Day 65 - Bellevue to St. John's

Bellevue Beach to Cape Spear, then back to Saint-John's
The final destination
167 km, a little more than 7 hrs of riding
Sunny, hot, and winds around 20 km/h (mainly in my favour)

So, here I am. We made it to the end, and I can't go any further East. Cape Spear: The furthest point East in North America.

I get times when I don't feel the trip is over; that I have a rest day or two in St. John's and then have to bike somewhere again. Then there's other times that I know (and feel) that it's done. Those times I get a bit chocked up; but you guys knowing me a bit, I control those emotions fairy quick and become “normal” again. It hasn't hit me yet, I guess. After a few days of being the tourist here (which is great, because there's a bunch of things I think I want to do), I'll figure out a way to get back to Ottawa. For that, there's many options; from the quickest (fly back), to the slowest (mixture of bus, train, plain, hitch-hike, ferry, and bike). Honestly, I haven't thought much of the logistics yet, only on Monday or so that I'll make the arrangements.

The ride today. Thinking I was only about 100 from St-John's, I slept in late (8:30-9:00 am). But, going to bed just 5 hours before didn't help. The last ride itself was fun, it felt fairly non-chalant and quite easy. Roads, as usual, were pristine. I was behind on uploading two posts, so I took a little detour to Chapel Arm (15 km from the start) and ducked into that village to access the internet at a local school. I figured that if I upload the short post first, it would give some of you a bit of time to read it, before the monster post is uploaded. The 3 km fairly steep downhill into town was nice, especially with the wind at my back, but I thought that I'd have to climb that puppy and hopefully not use the granny. That was going to be a bitch. But, I stuck to my guns, and grinded up without touching those gears.

The next stop was a small detour to another little town, where I would then upload that big post. I also stopped for some PB sandwiches, before kicking it in to Cape Spear and such. There was a couple on a motorcycle that I had a fun chat with. They confirmed what I was hoping it wasn't true: St-John's city limits was 70 km away, then there's more distance until the downtown, and then another little hike to Cape Spear. No biggie, I knew I'd be alright for time. They also said that George Street is very safe, only a few mishaps happen here and there, with the latter usually a scuffle between some drunken friends. So, they highly encouraged me to spend a fair amount of time there.

The last bit of biking. Nice. Remember that string of songs that came on in NB (Seductive Barry, Sergio's Theme, Seven Notes in Black, Silverf*ck, Sing, Sing For The Moment, etc)? It was playing again on this leg. Great tunes, the moment wasn't the same though (but still good). The winds were now at my back, and fairly strong (up to 20 k/h), so I knew I was going to enjoy that last bit of riding (100 k or so).

The sun was fairly hot. I did like yesterday and rode without the jersey to try to even out the tan a bit (so I can be white in the front, and tanned in the back). At one point, the road shoulder was covered by a bunch of rocks, and both lanes behind me had cars there. Shit, I knew I was going to go through that. I just hoped that I could dodge most of it. The back wheel (my priority) cleared well, but I did feel the front wheel hit a rock fairly hard. I just hoped that it didn't cause a snake-bite. Sure enough, 5 minutes later, I feel the front a bit soft. So, my second flat of the front wheel for the whole trip. No biggie, I dont mind at all changing the front – it's a lot easier than changing the rear where I have to remove all the panniers and such. But, no flats with the rear since changing my tire in Halifax. The tire itself is looking a bit worn out. I wouldn't give it more than another 1000 km on it. Vittoria isn't as good as Hutchinson's.

When I turned onto the Highway 2 to head to downtown, it was a very very very plesant ride. New pavement, wind at my back, and downhill for probably 15-20 minutes. Fun. Got to St-John's, took some pictures of the “Welcome to St. John's sign. From there, I had to figure out a way to get out of the downtown (bit confusing, lots of loops), and hike (climb big-time) 17 km out of town to get to Cape Spear. Here I was, climbing the side of a mountain, and being very stubborn not to use the granny again. Water was running very low, the heat was still high, and I was getting close to red-lining it at times. But, I managed not to drop down to those gears. Steep stuff though. I guess it's the price I had to pay for that long downhill to St. John's.

Long climbs. Some steep ones too – switch back at times. Grind. But, I got to where I wanted to get. I was expecting tons of people there, but there were hardly any. I was also expecting to feel quite weird and sentimental, where I would just stop 5-10 metres from the spot and just stay there. You know, not wanting to go the whole way as I knew that if/when I touched the spot, it would technically be the end of the trip. But, I didn't feel that way. I just got out the phone to make a few phone calls, and the camera to take a few pics. There were three guys from Trinidad that were there, so they took the pics of me with the signs (when I was ready). I was their camera man and they were mine. They thought it was sharp. “We're here with a guy who biked across Canada, we're part of history here”. They were funny. With their camera, they filmed me. “When the camera rolls, state your name, where you're from, and what you just did”. Fun folks.

After spending a fair amount of time there, buying some water and a lollipop, and watching the whales bob up and down (with nice blow-holes, fun), I headed back to town. Weird to get to the end, and then having to contine biking. But, that ride back was so mellow (especially with that big lollipop in my mouth), even though there were a few nice long climbs, that it was hardly an effort. I debated: “Do I use the Granny, since the trip's technically over, or do I have to stick to my word and not use it for the entire province?”. I tried without the Granny for the first hill, and it worked. So, granny stayed sleeping.

The last few kms into town (well, more like 5-7) were all downhill. It was easy to hit 70 km/h (if it's that steep, think of how it was to climb that), and that's with the brakes on. Nice ride.

In town, I searched for a Hostel, and found the HI. On my map, HI doesn't have a hostel in St-John's, but this one just became a member of HI just two months ago. After settling in, nice shower, procrastinating a bunch, I finally headed out to have supper (at 10:45 pm). My roommates are two frenchies from Riviere-du-loup (QC), who are riding the Avalon Peninsula. Good guys, fun conversations.

So, that's it for the ride today. The next post will be about my touristy adventures (which will include my gastronomic and beer adventures, with maybe some screetch).

I guess my timing was bad, as most of you will read this during the work week (a few days behind my arrival). Understandably so, who wants to sit at the computer on the week-end when they do that during most of the week?

I hope you are all doing well.

Oh, to add to the day, my bike arrived in Ottawa today. My bro, sis-in-law, and my nieces put it together. If I have permission, I will post a few pics of that process with this. I get to ride the new bike soon. I get to ride again soon! But, more importantly, I get to see a bunch of you lovely folks soon. Just try not to laugh at my forehead-helmet tan lines and such. Maybe I'll get burnt on my noggin to blend in that tan before I get back home.

Home sweet home (soon).

Pierre
Final km at Cape Spear: Odometre at 11012 km.
Final km at the hostel: odometre at 11028 km. I'm around 10850 km for the trip. (unofficial).
Original ETA was the 30th of July, 63 days of biking, around 9900 km (estimated), 9 provinces. I guess I deviated and miscalculated a bit.