Bridgewater to North Brookfield and Greenfield, Queens County, Nova Scotia
There are many mornings when I get up for the day that my mind wanders ( some would say that my mind wanders a lot ) away from the "honey do" list and because there is no snow on the ground, or torrential rainfall happening now or in the next several hours, plans are put in place for a short ride. One of my favorite short rides takes me approximately 2 hours, give or take depending on how I feel, the length of the "honey do" list, the amount of "sucking up" I have to do, and one important aspect that I will explain shortly.
Where Is Queens County, NS?
Map of Queens County, Nova Scotia .....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queens_County,_Nova_Scotia
Queens County is one municipality that is sparsely populated, has many, many square kilometres of wilderness, many lakes, and some of the best beaches along the Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia anywhere.
This is an inland run that takes you through some somewhat scenic areas ( if your definition of scenic includes lots of trees and some lakes). But the best part is the fact the roads are, for the most part, very well maintained, and good for group riding. Traffic is light through most of the run, especially during the week days but can be somewhat heavy during the Friday to Sunday time periods in the summer, as the access to Kejimikujik National Park is through these roads. In addition, as forestry is an important part of the local economy, there are usually quite a few logging trucks on the road. One has to be careful when following behind these trucks as bits of bark can be blown off the logs and create issues for riders such as "face stingers" to road objects to dance around.
As already mentioned, the roads are in good shape and make riding them enjoyable. The route I favour is from Bridgewater north through to Wileville and on through the little communities such as Newcombville, West Clifford, and Colpton, via Route 331. At the end of Route 331, you have a choice of heading toward New Germany by turning to the right ( a ride report in itself), or ,as in this report, turning left and heading in the direction of North Brookfield, Caledonia, and Keji park, all located in northern Queens County. Within the first minute of heading in this direction, you will see a sign warning you about watching out for the Blandings Turtle, which is an endangered species. I have only seen 2 of them in my travels, but when I do see them, I will stop and get them off the road before they get hit ( I will put on latex gloves which I carry with me as a liner for the inside of my gloves in the rain) as a precaution against having anything transmitted to me, or to the turtle by me, when I move it.
As already mentioned, the roads are in good shape and make riding them enjoyable. The route I favour is from Bridgewater north through to Wileville and on through the little communities such as Newcombville, West Clifford, and Colpton, via Route 331. At the end of Route 331, you have a choice of heading toward New Germany by turning to the right ( a ride report in itself), or ,as in this report, turning left and heading in the direction of North Brookfield, Caledonia, and Keji park, all located in northern Queens County. Within the first minute of heading in this direction, you will see a sign warning you about watching out for the Blandings Turtle, which is an endangered species. I have only seen 2 of them in my travels, but when I do see them, I will stop and get them off the road before they get hit ( I will put on latex gloves which I carry with me as a liner for the inside of my gloves in the rain) as a precaution against having anything transmitted to me, or to the turtle by me, when I move it.
Blandings Turtle - an endangered species in Nova Scotia, and found basically in Queens County, and sometimes on the road!
Picture to the left from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blandings-road-800x600.jpg
The road is lined by trees, fields, and Christmas tree farms, with houses being spread out from one another, but not so far that you feel isolated.
After about 15 minutes riding along this route, you will come to the intersection of Trunk 8, whereas a right turn will take you to Caledonia, Keji, and eventually to Annapolis Royal in the beautiful Annapolis Valley (ride report found In another story).
However, we will take another left turn and head in the direction of Liverpool, Greenfield, and Milton. The road was recently repaired and repaired, making a smooth ride, with very little traffic (although with all the rural rides in Nova Scotia, you have to be aware of all the "little critters" that could be on the road just around the next corner. Deer can be everywhere, and if they are not, they sure seem so! (I would not recommend riding this road in the dark). This part of the highway allows for serenity (a politically correct way of saying there are not many homes along the way, plenty of "tree scenery ", and good places for those of us that are "blatterly challenged" to pull over and do our thing in private. Continue on for approximately 15 minutes until you come to the intersection of Trunk 8 and Route 210. If you continue straight, you will end up in Liverpool, so for this ride, we turn left (again!) and head toward Greenfield and Bridgewater.
Picture to the left from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blandings-road-800x600.jpg
The road is lined by trees, fields, and Christmas tree farms, with houses being spread out from one another, but not so far that you feel isolated.
After about 15 minutes riding along this route, you will come to the intersection of Trunk 8, whereas a right turn will take you to Caledonia, Keji, and eventually to Annapolis Royal in the beautiful Annapolis Valley (ride report found In another story).
However, we will take another left turn and head in the direction of Liverpool, Greenfield, and Milton. The road was recently repaired and repaired, making a smooth ride, with very little traffic (although with all the rural rides in Nova Scotia, you have to be aware of all the "little critters" that could be on the road just around the next corner. Deer can be everywhere, and if they are not, they sure seem so! (I would not recommend riding this road in the dark). This part of the highway allows for serenity (a politically correct way of saying there are not many homes along the way, plenty of "tree scenery ", and good places for those of us that are "blatterly challenged" to pull over and do our thing in private. Continue on for approximately 15 minutes until you come to the intersection of Trunk 8 and Route 210. If you continue straight, you will end up in Liverpool, so for this ride, we turn left (again!) and head toward Greenfield and Bridgewater.
The Runway at South Shore Regional Airport...... Photo: G.Matthews
CBF1000A at South Shore Regional Airport, Greenfield, Queens Co., NS
Within the next 5 minutes, you will see a sign that states where the South Shore Regional Airport is. As a pilot, this is one of my favorite places along the route to stop in a visit. There are a number of items about the airport I would like to mention, one of which is the isolated location of the airport. There are a number of reasons why the airport is located where it is ( basically in the middle of Queens county which has a very sparse population), and this has no doubt hindered any major developments of the airport. The airport has a very good runway but most traffic on it now is made up of the drag races that occur there about 5 times a year. There is little aircraft traffic there, and as with this, the lighting system that used to be available to incoming aircraft at night has been allowed to crumble into disrepair. Other than that, the airport is a top notch facility that is extremely underutilized and begs for development, whatever that may be!
After leaving the airport, you travel through the scenic ( and small) community of Greenfield, which is located on the Medway River, and is fed by the Molega / Ponhook lake systems, where many cottages are located. The road is in very good shape and it takes approximately 30 minutes to return to Bridgewater from here, at a average speed of 80 km/h, which is what most of the ride is (except for going through the small villages along the way).
Overall, a nice ride to clear your head, breath in some of nature, and not have to fight with traffic. In addition, it allows you to get back to the honey do list, or gives you options for other rides to take. Whatever you decide ( me, I choose the option of staying on my wife's good side!)
Overall, a nice ride to clear your head, breath in some of nature, and not have to fight with traffic. In addition, it allows you to get back to the honey do list, or gives you options for other rides to take. Whatever you decide ( me, I choose the option of staying on my wife's good side!)