A day of mundane chores!

There is a severe rain warning today and it's coming down hard so it's a good day to get things in order for the flight home. Picked up my down sleeping bag after having it professionally washed and noticed a little reduction in loft. Hopefully it will return with time. For whatever reason, there are no hardware stores in the downtown area. I had to take a bus to a mall to find duct tape and packing tape for our bike boxes.

Today was the first day in a long while I haven't ridden my bike. That intensified the reality of an end.

It's over.

Done.

No more rushes of adrenalin while picking your line down a steep, pothole, pockmarked, highway with a twelve inch drop off to loose gravel where a paved shoulder should be while transport trucks blow by.

Thank you Ontario.

No more impatient drivers yelling out their passenger windows telling you in not polite terms to get off the road.

Thank you New Brunswick.

No more incredible prairie sunsets.

Thank you Saskatchewan.

No more warm, welcoming Quebecer's who blew their stereotype out of the water.

Thank you Quebec.

No more "Take your breath away" views of a wild, cliff faced South Shore.

Thank you New Foundland.

I could go on and on and still it would not convey the physicality or the "Over the top" stimulation of your senses on a daily basis.

And suddenly it's gone.

Three nights in Pippy Park Municipal Campgrounds!

Spent the first day doing the touristy things like Signal Hill and Cape Spear. Second day buying civilian clothes for the flight home. Third day moving to an Airbnb house with rooms for us close to downtown. Acquiring cardboard bike boxes to pack up our bikes. Getting our laundry and down bags washed. Everything is incredibly stinky. Then go drink some beer.

Jack's Pond to St John's! Aug 24/14

Not much to say about the ride other than, "We made it to St John's". It was a wet, below normal temperature ride across the Arctic Tundra, I mean inland NLD. A warm up coffee at Tim Horton's when I entered St John's then off to Pippy Park Campground which is about 5km from the downtown Centre.

mmMooseoose

Bay L'Argent to Jack's Pond! Aug 23/14

The gnome is put into service for the final days of our bicycle tour to complete the 270kms to St John's.

My curiosity of things I happen apon along the side of the road has me wondering what the story is behind a small tin containing a small amount of moldy weed and associated paraphernalia likely tossed from a passing vehicle. Maybe the person decided to quit like someone tossing out their full pack of cigarettes. But we know the more likely story don't we.

Todays stop was to be Swift Current. Yes, New Foundland has one, too. This Swift Current had no grocery/general store to feed a hungry cyclist so onward we went. Food was found for this evening and the next day in a town called Goobies. Basically it's just a gas bar with a restaurant and a small store at the junction of highway 210 and the TCH. Turning the corner onto the TCH gave us a nice tailwind to push us the 25kms to the campground at Jack's Pond.

Pool's Cove to Bay L'Argent! Aug 22/14

Last of the boat rides! This one doesn't leave until 1:15pm from Pool's Cove for a four hour passage to Bay L'Argent. 5:15pm is too late to put the gnome into action.

After boarding the small vessel I was watching the fish farm workers unload farmed Atlantic salmon from a boat onto the dock. They opened the lid to each container to shovel more ice onto the fish and tie the bag that lines the container with a big zip tie at the top. I noticed when they opened the lid to each container there was a single salmon on top of the liner bag and that salmon would go into a green garbage bag and taken away. A little perk I would say.

We road the 4kms intoJacques Fontaine to the small general store and waited for its 6pm opening. After paying for my food I asked the lady of we could pitch our tents behind the store. Not only did I get a yes, we were invited for tea after she closes the store at 9pm and have showers and do laundry. A touring cyclist's dream when your feeling tired and dirty.

Francois to Hermitage and on to Pool's Cove! Aug 21/14

Really would have liked more time in Francois. Such a beautiful classic New Foundland fishing village. The ship was leaving the harbor 7am so the morning sun was in our face as we traveled East to our first stop of McCallum where diesel fuel was dropped off for their generator then onward to our destination, the of port of Hermitage. The gnome and I are finally reunited for a hilly ride to Pool's Cove.

Grey River to Francois! By ship. Aug 20/14

We finally escaped from Grey River! Held captive a day longer than we wanted. The ship didn't leave Grey River till 3:45pm and didn't get into Francois til close to 7pm. But what a dramatic entrance to the village. With the evening light low on the horizon and the brightly colored buildings it was everything a classic New Foundland fishing village should be. The passage eastward along the South Shore was no slouch either. With its treeless slopes green with scrub no more than twelve inches tall beaten back by the relentless winds and rock faces rising near vertical from rough seas below all lit by an ever lowering sun creating such a dramatic vista that takes your breath away. This is New Foundland's South Shore.

Our greeter met us as we as we exited the gang way and brought us to our accommodation after our bikes were hosted out of the hold. A quick meal and out to explore before it got dark. We hiked up to a lookout above the village where we could look down the cove to the open ocean and back over the village. Wish we had the two days stay we planned to do more exploring. That's the way traveling goes sometimes.

Another day in Grey River!

As we are walking our bikes through the pouring rain to our accommodation, Alvin, the person in Grey River who found us a place to stay in Grey River on this stormy evening and our greeter at the dock informed us that we won't be going to Francois tomorrow because the ship has mechanical issues and is taking a "Layover" as he called it. It was to be one night in Grey River and two in Francois which have us some time to check the village out. Now we get there about 7pm and leave the next morning at 7am giving us no time. That's the way traveling works sometimes and you just go with it or it would drive you crazy. If you want a quiet coastal village, that's scenic to no end, come to Grey River.

Burgeo to Grey River!

Very wet and windy day plus the ferry isn't using a schedule today. So it's a "Sit around and wait" kind of day.

To kill some time before the ferry leaves we had some lunch in one of the restaurants here in town. I got to talking to one of the waitresses and found she has never been off the island and only to St John's and Cornerbrook for that matter. I asked what she likes about living in Burgeo and she said the peace and quiet of small town living. She has a son that lives and works in Alberta but has never gone for a visit. I also asked what drives the economy of Burgeo and her answer was Alberta. Most every family has a member that has employment away from home. Will this keep the town viable for the long term is a tough question to ask.

One and only picture so far today and not a ferry to be seen. All part of the adventure I suppose.

Burgeo! Aug 17/14

We are both tired today after riding 300kms in two days with headwinds. Today I arranged for places to stay in Grey River and Francois. Grey River especially since the weather is supposed to be at its worst.

I was talking to the park ranger about the small communities we will be visiting and found out the government is trying to close them down. Each resident is being offered $250,000 to leave if 90% of the residents or more agree to the terms. Some communities have excepted and many are living in Burgeo.

Today I walked through and around Sandbanks Provincial Park and found it to be ringed with beautiful sandy beaches. I'm sure they were being utilized a few weeks ago when the temperatures were in the 30's. I was the only one walking them with the cool weather. The sandy, boggy interior was loaded with delicious ripe wild blue berries and spent time consuming handful after handful.

Barachois Provincial Campground to Burgeo! Aug 16/14

Headwinds and cool, wet weather for most of the 150kms along highway 480 to Burgeo. Another long day. Fish & Chip dinner and straight to Sandbanks Provincial Campground to setup and go to bed.

Highway 480 goes through the South West interior of New Foundland and climbs into some boggy, tundra like conditions. And we did a lot of climbing.