Topic: Belfast 2 Belfast By Bike

[The Lone Builder]

I'm planning a trip this summer to visit all the places called Belfast in Canada and USA; i've identified 20 so far, of which 2 are in Canada.

The 2 Canadian Belfasts are on Prince Edward Island and in Ontario, about 200km west of Toronto. It seems I'll be flying into Montreal based on the options I've found so far.

I'm thinking of an April start; would this be reasonable to avoid the worst of NW weather, and bearing in mind that the other end is in Washington state?

Cheers

[BenelliSEI]

Target the very end of April. In Ontario, it can still be cold and chance of a late snowfall. After the middle of May is safer!

[Stev-o]

Subscribed....

[The Lone Builder]

Target the very end of April. In Ontario, it can still be cold and chance of a late snowfall. After the middle of May is safer!

Noted.
I don't want it to be a race, so I can't start too late or I'll end up stuck in the snow on the other side. I was moving towards mid-April, but maybe I'll slip another week.

Start of May to end of Sep would give me 5 months, so about 1500 miles a month; think I could manage that. 

[BenelliSEI]

Did you see my notes regarding staying at our Farm? You are most welcome to visit! John DeMaria.

[The Lone Builder]

Did you see my notes regarding staying at our Farm? You are most welcome to visit! John DeMaria.

No, but I have now; and a couple of others I hadn't seen either.

Thank you all for the offers; once I get organised 🤣 🤣 I'll be sure to get in touch to let you know where I'm at.

[BenelliSEI]

Did you see my notes regarding staying at our Farm? You are most welcome to visit! John DeMaria.

No, but I have now; and a couple of others I hadn't seen either.

Thank you all for the offers; once I get organised 🤣 🤣 I'll be sure to get in touch to let you know where I'm at.

Please do!

[RAFster122s]

You may wish to start in the south of the USA and hit those first and work your way north into Canada and across… from Belfast to Belfast…

The coal mines in Belfast in SW VA were once worked by one of my uncles who lived in Lebanon, VA…The mines have mostly been closed as a few presidents back regulations were put in place that essentially killed coal mining or at least shaft mines, likely most coal mining is being done by strip mines for the few mines I expect to be operational today…
It wiped out the economies of the coal mining areas of the country that were supplying coal to industry and electric power plants and the coal fired furnaces that heated many a home in those regions…

Countries like China still use a lot of coal as they don’t really care about pollution, they are not likely to become a green energy and environmentally friendly country anytime soon, nor is Russia… or North Korea…etc
Countries with extremely low wages are not going to pursue the tech needed to utilize the energy and clean energy production as long as life is hard and digging out of poverty and trying to survive day to day is far more at the forefront of their goals, not that all are in poverty but if you can measure their annual wages in terms of small percentages of those annual wages of the countries leading the charge on the green movement and clean energy and environmental conservation and combatting global warming… better address the poverty and standards of living and they may be willing to comply if it can be done without lowering their standards of living…but raising it instead…

[The Lone Builder]

Hmmm..

That's a thought; I'll have a look at it.

[b1jackson]

I live about 30 minutes from the Belfast in PEI.  I definitely would not want to be riding here in April! 

[The Lone Builder]

Too late!  (I need to log in more frequently)

I land in Halifax on 16 April!!  I see the temperatures are in single figures (°C) 🥶

[rotortiller]

You are likely going to freeze your ass off in Halifax (my home town) and NS in general plus there may still be road salt over the surface. I just put the batteries in my bikes, fired them up, then crawled back in my hole for another month ready to roll. (It has got to be over 10c before I will have a go at it.) Expect to be cut off by cars on a regular basis so best to keep your eyes peeled and treat every intersection as a mine field. Tires do not grip so well in the cold. The roads are full of pot holes in places you'd not expect, especially in spring. Some secondary roads are still screwed up due to flood damage from a few years ago however secondary roads are the best for seeing the country. I have not put the winter clothing or winter tires away yet and likely not a green leaf or bud to be found till May! On the plus side this is supposed to be a warmer than normal spring so fingers crossed for you.

[The Lone Builder]

Well, that's encouraging.

Sounds very like riding in Africa, apart from the cold that is.

Maybe I'll head south from Halifax and leave the northerly bits till the thaw - there's no hard and fast plan.

[newday777]

You could hop on the Ferry to Maine.
Here in southern NH it's °50 F this afternoon, back in the 40s tomorrow, mix of snow/rain  on Saturday, might be in the 50s again next week 😳

[rotortiller]

https://511.novascotia.ca/     Road conditions, maintenance and closures.

[The Lone Builder]

Too early to make plans  , but advices noted, thanks

[Stev-o]

Too early to make plans

Be sure to let us know if you will have a blog so we can follow along.   I have a parts stash and would be willing to ship to you if you are in need along your journey [I'm sure others will help too]  Good luck!

[The Lone Builder]

Thanks Steve.

Everyone is being really positive and helpful which is much appreciated.

There will be a blog - website coming soon; I'll be sure to post the URL when it is up.

Sean

[The Lone Builder]

The die has been cast and the wheels are turning!!

I am now in sunny Halifax, basking in a positively tropical 14º!

The bike has arrived safely and I plan to head to PEI on Thursday.

The website will be activated tomorrow with any luck:

belfast2belfastbybike.com

[newday777]

Good to hear you got the wheels in motion!
I rolled my K5 out of the winter hibernation in the storeroom this afternoon and did the spring draining out the 2 stroke oil from the tank and the Marvel Mystery Oil from the carbs, fresh gas and it fired off great. I'm going to take it out for a ride tomorrow and then go to the local bike night with it. It's supposed to be 65° tomorrow here.
Next week here in NH it's forecast to be in the low 60s. It is spring. You know about wearing your rain gear to help keep you warm don't you? Ride safe, see you when you get down this way.

[BenelliSEI]

Well done and welcome to CANADA! a John D.

[b1jackson]

The die has been cast and the wheels are turning!!

I am now in sunny Halifax, basking in a positively tropical 14º!

The bike has arrived safely and I plan to head to PEI on Thursday.

The website will be activated tomorrow with any luck:

belfast2belfastbybike.com

Shot you a message on your website as well.  Best of luck.  If you need parts, hit me up as I'm close by.

[andy750]

Wonderful news! If you come through Boston Ill put you up, have spares for the bike, garage etc. Have a great ride and if you need any route suggestions let us know! Loads of good roads in New England 

Quick thoughts:
1. Ride up Mt Washington, NH
2. Ride up Whiteface Mt, NY state and go visit Lake Placid Olympic village and ride around Adirondacks.
3. Ride down Rt 1 Maine to Acadia State Park and see sunrise over Cadillac Mountain. Dont miss out on Winter Harbor for an olde ME experience. Camping there as well.
4. Ride down Rt 100, VT through the Green Mountains.

All depends on your route and time that you have. There is also a Belfast, ME 

[newday777]

Andy
Mt Washington is not open until the 24th of May.

Temporarily closed
Closed until May 24, 2024

[The Lone Builder]

I saw that Barry; I replied.

Great Andy, thanks for the offer.

I’ll definitely be down your way, but currently the weather is playing a big part in what I do. 4 hour today and +/- 5ºC was definitely enough by the end. Fortunately it was bright and sunny.