Thursday, 03 August 2006

Triple Falls RV Park to St Anthony (Bike)
St. Anthony to St Barbe (Bus)
St. Barbe to Blanc Sablon, Quebec (Ferry)
Blanc Sablon to Pinware River Provincial Park, Labrador (Bike)

There were a few flurries of rain around in the morning, and the cycle computer was still reading 9oC (It was 1 degree warmer in the tent) It was a chilly ride back the 8 km into St. Anthony so I stopped again to put on my waterproof mitts to keep my fingers from going numb. In St. Anthony I waited in the Viking Mall for the Coffee Cup Cafe to open at 8:30 am.

Post-breakfast I still had some time to do some food shopping before getting the Viking Express bus from the Irving gas station at 10 am. I was getting the bus back to St. Barbe so that I could get the ferry over to Blanc Sablon and have a day in Labrador. It also meant that I didn't have to cycle back about 100 km on a road I'd already cycled, and I wouldn't have to worry about any mechanical problems.

An hour and a half on the bus took me a full day's cycling distance to the ferry terminal at St. Barbe where I bought a ticket ($11.25 plus $4.50 for the bike) for the 1 pm sailing. Being on the bus was like watching a speeded up version of my cycle across the Northern Peninsula. When the bus got back to the west coast though, I was amazed at how close Labrador seemed - I had been able to see it at all on my cycle up nearly a week ago. At $23, the bus journey was more expensive than the ferry!

By now the rain had stopped though it was still cloudy and cool, but a few patches of blue sky were appearing as I sat and waited to board the ferry. The 90 minute crossing was very smooth, the Strait of Belle Isle was in benign mood. Labrador is in the same time-zone as Newfoundland, but Blanc Sablon is in Quebec, so there is a one and a half hour time difference between Blanc Sablon and Labrador 2 km up the road! That makes things a little confusing for the ferry I need to get tomorrow. Luckily I have two watches (It's a long story...) so I set one to Quebec time and left the other on Labrador time.

There was a steep climb out of the ferry terminal, and out of Blanc Sablon. It was a bit of a shock to the system as I haven't cycled many hills recently. Also since I've had a few easy days (apart from the weather) I was finding it difficult to motivate myself to cycle. Maybe I needed some food. I stopped at the Seaview Restaurant in Forteau to fortify myself. The special of the day was Jigg's Dinner - a Newfoundland and Labrador speciality (apparently) so I thought I ought to try it. I had expected that it would have some connection to the sea, but not at all. Boiled potato, boiled mashed swede, boiled carrot, boiled turnip, boiled cabbage, boiled salt beef. Plain, hearty, rustic. Not a dish that's been troubled in any way by herbs or spices of any kind. Once is probably enough. (It's probably only ever eaten by innocent tourists)

The 510 road climbs up out of each community, and travels over the headland before dropping down into the next. Each climb was progressively higher until the climb out of L'Anse-au-Loup which was steep from about sea-level to just over 100 m but eventually climbed to over 200 m. The blackflies and the occasional mosquito were buzzing around my head as I slogged slowly uphill, unable to escape them. The bugs hadn't been much of a problem in Newfoundland recently.

Hills have 2 up sides and 1 down side for a cyclist; the down side is the up side and the up sides are the down side and the views you might get along the way. (Make sense?) There were some beautiful views along the way as most of the trees here are the very small stunted 'tuckamore' which are rarely high enough to block the view.

It was briefly warm in the afternoon, and the sun even shone occasionally, but as evening approached the temperature dropped quickly and it was often chilly on the bike. By about 7 pm I got to the Pinware River Provincial Park ($10, no showers) The warden warned me that the temperature was expected to drop to 2oC tonight (Am I wasting my summer?) He also said that there was a 'Common Room' cabin that I could sleep in if I wanted. I wasn't going to bother, but then I thought it might be a good idea to dry out the tent as it will be packed away for the next 2 nights while I am on the Quebec ferry. It would also give me a place to work on the bike.

The bike is struggling; the rear derailleur is playing up again today - it feels the same as before, but I'm sure the cable can't have frayed again so quickly. Both front pannier racks have cracks in (to go with the 3 breaks in the rear pannier rack) and the back tyre is starting to split and delaminate. Oh good.

Distance: 63.8 km
Cycling time: 3:47
Total distance: 5155.8 km