Tuesday, 04 July 2006

Arnolds Cove to St. Johns (Newfoundland)

By morning the rain and fog had blown through so although it was still cloudy there was some blue sky and sun. By 7:30 I was back on the TCH, (TransCanada Highway) but only for a couple of kilometres - at the Southern Harbour turning I took the gravel road opposite (which went down to the Southern Harbour Waste Disposal site - very scenic!) which eventually became a rough track with some huge puddles. I cycled through all of these except for the last one which was so deep and wide that I waded round the edge.

The reason I was coming this way was to get onto the T'Railway Provincial Park - the former railway line that runs for 883 km (547 miles) from Port aux Basques to St. Johns. Unfortunately it was a wasted effort as the T'Railway proved to be unrideable. In 5 km I nearly crashed twice due to deep gravel - once giving myself quite a scare as I was nearly pitched down a steep slope. I also broke the kick-stand off the bike - a minor irritation (but less weight) At the first opportunity I reluctantly rejoined the TCH.

I guess it would be possible to cycle the T'Railway as some sort of macho adventure, but it's not safe to do it alone. Another problem is that there is no signage, so it would be difficult to leave the route to find services or visit a place of interest and then rejoin the route. Travel speed is also very much reduced - I could barely manage 9 km/h on the short stretch I cycled. It's quite depressing as I had hoped to use the T'Railway as a means of avoiding the TCH and I'm not looking forward to cycling back west on the TCH. I might not have come this way had I known. I may have to take the side roads where I can which will add a lot of time and distance to my trip.

The TCH was a long haul of up and downs. Being a major road there was nothing too steep and although it was quite scenic it was somehow not very enjoyable. By 11:30 I had reached junction 28, the Whitburne turn-off, and I stopped at Monty's Restaurant for a late breakfast. (It's amazing how a sign for a restaurant can spur you along the road.)

After brunch I was in the washroom squeezing out a number 2 (Sorry, but this is how it happened) when someone pushed on the door too heavily (the lock was a bit dodgy) and it burst open. How embarrassing. In that brief glimpse Roy had figured out that I was a cyclist - presumably from the state of me and the bike outside. Roy and his friend Roger, both from Vancouver, are cycling home from St. Johns and were on their second day of cycling. So, we had the surreal situation of having a conversation while I finished my 'business' and then while he did his 'business' (there was only one cubicle) I was asking about the road ahead to St. Johns and how late in the year I could get over the Rockies, and I was telling him about the Cabot Trail. (Breaking the news that they're doing it the hard way, anti-clockwise) They insisted on giving me their phone numbers and inviting me to stay if I ever make it to Vancouver. Being caught with your pants down obviously breaks the ice!

In the time I'd been having brunch, the cloud had broken up much more and there was now much more sun. Having been on the point of giving up I was now keen to carry on. I decided not to bother going to Whitburne, as libraries are often closed on Mondays and between 1 to 2 pm. I was tempted to visit Dildo in the opposite direction just for the heck of it. I'm sure that the Dildo Area Interpretation Centre isn't quite as fascinating as it sounds. I also saw and advert for the Dildo Souvenir Shop... Hmmm, that'll look good on the mantlepiece next to the statuette of the Eiffel Tower.

So although it was at least another 80 km (I'd already done 55 km) I decided to press on all the way to St. Johns. It became a long hot day. There were no services for the whole way to St Johns. Even now, long days in the saddle still become painful if you don't get some long rest breaks. I did stop once by the side of the road, where I could climb down away from the highway for a break.

Most of the way the TCH had a good shoulder apart from a long stretch of roadworks where I was squeezed onto the carriageway with all the traffic. It turned out to be at least 10 km further into the centre of St. Johns than the signs indicated - which is a lot at the end of a long hard day. At one point on route 2 into downtown St.Johns I came across a sign saying "Cycling prohibited" - but what was I supposed to do; there was no exit, and I could hardly turn around and cycle back against the traffic! I carried on.

Amazingly there seems to be no open tourist office in St. Johns so I was left to find accomodation for myself. I found a coffee shop with a payphone and with the luxury of a vanilla latte, did some phoning around. The University is some way oout from the centre and the roads up from the downtown area were fearsome steep, especially at the end of the day, but the room seemed good value at $27 a night. There was an elevator I could put the bike in and wheel it straight into the room with everything still on. (Room 424 was on the 3rd floor - figure that one out!)

In the evening I went out to suss out where everything was that I needed; cycle shop, camera shop, somewhere for breakfast, etc. I stumbled across a pub that was showing a replay of the Germany v Italy game, so I sat and watched that as I wrote diary. Unfortunately the game went to extra-time! (but not penalties)

Distance: 145.6 km
Cycling time: 8:00
Total distance: 3108.1 km