good way. We pop into The Port Taproom next door for yet another flight of quality craft beer, having already ordered a flight at The Church Brewing Co during lunch in Wolfville. Simply outstanding beer in a region better known for white wine.
My dad and I ride our bikes through Wolfville, exploring the hilly campus of Acadia University and Wolfville Reservoir Park, with its stunning view of Minas Basin and Cape Blomidon. The bikes make easy work of the hills as we find our way to the Gaspereau Vineyards, where we have our best tasting, and further down the street to the vineyards of Benjamin Bridge. We spoke to people behind the wineries, but it was pretty busy and I never got their stories. We did chat to a friendly neuroscience student who came to our rescue after a somewhat frosty reception at Benjamin Bridge. Zeus’s Law says you should always welcome strangers because they might be gods in disguise. Esrock’s Law says you should always welcome strangers because they might be travel writers or critics. Taking photos on the side of the road, we strike up a conversation with Nancy, who is testing a MEC backpack before embarking on the bucket list Camino de Santiago. Nancy loves living out here, and tells us about the butterflies one would expect before a legendary months-long hike in Europe.
We park our e-bikes and head into Lightfoot and Wolfville for pizza and salad, returning to find a couple named Simon and Sandy parking their own e-bikes. Their models have a throttle function, so they don’t even have to pedal if they don’t want to. They’re visiting from Halifax, and we naturally fold into a conversation about where we’ve been and where we’re going, but mostly about e-bikes and how much we love them.
We meet a lot more people in Annapolis Valley: a German baker and an Austrian chef with her charming granddaughter. A couple RV’ing from Texas, and another couple visiting from Atlanta. There’s a family from Louisiana rediscovering their Arcadian roots before the province-wide celebrations on Acadia Day; local ladies drinking Tidal Bay white wine at a wine bar, and a couple who retired to the valley from Ontario to make honey and soaps. I should have taken their names and photos too. There’s always more people than there is time to write about them.
Nova Scotia in summer beams with the good times. The valleys are bursting with fruit and vegetables, the small towns are full of life, and the Rum Runners Trailway and Harvest Moon Trail are the perfect thread to weave it altogether. Still, it’s the people you meet – locals and visitors – who add the spark of personality and unpredictability you can’t plan for. The people you meet who create the paradise you find.
