Day 10

Deer Lake Campground to Corner Brook!!
Distance: 54km
Cumulative Distance: 865km
Cycling Time: 3 hrs 18 min
Average Speed: 16 km/hr
Terrain: Rolling with flat sections
Weather: WINDY HEAD-WINDY WINDY
Mechanicals: 2 flats (couldn't finish off the last day of the trip without any flats!)



Last night we set up camp in the POURING rain and we hoped that by the time we woke up this morning it would be all rained out. Well, that was certainly wishful thinking! We woke up to the sound of the rain splattering on the tarp above us and the sound of the wind rushing through the trees and making the water out on the lake loppy (another Newfie term - definition: whitecaps). Not wanting to finish the last day of our trip in the pouring rain, we decided to be optimistic and wait out the rain. So we waited... and waited... and waited... Breakfast consisted of a smorgasboard of the leftover food in our panniers that did not require cooking. It was a good opportunity to eat the miscellaneous nuts, dried fruit, peanut butter, chocolate chips, beef jerkey and mushrooms that had been hanging out in our panniers for most of the trip now.

1:00pm rolled around and we decided we couldn't wait it out anymore so we packed up camp in the rain and got mentally prepared for one last wet day on the bikes. We had just packed up the tent and the panniers when the second miracle of the trip occurred - the rain stopped and the sun started to shine! What a relief! We ditched the rain jackets and fixed my flat from the night before and were just about to set out when Sean realized he had a flat as well! What are the odds..... with one last lingering look at our amazing campsite (our tent had been less than 100m from the lake and if the weather had been more cooperative, would have been the perfect setting for a swim), we set out for Day 10 and the last day of our cross-Newfoundland trip.

The Newfoundland weather gods were not going to let us off easy on the last day of our trip. For the second day in a row we faced headwinds of 25-35 km/hr with gusts of 40 km/hr. Needless to say, we were not moving along to our final destination at anything but that resembling a quick pace. Our average speed of 16 km/hr is proof enough. Sean's bum was still in a disagreement with his bike seat, and with images of the turkey dinner that awaited us at Sean's parents place, we chugged along, heads down. Wind: 1 Cyclists: 0

Wind aside, I felt fortunate that it was a clear, sunny day as the scenery today was just beautiful. The Humber Valley was lush green with water flowing, bubbling, rippling and picturesque scenery in abundance. I know I have said it before, but the beauty of this place is just so unique and startling, raw and rugged, natural and untouched.

20 km from Corner Brook, the finish line in sight and the smell of turkey strong in our noses, Murphy's Law hit again and.... I got another flat! Damn, this last day was really refused to end easily! Changing a flat tire is a lot harder mentally than it is physically - when you get into a groove of pedaling and you know in your head how far you have left to go and what time you will arrive, a flat tire can be like throwing on the emergency break in the middle of the Autobahn! There have been a few times on this trip in which the circumstances have definitely tested our patience for the situation and for each other, and this was one of them! It is a very good thing that it hasn't killed us so far so I guess it can only make us stronger, as the saying goes....! We fixed the tire, called ahead to make sure there would still be some turkey left for us and pedaled onward.

After rolling through a side road paralleling the T.C.H., and passing by cute houses and people walking, running and strolling and then getting back on the T.C.H. for one last long climb, we arrived at the "Welcome to Corner Brook" sign. We took a few token pictures to prove we did actually make it and then settled in for the homestretch. Entering Corner Brook on Riverside Drive, we wound along the Bay, past the Mill and then up the last few hills of the trip. It was fitting enough that these were also the steepest hills of the trip (Corner Brook is one of the hilliest cities I have seen, and could likely be compared quite well to the likes of San Francisco!). Sean had to plan our route accordingly so that we could actually bike the last few kilometers - if we had taken the route that one would typically drive, we would have had to push our bikes up them on foot as the hills are too steep to pedal up with our heavy panniers! The legs worked and the breath became labored for one last time on this trip and finally we rolled into the driveway of 13 Cornation Street and were greeted by Sean's family and a hot turkey dinner with all the fixings.

What an adventure this has been!! Mission: to the Rock and Roll Complete!


(I am going to post some pictures of the trip in the next few days, so stay tuned!)

Day 9

Kona Beach Campground to Deer Lake Campground
Distance: 135km
Cumulative Distance to date: 811km
Cycling Time: 7 hrs 20 min
Average Speed: 18.5km/hr
Weather: WIND WINDY WINDIER WINDIEST. Ugh.
Terrain: Rolling and flat-ish
Mechanicals: 1 (at the worst possible time ever)

Before we left for this trip I was only really worried about one thing - the wind. I have a very intense dislike for wind, and would rather find myself in a frigid, snowy winter day than battling the wind. When I shared this fear with folks in St. John's upon our arrival, they all laughed at me and told me I was crazy to come to try and bike across Newfoundland if I don't like wind. I somehow thought that if I survived hiking through the "windiest place on Earth" (Patagonia in 2008) I could survive cycling through Newfoundland. It also appeared to me to be a good opportunity to inspire a positive relationship with wind...... Well, all I will say is that I formally and completely retract my earlier comment that I would prefer a headwind to a sidewind when cycle touring. After battling 25 - 35km/hr headwinds with 45km/hr gusts for 70 km straight, with a brief interlude of "strong breezes" for 10km, followed by an epilogue of 55km of more headwind, Wind and I do not have a very good relationship at the moment. Today was a challenging day, to say the least. We didn't even get a break when going downhill as we had to keep on pedalling to maintain any kind of momentum! Ridiculous. (I bet you the St. John's folks are really laughing at me now....)

Given the treacherous conditions, it was a sure good thing we were well-stocked with banana bread and chocolate bars for ongoing motivation, in addition to my food-daydream of the day: Deer Lake Irving Big Stop Coconut Cream Pie. I am starting to notice two resounding themes in the blog thus far - Hills and Food. As I reflect on what I have written so far it seems like these are the dominant topics of discussion. At first I thought I should try to diversify my writing a bit, but then realized that these are really the two main factors in the trip - one the most challenging and the other the most motivating. In keeping with this theme, I should explain my food dreams of previous days. On Day 3, Sean's craving for Mary Brown's became a mutual food-dream until it was satisfied in Clarenville (included an extra 2km uphill to get it), Day 6 was donair pizza at Pizza Delight as we entered the "big city" of Gander, Day 7 while cycling 100km in the pouring rain, it was seafood chowder keeping those sopping wet feet moving, and Day 9 it was thoughts of that pie that kept me from letting Wind win the battle.

It may seem odd to crave a coconut cream pie from a gas station, but the Deer Lake Irving Big Stop is famous for this particular pie. I had sampled it on our previous trip to Newfoundland, after hearing story-upon-story of Sean eating an entire pie himself, I knew exactly what I had to look forward to. When we rolled into the Irving, exhausted, grumpy and starving ("Hangry" if you prefer - hungry and angry), it was a good thing they had a full pie left as we satisfied our hunger with a "light" meal of seafood chowder, overflowing clubhouse sandwiches with homefries (with hamburger meat and gravy for Sean) and an entire coconut cream pie. That creamy, perfectly sweet, full of coconutty goodness and a melt-in-your-mouth crust made everything better.

Keeping with the theme of the blog, it has also been of interest to me the quantities of food that I have been able to consume on this trip. Everyday might have well been Thanksgiving Dinner, but the most amazing part of it all is that it has been the glutton (twice over!) of Thanksgiving Dinner without the post-dinner bloating and general symptoms of overeating. It is like trying to shovel the sidewalk in the middle of a blizzard - our bodies are absorbing the food as quickly as we are able to put away bite, after bite, after massive bite and we can never quite get ahead of the hunger. Intriguing isn't it?

Today we met another cycle tourist who was in the last few days of a two-month long trip across Canada. He was from Norway (unfortunately we couldn't quite decipher his name) and very proud of it! When we asked him where he was from, he proclaimed: "Norway [while pointing to his vintage Norwegian bike jersey], home of the best skiers in the world!". I then saw him repeat the act 5 minutes later to the girl who worked at the gas station. We had a really interesting conversation with him, as cycle touring is pretty much his life. He works at a tire recycling factory in Norway for 5 months per year and then takes the rest of the year to do a cycle touring trip somewhere in the world! He has already cycled across South America, Mexico, Australia, Europe (multiple times), Iran and is heading to Russia next year. When we asked him why he chose Canada for this trip he said that after cycling through Mexico last year he "wanted a safe place where he could camp anywhere, relax and let his guard down". This brings the grand total of cycle tourists we have seen so far to seven:

- 3 American guys travelling from St. John's, NL to St. John ,NB
- A Scottish couple travelling around Newfoundland
- 1 man from Toronto cycling through Ontario, Quebec, Labrador, Newfoundland and back through the States (we didn't actually talk to him but we passed him going opposite directions on the T.C.H. and heard of his route through the cycle-touring gossip channels)
- The Norwegian man cycling across Canada

The day could not have been complete without a few other events... 10km outside of Deer Lake, Wind decided he really wasn't interested in having any sort of relationship with me whatsoever, so he brought along his friend, Rain. Battling both Wind and Rain after 120km + was almost a bit too much.... good thing for that pie. After the feast we headed to the Deer Lake campground (still in the pouring rain), which was only a few km from the Irving. However, this day wasn't going to end without a few additional battles, and 2km from the campground Blanco gave up and got the first flat of her trip. Worst timing ever. It was just starting to get dark and the rain was not letting up, so Sean biked ahead to get us a tent site and I unloaded my panniers and gear on to the side of the road and half-rolled, half-carried Blanco to the campground (no use fixing the flat in the dark when we were so close to the finish line). Fortunately we were lucky to experience yet another bout of that good 'ol Newfie hospitality when a red pick-up truck pulled up beside me, the yellow-hooded driver opened the door and exclaimed: "Get in, girl!!". Well, I had to stop for a moment and remind myself that I wasn't in Calgary and that in Newfoundland it is okay to accept rides from complete strangers. So I got in and found out that Gary (official campground security guard) had decided to be our saviour for the day and he helped us get the rest of my gear, pick up Sean with his bike and took us to our site. After setting up the tent and tarp in the pouring rain, he even drove us down to the showers and back to the tent. What a relief!

Day 8

Grand Falls-Windsor to Kona Beach Campround (South Brook)
Distance: 80km
Cycling Time: 4 hrs 4 min
Average Speed: 20km/hr
Terrain: Best yet! A few long, gradual hills and then the longest downhill of the trip yet - 5km or so right into the campground!
Weather: Sunny and hot!
Mechanicals: 0 (we are on a good streak right now...)



We were ecstatic to swap our rain pants and jackets for shorts and short-sleeved shirts today! The sun was shining and the temperature was hot - almost enough for us to forget about the soggy day yesterday... almost. We loaded up on breakfast at the hotel, and luckily had the same waitress as last night so we didn't have to explain our excessive eating - juice, tea, fruit, yogurt, toast, hashbrowns and a 3-egg omelet, all nicely topped off with a round of toutons with syrup and molasses (I have to get my fill while we are here!); this seems to be slightly more than the typical breakfast fare for the Mount Peyton Hotel guests...

After stocking up on some groceries in town we headed out for Day 8, feeling quite thankful for the warm sun at our side. The going was pretty good today, with a few hills to warm up our legs and then rolling, rolling the rest of the way. The terrain the past few days has been similar - boggy marshes lined with wind-toughened coniferous trees and infusions of wildflowers all along the road. I haven't mentioned the flowers yet, but they have been consistent throughout the trip so far - wildflowers of all colors, white, yellow, orange and purple. Beautiful!

I have been very excited to see a moose, or perhaps even a caribou on the trip, but so far they have been hiding from us. Sean keeps saying that the further west we get, the more likely we will to see some, so I sure hope this is the case! Today we had to be content with the fresh tracks we spotted across the highway - black bear tracks! The bear had come out of the woods, down through the muddy ditch and right across the newly paved black asphalt, leaving a clear trail for us to see. Sean commented how the tracks closely resemble a human footprint. We both said that it was too bad we hadn't rolled through there a bit earlier, as we might have actually seen the beast! (Maybe we shouldn't have ordered the extra toutons...) Unlike the Rockies, it is very rare to see bears on the Island - I suppose with so much land for them to roam they don't have much reason to interact with humans - a very good thing.

We have both found our legs to be holding up quite well so far, our "training regime" of riding back and forth to work for the two months before the trip seemed to be good enough prep! Legs aside, Sean is still suffering from the ailments of sitting on a hard, small bike seat for so many hours per day. We met a couple at the visitor center in Gander and they suggested we buy a padded toilet seat cover and strap it onto his saddle! At that point we just laughed at the idea but now I am starting to consider it for him....if we do get to this point, I will be sure to post some pictures of his "custom bike seat" for your viewing pleasure.

We rolled into the Kona Beach Campground at the civilized hour of 4pm and were greeted with a fantastic surprise! As we turned off the highway into the campground I noticed a woman standing by the entrance waving at someone; I looked behind me assuming she was waving at someone else, but then realizing we were the only ones there I thought she was shouting words of encouragement at "those crazy cyclists!" As we got closer I realized it was Suzanne, Sean's sister! Suzanne and Sean's parents, Bernetta and Kevin, had driven out from Corner Brook to surprise us on our second last night of the trip! Seeing them was surprise enough but then we found they had brought a fully-stocked cooler of fruit, cheeses, sandwiches, Bernetta's specialty - homemade cinnamon rolls and COLD beer. What a welcomed feast! It was great to catch up with them and soak in the hot sun at our campsite right beside the lake. What a life!

Ironically enough the campsite next to us was occupied by three other cycle-tourists, Chris, Mike and Ian from California and Massachusetts who are cycling from St. John's to St. John, New Brunswick. We had crossed paths with them at the Bellevue Beach campground previously, but this time we shared a campfire and enjoyed swapping stories about the previous cycle tours they had done and our experience so far on the island. This made me feel as if we were really traveling as one of the aspects of traveling I love the most is the interesting people met and the stories shared.

To another great day on the road...

Day 7

Gander to Grand Falls-Windsor
Distance: 100km
Cycling Time: 4 hrs 45 min
Average Speed: 21km/hr
Terrain: Getting flatter...(evidenced by the fact that it was the first day that Sean did not have to use his Granny Gear!)
Weather: POURING Rain
Mechanicals: 0 (thank goodness, the weather was enough to handle!)



Today we were fortunate to experience a true taste of Newfoundland weather, they type that we really expected to encounter on this trip... from the time we set foot outside the B&B in the morning until the time we sloshed into the Mount Peyton Hotel in Grand Falls-Windsor at the end of the day, the only break we had from the pouring rain was under the overpass just outside of Grand Falls.

I was feeling optimistic as I pulled on my rain pants and jacket in the morning, but that can probably be best attributed to the gourmet breakfast in my stomach (best B&B breakfast ever - french toast baked with granny smith apples, brown sugar and cinnamon, freshly baked croissants, ham, fruit and yogurt) as opposed to any realistic feeling of hope that the weather would improve.

Our stay in the B&B was excellent, and the morning was quite entertaining with the B&B owners filling us and the other guests in on their traditional Newfie recipes and traditions. For example, we learned how to make salted Capelin - "fill a bucket with water, toss in a raw potato (don't matter what size or type) and the raw fish, pour in the salt until the potato floats and leave the fish in the water until the eyes turn white. Simple b'ye!"

The first 20 minutes of the day were not very fun, to say the least. My feet were soaked within 5 minutes followed quickly by most other parts of my body. The rain combined with the constant spray of water from cars roaring by (cars carrying warm, dry people, that is), there was not much hope in staying dry!

However, once we were completely soaked, things actually started to get a bit better. There was not much use in dwelling on the terrible weather or the sloshing water in my shoes as judging by the sky, things were not going to change anytime soon! So, I started to think about some good things that came out of the day:

- it gave us a reason to use our "everyday-is-a-sunny-day sunglasses" (i.e. yellow lenses)
- it also gave us an excuse to use our rain pants and jackets, meaning that we have now officially used/worn every single thing we have been hauling around with us for the past 6 days (with the exception of the tarp, but more to come on that later...);
- the rain was extra incentive to peddle faster, and as a result we made it in record time to Grand Falls-Windsor; and
- we saw some more great road signs: Leading Tickles (yes, this is actually the name of a town) and Giant Squid Interpretive Center (for some reason I found this really funny at the time...).

We stopped for lunch about half-way, and sat on the side of the T.C.H. eating leftover pizza. We must have looked quite pathetic, dripping, soggy and huddled on the muddy bank beside the highway; we both commented that we would have loved to hear a live playback of some of the comments the drivers made that sped past us!

Regardless, we managed to make it to Grand Falls-Windsor and decided we were well deserving of a hotel room as opposed to camping in the (still pouring!) rain, so we checked into the Mount Peyton Hotel on the T.C.H. and then proceeded to eat a huge feast at the hotel restaurant. For the second time in a row, our waitress couldn't hide her shock at how much food we ordered (at Pizza Delight last night the girl thought we had friends coming to meet us, given the amount of food we ordered!), so we felt it necessary to justify our huge appetites. As it turns out she was driving on the T.C.H. from St. John's earlier that day, and saw us biking! Small world. I had been dreaming of seafood chowder all day, and the thought of that warm, creamy, can't-be-had-in-Alberta concoction filling my stomach was what kept me going all day, so it was a sure good thing they had it at the restaurant!

Here's to hoping for a dry day tomorrow....

Day 6

Terra Nova National Park (Malady Head Campground) to Gander
Distance: 80km
Cycling Time: 4 hrs 4 min
Average Speed: 20km/hr
Weather: Cloudless blue sky and hot! 27C! Hardly any wind.
Terrain: Compared to the first few days, flat!
Mechanicals: 0 (!)



Today was another fantastic day! We hit the road the earliest we have yet (10:00am, oops we haven't exactly been quick to hit the road in the mornings) and found the terrain to be much more manageable than the coastal roads. It is starting to flatten out as we get to central Newfoundland; however, with more than 300 rivers on the island, we are still climbing in and out of the watersheds that feed these rivers (I.e. We can't quite kiss the hills goodbye yet!). After a day off it felt really good to get back in the saddle, and so we were happy to mount our faithful steeds, Blanco and Rocky, for another day of adventure.

At one point today I thought I was completely losing it; we had been rolling along for about 30km and were just starting to climb a huge hill (Joey's Hill, named after the former NFLD premier Joey Smallwood who was responsible for signing the Confederation for NFLD) in a valley where there was no wind (i.e. It was HOT!). All of a sudden, out of nowhere appeared a sign proclaiming "hot dogs, COLD pop and FRESH local strawberries - 1km ahead". I have never seen a mirage before but I was absolutely convinced this was one. So I put my head down and kept on pedaling. As I reached the crest of the first part of the hill - there it was - a hot dog stand and a fruit stand! Still not convinced of my sanity (my stomach was really rumbling at this point and we had been dreaming of fresh fruit for a few days now), I shouted ahead to Sean and he confirmed that I am not officially crazy.... So we sat at Joey's Lookout admiring the great view of the town of Gambo (another great name, that and Happy Adventure were the best two of the day) and ate the most delectable 5 star lunch ever, a sausage, cold coke, entire box of local strawberries and a snickers bar. I was in heaven.

Sean and I have both commented on the many interesting things we have seen on the side of the road as we roll along; things you would never notice as you speed by in a car. Sean compared it to finding treasures when walking along the beach, except in this case a pretty sea shell was replaced with a diaper, a crab with a stationary bike straight out of the 1970's, an interesting stone with a burnt out car and a message in a bottle with bungee cords, roadkill and various car parts.

We have met a lot of interesting people along the way so far; the bikes seem to be a natural conversation starter. Most people say something to the extent of "yes b'ye, you must be in some good shape!", when we tell them where we are headed. We have also received our fair share of honks as well, and as I was thinking today about how to decipher them all, I was reminded of something I wrote four years ago while I was in India:

"I feel it necessary to comment on the dynamics of the road in India, as I was able to sit in the front seat of the bus on this trip I think I now actually understand how this organized chaos works. Aside from the hierarchy of the road which I had already witnessed on numerous occasions, in which pedestrian yields to cyclist, cyclist to cycle-rickshaw, cycle-rickshaw to autorickshaw which yields to cars, cars to trucks and trucks to buses. The only thing the bus (and ALL other entities on the road) will always yield to, without question, is the King of the Road - the cow, I learned something else. Here is how it works: the bus roars down the highway in the right inside lane. When an object blocks it's path, the driver simply lays on the horn (which sounds like a doorbell-meets-video-game-sound-effect) until said object moves out of the way into the outside lane. This continues until the destination, meaning that the bus barges along in the same lane for the entire journey - no time wasted on passing or anything silly like that. In the rare instance that it is necessary to pass, often the vehicle in front will use their signal, but not to initiate a lane change, to tell the driver behind that it is safe to pass on that side of their vehicle. As crazy and bizarre as this all sounds, it really just works."

I am pretty sure that we are all well aware the T.C.H. operates in a much more ...conservative, shall we say, manner than this and our horns are nowhere near as entertaining and comical sounding, but in understanding the various uses of the horn in India, this got me to thinking about defining what each could mean in the context of our trip. I decided it could mean any of the following:" Hi!", "Heads up, I am behind you", "Good job, you are almost up that hill", "Hey! Those are cyclists!", "Keep on Pedaling", "Get out of my way!" or "Get off the road!". Unless of course it is a transport truck or a gravel truck than it is almost certainly one of the latter two....

Anyways, we made it to Gander in one piece (and several honks later, most of which were the encouragement type) and although Sean creaked the entire way there, his bike didn't fall apart on us. The miracle of the trip was had when we managed to find a shop that services bikes (Source for Sports as there is no bike shop here) AND they had ONE bottom bracket in stock AND it was compatible with Sean's bike AND they had the right tools to fix it AND the guy and Sean figured out how to fix it! We should have bought a lottery ticket as the chances of all of those factors coming together are extremely slim! For $22.60 (the guy only charged for parts because he had never actually fixed that part before so needed Sean's help to figure it out) Sean rode away with a properly-working bike! Lucky indeed as the only bike stores on the island are in St.John's and Corner Brook! As we were already in town, we found a great B&B to stay at, re-stocked on some camping supplies and celebrated the miracle (and the mirage!) with a feast at Pizza Delight. 'Twas a great day indeed. :o)

Day 5

R & R
Distance: 0km
Weather: Blue-sky beautiful
Mechanicals: 1 flat tire

Today we decided to have a rest day and we just relaxed around the campground all day. We are about half-way through our journey so we figured it was a good time to rest up the legs and give Sean's butt a chance to recover!

The campground is pretty great as there is hardly anyone here so it felt as if we had the place to ourselves. We did some maintenance on the bikes; I hate to say this because I am going to jinx myself, but I have been lucky so far to not have had many problems or flats with my bike. Sean, on the other hand, already had two flats and somehow managed to even get a flat at the campground today!

I was thinking today about how it is interesting to think about what you think about when biking. After getting into the swing of things the first two days, I am now finding the repetitive motion of pedaling to be almost hypnotic...you just get in this rhythm and keep on going. At one point yesterday I started to think of psychics equations, which is not only embarrassing to admit but is also a bit scary given my absolute hatred of the subject...anyways, on that note, tomorrow it is on to Gander and searching out a tool to fix Sean's bike! Until then....

Day 4

Clarenville to Terra Nova National Park (Malady Head Campground)
Distance: 92km
Cycling Time: 4 hrs 48 min
Average Speed: ~19km/hr
Weather: a bit of rainy drizzle for the first few hours and then clear skies and sun for the rest of the day!
Terrain: Mostly not too bad - rolling hills and a few flat (gasp!) sections

This is a map of our route for Day 3 and Day 4:


The first 20 minutes are always the most painful part of the day. Today was no exception. That great hill that we sailed down last night with the chicken and taters along for the ride, was the first 2km of our day today. Good thing we had a big breakfast, complete with toutons to get us to the top! (Toutons are one of many delicious Newfie foods; bread dough fried in oil and eaten with molasses - yum!) We made a quick stop at the pharmacy in Clarenville to pick up some stronger potions for Sean's butt. He has been getting saddle sores and his butt is quickly starting to fall apart! Luckily the pharmacist hooked him up with some Ozonol and Tegaderm which seems like it will do the trick..

We felt as if we were rolling along quite well today, the T.C.H. has been much easier going so far than the coastal roads of the first two days. We also saw the end of rumble strips today - our previous time on the T.C.H.included rumble strips all along the shoulder, not leaving much room for us! It was definitely a game of mental balance beam trying to keep the tire in the thin strip of shoulder between the rumble strips and the gravel shoulder! We entered Terra Nova National Park about 35km from Clarenville and stopped for a quick lunch at the top of a treacherous (quite possibly the worst one yet!) 4km winding uphill.

A few things I learned today:
- In this context of cycle touring, I think I actually prefer a headwind to a sidewind. This may sound crazy but I can't even count the number of times now I have almost been blown right over by a combo of a transport truck whooshing by and a big gusty sidewind hitting my loaded bike.
-Black flies are really smart. Those little jerks would only bite me on the downhills - as if they knew that I couldn't take one hand off the handlebars to smack them when I was going 40-50km/hr downhill! Sean said they like to bite around the edges of clothing and he couldn't have been more right! I now have a red, swollen ring of bites around each quad, ankle and around my neck. Lovely.

We stopped at one of the larger campgrounds in the park to get some groceries at the store and ran into a Scottish couple that were also cycling across the island, but going east. They were only the second group of cyclists we have seen so far, with the first being a group of three American guys cycling from St.John's to St.John, New Brunswick.

About 6km from the campground Murphy's Law kicked in again and Sean realized his bottom bracket was loose. (Extent of it is still TBD). We decided he could make it there and we would try to find someone at the campground or further on in Gander to borrow the tool from to fix it (this tool did not make it into our tool kit as it is big, bulky and not likely to be needed; looks like the odds were against us this time!)

We made it with no additional mechanicals, found a great campsite (the place was practically empty!) And even managed to get some firewood delivered (it was a bit too bulky to strap on the bikes....). We made the most gourmet camping dinner ever: rice noodle soup, porkchops (2 large ones each), a mountain of coscous and carrots. I really think I ate more than I ever have in my life! It is amazing how much food you can down after riding all day!

Day 3

Bellevue Beach to Clarenville
Distance: 88km
Cycling Time: 4 hrs 34 min
Average Speed: 20 km/hr
Weather: "Slightly" variable: Sunny and hot for the first hour, gray, muggy and foggy for the next few hours and sunny and warm for the last bit.
Terrain: Much easier than the first two days! Long gradual hills as opposed to long steep hills.
Mechanicals: 1 flat tire

We had a well deserved sleep-in after a late night and with a big pancake breakfast at the campsite we were ready to go. We finished up the coastal loop that we had started the day before (with a small detour that took us to Chance Cove and up a few more hills than we needed to do) and then got on the T.C.H. Until this point we had only ridden about 20km in total on the T.C.H., and to be honest I wasn't all that excited about getting back on it. After the quaint, seaside roads that we had spent the past two days on I thought the highway would lack the beautiful views and interesting distractions. However, it turned out to be a really good day. The going was much easier (I think the terrain today was our reward for the past two days!), as even though there were lots of hills, the incline on most was more gradual so it was easier to spin up them. From the highway we looked down over the many towns dotting the coastline. Although we passed many a sign warning of moose and caribou, we have yet to see any. (Some of you know that one of our goals for this trip is to get a picture in the MEC catalogue, potentially a shot of our bikes with the MEC panniers and some moose in the background?...)

I am still so amazed at the vast and raw ruggedness of this place. Even though I have been to Newfoundland once before, traveling through it on two wheels is just so much more intimate somehow, the sharp angles of the rock and gnarled vegetation is just so untouched. I saw a Newfoundfland and Labrador Tourism poster today that said "Is it possible to feel both lost and found at the same time...?" I understand it now...it certainly is possible... When we were in St.John's I was surprised to see the development of the capital city nestled right in beside the treacherous sea cliffs and stark landscape; certainly no buffer zone of suburbia there!

We made it in good time to Goobies (another great name!) and stopped for a quick bite at the Irving Big Stop. Funny how after cycling all day, a turkey sandwich on plain white bread and nothing else and a stale apple turnover can taste 5-star gourmet.

The kind folks at the Tourist Information centre assured us that it was only a quick 26km to Clarenville and that there were no worse hills than what we had already come through. With this piece of advice, we were off with Clarenville as our final destination for the day; gas station turkey and stale pastry fueled us along and we made it there in record time (even with a couple of MONSTER hills). The approach to the town did included two really fun long windy downhills, however, that made the earlier climbs worthwhile!

Sean had been craving Mary Brown's (like KFC but way better/less dirty) for two days now so that was our first stop. However, to our dismay we learned that all of the accomodation in town was booked up for the night (we had decided earlier not to camp today) and our only option was the St. Jude's Hotel back on the T.C.H., from where we had come from. So, with that information in hand we bought an 8-piece family dinner, strapped the chicken and taters to the back of our bikes and cruised back down the 2km hill we had just finished climbing. The scent of chicken wafting through the air the entire way down helped me forget that I would have to climb right back up this hill again tomorrow morning....

Day 2

Carbonear to Bellevue Beach
Distance: 132km
Cycling Time: 7 hrs 4 min
Average Sped: 18.5 km/hr
Terrain: Never-ending HILLS
Weather: first 50km was gray and muggy (typical Newfie weather), 50km+ was sunny and beautiful!
Mechanicals: 1 flat tire



After filling up on breakfast at Jim and Barb's, we set out for Day 2. The skies were gray and cloudy, and if I was in Calgary I would have thought that rain was imminent. However, Sean explained to me that this is "typical Newfie weather", and he was right - we didn't get a raindrop all day!

The first few km were beautiful - we rolled through the small town of Freshwater; with it's historic buildings on the "main street" I felt as if I were at Heritage Park! Then we started to climb....and we didn't stop...for 25km. UGH! North of Carbonear we started heading west across the peninsula and it was literally one massive hill after one massive hill with hardly a downhill in between! Now and then we would get a brief flat section that was more like a tease than anything else. Needless to say we only did 30 km in the first 2 hours.

Once we got to the west side of the peninsula the terrain became more fun - still very hilly but it was rolling hills, not straight up hills. We started to pass through some towns with endearing names like Heart's Content, Heart's Delight, Heart's Desire and Dildo, to name a few....I loved rolling through these little towns, with cute and colorful houses dotting the road. In Whiteway there was the most interesting rock out in the bay (Shag Rock), it looked like a spiny-backed dragon floating in the water! Just passed Dildo we could hear singing and a concert of some sort, and further down the road outside of a church there was ahuge crowd of people in the parking lot and on the road listening to a band and choir play - everyone from all the surrounding towns must have been there. We enjoyed a brief sample of the tunes as we rolled on by.

Today I smelled the ocean. We were riding along the water for most of the day and that wonderful sweet, salty, fresh breeze was tickling my nose the entire day. I hadn't really had a good taste of it in St.John's or during the first day, but somehow that sea smell always immediately relaxes me....probably because I only smell it when I am on vacation!

After a very long day, with a bit of biking in the dark that we hadn't planned (our decision to get off the T.C.H. and on the coastal road proved to add a few more kilometres to the day than we had expected, along with a flat tire just a few kms from the campsite - pretty sure that Murphy's Law dictates that a mechanical will always happen at the worst possible time!), we arrived at Bellevue Beach Campground! Wow were we ever relieved to see that sign! The couple that was running the place must have either taken pity on us for arriving so late, took a liking to Sean because he turned on the "Newfanese" and/or wanted to be extra nice to the "mainlander" because not only did they hook us up with the best campsite in the entire place (surrounded by dense, knarled trees, up away from the road, running water right on the site and in close enough proximity to the beach to hear the waves crashing) but they also gave us a big plate of trifle which she had made earlier that day! Now that is some really great Newfie hospitality! Needless to say, the trifle was long gone before the tent was even out of our panniers....

Day 1 (Take 2)

St.John's to Carbonear
Distance: 103km
Cycling Time: 5 hrs
Average Speed: 20km/hr
Weather: Beautiful! 25ish, sunny, windy enough to keep us cool but not windy enough to make us mad!
Terrain: Nothing resembling flat! Either up or down at any given time...
Mechanicals: 3, all relatively minor



After a slight "detour" involving a Newfie kitchen party and finding the bottom of a bottle of rum, Day 1 arrived. Thanks again to Adam and Amanda for the stay at their place in St.John's and for putting up with our gear completely overtaking their house! I know they are surprised that we actually managed to leave! ;o)

Our first day of the trip took us west and north of St.John's along the Conception Bay South Highway (Hwy 60). We were only on the Trans Canada for 10km or so which meant we meandered our way through every little town and harbour on the way! We passed so many interesting houses, churches so old and intricate it made me feel as if I was in Europe and bay after beautiful bay dotted with Crayola-colored houses, boats of all shapes, sizes and functions (even an abandoned ship in Harbour Grace!) and people enjoying the gorgeous weather.

The government of Canada's Economic Action plan meant that we had to ride about 10km in total on gravel road, which slowed us down a bit and left us eating more dust than we would have liked....too bad that plan wasn't actioned a bit sooner (I.e. Before we had to bike through the "results" of it!)

And how are the legs, you ask? Not so bad actually! We were both starting to get a bit tired about 25km outside of Carbonear, Sean commented that there were "a lot more hills than he remembered". At almost every town you drop down a big, fun hill into the town, but then that only meant you had to climb back out of the town on the other end....and we passed through a lot of towns! For the first 100km down things are pretty good though, see how we feel tomorrow....

Tonight we have the pleasure of staying with Jim and Barb, great friends of Sean's family. They filled us up with a delicious dinner and gave us the absolute luxury of a hot shower and a real bed to sleep in! Thank you!!We are really easing into this whole cycle tour thing gradually, aren't we.....

Le Tour de Newfoundland will commence shortly...

So we arrived yesterday at noon on the (sleepless) red eye from Calgary via Montreal (it was sleepless even with the neck pillows!!). After heading back to Sean's friend Miller's place and catching up on some sleep we headed out for a fantastic scoff of fish and chips in a nearby town on the bay (definitely no chance of getting fish and chips that good on the prairies!!), followed by a drive up to Signal Hill with a great view of the city.

Today we started with a quasi-tour of downtown and the "jelllybean houses", a beer at the local Yellow Belly brewery, followed by the eastern-most point of North America (!!!), Cape Spear. Apparently the whales are out there right now but they only graced us with some spray...we didn't actually see the whales themselves, but that was good enough for this mainlander! Despite the RIDICULOUS wind that was very close to blowing me right over, this was extra special for me because I have been lucky enough to see the Western most point (Occidental) of the Eastern hemisphere (in Portugal) and the (almost) Southern most point of South America... so now all that is left to complete my "personal compass" is the North Pole...

It was then due time to assemble our bikes (which fortunately arrived in one piece!) and get things organized for the first day of the bike tour tomorrow. I think we packed the bikes perfectly, thanks to Katy's advice they were heavy enough that the baggage handlers couldn't just toss them on the plane but light enough to not make them too mad about it, so it all worked out!

Once that was done we were ready for the "serious" trip prep, so we carbo-loaded (with Rum), rested our legs (at an awesome kitchen party for Miller's cousin's birthday) and then did some mental visualizations (while bustin' a move on the dance floor at a bar on the infamous George Street, which has more bars per square foot than any other street in North America).... We are all set for the first day tomorrow; I think we should fill in some of the Tour de France riders on this top-secret strategy........ Le Tour de Rock has begun!! (I wonder how long it will take us to bike the first 100km tomorrow?) Adios for now - wish us luck tomorrow, it might be painful!!

"Our bikes are packed and we're ready to go..."

All of this stuff is going to go on our bikes....


The Master Packing List - Rev26

Standing at the top of Highwood Pass in Kananaskis (2206m) during one of our "pre-trip rides in June"