Day Seventy One - St. John's!!!

The Last day. That is the first thought I had this morning when I woke. I smiled and felt excited that I am so close to finishing my epic journey. Then felt sad that it is over. During the past 72 days I have spent with these 12 cyclists and one driver I have seen and experienced Canada in a way I have never before.

These 12 cyclists are super human. During hard days they are tough and strong. Every rider has been willing to help each other with whatever needs to be done. These are people that should not be under estimated for their age, young or old, size, or for their cycling experience. We started together in Vancouver and we are all finishing together 7000 km later in St. John's. Well done to you all. 

Leaving the campsite John noticed that he had a flat. First one. He was a little upset that he didn't make it the whole way across. I didn't really feel too bad for him because I've had around 18 flats. He decided to change his tire because he had a large piece of glass that had pierced the Kevlar layer of the tire. There was a little confusion in the tire change and we ended up putting the tube with a hole in it in the new tire. So we did it all again with a fresh tube a second time but was faster than the first. 

The first 44 km was rolling hills through rural coastal areas. Very beautiful and rugged. We stopped at 35 km for a 2nd breakfast at a Subway. Once we got onto the highway it was rolling hills but much bigger. Headwinds were a factor on the speed that we got on the downhill. 

We waited it the Tim Hortons on Topsail drive until the whole group was together. The atmosphere was one of celebration. People were high fiving each other. 

We cycled towards signal hill together. I felt like it was somewhat of a parade. Feeling accomplished and proud of what we had done together. Really it would have been hard to do it without the other riders support. My riding partners Sam, John, Kerry, and Arlen being the most frequent helping me through the tough days. Thank to you all. You are amazing cyclists, the sky is the limit for you. 

During the celebration diner Laura and Viki gave out awards. They saw the best of all of us. Quite a gift. They gave me the  determination award. I had the most flats and the most technical difficulties. With much help I persisted. I was determined to finish this ride no matter what. Hard times pass.  They only last a short time. 

After dinner on George St we became honourary Newfoundlanders with a screech ceremony at Christians Pub. Newfoundland is a great place and good and proud people live here. Come see it for yourself. 

Updating this early on Saturday morning after a great day. Officially over, this trip will last in my memory forever. Thanks to all the riders and driver again. We will meet again I'm sure. 

Waiting for riders to gather together at Tim Hortons before ascending Signal Hill

Feeling accomplished and happy!

Arlen and me.  What an amazing man! @ Signal Hill

Sam aka Junior and me at Signal Hill

Getting Screeched in on George St.

Day Seventy - Clark's Beach

At 6:56 I woke up from the noise of Ken falling out of the top bunk. He was fine but it woke me up quick. Arlen and Ken headed for the breakfast buffet first at 7:15. Kerry and I took more time to get ready and relax.

Breakfast was a buffet same as diner and it was also good but I made sure not to eat too much. We saw Curtis there, a cyclist that traveled across Canada in 47 days with gear. I invited him over to the table to talk about each others cycling experience. 

It wasn't long before it was time to gather our belongings from our rooms and board the shuttle bus off the ferry. We picked up our bikes at the truck and made some PBJs for the ride. 

Shortly after departing the terminal we stopped for the traditional picture by sign that welcomed us to Newfoundland or the tenth and final province. 

The weather for today was cool and cloudy. We had more tailwind than headwind which is always good. The terrain was rolling and the trees along the roads were short in height. 

John and I stopped for for lunch at a Subway on the transcanada. After lunch we passed by the famous town of Dildo. We did not take the optional side trip into the town that was on the cue sheet. We got into camp at approximately 4:30. 

After diner we talked about tomorrow and where and when we would meet in St John's to go together to dip our wheels in the Atlantic and then ride to Signal point. 

Newfoundland, the 10 and final province

John on an ice cream break

Day Sixty Nine - North Sydney

This morning was a late start. I got up shortly after 7 mainly because I was hungry. After foraging for breakfast and not finding any I decided to pack up my tent and check later.  Extra packing this morning included the contents of my two baskets as they were not able to come to Newfounland with us.

At shortly after 9 we headed for the ferry terminal in North Sydney. The ferry will take us and the truck to Argentia Newfoundland. There was only one last hill between our camp and the ferry terminal and it wasn't that bad after the North Mountain climb yesterday. 

When we got to the terminal there was some confusion over where our tickets needed to be picked up from. We managed to locate the tickets and after John offered a ride to lunch to Kerry and I. 

The lunch place that was recommended by a local. We headed over there in John's wife's rental car. We told the others in the group about it and they were going to meet us there. When we got there it was small and busy and they only had room for our group. The food was very good. 

After lunch we headed back to the terminal and waited to board the ferry. At 4:15 some of us boarded a shuttle that brought us into the ferry. 5 of us earlier had loaded our bikes into the truck. The others road their bikes on. 

Once we had put our bags in the room Kerry and I checked out the ferry. There was a lounge area with a bar, movie theatre, a buffet area with a lot of seating, gift shop, and a small store with cold drinks and snacks. 

At 7 we showed up at diner to join the rest of the group that had already been there and had eaten at least 2 plates worth. The buffet was pretty good and we all ate our $23 worth easily. 

At 8:30 the buffet closed and the four of us that shared a room went back to our room and went to sleep early. 

Tomorrow we do 94 km. 2nd last day. 

Cedar House and Bakery stop after crossing a bridge across Great Bras d'Or

Lobster club sandwich from the Lobster Pound in North Sydney

North Sydney waterfront from the ferry to Newfoundland

Day Sixty Eight - Englishtown

Last night a crazy storm rocked our camp. Most tents had been pitched in a clearing and were totally exposed to the storm. Most riders reported in the morning that their tent walls had been pushed inward. Some were afraid that they would be suffocated by their tent walls.

Viki had not secured her tent with all the pegs. During the night her tent kept moving around and she couldn't sleep well. She decided to sleep in the rec room. In the morning she couldn't find her tent. It was found in the trees. Today after the ride some people helped her duct tape up her fly to seal the wholes. 

My cooking group prepared pancakes. They were very good mainly because it was so cold and wet. People also commented on how good they thought the pancakes were. 

We left camp the latest ever at around 8:45. Sam and John joined me. We were really in no rush to do the 108 kms. It was lightly raining, overcast, and a little foggy. 

The first part of the ride was wet and rolling hills. The route was scenic with views of waves breaking on the red rocks of the shore. We stopped for lunch in Ingonish at a cafe that had very good baked goods and lunch and breakfast items. 

When lunch was over the sun was almost out and I decided to remove my wet weather clothing. There was only one more major climb after lunch. On the cue sheet there was warnings about the descent from that climb. 

The cue sheet was right. After a climb the downhill was steep with switch backs that forced us to reduce our descent speed. There was some very nice views of the coast while going down the hill. 

We met up with Viki and Matt just before we got to the causeway before the ferry. Sam and I picked up the pace and were averaging 50 kmph along the causeway. 

The ferry was extremely short. It was anchored to the shore on both sides. It was an odd configuration making me wonder why the don't make the ferry longer or increase the lengths of the ramps. 

After diner Bud briefed us on what is going on tomorrow. We are boarding a ferry to Newfoundland.  It is also a very short ride at 42 km. That also means that we can sleep in tomorrow a bit. 

Shoreline of Ingonish

Winding road of the Cabot Trail just past Ingonish Ferry

Englishtown cable ferry

Day Sixty Seven - Dingwall

Today we were leaving at 7 again because we are staring to ride on the Cabot Trail. As I was taking down my tent it was still dark enough to require a headlamp. I noticed the light of the full moon was reflecting off the lake. Also the eagle that I saw yesterday flew by over the lake.

As you can tell from my incoherent language I am totally spent and then some. I only hope to get this blog posting done before I fall to sleep. 

Sam, John, Arlen, and I started out riding together today. It was pretty easy going into Cheticamp at 70 km where we ate lunch. While there we met a couple from Montreal that was doing the Cabot Trail. They were very interested in learning about our adventure because they were thinking about also cycling across the country. 

Before we got to Cheticamp I had an issue with my bike. I noticed a rubbing noise and feared it was a broken spoke. It was not. My rear tire had unseated itself and my tube was between the rim and tire. Never had that before. And of course on one of the hardest days. Well it was an easy fix to deflate reseat and inflate the tire. 

After lunch the days ride really started. The first 70 km really a warm up for the three climbs we would be making. The first two before Pleasant Bay were challenging and very scenic. We took our time because we knew we had one more climb to go. The downhill portions were scary fast. Sam got up to 82 kmph and I was going faster than that. 

At pleasant bay we took a break. Once we started riding again we notice some soreness and fatigue but knew that we had the biggest climb of the day coming up. 

The climb was 14% slope for 4 km. which doesn't sound too bad. In reality I completed the hill using my easiest gear and riding zig zag across the road when there were no cars coming. 

My team prepared diner which was tuna something. We ate with our chairs in a row facing a spectacular view of the mountains and ocean. Amazing!

As I am in my tent writing this the sound of very loud thunder. Followed by a massive downpour of rain pelting my tent. I quickly left my tent to ensure that the fly was covering my tent properly. 

Today was a very good day. Very very beautiful scenery. Very very steep climbs and descents. 

Four more days left. :(

Sunrise on Lake Ainslie

Cabot Trail

Cabot Trail leading into Pleasant Bay

Supper time after a hard day on the Cabot Trail

Day Sixty Six - Lake Ainslie

Last night a group of us decided to leave at 7 and we did. We did not take the suggested route like the other riders did. We took highway 104 until we hit the 105 on the other way of the causeway.

We found out later the the route on the cue sheet had a bridge that was under construction and the 167 km day turned into 180+. We did 152 and did not feel that we missed much. 

John, Arlen, John, and I rode together the whole day. 

For diner at Lake Ainslie the people at the campground put a potluck on for us. The food was very good and we were all very thankful and full. 

Campsite in Lower Barney's River

John and family on his 50th birthday

Potluck from the generous people in the campground at Lake Ainslie

Day Sixty Five - Lower Barneys River

After getting back to camp after a really filling diner I went to sleep quickly. In the morning a lot of people joined me and left camp by 6:45. There was a hot breakfast today which some ate but we should have skipped it because some of the cooking team did not make the 11:15 ferry.

We made it to the ferry with a half a hour to spare. John and I did the 73 kms in 3 hours despite the on and off headwind. On the ferry most grabbed something to eat at the cafeteria. It wasn't bad considering it was from a ferry. By the time we had finished eating and talked a bit the 1.5 hour ride was over and we off loaded our bikes from the ferry. 

We skipped going into Pictou to see the Hector. A replica of a ship that brought immigrants to Canada. There are a few of us that are happy to pass on the sightseeing and have more time at camp to rest. 

The last part of the ride we had a really nice tailwind and the terrain was rolling. We were able to make really good time and get to camp before most riders. Once there we did the usual. Matt and I made a trip to the office for ice cream. 

I spent the next couple of hours before diner with my feet up and falling in and out of consciousness. We are in the last stretch of days where we ride 9 days in a row with no days off. The day after tomorrow we ride the Cabot trail. 

Red soil of PEI at the campsite

Sunrise at campsite in PEI

Traditional pic at sign to 9th province, Nova Scotia