The End of the Line!

Well, after cycling 8723 km's over 95 days I've made it to St. John's Newfoundland! Right now I don't have any grand feelings of accomplishment, but maybe that will change as I stop riding or when we return home. In fact, I'm a little disappointed to have reached the endpoint ... I was really enjoying myself!

Newfoundland is a pretty intense place. There aren't many trees around and it's really windy. So far we've been enjoying the beautiful scenery here on "the rock".

Coming into Argentia on the ferry.

Last one!

For our two day ride from Argentia the wind was blowing somewhere around 40-50km/hr, mostly in the right direction. When Jenn got a flat tire I took my helmet off while helping her change it. A little while later we heard a crunching noise, and looked up to see my helmet getting run over by a camper ... it had been blown from the gravel, across the shoulder, and onto the road! While I was retrieving it and Jenn was laughing at me, her tire was blown across the road as well!

A beautiful lake near Dunville.

Jenn had a bit of a rough time of the wind. On the highway she was blown into the gravel and off her bike. Later that day in St. John's she pulled up to a stop sign at a busy intersection and was unbalanced with a gust of wind, got stuck in the still clipped side of her pedals, and fell over, taking me with her in a painful cyclist tangle. It was quite an entrance!

Jenn ... post bail. A passing truck driver honked at me to tell me she had fallen over. It was windy enough that I still thought she was right behind me!

Lunch behind a bush about an hour from St. John's.

When we arrived in St. John's we went straight to the harbour. I didn't dip my bike in the Pacific before starting, but I did go swimming the day before I left ... so I dove in for a swim in the Atlantic. St. John's has the most incredible harbour I've ever seen.

St. John's Harbour.


Dipping myself in the Atlantic.



Right now we're enjoying ourselves in and around St. John's. We rode out to Cape Spear, the Easternmost point in North America, and up to Signal Hill for a beautiful view of the St. John's harbour. We've been enjoying the friendliness of the city, and some more live music. Tomorrow we will head out by car to do some hiking, climbing, and exploring on the West Coast of Newfoundland. Then it's back to St. John's for our flight home on September 14th.

Our celebratory dinner ... mmm!

The bike got to go swimming as well at Cape Spear. It's not immediately apparent quite how hard it is to dip your bike in the ocean until you actually attempt it.

Fort Amherst and the coast from Signal Hill.

Traveling by bicycle I've really come to appreciate the beauty, diversity, and generosity of our country. Cycling enables you to stop in a lot of places and meet a lot of people that wouldn't have been possible traveling in a car. As well, you get all the sounds and smells that would have otherwise been missed. The cycling wasn't really that physically hard after the first week or so, but being comfortable living on the road was key to the trip.


Thanks for following so far, the support and words of encouragement has meant the world to me. With your generous donations, we're on track to raise around $2500 for the MS Society of Canada! I'll be in contact with those of you who pledged me soon with the total. Better look out for my collector ... she's fierce!

I'll continue with the rest of our trip in a future post.