Tuesday, 18 July 2006

A rest day in Gander

The campsite looked like a big RV parking lot. I was the only tent. It still seems a little odd to my British eyes to see such big 'caravans' and the big RV buses that are also towing another car or SUV.

Gander is a new town in Newfoundland terms. Originally it was simply chosen as the site for a new airport to act as a staging post on trans-Atlantic flights and served an important role during the war. After the war the airport was returned to civilian control and that was really when the town of Gander began to develop.

I had a long list of things to do in Gander. First off I went to the offices of the T'Railway Provincial Park which are located here in Gander to see if I could get any more information about the trail. They couldn't tell me much more than I already knew other than the section from Badger to Deer Lake (which goes straight across country away from the TCH) isn't quite as remote and unpopulated as it looks on the map. That's good news and bad. Good if I get problems and need help. It's supposedly quite nice.

Because of my problems with breaking spokes, and the lack of bike shops, I had decided I needed to try to improvise a chain-whip and get hold of a cassette removal tool. I ordered the tool from Canary Cycles in St.John's to be posted to Deer Lake for collection 'General Delivery' as I should be there by Friday. I bought a small adjustable wrench from Canadian Tire, and Brett at the bike shop (S&P Sports) salvaged some old chain for me to try to improvise a chain whip with.

I had lunch at the Ocean View Chinese restaurant (Ocean View? In Gander? That's a bit optimistic!) They had an all you can eat buffet for $6.99 - Now there's a challenge for a hungry cyclist! I didn't have time to visit the Aviation Museum, but I did make it out to the Thomas Howe Demonstration Forest for a personal free guided tour. Quite interesting.

Back in the bike shop they told me that someone had been in asking after me - which can only mean that John and Kathy are in town... They found me as I was going in to the library which meant that either they'd spotted me cycling around town, or they'd staked out the library. They know my MO includes a dependency on free internet access! It was great to see what feels like old friends again. They invited me to dinner, so I look forward to hearing about where they've been since last we met.

Distance: 26.9 km
Cycling time: 1:44
Total distance: 4025.9 km