Nova Scotia to Newfoundland
 

I'm planning on travelling to the Maritime Provinces this summer and I'm wondering about how to safely get my bike from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland and back on the ferry. Has anyone done it? What should I bring with me (straps of whatever)? How rough is the trip? Do I need to worry about the bike getting damaged???
Thanks!!!

The Newfie ferry provides tie downs but you might want to bring some yourself depends on how anal you are about your bike, they have big loops in the deck to tie down to. The weather - depends - you could spend two extra days at sea because the ferry can't land because of a huge storm but the odds are well in your favour that you will have a smooth as glass crossing or maybe some thick fog!

One thing I do, as well as tying down I lock my front brake on with a small velcro loop around the grip

Cheers

Thanks for the hint. Sounds like you've done this more than once.

When I went over last Summer there was a huge locker of heavy tie down ratchet straps available. Look at your bike now and decide where you want to attach 4 of them, at each side, front and rear. I had some 18" nylon straps that I put around the nice bits of my bike so the big straps didn't mar things, but not really needed. With all of this figured out now, when you roll into your space on the ferry you will not have any anxiety as everyone scrambles to get tied down and up to the beautiful boat decks. Enjoy the ride.

Another thought is to decide where you want to go when the boat docks. Depending on what time it is you may need overnight accommodations as you disembark, and you can search online for hotels, campsites, etc before when you book/reserve. I got in late, and was glad to get a room at the nearest inn, but it cost me $125 USD.

yeah, forgot to mention, when you dock take some time, find a place to have a coffee and let everybody else off the boat before hitting the highway. With all the Newfoundlanders heading home from being away its road race time on the Trans Canada:mchappy: