Myself and a friend have flights from Glasgow, Scotland (where I live) to Halifax at the start of June and plan to cycle east around the coast, up around Cape Breton, all around the coast taking in Gaspe and down the Saint Lawrence River to end in Montreal.
We have 10 weeks to do this, although we hope it won't take more than 6/7 weeks so we can spend time in Montreal, and plan on camping along the route, as well as hopefully meeting people through warm showers and couch-surfing.
Currently we are having regular nightmares about fighting off bears and cougars! Can anyone put our minds at ease.....are we likely to run into scary animals out there?!
Any other tips of places to go, places to avoid, routes to take and things to see would also be greatly appreciated.....
Thanks :)
You won't have any problems with cougars. The only bears in eastern Canada are black bears which are generally even more scared of you than you are of them. Humans are not their natural prey. They eat a lot of berries and insects but will go after human garbage where it is not kept properly.
You are much more likely to have problems with raccoons, squirrels and other small critters. You should always practice good camping and keep all food secured outside your tent, preferably tied up and hung over a tree limb out of reach of anything. This includes pots and pans you might have used.