We made it! After 72 days and 7975 km, our group has ascended Signal Hill and finished the 2011 Tour du Canada in St. John's, Newfoundland. Leaving for the trip, I knew I would finish, but it was hard to imagine the moment of success. Looking back, I can't believe where the time has gone, but I know that I've just taken the best vacation of my life so far.
Cycling-wise, the lead-in to the final stretch was very easy. We took an overnight ferry to Argentia, Newfoundland, and had very short rides on the days flanking the trip - only 42 km to get to the ferry, and then 59 km as we left the ferry to head to our campsite. While short, these days still were packed with plenty of beautiful scenery.
En route to the ferry from North Sydney, we rode a fairly hilly route along the Bras d'Or Lake. Although it couldn't compare to the views from the Cabot Trail, it was still a very pretty ride. The ferry didn't actually depart until 11:30 pm, which allowed for a very relaxed morning in camp, and a late noon-hour departure. After spending the morning packing, it began to dawn on me just how close we were to the end of the tour. The ride was quick, and with lots of time to kill in the afternoon, we drank coffee and beer, ate fish and chips, and hung around the park until it was time to leave.
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| View on the way to the ferry |
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| It was easy to find our meeting place in North Sydney |
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| Relaxing before our departure |
The ferry ride was a nice way to relax - for a 14 hour ride, it was actually really comfortable. Couldn't enjoy the ocean views much as we departed, seeing as it was 11:30 pm and pitch dark. We spent the evening hanging out, watching lousy Canadian television and then hanging out in the "Colours" lounge, on the multicoloured couches that looked like they belonged in the 70's. After a great sleep, woke up to a view of the ocean as we cruised along the rugged, mountainous Newfoundland coastline. We spent a good two hours feasting at the all-you-can-eat brunch buffet, and the rest of the ride was spent ruing my decision to eat so much, along with watching the scenery and catching up on e-mails.
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| Our cozy cabin |
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| View from the deck |
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| Arrival in Newfoundland |
After leaving the ferry, we just had a short 60 km ride to get to Whitbourne, where we would be spending the night sleeping on a hockey rink (with the ice removed, thankfully!). The sky was blue, the air was warm, and the ride was just beautiful. I had never been to Newfoundland before, and seeing it has been wonderful. It is very rugged - lots of trees, hills, and water. We were invited to another potluck dinner, tonight at the St. Barnabas Anglican Church close to Whitbourne, which was another welcome, yet unexpected, surprise! In the evening, I had a chance to try out the tandem bike the Edward and Gail have been riding throughout the trip, and kudos to them for doing it - it's not as easy as it looks! Had a relaxing evening playing cards and hanging out, and preparing for the final ride to St. John's.
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| Beautiful |
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| As seen in Newfoundland... |
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| Dusk, close to Whitbourne |
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| Overnight in the arena! |
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| Drool... click for larger image |
We were unceremoniously awakened on the final day with the buzzer on the rink, and took off soon after for the 130 km ride into St. John's. This being the last day, we decided to try and ride together in larger groups to arrive at Signal Hill as a team! So I rode with my usual riding group, and another 7 or 8 riders with whom I frequently rode as well. This was certainly not just an easy cruise to the finish line! We started the day with heavy fog, which cleared by 11 a.m. to make way for another lovely, warm, sunny day. The day was filled with lots of climbing -- it seemed as though we never traveled along flat land! The scenery was again amazing, with plenty of more mountains, water, and trees (which - as you may have noticed through my Northern Ontario entries - are some of my favourite things!). All that was missing from the ride was a moose sighting! We stopped in the morning for coffee, pastries and pie, but rode steadily aside from that to try and meet the group in St. John's before making the final push up Signal Hill.
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| Click for larger image |
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| Yarrrrrrr, matey! |
After about half of our group met, we took off through St. John's for the last 10 km. Riding through the city was the same as riding through any other big city - busy, and tricky with such a large group of people. Fortunately we were getting the payoff from so much climbing today, with almost the entirety of the last 10 km being downhill. We stopped at a wharf just short of Signal Hill to dip our front tires into the Atlantic, then took off for our final ascent. Signal Hill was a TOUGH climb! I rode in my lowest gear, but was completely energized by the others at the top cheering us on, as well as the thought that I had just crossed Canada by bicycle!
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| Signal Hill on the left |
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| Dipping my wheel in the Atlantic, two months after dipping it in the Pacific |
The atmosphere at the top of Signal Hill was incredibly joyous, and we were welcomed by fellow riders and their families. We drank champagne, congratulated each other, and took pictures (and pictures... and pictures... and pictures). The view from the top was truly worth the climb, and sharing the moment with my fellow riders was even better. It was amazing!
A selection of photos from the top of Signal Hill:
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| Ahhh yeah! |
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| The 2010 Tour Atlantic Contingent |
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| Aurelie and Sky |
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| My usual (amazing!) riding crew |
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| Cook/Seal team 6 - TdC's Best Cook Team! |
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| Riders with St. John's in the background |
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| Epic |
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| Some of my extended riding family |
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| Tandem celebrates on Signal Hill |
After soaking in the moment for a good 45 minutes atop Signal Hill, we descended to the Battery Hotel for the evening. The tour wrapped up with a banquet, which included a delicious salmon dinner, some speeches by the other riders, and an awards ceremony - awards as decided by our fellow riders. It was a nice cap to the tour!
Many of us proceeded from the banquet to the hotel bar, and then later to George Street to enjoy a bit of the St. John's nightlife. Sadly, we missed the opportunity to get "Screeched" (drink moonshine and kiss a cod, in order to become an honorary Newfoundlander), but it was still fun to share a final few drinks with the friends I'd made that summer. After spending two and a half months together, we had become quite close, and it was hard to believe that we'd be disbanding over the next 24 hours.
After arriving in St. John's 3 days ago, I've since flown back to Ontario and returned to my place in London. I was glad to visit with my sister in Guelph, my brother in London, and my parents in London as well - I had such wonderful support from my family throughout the summer and I was so glad to see them here at home! It has also been fantastic seeing and catching up with my friends from school.
This summer went by far too quickly but what a great time it was. As I said before, this has been the best vacation I've ever taken! I've learned that Cycle Touring is such a great way to see a country and to meet people, and I'll certainly consider traveling by bike again in the future (probably next summer - location is in the air still!).
Thanks so much to everyone at home for your support throughout my trip! Thanks to all my fellow riders for sharing this wonderful vacation!
This will be my last post, until I ride again. Thanks for reading!
All the best,
Dale
Englishtown, NS to St. John's, NL Riding Stats
3 Riding Days
241 km
Overall Riding Stats
62 Riding Days
7975 km
Average: 128.6 km per day
Peanut Butter Sandwiches consumed: 149
