Trip Summary by the numbers
Total days traveling: 105
Days traveling by bicycle: 97 (after we reached Cape Spear we rented a truck for a week and toured the Avalon and Bonavista Peninsulas)
Distance ridden: 3350 miles (5400 km). This includes the distance covered by ferry.
Overall trip elevation gain: we climbed nearly 160,000 feet (49,000 meters).
Greatest elevation gained in one day: 4,770 feet (1,454 meters). This was the day we rode from Deer Lake into Gros Morne National Park.
Longest riding day: 71 miles (114 km) This was the day we rode out to Miscou Point and then to Laurie's house.
Parks and Historic Sites: 51+ (see our parks visited page)
Animals encountered: 77+ birds, 21+ mammals (see our birds and mammals page)
Sleeping: 66 nights in our tent
-the rest of the nights we stayed with strangers who quickly became friends, Airbnb's, or hotels. We stealth camped only twice.
Bike repairs: One flat tire (Tom) repaired in the buggiest campsite of our trip at Bic National Park.
One bike shop preventative maintenance visit which resulted in a brake repair for Tom's bike, new chain, and two new friends.
Eating: Our biggest expense was food. Average cost of food = $32/day Groceries are definitely more expensive in Canada.
Drinking: I wish we had counted the beers we tasted at so many microbreweries. I do know that our expenditure on beer was $229.52 which is an average spend of $2.17/day You really can buy happiness.
Our total expenditure for coffees we didn't make in camp was $126.00 which is an average spend of $1.19/day. More happiness.
Best sunset: Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis
Best campsite:
Tom: Cape Breton Highlands National Park - Corney Brook Campsite
Julia: Parc et Mer in Mont-Louis, QC
Most challenging conditions: Bic Park because of the swarms of biting insects
Most surprising experience:
While riding along a section of bike trail in the Acadian Peninsula, we were invited to stay the night in the home of a local resident. He is a high school history teacher and graciously shared his knowledge of the Acadians with us. Thanks, Laurie!
Health and safety:
We have been healthy and have had no illness or injuries on the trip. We carried a substantial first aid kit and used one band aid, a few Tylenol and a couple of Aleve. Julia had only one close call with traffic and it was on the very last day of riding. An oncoming car swerved and passed an oncoming truck and came frighteningly close.
Coincidences (or fate?) Newfoundland is a small place.
We met a multitude of inspiring and wonderful people on this trip and discovered that the cycling world is quite interconnected. It surprised us that we could travel across the Maritimes and keep encountering the same folks, or others who were somehow connected to them.
It is indeed a small world and the six degrees of separation idea was illustrated to us time and again.
Best budget app: Travelbug made managing our trip money easy and fun. Their byline is "make your travel money go further, so you can too." It allowed me to easily track expenditures and categorize expenses. Once I set a budget, it calculated and adjusted our "daily spend" target. This allowed us to say, "We can have another beer." with confidence.
Get the app here
Two places we would like to go back to: Le Camping in New Brunswick It is a beautiful spot on the Bay of Chaleur.
and Gros Morne especially to hike in the Tablelands. https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/activ/experiences/tablelands
Trip philosophy:
Tom: "Be flexible. This trip is for fun, not to have a specific starting and end point solely by bike."
Julia: "Be flexible and stay positive." This is my stay positive face.
Takeaway lesson:
Tom: "Don't expect to have the energy for trail running or hiking after riding your bike up and down hills all day for 50 miles."
Julia: "The journey is what matters. The destination just gives you a place to lay your head at night. Be open to new people, new challenges and new experiences. Savor the sights and sounds and smells along the way and look for peace in every small moment."
Total days traveling: 105
Days traveling by bicycle: 97 (after we reached Cape Spear we rented a truck for a week and toured the Avalon and Bonavista Peninsulas)
Distance ridden: 3350 miles (5400 km). This includes the distance covered by ferry.
Overall trip elevation gain: we climbed nearly 160,000 feet (49,000 meters).
Greatest elevation gained in one day: 4,770 feet (1,454 meters). This was the day we rode from Deer Lake into Gros Morne National Park.
Longest riding day: 71 miles (114 km) This was the day we rode out to Miscou Point and then to Laurie's house.
Parks and Historic Sites: 51+ (see our parks visited page)
Animals encountered: 77+ birds, 21+ mammals (see our birds and mammals page)
Sleeping: 66 nights in our tent
-the rest of the nights we stayed with strangers who quickly became friends, Airbnb's, or hotels. We stealth camped only twice.
 |
| Stealth camping at Seal Cove in Quebec |
 |
| Camping in Alana's yard near Shediac in New Brunswick |
Bike repairs: One flat tire (Tom) repaired in the buggiest campsite of our trip at Bic National Park.
 |
| The first of two fixes on this day to this tire |
 |
| Highland Bike Shop in Antigonish, Nova Scotia |
Eating: Our biggest expense was food. Average cost of food = $32/day Groceries are definitely more expensive in Canada.
 |
| P.E.I. mussels steamed in the campground - only $4/pound fresh from the sea. |
 |
| You can bet we have a separate line item in the budget for ice cream. |
 |
| In Cape Breton we met a Grand Circle tour group and their leader gave us all their leftover snacks. They were all shocked to think that a person could actually ride up the mountains they were seeing from the comfort of their tour bus. We turned these apples into the most delicious apple crumble breakfast. |
Drinking: I wish we had counted the beers we tasted at so many microbreweries. I do know that our expenditure on beer was $229.52 which is an average spend of $2.17/day You really can buy happiness.
Our total expenditure for coffees we didn't make in camp was $126.00 which is an average spend of $1.19/day. More happiness.
 |
| fancy French-Canadian latte |
Best sunset: Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis
Best campsite:
Tom: Cape Breton Highlands National Park - Corney Brook Campsite
 |
| Ocean view, grassy tenting spot, freshwater swimming hole,very nice neighbors and a stellar view of the surrounding mountains in Cape Breton |
Julia: Parc et Mer in Mont-Louis, QC
 |
| Ocean view, plus little cook shelters, and the most amazing common room all for $15CAD |
Most challenging conditions: Bic Park because of the swarms of biting insects
 |
| stay positive |
Most surprising experience:
While riding along a section of bike trail in the Acadian Peninsula, we were invited to stay the night in the home of a local resident. He is a high school history teacher and graciously shared his knowledge of the Acadians with us. Thanks, Laurie!
Health and safety:
We have been healthy and have had no illness or injuries on the trip. We carried a substantial first aid kit and used one band aid, a few Tylenol and a couple of Aleve. Julia had only one close call with traffic and it was on the very last day of riding. An oncoming car swerved and passed an oncoming truck and came frighteningly close.
Coincidences (or fate?) Newfoundland is a small place.
We met a multitude of inspiring and wonderful people on this trip and discovered that the cycling world is quite interconnected. It surprised us that we could travel across the Maritimes and keep encountering the same folks, or others who were somehow connected to them.
It is indeed a small world and the six degrees of separation idea was illustrated to us time and again.
 |
| We met Alex and Art on separate occasions and then we all oddly ended up at the same outing store at the same time in St. John's. Alex and Art had met each other back in P.E.I. They were both on cross country rides. |
Best budget app: Travelbug made managing our trip money easy and fun. Their byline is "make your travel money go further, so you can too." It allowed me to easily track expenditures and categorize expenses. Once I set a budget, it calculated and adjusted our "daily spend" target. This allowed us to say, "We can have another beer." with confidence.
Get the app here
Two places we would like to go back to: Le Camping in New Brunswick It is a beautiful spot on the Bay of Chaleur.
and Gros Morne especially to hike in the Tablelands. https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/activ/experiences/tablelands
Trip philosophy:
Tom: "Be flexible. This trip is for fun, not to have a specific starting and end point solely by bike."
Julia: "Be flexible and stay positive." This is my stay positive face.
Takeaway lesson:
Tom: "Don't expect to have the energy for trail running or hiking after riding your bike up and down hills all day for 50 miles."
Julia: "The journey is what matters. The destination just gives you a place to lay your head at night. Be open to new people, new challenges and new experiences. Savor the sights and sounds and smells along the way and look for peace in every small moment."
We are so glad that you stopped to visit us in Clifton. Thank you
ReplyDeleteThe people we met were definitely the very best part of our trip. Thanks for everything.
DeleteJulia and Tom, thank you so much for sharing this amazing journey with others through your blog posts. I loved reading about your travels and seeing your wonderful pictures, especially when you arrived in Newfoundland (since we were there three years ago). What an adventure you've had! All the best settling in back home and planning your next travels!
ReplyDeleteIt was delightful,meeting you,in cape breton kevin g
ReplyDelete