This was my brother Peter’s idea. (Half-brother, to be specific, since we share a father and not a mother, but we’re definitely brothers.) Peter lives in Halifax, and a few years ago he rode the famous Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island on his motorcycle. He thought it would be fun to do on a bicycle and invited me to join him. “It’s hilly, and the weather is very changeable, but it’s beautiful,” he assured me. He was right on all counts.

Joined by Mark (Peter’s wife’s brother-in-law), we drove from Halifax to Baddeck on Cape Breton on October 5, 2026. We had mapped out a 4-day loop of about 200 miles and way too many feet of climbing, with stops in Ingonish, Pleasant Bay, St. Joseph du Moine, and then back to Baddeck.

Here are some photos from our adventure.