A Shared Moment

Getting back to my tent last night proved to be slightly more challenging than expected. I was struggling with the campground’s WiFi connection in their common room and by the time I left it was close to midnight and that’s when I realized I didn’t have my headlamp with me. Oops. It only really became a challenge at the end of the walk. My campsite was far from everything – including other sites. Fortunately, a car went by at the perfect moment illuminating the last steps of the trek.

My tent was wet from the rain earlier in the evening but I don’t think it rained at all during the night. If it did, it wasn’t enough to wake me. I woke up on my own at around 5:30. As I mentioned in the previous update, I wanted to start early as I expected the journey back towards the west coast would be fraught with headwinds and winds are generally calmer in the morning and evenings.

I didn’t get away quite as early as yesterday but was still on the road by 8:00. Before I headed out I noticed a guy that I had been talking to yesterday while at L’Anse aux Meadows. He’s here from Florida on an RV trip. Anyway, it would seem we ended up at the same campground. We had a brief chat before we parted – I believe he honked his horn as he passed me on the highway about an hour or so later. It was a Florida license plate anyway.

Given the unknown wind element, I wasn’t sure how far I would be able to go today. The detour to St. Anthony didn’t force me into a second detour but it certainly guided me that way. As I’ve mentioned before, I’d don’t like backtracking. So, the idea of taking the same route back towards St. Barbe was not my preferred choice. Then again, the only other choice was to take Highway 432 through Main Brook – a route that’s 26 km longer than the other one. Despite the extra 26 km, I opted for the long route. Main Brook was 71 km from the campground and I figured that would be manageable even if the winds picked up. And in the unlikely event that the winds stayed calm I could keep going.

So, about 2 hours into my ride (a ride without wind, I might add) I ran into the first cyclo-tourist I’ve seen since leaving Havre-St-Pierre. He was also from Toronto and had just finished cycling through Labrador – for real, not just riding past the sign like I did! With some spare time to fill, he was headed toward St. Anthony. He was considering going down to Main Brook and in the event that he’s reading this I can assure him he made the right choice – but more on that in a bit. We chatted about our trips and he mentioned how these trips really define the years for him. I definitely agree with that. I mean, I don’t remember what work projects I did in 2008 or 2011 or whenever, but I definitely remember the trips of those years. As per usual, we wished each other well and headed off.

A few minutes later I had reached the turn for Highway 432 and I was once again embarking on new territory. And it was shortly thereafter that I had my first Newfoundland wildlife sighting when a coyote dashed across the road about 100m in front of me. Sure, a moose would’ve been cooler but it was still pretty cool. When I reached the point where it had crossed the road I assumed it would be long gone but it had actually stopped and was looking back at me. It was like a Littlest Hobo moment. Okay, sure … maybe not as friendly as the Littlest Hobo but I’m sure we had a moment. We looked at each other, wished each other well, and then continued along our respective paths.

In my case, my path was Main Brook and, as it turns out, there is nothing in Main Brook (a pretty misleading name if you ask me). Well, there’s nothing for passersby in Main Brook. Well, other than a water-boiling advisory. This presented a bit of a problem. I was actually doing a good job of eating and drinking today only to find out that refilling my water bottles wasn’t going to be an option. For the first time on this trip, I was glad I had my spare 3 litres of water with me. I wasn’t sure if I’d need it, but I was happy to know it was there.

The next town after Main Brook which was Roddickton. There were two concerns with stopping there. One, it was 15 km off of Highway 432. And two, I didn’t know how far the water-boiling advisory extended. It was decision time once again. As I neared the road for Roddickton it was 2:00 and I had already crossed the 100 km threshold for the day so stopping here made sense. A quick look at the map showed that there was nothing for the next 60 km and going 160 km was not really in the plan for today (or any day for that matter). However, I still felt good and the wind was being remarkably cooperative. The decision was obvious. I pedalled on.

Being a fan of the usual Ontario hot and humid summers, I have to admit I’m surprised (and concerned) about my acclimation to the less than summer-like conditions I’ve been experiencing for a few weeks now. Much to my surprise I was kind of glad that today was overcast and cold (I almost typed, “cool” but the temperature was less than 20 for most of the day which of course is my definition of cold). With a limited water supply and an unknown destination, excessive sweating was not in my best interest.

With no towns or villages for the next 60 km I really wasn’t sure what my plan was. I just kept pedalling. By the time I hit 120 km I really started thinking that 160km wasn’t as out of reach as first thought. It was 3:00 with only 40 km to go. It didn’t really matter that I had already done 120 km. All that mattered was the next 40 km.

I stopped a couple more times to fuel up and still felt surprisingly good. By 5:00 I had arrived in Plum Point. 160 km from the day’s starting point. I still didn’t know where I was going to sleep but that seemed inconsequential.

Turns out there is a motel in Plum Point so I went there – not for a room but to finally get my water bottles filled up. I ended up ordering a pizza at the bar while I was there.

As for my accommodations for the night, I ended up finding a park just down the road from the motel where I have now set up my tent. I don’t know if I’m allowed to do so but I’m here, it’s dark, and I’m guessing/hoping I’m clear until morning.

Today’s Totals:
Distance travelled: 165.68 km (I’m pretty sure that’s a personal high)
Time on bike: 7:27:00
Maximum speed: 58.40 km/h
Average speed: 22.22 km/h

Oh, and as for the acclimation stuff I just want to point out that I’m typing this while in my tent and I’m freezing! Hypothermia may be setting in.