101.9 miles, 4,520 ft ascent A Gaelic Century!
If you are a fan of the series of books and the television series, Outlander, you are acquainted with the Battle of Culloden.
"The Battle of Culloden (/kəˈlɒdən/;[3] Scottish Gaelic: Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, on Drummossie Moor near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. It was the last pitched battle fought on British soil. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Culloden
Now in Nova Scotia (New Scotland), this mural depicting the Battle of Culloden was on the wall of the community center where we slept in Lismore.
The mural piqued my interest, so along the
route today, I walked .6 km off the route through dew covered grass
to a memorial overlooking the Atlantic to get a photo of the Culloden
Cairn after seeing this roadside sign and memorial.
The highway gate to the trail to the cairn.
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The Cairn itself, complete with stones carried from Culloden Battlefield.
Three survivors of the Battle of Culloden are buried in this Knoydart cemetary. They emigrated to Nova Scotia and settled in Knoydart in the 1780s.
This is the message inscribed on the cairn enlarged for easier reading.
Following my visit to the Culloden Memorial, I walked back out to the road, then peddled back to our Lismore campsite. My shoes were wet from the dew, and the temperature was the coldest for several days. I knew that having wet feet would cause misery, so I once more implemented the "plastic bag" method imparted to me by Simon on our ride from Petite Rocher to St. Louis de Kent. That way I could be sure my feet would stay warm, despite my wet shoes and the colder temperatures.
A Celtic cross at St. Mary's Church further down the road to Lake Ainslie.
St. Mary's Church taken from Lismore, NS.
At the United Church in Atigonish, previously a Presbyterian church, this lovely statue.
A photograph of the church itself. Note that this church is again, much less ornate than those we saw in le Quebec.
Pedaling further, we came upon a multi-business establishment offering gasoline, dispensary items, and restaurant food. This paraphernalia is widely available here, where "weed" is legal.
Along the route there were bilingual signs, this time in English and Gaelic. I am told that sometimes the Gaelic does not translate to the English name directly, but rather describes the place or area.
Having arrived at Lake Ainslie, we prepared well for tomorrow's ride on the world famous Cabot Trail.
There will be two separate climbs of about 1,400 ft elevation gain each near the end of the day. The second climb has an average gradient of 8%. I have never climbed so long on such a steep gradient, either in the Rocky Mountains in the US or those of Canada. Some of us will probably need to walk part of the climbs. NO SHAME in that! One way or the other we are determined to finish those climbs.
Now it is time to finish our preparation with a good night's sleep. You are invited to ascend the Cabot Trail with us for the next two days, and you won't have to walk at all, so join us!
Good luck with Cape Breton. It separates the true cyclists from the rest. Hope you have good weather.
ReplyDeleteAlison
The weather was fantastic on Day 1 on the Cabot Trail. The sun shined, temperatures were in the high 70Fs to low 80Fs seaside and high 60s to low 70s on top of the highlands. The flags were standing out with wind generally aiding us but not so strong as to unbalance a cyclist.
ReplyDeleteWe were told by another prior TDC cyclist that when she rode The Trail wind was 80 km/hr. That would be scary.