North Sydney, NS >> Channel-Port aux Basques, NL (via ferry) >> Blow Me Down Provincial Park, NL 270 miles ridden/6 hours (+10-hour ferry)
Laundry time. Clothes should be done by 10pm, which means an 11pm bedtime. Hopefully the rain will hold out until then (and the next few weeks). Due to forecast weather and the ferry schedules, I have to smoosh a few Newfoundland riding days together and skimp on a few detours. But I’m sure I’ll see plenty that amazes. Plus, if I opt for an extra day of riding through northeastern Quebec, there could be some great stuff there too. I’ll start with the trip to Red Bay, Labrador, see how that is and take it from there. Might be wise to check in at a campground before the ferry leaves, because then they have you.
Not that everyone hasn’t been super nice so far: a biker I met at Tim Horton’s by the ferry offered to have some friends put me up for the night and the park ranger gave me detergent from his personal stash when I mentioned there was no vending machine in the laundry room. Still, I’d rather not push my luck.
(For those who haven’t been across the border, Tim Horton’s is the Canadian equivalent of Dunkin’ Donuts, except I’m pretty sure everything Tim Horton’s serves is at least 50% butter. In fact, there’s an adage in Canada about bikers and the coffee chain: “Want to meet a fellow motorcyclist in Canada? Just pull into a Tim Horton’s and wait a few minutes.”)
Might see a moose tomorrow from what I’ve been told. Strange, I thought like Ireland, there’d be no snakes, bears or moose on this island so far removed from the mainland that it has its own time zone. When the park ranger warned about polar bears ambling through the campground, I joked that I hadn’t seen any on the ferry, so I felt pretty safe. “They come over on icebergs,” he replied. “You don’t know anything about anything, do you?”
Ummmmm, apparently not?
Forecast for the rest of the week is highs just breaking 70; time to bundle up again. Even today, the moisture off the water was in the air – reminded me of Daytona Bike Week. So close to the end of the trip, can’t get sick now.
Also, Wal-Mart is everywhere! After spotting them in the most remote pockets of Canada, I wondered where I’d see the first one on Newfoundland, and there it was in Stephenville (not far from a McD’s, naturally).
[Later]
Aaargh. After 45 minutes in the dryer, my clothes are still sopping wet. I put in another 40 minutes’ worth, hoping that it needs time to warm up because: a.) I need dry clothes – I’m freezing! and b.) I’m soooo friggin’ tired! It’s got to be 11p now and I won’t get to sleep until midnight. Ugh. Hopefully a good night’s sleep and a better day tomorrow.
Email:
Hey everyone –
All’s well in Canada; I’ve been AWOL for a while because there were too many stories to tell and not enough time to write them all down. Also, much to my dismay (and annoyance), libraries in northern Quebec are only open two days a week for a few hours, and the stars never aligned when I visited one. There’s a lot to be said for the conveniences of city living, which I now realize how much I take for granted. However, to borrow a famous phrase from Mark Twain: Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.
I’m finally in Newfoundland after combining two riding days into one (Bathurst, NB to Caribou, NS via PEI) and riding the Cabot Trail in a single day, then plowing on to the ferry last night and catching the 3am boat to Channel-Port aux Basques (~10 hours). I’m currently in Stephenville and may camp tonight at Blow Me Down Provincial Park (no kidding, that’s the name) and ride out the storm that’s coming this evening, assuming I can’t get further up north. That it’s raining tomorrow provides a convenient excuse for a laundry day, and the timing on that couldn’t be much better either. If I can swing it schedule-wise, Friday I’ll take the ferry over to Labrador, cruise around there and northeastern Quebec for a day or two, then come back to Newfoundland and ride clockwise along the coast to St. John’s, the capital.
There’s intermittent ferry service from Argentia, NL, and I hope to take the Sept. 11 ferry back to Nova Scotia, and from there, head home. At that point, depending on the tide schedule for the Hopewell Rocks, I figure it’ll be 4 or 5 days ’til I’m back in Boston. I might spend my last night in Portsmouth, NH, then cruise home instead of racing back.
At this point, unless something in the next few days knocks my socks off, after anywhere in BC, the Gaspe Peninsula is Canada’s best riding – absolutely worth a visit! – and New Brunswick can (and should) just sink to the bottom of the ocean. Also, there is no good food to be had in Baddeck, NS, after 8pm, and based on the fervor of recommendations for the places I visited, unlikely before that time either. Again, being able to grab a decent, quick bite to eat at odd hours is something I’ve really come to miss. But enough complaining; now when I come home I’ll be more appreciative of what I have, something a little perspective has helped make possible.
Well, this seems like a less-entertaining email than normal, and there are still days’ worth of stories to be told, but time on computers at public libraries is at a premium, so I need to wrap this up. Despite today’s low comedy quotient, I hope to make the next entry more enjoyable, so hang in there and I promise to make it up to all of you.
‘til then,
-GK
ps – As far as photos go, some of the best roads aren’t getting shot because I’m having too much fun riding them! And did I mention the replacement remote controls I bought in ND don’t work? AWESOME! But still, yesterday’s pics from the Cabot Trail/Cape Breton will astound. So at least there’s something….