Exploring Newfoundland

When Jenn arrived in Halifax she brought with her a 47.6 pound backpack full of climbing and hiking gear (it took the bus to St. John's). We set out by car two weeks ago, intending to make good use of it in Newfoundland.

Teehee! Other funny Newfoundland city names include Goobies, Come by Chance, and Savage Cove.

Our first stop was Gros Morne National Park. This is an incredible area on the West Coast of Newfoundland with many hiking possibilities. Our main objective was the Long Range Traverse, a 40km map and compass traverse through Arctic Tundra in a section of the Long Range Mountains. We also spent time near Trout River, hiking in a place called the Green Gardens.

Trout River Pond in Gros Morne National Park. The Tablelands on the left are a portion of the Earth's mantle which was pushed up when two continents collided. It is major evidence of continental shifting and colliding ... and is the reason why Gros Morne is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hiking in Green Gardens.

Before embarking on the Long Range Traverse we needed to complete a parks test on compass use and get an OK from the park ranger. We were expecting to be interrogated, but she just looked us over and answered our questions about the hike. The next day we caught a lift down Western Brook Pond with a tourist boat tour and started the hike. Unfortunately we were a bit of a tourist attraction on the boat. When we waved goodbye to two of our friends as the boat was pulling away, 50 tourists waved back! But after we were dropped off, there was no doubt that we were alone.

The boat trip into the fjord along Western Brook Pond. The weather wasn't looking so great at this point ... fortunately it cleared up and was great for our entire hike!

The first evening we managed to thrash all the way out of the fjord and cover a bit of distance on the plateau. This was a pretty good effort considering we were dropped off at 2:30pm!

Jenn impersonating a moose!

Looking back down the fjord. If you've ever seen a tourist poster for Newfoundland, it probably included a view very similar to this one.

This section of the Long Range Mountains is the furthest place South where you can find Arctic Tundra. It was very boggy and covered with all sorts of berries and dense stands of tuckamore trees. The only berries that we could safely identify were blueberries and raspberries, but some of the other berries present were crowberries, partridgeberries, poisonberries (which are in fact edible), and bakeapple. Gros Morne has a moose population of 6 per square kilometer. It's so bad that they are starting to destroy particular trees. During the hike we saw at least 15 moose! Earlier in the year woodland caribou live in this region, but unfortunately we didn't see any.

Can you spot the three moose in this picture?

There were many animal trails through the tundra, and a few well trodden sections which we followed as part of the hike. We had heard many stories of people getting lost on the traverse due to a lack of defined landmarks and lots of fog, but for the most part we did fairly well. We got disoriented once but were never far from the recommended route. The trip took four incredible days, including a little sidetrip to Gros Morne Summit.

Looking towards Little Island Pond.

Routefinding on this trip is notoriously difficult due to a lack of recognizable landmarks.

Our tribute to the wildlife on the summit of Gros Morne. Due to the high winds and harsh winters, nothing grows on this large and flat summit, even though it's only 800m above sea level!

After finishing the hike we headed up the North Penninsula to St. Anthony. We visited L'Anse aux Meadows, the remains of a Norse settlement from approximately 1000AD! This was the first European settlement in North America (and as a result was the first site inscribed on the UNESCO list of world historic sites). It was inhabited for only a few years before the vikings were chased out by the local natives. Parks Canada did a wonderful job of recreating several of the buildings which stood over 1000 years ago. We also took the time to visit St. Anthony (near iceberg alley), and Burnt Cape Ecological Reserve. It was really cold here, almost freezing at night!

Remains of Norse peat buildings at L'Anse aux Meadows.

Jenn going back to her Danish roots!

Jenn in a sea cave at Burnt Cape Ecological Reserve. Labrador in the distance.

I'm not sure if these are called Hoodoos outside of the praries, but they're cool nonetheless.

The Arches on the West Coast. Jenn pulled off the incredible feat of timing her jump with a 10 second camera timer (twice) while I settled for making it to my position over all the rocks.

Then we made our way back to the St. John's area for a few days of climbing. There are incredible sea cliffs all around Newfoundland, but unfortunately the best ones require several days to get to (you have to take ferries and then hire local fisherman to bring you the rest of the way!).

Jenn climbing Scarlet Fever at Flatrock, near St. John's.

The cliffs at Flatrock. The next day the sea was a little angrier and the waves would send bursts of spray high over these rocks. The locals told us that they sometimes shoot 70ft into the air above the rocks! Don't worry though, we were safely away from the ocean.

Now we are in St. John's packing our things for the flight back to Vancouver. It's going to be weird coming home, but I'm excited to see friends and family, eat sushi, dry myself with a big cotton towel, and cook over medium heat!

After the pledges are collected we'll have raised $2400 for the MS Society of BC! I'm very proud of the awareness raised during the ride, and this money will definitely help the fight against MS.

Thanks for following the blog and for all your support!

PS: I've updated the my original equipment list with all the things that changed along the way.

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.

Through Nova Scotia to Newfoundland

I write this from the MV Smallwood, crossing from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland. The ride from Halifax went quite smoothlly through some beautiful terrain. Jenn's is doing very well, and zips past me on each downhill!

Two days from Halifax we arrived in Antigonish on an enormous tailwind. We were receiving so much conflicting information about Hurricane Bill that we decided to book a motel room for two nights and just sit it out. We stocked up on food and lazed in front of the weather channel. Although Jenn did see something fly past the window at one point, the hurricane didn't hit us as hard as they were expecting. Also, I had another broken spoke outside of Antigonish, so I spent a few hours truing the wheel in the motel room ... and surprisingly did a pretty good job!

Hurricane Bill from our motel room blew this way.

And then that way ... with lots of rain.

After this we set out for Cape Breton. The island has quite a neat feel to it, with many small towns in cute little coves. It sure was hilly though, and the road frequently travelled into one cove, steeply up over a ridge, and down into the next cove. Since the hurricane caused us to miss our original boat, we were able to take a small detour to see the site where Marconi sent the first trans-Atlantic radio transmission and spend an afternoon visiting Sydney.

Jenn coming through one of many really steep hills along Hwy 4.

St. Peter's from Battery Provincial Park.

Rita's Tea House in Big Pond, NS ... home of Rita MacNeil!

Near the causeway to Cape Breton Island we stopped for a bowl of lobster chowder at a roadside restaurant. The chowder was really tasty, but the owner of the restaurant was a real character. He was running around yelling and lighting off fireworks, and made a big scene when he found out I had come from Vancouver by bicycle.

Our campsite in Ryan River.

Glace Bay, NS. It was really windy, I couldn't imagine being here in the winter.

Of all the enormous things I've seen, Sydney's giant fiddle is by far the best!

Lobster Rolls in Sydney ... mmm.

Now we are on the ferry to Argentia, Newfoundland. It's slightly larger and more comfortable than the BC Ferries vessels ... a necessity for the 13 hour ride on the Atlantic! At $110 each for a foot passenger it's quite an expensive trip. It would have been nice to take the shorter ferry to Port aux Basques and do the 1000km ride through Newfoundland, but unfortunately we don't have enough time. Instead we will ride to St. John's and then take the bus to visit Gros Morne National Park and some of the West Coast.

You can pay extra for a cabin on the boat ... but this works OK too.

There's no mistaking the Atlantic for Georgia Strait. Very awe-inspiring!

In Sydney I met a blind fellow who is also doing a cross Canada ride. He rides a tandem recumbent with a sighted rider in the front. You can look at his setup and goal here. He's very dedicated to providing opportunities for those with disabilities to attend the special olympics, and is an inspiring person to meet.

The next time you hear from me will be in St. John's!

PEI and Halifax

Hi Everyone,

Through the past week I've been exploring PEI and Halifax. But more importantly Jenn has arrived in Halifax to join me on the final leg to St. John's!

Before heading to PEI I stopped in Moncton. The downtown was filled with patios and good food. I stopped for dinner in one of many breweries to have blueberry beer and seafood!

From Moncton I headed along Northumberland Strait to the Confederation Bridge. You can't bike across it, but there was a free shuttle which deposited me in a tourist town right beside a beautiful red sandy beach! It's quite surprising that the sand on the New Brunswick and the PEI sides of the strait is so different.

Confederation Bridge spans the 14km across Northumberland Strait.

Yay, province number 8!

Along with Irish Cobbler potatoes and Anne of Green Gables, PEI is the home of Cows Ice Cream ... mmm!

I took a couple days to explore Charlottetown and the North coast of the island. True to what I've heard, everyone was super friendly. If I wasn't riding I was talking to someone, and there was great music all over the city. To top it off, the hostel served fresh banana bread in the morning! I should note that I didn't get a chance to visit Cavendish or do any other "Anne" related tourism.

Province House, where John A. Macdonald and George Cartier successfully pitched the idea of a united Canada to the maritime provinces in 1864.

There were great beaches all around PEI. This is PEI National Park, with the famous dunes visible in the background.

View from the ferry as it leaves Wood Islands.

From PEI I took the ferry to Nova Scotia and rode to Halifax to meet Jenn. We assembled her bike and explored Halifax and some of the surrounding area for a couple days. Halifax has a great feel to it: history, food, and friendliness. Amoung other things we visited Pier 21, where 1 million immigrants arrived in Canada between 1920 and 1970. Also, we were able to catch up with Rachel, who finished her cross Canada trip about a week earlier.

Only one more of these signs left!

This nifty little pipe saved me after I had run out of water about 40km from town on a very hot day.

Halifax harbour.

Tidepools and the Atlantic Ocean in Dover.

We went for our first swim in the Atlantic here at Peggy's Cove. The famous lighthouse (and hundreds of tourists) in the background.

Now we are riding towards Sydney to take the ferry to Newfoundland. Hurricane Bill is supposed to hit this region tomorrow night, so we've chosen a route along the North side of Nova Scotia and will have to hunker down and wait it out.

Reunited!

Cheers,
Dave