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....
No comments:
Post a Comment