Newfoundland at last

August 5, 2018

Sailing to Newfoundland

The Marine Atlantic company operates the ferry between North Sydney, Nova Scotia and Port aux Basques, Newfoundland year round.  The crossing takes six hours and there is always a ship in the port and another one making the crossing. Waiting in orderly lines there are cars and campers, motorcycles, RV’s and lots and lots of tractor trailer trucks carrying all sorts of goods.  Today we are the only two passengers with bicycles. We are also the very first two people on the ferry followed by all the Harley riders and a guy on a four-wheeler.

first in line

Tom stows our bikes

The ferry is big and comfortable like a cruise ship.  

There are two whole decks with berths for sleeping, a coffee shop, a bar, an ice cream shop, a big restaurant, a lounge area, several large rooms with reclining chairs and TV’s, a computer room and a kids’ play area.  We spend most of our time in the lounge enjoying some serious rounds of Yahtzee which I borrow from the reception area desk. They have cards and games and coloring books and crossword puzzle books. This ferry company really wants happy occupied passengers.  

Iceberg Beers and knitting 

looking down from the sundeck onto the many trucks

We are behind all these cars when we exit the ferry

I figure when we ride out of the belly of the ferry we will have ridden our bikes all the way from Rootstown Road in Ohio to Newfoundland. It is hard to believe even as we are doing it! Tonight we are staying in Port aux Basques at a hotel just two miles from the ferry terminal.  Our original plan was to ride ten miles to a campground, but we changed that plan after realizing we could be riding in the dark on the Trans-Canada highway.   

August 6, 2018

Port aux Basques to Wishing Well Campground

Port aux Basques is at the extreme southwestern tip of Newfoundland.  The western terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway is just outside our hotel.  Also called Route 1, it is the primary east-west road in Newfoundland and runs all the way to Saint John’s 561 miles away.    We need to spend four days on this road to get to Gros Morne National Park. There is no other route and no smaller roads to get where we want to go.  I am hoping that once the ferry traffic passes us by the traffic will be light.  

I will be watching carefully for moose.  Zoom in on the flashing sign.

It is amazing how vast the landscape is and how little the human footprint as we head northeast.  There are lots of trees and mountains in the distance. We see some snowfields creeping down some of the mountains.  The shoulder isn’t too bad in some places. It can be 5 to 6 feet wide or just 6 inches wide. It depends. The rumble strips are a challenge to navigate.  It is definitely not flat terrain here. We ride past lots of very hospitable moose habitat but we don’t see any moose.

With a max speed of 100km/hour the cars and trucks are flying by.  Most of them move over into the other lane when they see our flashing lights and hi-vis coats.

We reach Wishing Well Campground after 53 miles on the same highway.  No turns. And, exactly five businesses along the way. There might have been about three or four houses.  This is not an exaggeration.

The mountains here are part of  the Appalachians formed 480 million years ago.  

The campground is fine and should be very quiet considering there is exactly one other person staying in the park.  It looks like a place that local seasonal campers use on weekends and the owner tells us he has music and dancing every Friday and Saturday night.  He lets us move into his party pavillion to cook since there is rain off and on all evening. The water says it is not potable but the owner says he drinks it all the time and the government made him post that sign.  We boil ours while he isn’t watching. The water for tomorrrow we treat with Iodine.

Wishing Well Campground party pavilion

August 7, 2018

Wishing Well Campground to Barachois Provincial Park

The riding today continues on the Trans-Canada Highway.  There are lots of ups and downs but it's not as steep as Nova Scotia.  We have a four mile downhill coast which feels great. The overcast skies keep us cool.  We ride 42 miles with zero turns and get to the campground by 12:30pm in time for lunch. At times the road’s shoulder was not the best, but we made it.

The mountains here are beautiful and Barachois Pond would be a lake by most people’s standards. It is perfect for wading and swimming and the day is hot now with the sun shining.  Our campsite has its own little beach and there are three bigger public beaches in the park. I wish we had a kayak to explore the lake. Instead, Tom and I walk the shoreline and cool off in the lake.  This provincial park is a dedicated “dark skies preserve”. Tonight there are too many clouds for stargazing and by morning a light rain is falling.

Barachois Pond view from our campsite

August 8, 2017

Barachois Provincial Park to Corner Brook - a new plan

There is a break in the rain and we get the tent down and pack up quickly.  The park has several nice pavilions and we head to one to make breakfast and coffee.  We pedal back out onto the Trans-Canada highway for another day with similar mileage. There seems to be more traffic today and the rain continues off and on and we are riding northeast into darkened skies and more rain.   Trucks are zooming by and splashing us even though they are moving over into the left lane. The shoulder is limited and mainly taken up by the rumble strips. I feel like I am balancing on a narrow balance beam between the white line and the crumbling road edge.      

You can see the road snaking its way along behind me.  

After about 8 miles it is time for a new plan.  After multiple attempts with very little cell phone service, Tom successfully arranges a ride to Corner Brook with a local taxi/transport service.  I am really glad to be off the highway. As we were waiting under the overpass and the trucks were screaming past in the rain I was really questioning my judgement.  This highway no longer feels like a safe place to be on a bicycle. I would like to finish this trip and live to return to my family back home.

We hide under the overpass while the traffic races by.  Star Taxi picks us up in their wheelchair van.  

Corner Brook is the second biggest city in Newfoundland boasting a population of about 20,000.  It sprawls in every direction and is easily as hilly and steep as San Francisco. There is a pulp mill right downtown next to the shopping mall.  It takes up four exits on the Trans-Canada Highway so you know it rates!

We climb to Captain James Cook Historic Site where we can overlook Corner Brook.  Cook mapped Newfoundland for the Crown and his maps were so accurate and detailed that they remained in use for over 100 years.  If you look at his hand-drawn maps next to a modern map the two are nearly identical.  

Looking away from the city towards the ocean

Our new game plan for Newfoundland is to stay off the Trans-Canada highway as much as possible.  We are going to use the long distance bus or taxi transports to cover the long stretches of remote area between areas we would like to visit. We will ride in Gros Morne Park and on secondary roads around some of the smaller peninsulas and coasts.

Here is a list of EVERY business located

along the 897 km Trans-Canada Highway.
In our first three days of riding we passed ten. The listing covers Port aux Basques to St. John's and is just the front of an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper. The tourist industry comprised the list specifically for bicyclists traveling the TCH. We are glad to be carrying three days worth of food.