Day 62 - Corner Brook to South Brook

Corner Brook to South Brook
183 km, overcast
Winds – up to 30 k/h for half of the day, then quieter (but present) until the end, all headwind

I didn't want to get out of the tent today. As I was lying on my side, with my back close to the tent wall, the wind was blowing fairly hard, pushing the tent, thus nudging me. I knew that it'd be a windy day, and I had an idea that it would not be in my favour. So, I was lazy getting rolling. Eastern winds, so I predict that bad weather is on it's way.

The start of the bike ride confirmed my earlier thoughts. It was a battle for the first half. Plus, I believe I gained altitude to that point – the slight uphills that went on for a couple km, with barely a downhill, and another uphill that followed. Repeat. It took me until the 80 km mark to finaly hit an average speed of 20 km/h. With the winds, and no rain, it made it a perfect day to dry the laundry that I did the night before. I just hook it on top of the panniers, and ride. With the clothes flopping in the wind, it's a rolling dryer.

In Deer Lake, which also seems like a nice town nestled on the water and in between hills, was a quick rest stop. Only 45 km into the ride, and I stop to eat some cereal. I usually stop at the 100 km mark. The plan was to quickly stop at a grocery store to load up on some sandwhich meat and some fruits, and to upload yesterday's entry so a few readers wouldn't worry too much. At the Information Centre was a bit of information of the Viking Trails. Cool. While I was eating, a guy was intrigued by the bike all loaded up. So, he came over and we had a decent chat. PJ is also a rider in the area, and was genuinely interested in the trip and the logistics associated with it. I felt bad to cut the conversation short, but I had to hit the road at one point. Internet connection wasn't feasable (damn Alliance Network, like Rogers over here, a password is needed for all hot spots, or a VISA number – screw that). So, no post uploading.

I thought it'd be a 150 km day to the destination I planned the night before. But, when I looked at the map a bit closer when I left Deer Lake, I realized I forgot to include two little numbers that were a bit hidden on the map. Not 150 k that I had to do, but in fact, 180. Dang. There goes the ighter day I had planned, and things were looking tight to make it to where I wanted to go by the time the sun set. Off I went.

I ate a few sandwiches at the mid-way point, bought a Red Bull, and I was on my way again. Luckily for me, it seems like the hills were not as frequent, and the wind appeared to die down. But, then again, it could have been because my mind was not focused on the terrain as much, as I played two albums of System of a Down, followed by Tool (10,000 days), NIN (with teeth) queued up to get things a bit mellower, and finished the day off with Puscifer's album (for some fun rock). Then again, it could have been the Red Bull. I've never tried that stuff, and I'm sure it wont become a habit.

I ended up where I wanted to get for the night. The campsite was 13 bucks total. Again, I am in the washroom re-charging the mp3 player and computer as I write this entry. It was also a place to do the laundry that I soiled today.

Fun thing to say lately: “I've biked over 10,000 km so far”. It has a nice ring to it.

When was my last rest day? Oh, Halifax. I have no idea how many kms I've done since then, but I think I'll keep riding until I hit St-John's. As Puscifer's track “Trekka” states: “Climb away, get higher son, never stray, just move ahead. I dont know, but it's been said, we'll rest forever when we're dead.”

For those of you keeping track, the series is tied at one. It was an 8.5 hour battle, where they had to go upstairs to see who won. The judges awared the Rock the victory – they stated it landed more blows than I. Next time.

tere, mina igatsen sinu. moodalask! head ood, paikesepaiste. kallis-musi. naba.

Am I having fun still? (as they say over here) “yes by”. I got to hear that saying a few times today. Plus, there were many times during the trip that I envisioned certain moments. Now, these “visions” are stronger, and I go through a few different sentimental moments. I can feel that I am close. Cool feeling.

So, another few days... I'll be in Ottawa by the end of the month. Plan for when I reach St-John's – be a tourist for a couple of days, then head home. I'll try to bike back in record time. No, maybe I'll skip the biking and take the plane back.

Later,

p2
(uploaded from 179 km short of st-john's. stopped for lunch, more km to do today. kicking it in mid afternoon on friday. entry for yesterday not written yet. today's entry will be a long one as i'm going to try to tie up all loose ends before the end of the trip. plan: friday's post will be about the day, then the two or so days after that, i'll have a post of how st-john's is from a tourist perspective, and a last post about a quick summary of the trip. if you have any questions to ask, please post them or send them by email - i will answer it all on that last post. sounds fair? cheers, and see you guys very very tabarnacen' soon.)