{"id":4663,"date":"2014-09-26T11:10:31","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T18:10:31","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/livetoplaysports.com\/news-press\/?p=4663"},"modified":"2015-06-11T16:12:06","modified_gmt":"2015-06-11T23:12:06","slug":"staff-rides-cabot-trail-cape-breton-island-ns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livetoplaysports.com\/news-press\/2014\/09\/staff-rides-cabot-trail-cape-breton-island-ns\/","title":{"rendered":"Staff Rides: Cabot trail, Cape Breton Island, NS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"cape-breton-lespy3\"<\/a>The Cabot Trail<\/a> is a 300km road loop of stunning scenery and charming Acadian hospitality that circumnavigates the northern shores of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. A unique combination of eastern mountains, ocean vistas, and old growth forests alongside quaint fishing villages, the route is considered one of the most scenic in the country and is popular with tourists, and cyclists, from all over North America.<\/p>\n

With many places to camp and great eats along the way, many cyclists pack their panniers and conquer the 4,362m of\u00a0elevation over 2-5 days.<\/p>\n

Norco Factory Team rider Andrew L\u2019Esperance<\/a> shares his experience of riding the Cabot Trail – all in one day!<\/p>\n

\u201cCome to Cape Breton Island for a week and ride, hike, hang out on the beach and take in the Island\u2019s rich history.\u201d \u00a0–\u00a0Andrew L\u2019Esperance<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Andrew\u2019s trip:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Last week two friends and I drove up to Cape Breton Island to tackle the iconic road ride that is the Cabot Trail. Most people take two or three days to do this 300 km loop, but we took it on in one\u2026so needless to say I was nervous going into it.<\/em><\/p>\n

The cool part of the Cabot Trail is that there are legit mountains to climb – something you cannot really find elsewhere in Nova Scotia. With North Mountain at 5 km and 15 %, and Mackenzie at 4 km and 13 %; we tackled these in the first 100 km. The descent off of North was well worth the climb up, and the view of Cheticamp after descending French was amazing!<\/em><\/p>\n

We all finished a hard and long day on the bike with smiles on our faces and celebrated with a BBQ and beers at the campground we were staying at; well-deserved no doubt.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was a beautiful ride, and this was my first time seeing it, so it was pretty spectacular to see the whole thing in one day and by bike.<\/em><\/p>\n

Fuel for your ride:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Andrew, along with riding companions Geoff O\u2019Toole and Dustin MacBurnie, packed food for their ride in advance and stopped to rest and refuel at The Red Barn Restaurant, close to Baddeck, and the Wreck Cove General Store, the last stop before the final climb on Smokey Mountain.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stuffed as much food in our pockets as we could and mostly just stopped for water. I packed Honey Stinger Gummies, and wraps made with a whole banana, peanut butter and honey, then wrapped in tin foil for easy eating on the bike.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

While you\u2019re there:<\/strong><\/p>\n