Monday, 17 July 2006

Newman Sound Campground, Terra Nova National Park to Gander (Newfoundland)

It was yet another cold grey morning and quite breezy. Don't they ever get summer here? I wanted to get to Gander as early as possible so that I could find the bike shop with enough spare time for them to fix my broken spoke, so I was up at a reasonably early time and on the road by 7:10 am. Heading out of the campsite I came across a black and grey fox in the road. We stared at each other for a moment then he disappeared into the trees.

the TCH was fairly quiet as it was still early, but there were a few more lorries around than yesterday as it was now a new working week. The cycling was easy but not too exciting, with only the occasional glimpse of Newman Sound through the trees. When I got to the Glovertown junction, I took the detour downhill in search of breakfast and a view of something other than the trees. I ended up at Noah's on the Point, down by the water of Alexander Bay. As I sat and ate breakfast,I could see the sun starting to brighten the opposite side of the bay. When I asked about the library for internet, they let me use their dial-up internet in the office as they thought that the library was closed on Mondays. it still amazes me how much people will go out of their way to help you here.

I toiled back up hill into the wind to rejoin the TCH - but I'm complaining about that as I finally had some sun once again. From Glovertown to Gambo was only another 20 km, but I decided to stop there for lunch as there was probably nothing else for the next 40 km to Gander. Have you ever seen a film where starving men are given food, and they shovel it in with both hands, their cheeks bulging? That's how I think I must look like sometimes - there's never a scrap left on my plate. I checked out the T'Railway but decided it would be silly to cycle that way with a broken spoke.

For once I had made a sensible decision. It was hot and muggy as I cycled to Gander, and when I was still 20 km away, I heard, and felt, a ping as another spoke broke on my back wheel. Luckily it was on the opposite side from the other broken spoke and 90 degrees away, but now the wheel was buckled to both sides and would have been comical under other circumstances. Now I really was limping along, watching for every stone and dip in the road. At least it added a bit of excitement to my day - would I make it or wouldn't I? Would my wheel disintegrate if I hit a bump going downhill at speed?

I rolled gingerly into Gander at 3 pm and found the Fraser Mall. The bike shop didn't look too promising - more of a sport clothes shop - but the mechanic, Brett, was slick and efficient and had me fixed up pretty quickly. I'm sure that there must be a market for a decent set of cycle-touring tools to cover most cycling problems, but I've yet to find one.

When I went to the internet to check my emails, I found that my new friends Kathy and John were coming to Gander tomorrow night, so I decided to had a rest day in Gander tomorrow, which would give me the chance to try to sort out some additional bike tools. I went to the Dominion supermarket and splurged on food as the Country Inn Trailer Park was only a couple of kilometres out of town. Of course splurged is a relative term - for me it's what you can carry on a bike; a big pot of vanilla yogurt, cinnamon rolls and bananas for breakfast. Cherries, a bowl of salad, olives and feta cheese in olive oil. Luxury items for me!

Distance: 105.9 km
Cycling time: 5:55
Total distance: 3999.0 km