Last night was an adventure on top of an adventure. Matt and I got off the ferry at 11pm. It was pitch black and we had no idea where to go. After putting on my headlamp we pushed on into the dark. Luckily the shoulder was nice and wide, and the roads were fairly quiet (by Newfoundland standards). It was thrilling going to 2 kms to the nearest town. 2 kilometres may not sound luck much but when you are in the dark finding you way it seems like 100km. We stopped in at the Tim Horton’s where there was a line up. We asked where the nearest campsite was and not one person seemed to know. Still we pressed on another 2km’s to the visitor info site. This was out stop for the night. You could tell at least 10 other campers had the same idea as us because the parking lot was lined with RV’s. At this point it was 11:40 and I wanted to sleep so what I did was simply throw my ground sheet down under the buildings roof, inflate my sleeping mat, and unroll my sleeping bag. After that it was sweet dreams to the sound of a foghorn in the background.
Morning came and we got packed up. Again I do not know how matt survives here I am eating my big breakfast and he is eating only handfuls of cheerio’s. I offered some hot chocolate and portage but he was content with his diet. The other surprising thing was that the info centre opened at 6am. It gave me a chance to top up on water before we left so all was good.
We hit the road and were off. Within the first 12km I had already fallen in love. Newfoundland is everything I thought it would be and more (so far). The landscape is simply to die for, and the road is beautiful. I found it amazing how well kept the roads were considering how harsh of winters they get here. I am not going to complain thought because I had a shoulder the entire day. Most of the road had 3 lanes but some is getting expanded to 4. Now that may not sound impressive coming from the land of roads in bc, but here 1 car passes you every minute or two so traffic runs super smooth.
70km into the ride I decided to say goodbye to Matt. As much as we are very similar in personalities we are a lot different in our riding styles. I enjoy peeing at the side of the road while not moving, and taking 2-3 breaks a day. He does not take breaks for anything until he has completed as many k’s as he can do. I also have commitments to my blog, to my family, and to my gear to keep it all up to snuff.
The rest of the day went smooth. Lunch was at the regular time, and I felt pretty good on the bike whenever presented with a hill, which seemed to be every few kilometres. About the only thing that was not smooth were my thoughts. All day I was arguing with myself about the trip, and all day I was deciding where I want to stop for the night. It gets very upsetting when you go through the same thoughts over and over and over for 8 hours.
However I do think that slowly I am piecing the puzzle together. When I was riding a hill today I had a choice to make gear up or gear down. Do I take it easy or push myself. This is something that every cyclist does at every hill. I got to thinking about the choice I make 99% of the time. I gear up. I voluntarily make things more difficult for myself. What does this say about my personality, perhaps that I am tougher then I first though. That toughness thought though was quickly dashed by a 13 year old child when they asked where I was going. I said what I usually say “st. johns then probably Florida). This time I add to the end of that “if I am mentally tough enough”. I don’t know why I picked those words but I did and they stuck with me the rest of the day. I have so many people counting on this trip, and most of all I have myself counting on this trip. What would I do coming home and having to look at cards that say tour of North America when I only did Canada? That being said I feel that I have grown up more in these 40 some days then in the previous 18 years. I apologize for the lack f humour the past few days but I am being forced with tough questions that I have to answer.
Trip Distance: 162km
Ride Time: 7:33hr
Avg. Speed: 21.47
Total Distance: 7073km
Total Ride Time: 326hr
Destination: Barachois, Newfoundland
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