Day 54 – Deer Lake, Newfoundland (Monday, June 29, 2015)

I woke at 5:30 and was on the road by 6:30 determined to make Deer Lake which was 163 km through hilly country against a strong cross wind from the east.

It was cool and overcast throughout the day, reaching a high in the teens. I find this preferable over hot days like yesterday.

Cycling was my main focus and although I spent a bit of time fiddling with my GPS connection I did not spend extra time on secondary roads until Corner Brook.

I arrived in Corner Brook at 1:40 pm and, noticing that it was located at a much lower elevation and away from the road, I decided to skirt the town and stuck to the highway. I remembered the owner of the Midway Motel mentioning that the trip from Corner Brook to Deer Lake was down hill. I thought he was pulling my leg since they’re both sea ports. But unless you leave the highway to enter the town your descent doesn’t start until you pass by the town.

Corner Brook is located at the tip of a fjord and may be another town worth visiting.‎ The road signs commemorated James Cook. I found out later that he was famous for mapping Newfoundland.

I arrived at the Deer Lake airport at about 6 pm. I will pick up the cross country cycling tour on Tuesday night.

Somewhere along the way I decided to visit Gros Morne Park. Several people had said that I ought not to miss it if I was going to NFL. Because the park is 70k m off the main route I have rented a car from Deer Lake airport. Ralph and I are staying in Rocky Harbour tonight at the Ocean View where the food is pretty darn good for Newfoundland.

Tomorrow we hope to explore the park.

A view of Corner Brook from the road.

(June 30, Tour of Rocky Harbour, Gros Morne and return to Deer Lake, Newfoundland)

While I do not consider the next day at Rocky Harbour part of the journey there is a bit of story to tell and a few additional pictures that I will put here for lack of any other better place. I am sorry that I fell short of the 10 photos that Russ requested.

I woke from my sleep at Rocky Harbour early with a sharp pain in my left hip. After puzzling about it I speculate that it was a hip flexor strain from a reflex straightening of my tight quads while I was sleeping; I had caught myself doing the same thing while I was half asleep another night. It was so painful that it resulted in a low grade fever, lifting my leg, and made it difficulty to walk especially up and down stairs. I was concerned that I could not realistically continue cycling. The fortunate part was that I was in Rocky Harbour with a rented car.  It was the only day that I would not be cycling.

With this festering issue I limited my visit of Gros Morne to the coast north of Rocky Harbour and the small town of Morris Point. Having completed an abbreviated tour of Gros Morne I returned to Deer Lake by 10:30 am hoping to see a doctor to examine my hip. I reasoned that if I was caught with an debilitating problem between towns in Newfoundland I would be in real trouble.  My only recourse may be to hitchhike.  Something that I would prefer to prevent.

I had no trouble finding a clinic in Deer Lake.  Unfortunately the clinics there were clogged much the same way they are in Ontario. At a about 2 pm I gave up the wait. I hoped instead that I could determine my ability to continue after a good night’s sleep. I shopped for a few things, returned the car to the Deer Lake airport, and rode my bike as best I could to the Driftwood Inn where I had supper and stayed for the night.

I treated my hip by wrapping it as best I could, icing it twice and taking two Tylenols before bed. I was very relieved in the morning that my fever had lifted and my leg was almost as good as new (but that’s the next blog). Although I never lost a day cycling I most certainly would not have been able to ride on June 30.

Morris Point harbour and the hills of Gros Morne in background void of significant ‎vegetation.

Shores along the road in Gros Morne north of Rocky Harbour.

Shores along the road in Gros Morne north of Rocky Harbour.

Shores along the road in Gros Morne north of Rocky Harbour.

Shores along the road in Gros Morne north of Rocky Harbour.

The hills of Gros Morne from Morris Point harbour.

View of the docks at Morris Point within the borders of Gros Morne.

Day 53 – Robinsons, Newfoundland (Sunday, June 28, 2015)

I attempted sleeping on the ferry in a lounge chair but it was rough. I may have got a few hours at the very most. At any rate it was a lot less than normal nights in poor sleeping positions.

I had breakfast on board just after the ferry had docked.

We disembarked at Port aux Basque at 7am Newfoundland time and were immediately greeted with unique Newfoundland landscape.   In retrospect (I am now writing this in Rocky Harbour) I realize now that Port aux Basque is worth visiting but at the time I was more interested in getting some miles in before crashing early to catch up on sleep.

I had lunch at a road side restaurant near Jeffery’s NL and learned from the local people that there aren’t many places ’til Corner Brook. So I resigned myself to stay at my original destination, Midway Motel and Lounge.

The day was good for cycling. It started cool but a nice tail wind picked up from the south bringing with it (I guess) the warmest day of my trip. I found the heat sucking the energy out of me.

As it turned out the Midway Motel (Robinsons, NL) was closed and the property was up for sale. When I arrived I was tired from lack of sleep on the ferry and quite hot so I pitched in the rear and crashed. Corner Brook was another 110 km I had no other place to go.

At about 7pm the owner came by and we chatted. I explained my situation and he was more than happy to let me stay. Apparently even when the motel was open he had reserved an area at the rear for cyclists passing through. (See the comment below.)

A river.

A picture of the ferry at a distance from Port aux Basque. I had forgotten to get a closer picture but this shows the blend of the ugly oil bunkers with the rugged nature of the town from the perspective of the highway.

The calm in an inlet in Port aux Basque.

Twin peaks.

Funny faces.

Day 52 – North Sydney, Nova Scotia (Saturday, June 27, 2015)

Today was a bit of a challenge.  I had to make 143km with unknown hilly terrain and a 13km head wind.

I ate grocery food in the hotel room and was on the road by 7:40am.

Despite the hills I was happy to make Beddeck by noon and spent some time exploring the town and visiting the Bell museum. Although Bell seems like a nice fellow with a good family he seems more like an influential tinkerer than a real scientist. Regardless we likely need more people like Bell who muck around and leave a lasting legacy.

Of all the places on Cape Breton I like the waters and surrounding hills of the Bras D’Or Estuaries the best. I can understand why it would have attracted a guy like Bell who had the good fortune of being able to live just about anywhere.

After Beddeck it was heads down riding the remainder 55km or so to North Sydney.   The climb between two parts of the Bras D’Or Lake was the steepest long climb since British Columbia. It was the first time since BC that I had to use the first chain ring.

I was satisfied to arrive in North Sydney before 6pm. I grabbed something to eat at Subway and spent the time before boarding the ferry at 9pm to do some bicycle maintenance. I replaced a broken spoke and patched a tire on the lawn of a museum.

I am currently on the ferry to Newfoundland. We left North Sydney harbour about 20 minutes ago. Now I have time to spend in a big chair trying to get some rest before I start bicycling again tomorrow.  Wish me luck.

Ralph was told to hang out with the motorcycles. I am not sure the motorcycles appreciated his company.

Boats in the small harbour at Beddeck.

Alexander and me.

The view of Bras D’Or at the museum in Beddeck.

A view of Bras D’Or from one of the highest hills since BC.

Day 51 – Port Hastings, Nova Scotia (Friday, June 26, 2015)

I woke to my alarm at 4:48am, packed up my tent and was on the road by 5:30am determined to make the first ferry to Nova Scotia. I arrived at the ferry dock almost 1 hour before the departure but I had enough time to eat breakfast of muffins and fruit that I had bought the day before.

The ferry arrived in Nova Scotia about 7:30am and I set off toward Pictou.   At the fork near Pictou I decided not to visit Halifax in favour of a direct route to Sydney.

Highway 104 in Nova Scotia was hilly but otherwise not especially interesting. At one point I decided to take a secondary road running parallel in hopes to get a sense of countryside. But while the road was quiet it was poorly maintained and wove around like a snake and I ended up returning to the main highway.

I ate and stayed at the Heartstone Inn in Port Hastings for the night. Ideally I would have liked to have gone another 20-30km to shorten tomorrow’s distance to Sydney.  The weather and the wind were favorable but the people at the information booth could not confidently assure me there was any suitable accommodation for some distance. The Heartstone was a pretty good place; better than the hotel franchises and had a clear view of the channel between Cape Breton and the mainland.

Packing up the tent at Northumberland Park at 5am.

The ferry to Nova Scotia.

Horses in Nova Scotia. This picture is for Katie.

The causeway to Cape Breton.

View of the causeway from Port Hastings.

Early morning on PEI.

Day 50 – Northumberland Provincial Park, Prince Edward Island (Thursday, June 25, 2015)

In the morning I met Steve, the host of Victoria Inn B+B.   He informed me about the latest history of the unique town of Victoria, a town which I just stumbled on, and pointed me to the best route to take both on the island and on Newfoundland. He suggested that I travel west through Charlottetown, on to the Wood Islands, and take the ferry to Nova Scotia. I didn’t even know there was a ferry.

After breakfast I set off. The weather was excellent and the wind favorable and I made Charlottetown in good time.

I approached the downtown off the main road as Steve had suggested and spent time eating a lunch (of store bought food) in the park by the water on the southwest corner of the city.   After lunch I passed a historic building constructed for tourists like me. I am intrigued by the history of the cities I visit and like to imagine what it would have been like for struggling pioneers years ago. But outside the building there was a notice “Closed on June 25”.

Not deterred I carried on toward the harbour doing my best to find directions to some history. After all I heard a bunch of guys got together to sign some important papers here in 1867. I ended up at a marina restaurant where the waitresses first directed me to the information center, and from there I found the location of Providence House.

Providence House as it turns out was closed for renovations.   I can understand that they may want it fixed up for Canada Day. I’ll make that presumption. But I was disappointed. It’s likely the most significant Canadian place in my trip since I have by passed all the capitals. Regardless of the reason it was closed I couldn’t help but think that Canada has all grown up. Its history is becoming more irrelevant.  It is a cynical thought. The country that now exists is the legacy of those guys who took the risk to act on their dream.

The cathedral which was also on the list of places to see was closed ’til 12:40pm. It wasn’t really important to me. Just added to the list of places that were coincidentally not open on the day or the time I happened to by riding by.

On the positive… the art gallery and the open outdoor spaces in downtown Charlottetown were quite nice.

Traveling from Charlottetown to the Woods Islands was uneventful. I followed the main road since the secondary roads didn’t lead me to where I wanted to go. The road was good but hilly with buildings sparsely scattered.

I arrived at the information center by the ferry at about 4:30pm.  Had I known the last ferry left at 4:30pm I would have hustled and made it to Nova Scotia.   Instead I bought some food at the cafeteria near the ferry dock and missed it.   I settled on camping at the nearby Northumberland Provincial Park enduring mosquitoes.

Lighthouse at Victoria PEI.

Park by the harbour in Charlottetown.

Open space in Charlottetown by the harbour.

Providence House which was closed for maintenance.

Lilacs by the art gallery in Charlottetown. The lilacs have been in bloom all the way from the interior of BC. In New Brunswick there were lilacs in almost every other house along the road with fragrance lingering everwhere. I can’t be sure where there will be no more lilacs. This may be the last I see.

Patio by the art gallery in Charlottetown.

Typical farm in PEI with ocean in the distance.

Day 49 – Victoria, Prince Edward Island (Wednesday, June 24, 2015)

Today was another 200km plus day.
‎
Miramichi was the absolute worst place for mosquitoes on my trip.   I hear they like some people more than others. At Miramichi Campground swarms would follow me and drive me mad while kids were playing happily in their shorts and t-shirts.

It rained during the night but stopped a few hours before dawn. I got up at about 5:30am to take a washroom break and made the error of leaving the tent open.   When I got back I estimate there were 200 mosquitoes inside the tent. My attempts to kill them to get a bit more rest woke me up entirely. Thanks to the pests I packed up my tent, shook off the rain, and got on the road in great time.

Nature served up just about perfect weather. It started quite wet but by mid morning the sky was partly cloudy and I was comfortable enough to cycle in my shorts for the first time in days. The weather was within just the right threshold of comfort.

I started off following highway 11 from Miramichi Campground because it appeared by far the most direct route. Because there are no stops or restaurants on the main highway I was forced to take highway 134 which turned out a much better alternative.
‎
Traveling on 134 (and later 133) exposes the small business and homes of New Brunswick. Unlike Quebec, the  Acadian Peninsula of New Brunswick doesn’t go out of it’s way for tourism. There are practically no restaurants, or rest areas. Scenic areas which would have been promoted in many other places are left undeveloped.

From then on I continued to take the secondary highways determined to find scenic gems or trails but nothing that I saw held a candle to the Route Verte in Quebec,  or the Waterfront Trail in Ontario. It is as if the people of New Brunswick are too busy surviving to enjoy life – or something more sinister.

Generally everyone I talked to in New Brunswick was friendly. Even when their first language was french they went out of their way to be helpful. I notice that when I nodded hello in New Brunswick I seemed to always get a friendly nod back. (I had forgotten to mention that this was not true in Quebec. When I nodded I would often get a cold response as if I should have nodded in French. I even tried to nod differently – more subtly, with a French accent – but nothing seemed to work. And on rare occasions when people responded as I expected I immediately assumed that they were visiting from some other province.)

A few interesting things that happened today:

1. A large fly flew into my mouth. I immediately caught it in my tongue and spit it back out minus the wings as the occupants of a passing car watched with interest.
2. Because of the lack of restaurants I bought real food and discovered it was pretty good. Six muffins, four blueberry scones, two oranges, two apples and five bananas.
3. At 1pm at a critical fork I thought it would be nice to visit Prince Edward Island. PEI wasn’t on my original itinerary and it suddenly occurred to me that there was no good reason, after coming all this way not to see it.  Since touring PEI meant at least an extra day I immediately called Ann for permission. She said it would be ok only if I rode twice as fast the next day so off I went to PEI.

I arrived at Confederation Bridge at about 5:30pm and had to wait almost an hour for the shuttle to take me to PEI. But now I find myself at Victoria Village Inn (a nice Bed and Breakfast) after eating a great supper at the Landmark Cafe in Victoria PEI.

Apparently the host at the B+B, Steve, teaches at the Culinary Institute of Canada in Charlottetown so I am looking forward to a great breakfast. I am told breakfast is at 8am so I can sleep in (don’t tell Ann.)

The setting sun over the beach and hills from the wharf at Victoria PEI.

Maybe we should paint our Kitchener house this color.

New Brunswick…A workplace where there should be a play place.

A “real” ocean going fishing boat on lawn.

Look for a washroom and found a view with Ralph and lots of mosquitoes instead.

Murray’s Beach Provincial Park.

A view of Confederation Bridge and PEI in the distance from NB.

Field on lupines on the “Murray’s Corner” road.

Underdeveloped beauty in New Brunswick.

Stopped for construction on the shuttle bus on Confederation Bridge. (Bicycles are not allowed on the bridge.)

The wharf at Victoria PEI.

Day 47 – Miramichi, New Brunswick (Tuesday, June 23, 2015)

I had another good sleep and had a difficult time getting up. I had intended to get up a 5:30 but had slept in ’til 7.

There were no places that served breakfast close to the motel but I was told there were a few places to eat in Beresford. So I made my way to Beresford and stopped at Tim Horton’s where I repeated the order of two BLT bagel combos with a muffin and sorted out the route for the day.

New Brunswick does not cater to the bicyclist or the tourist.   The roads are generally in poor repair and the shoulders are often not maintained when the road is resurfaced. I believe the coast is beautiful but I had a long way to travel from Beresford to Miramachi and could not afford poor roads.

I settled on taking highway 134 out of Bathurst which seemed the most direct route but as I crossed an overpass I noticed that the highway 8 appeared to be well maintained with a better shoulder. I changed my course.

The trip from Bathurst to Miramachi along highway 8 was a burden. The wind was howling so I couldn’t hear my music, the geography was uninteresting, I missed the quaint towns and houses, and the smell of lilacs. It would be nice if I could sleep and put my bike on cruise control. My mind started thinking of things I’d rather do that did not involve biking.

There were a few positives:
It didn’t rain.
The road had an adequate but slightly narrow but good shoulder.
My bike didn’t breakdown.
And there was a roadside restaurant about 20km north of Miramachi which offered me a welcome break.

After lunch I ordered a pie partly to delay facing the remaining 70km.

I arrived at Miramichi Campgrounds around 4:30pm, had a shower, did my laundry, and cooked lentils with rice and vegetables. Yum!

While I was doing my laundry I met a friendly young couple who were moving back to Hamilton from St. Johns after a three year adventure. As it turns out he had cycled the trip from Victoria to St John’s.

Tree houses at the Miramichi campground. I slept in my tent.

Highway 8 from Bathurst to Miramichi.

House and barn on the road to Miramichi campground.

Day 47 – Nigadoo, New Brunswick (Monday, June 22, 2015)

I had a very good sleep and woke groggy; not quite ready to get up. The time change to Atlantic time doesn’t help; it says it’s 6:30am but I still feel like it’s 5:30am. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be more in sync.

The Quality Inn in Campbellton had everything I needed for breakfast. This included scrambled eggs, bacon, typical cereal, yogurt, juice, bagels and best of all fresh fruit. I stock up on oranges and bananas which are a nice treat on the road. I had my fill and took to the road later than normal – around 9am.   I only had a little over 100 planned for today, the weather was cold and raining, and I had not plans in pushing it.

At about 10am I got my second flat tire of the trip. I discovered a piece of glass lodged in the tread.   It took longer than normal to fix because of my rain gear, and the important step of checking for a cause before putting the new tube and tire back on.  ‎

While I was working on my bike a few people asked if I need help. Pretty much everyone is bilingual in New Brunswick and it was nice to converse in English without any apology.  One of the would-be-helpers was a man in his 50s traveling with his wife on their full loaded bicycles from Montreal to Prince Edward Island. ‎

I had a strong head wind in the morning. That coupled with the cold, rain, and frequent hills made the going a bit tough.

There were no restaurants when I wanted to eat. Unfortunately I had passed two small restaurants earlier without realizing there were not going to be any further along.   Around 2pm the lack of energy started to affect my performance and was forced to stop and grab a few cookies, pop, V8, and a gatorade at a variety store.

The weather was unsettled with threatening rain so I stopped to get some supper about 9km from my destination at Parc Malybel.  When I noticed the forecast for tomorrow was once again rainy I decided to stay at the Motel H just north of Nigadoo. Again I am disappointed.‎

River emptying into the Atlantic.

Day 46 – Campbellton, New Brunswick (Sunday, June 21, 2015)

Tough day.

Raining and cool. Cool enough to wear a sweater. You end up getting a clammy filling inside the gore-tex, feet are wet, legs are mostly wet. If you stop you get chilled.

At one point just after a rest stop my rear rack came apart. Ralph wanted to keep going but couldn’t because the rack was dragging on the ground behind him. To my surprise all the parts were accounted for and after reassembly and tightening things were as they were and we set off.

oh – and I saw a moose. I saw him standing on the road from a distance and managed to pull my BlackBerry out to take a picture. He was looking directly at me as I approached. At first he appeared curious and then defiant, perhaps taking a combative stance – or so I thought. Then he was spooked, turned and trotted off up the path into the forest.

I didn’t find a place to eat lunch. None of the local canteens beside road are open on Sunday. I was relieved at the end of the day and looking forward to a dry place to spread out and get some rest. I stayed at an unimaginative Quality Inn in Campbellton near the south side of the bridge to Quebec.

Riviere Matapedia.

Quebec town.

Riviere Matapedia.

A moose looking a bit lost on the road.

Riviere Matapedia.

Day 45 – Berges, Quebec (Saturday, June 20, 2015)

Today was another day I managed to ride 200 kilometers.

The wind predictions were in my favor. I felt good physically and the temperature was in the twenties without any rain. I was determined from the outset to make the most of the conditions and aim for Rimouski, about 100km, by lunch time.

The day was as predicted and I arrived in Rimouski in good time. Rimouski was a highlight of the route on the south side of the St Lawrence.   There was a road which catered to bicyclists, and tourists.  The road wound for several miles along the shore through scenic inlets and stone beaches.

Because the wind was so good at Rimouski I made the decision to ride through to make up a day and aim to stay at Berges for the night.

At Mont Joli the road cuts inland away from the St Lawrence and through hilly country side.   I managed to make good time and arrived at Val Brillants Camping near Berges by about 5:30pm and had supper at a nearby roadside canteen.

Ralph with the lake in the background at Val Brillant Campground near Berges.

Typical Quebec village.

Bicycle path in Rimouski.

View of the river looking north west from Rimouski.

Road winding along the coast in Rimouski.

View of the river looking north east from Rimouski.