Only about 150 miles to St. John's from Charlottetown today. The skies at 9:30 when I left were a bit overcast but temps were in the mid-sixties. I arrived in St. John's about 1:30pm having taken my time to enjoy my final eastward leg of my journey.
Lots of water along the way as I'm pushing mostly southerly and easterly along the coast line and many lakes. In this case it was called the Northwest Arm (I think a word they use that's similar to a sound) near Clarenville.
Only 179 more kilometers or 110 miles to go, still chasing the end of TCH 1!
After about 60 miles I began to cross the isthmus that connects the Avalon Peninsula with the main island of Newfoundland and ran in to a strong wind blowing northeast from the Placentia Bay. The fog was thick and the temperature dropped suddenly into the low forties. I had my motorcycle coat on with both of its inner layers and I was still very cold and unpleasant to ride. To use motorcycle jargon "It sucked!"
After 10 miles I pulled off into an empty oil company parking lot and up-dressed to my rain gear. It was better but still 30 more chilling and tense miles riding in the fog on wet roads through the hills. And to make matters worse, as I've gotten closer to St. John's the traffic volume especially trucks has picked up quite a bit from the previous days. Ggrrrrrr
Finally the fog lifts, the temperature goes up a bit and I'm a happy camper once again.
I pulled over at the first stop after breaking through the fog and Michael introduced himself by commenting on my R80RT BMW. He has a 1976 R80S that was given to him by his Dad's long time friend and riding buddy. Apparently in their younger years they had road Honda CB500's to Mexico and other distant places from Oregon. Michael still has the old, classic BMW and loves it. He flies Sikorsky Skyhooks (humongous twin rotored helicoters, the biggest made) for a living and is currently setting high voltage transmission tower assemblies for a new transmission line near St. John's. With the fog, he had the day off from flying!! Very nice guy and he envied me for being able to do a trip like I'm doing. I told him he'll have his day soon enough!
And this is a view from my room at the Quality Inn looking southwest down Market St. into the heart of St. John's. A half mile down you can take a little turn to the right and end up on George St., rumored to be two city blocks that have the highest density of pubs and bars in the world. Based on my wanderings this evening I would say they are probably correct.
The view to the east shows what's called the narrows, a very tight opening into the harbor.
Which came first, the Newfoundland and Labrador dogs or the Province? I know, I know. Apparently the dogs played a big part to the fishers and pioneers in the 18th and 19th century.
Some sampling of both the colorful row houses common in St. John's as well as the steep and hilly terrain.
Duckworth St. near my hotel.
There also a very modern and corporate element here. Oil found off the coast has change much here since the 60's. The Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose off shore oil projects are currently producing 200,000 barrels of oil per day.
I explored a great museum on Newfoundland and Labrador called "The Rooms". A Japanese couple I met earlier in the day on vacation here from Vancouver recommended it heartily. One of the key things I gathered from my visit was the importance of the Irish people in the 1700 and 1800's in settling this area. I could go on and on but I'm tired and it's late!
Well I've done it. I've made it to St. John's, Newfoundland. I've gone about as far east as you can in North America. I could go about 4 miles further east by taking a 10 mile ride to Cape Spear. We'll have to see how much of an absolutist I am tomorrow. As the crow flies I'm pretty much equidistant between London, England and my home near Denver, CO. Up to this point I've ridden 4,563 miles on my bike plus a 120 mile ferry ride to get here and it's been great! It's been more than I expected and I've loved every minute of it, even the few times things sucked for a bit. That's what makes it an adventure and a challenge to be overcome. And St. John's and Newfoundland with all of their beauty, history and wonderful people have presented themselves as the perfect destination for me. I'm really glad I've come.
I capped off a fine day at Kelly's Pub on George St. listening to live Irish and Newfoundland songs while enjoying some fresh caught fish and chips and a Guinness. Tomorrow I start heading back west! Cheers!!
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