Woke around 7AM today. Shaved, showered, ate in that order. I waited for the Post Office to open (830). There I bought a box and loaded it with the following:

I sent them home! Considering the fact that I would only be camping out for 2 nights for the rest of the trip, rather than feign being a tough guy and camp (or carry the camp gear) I will stay in Motels/B&Bs/wherever. You see I have about 6 more nights to go and have accommodations through friends/ relatives/ relatives of friends/ friends of relatives etc.

I gave my camp fuel, and remaining uncooked food away and hit the road. It was tough going to Auld's Cove (headwinds and hills). Here I stopped for a big lunch at Subway (thanks Aunty Marylin). This afternoon the winds died down as the hills increased their intensity. Towards the end of the day I came to Kelly's Mountain, 7 kilometers of pure "up". On the descent I received another flat tire. One of my tires is not in such great shape, the rear tire (which I spent some time moving to the front last night in hopes of avoiding further problems). It was getting late, in fact by the time I was done the repair job it was nearly dark. The last time I looked at my computer it read 190 kilometers, after that it was too dark to see the reading.

I arrived in North Sydney shortly after nightfall. While waiting for the ferry, I went to Canadian Tire and bought another crummy patch kit just in case. From here, the ferry will take me to Port-aux-Basques (the Southwestern end of Newfoundland). The ferry travels for 6-8 hours through the night.

Last night, while waiting for the ferry, I wandered to Tim's and bought a half-dozen thinking that I'd have a couple and save the rest for the voyage. I ate them all, in addition to a few other "things". I also ordered a plate of Poutine while waiting.

At about 11:30 PM they started loading, I had to ride my bike up the big cold wet steel ramp in the dark. I loaded ahead of the traffic so I tried to hurry up the ramp. To the passengers waiting to board I must've looked funny, me and my little bike getting swallowed by the enormous ferryboat.

I wandered the boat for a few minutes before deciding that I was too tired to be taking anything in so I searched for my bunk (I paid an extra 14$ for a bunk bed and it was well worth it). Passengers are not allowed to sleep anywhere on the floor of the boat! Despite earplugs, sleep was impossible for the first little bit as a result of constant announcements over the loudspeaker. Once the announcements stopped I was off to dreamland and did not awake until the announcements started upon our arrival!

At 6AM I was unloaded (or spat up) into the darkness and rain of Port-aux-Basques. I cycled until I found a place to stop. You guessed it! Tim Horton’s! I decided to lay off of donuts for the time being and opted for a bagel and coffee instead.

At about 7:15 the sky grew brighter and I left for St. George’s. At 9:15 I arrived in Doyle’s where I sat down for a $3.99 breakfast special. Yum.

I arrived at my host’s place around 4PM; Mark and Biddy received me with open arms and plates of food! Biddy is the sister of a family friend living in Campbell River. Maureen works as an aid to my sister Krista.

While waiting for the ferry I spoke to a couple of Americans who were on their way to northern Newfoundland to hunt moose. One of them had been coming for 16 years and insisted that the moose meat from Newfoundland is the best in the World. As I cycled this morning I wondered to myself if I would get to taste Moose while I am here. Sure enough, we had Moose stew tonight. Moose is quite tasty it is slightly "stronger" tasting than beef, almost richer? I enjoyed it greatly. After dinner I was given another traditional Newfoundland fare. Screech (a rum brewed in Jamaica for distribution in Newfoundland).

After eating a hot meal and some visiting, Mark and Biddy asked if I’d stay for the day tomorrow and join them for Thanksgiving! I declined at first, later that night I spoke to my mom on the phone and she had spoken to Maureen. Everyone thought I should stay an extra day! I decided to rest!

St. George's (rest day)

Mark, Biddy and Juanita have convinced me to stay another day in order to celebrate Thanksgiving with their family. As anxious as I am to finish this trip, it will be nice to have a rest and spend Thanksgiving among friendly faces.

Mark drove me around St. George's and the surrounding area Stephenville-Crossing and Stephenville. It's a beautiful area with long white sand beaches. Stephenville was once home to a huge US Air Force Base. Mark’s family has a waterfront cabin in St. George's, which was once a boathouse used for storage of fishing nets etc. Later in the afternoon it became apparent that I needed a day off of the bike, I even went for a nap.

In the evening, Mark and Biddy's son David arrived with his family Nicole, and their daughters Hali, & Alex. We enjoyed a great Newfoundland Thanksgiving Diner. Turkey, Salt-beef, peas pudding, cabbage, potatoes and veggies!

This morning Mark made a huge plate of French toast and bacon. I noticed last night that Biddy had been knitting a pair of wool socks these were given to me along with a pair of wool mitts. Both of these items came in handy over the next few days. In addition to the warm duds I was sent off with a t-shirt from the annual St. George's Blueberry Festival as a souvenir and a jar of Bake-Apple jam (for my parents). Bake-Apples are a berry found only in the wetlands of western Newfoundland.

My wool mitts were put to use immediately, this morning a thick layer of frost blanketed the land. It was a cold crystal clear day! There was no need to stop for the first 60 kilometers thanks to that huge breakfast. Later, I delved into the turkey sandwiches that had been packed into my bags.

Today's ride was uneventful though scenic. Near Cornerbrook, the winds picked up. I was told that the wind 'usually' blows from the west here in Newfoundland. Well, not today. In the afternoon, clouds appeared and it drizzled. I arrived in Deer Lake at around 3:30 PM and found my B&B. After getting situated I walked down to a Subway restaurant where I enjoyed a Sub, Soup and Cookies for diner. After diner, I wandered about the town and returned to the B&B to watch the news and turn in for the evening.

Long ride today, it drizzled throughout the morning. I met up with Richard again today. We met for the first time 3 days ago when I got off of the Ferry in Port-aux-Basques. Richard is from London he's hitchhiking across Canada (in winter), and some people think that I am crazy!

After a brief roadside chat with Richard, I continued to the town of Badger, just west of Grand Falls. I rented a motel room here, ate diner, and watched television. I enjoyed the warm glow well into the evening.

No frost this morning, it was pretty chilly though. The terrain seems to be getting a little flatter, a few rolling hills. I rode to Gander, a shorter ride compared to yesterday. Here in Gander I am staying with Josephine. Josephine is Maureen and Biddy's mother! (Remember that Maureen works with my sister in Campbell River).

I had a great visit with Josephine. She made me pork chops with potatoes and veggies. I ate more than I thought I could. We went outside and took a photo of her in front of the house. She keeps a beautiful garden in the summer and her house is immaculate. After dinner I wandered down to the library to use the computer. Josephine made sure to pack me a nice lunch for the morning.

Josephine prepared bacon, eggs, toast and coffee. It was windy this morning. In fact, it was windy all day. I had to fight for each and every inch of ground I covered. My spirits are high as I am almost finished!

In Gander I met with Burt, Paula and their son Ian. We had diner of Steak sandwiches (including moose yum), potatoes and veggies.

After dinner we had a drink and watched some television after which Bert went off to a hockey practice and I went to bed.

I had a great breakfast and took some photos with little Ian and his family. Last night Bert picked me up off the highway at Clarenville, this morning he dropped me off there! I sure hope that some of the people I have met along the way will come to Vancouver sometime, that way I'll be able to return the hospitality! (Or at least try).

Strong winds were blowing across the bow all day (headwinds). Much like yesterday, every inch gained was not without great effort.

Along the way I met up with some other cyclists! A nice couple, Hirokazu and Ayumi flew from Tokyo this summer and have been riding across Canada for the past three months. When they have completed their journey they will fly to Montreal and work for a year before returning home to Japan. Hirokazu is a photographer and has cycled across Australia (south to north) among his other cycling adventures. I rode with these two for a while, but given the distance I intended to cover today I had to press on ahead. I bid them adieu and we exchanged contact information.

When I reached Whitbourne, I called the folks in St. John's and left a message on their answering machine. I would be arriving in St. John's quite late (probably after 6:30PM). I was in contact with them last night and agreed to call from Whitbourne. I had lunch at a roadside restaurant in Whitbourne before continuing on.

About 20 minutes after leaving Whitbourne a truck went by in on the other side of the road - It was honking its horn and this woman waved excitedly at me. I waved back and continued on. A couple minutes later the truck passed in front of me and pulled over! It was Krista! Krista is my cousin-in-law? Her brother is married to my cousin Carmen (who joined me for 6 weeks on this trip). We discussed the options and decided it would be best for me to go into St. John's in the truck and she'd drive me back out in the morning. This would allow me to contact the media etc this evening, besides with the winds it was turning into a much more difficult day than expected.

In St. John's, I met the rest of the family; Krista's parents Marguerite and Bob. Krista has recently bought a new house in nearby St. John's and was having a housewarming party. I went to the party and had a great time. Newfoundlanders know how to have a good time; there was much singing, dancing and merriment. I met many great people.

It was a bit of a late night last night, including a number of Rum and Cokes. Needless to say I was off to a bit of a late start this morning. Krista drove me out to where she had plucked me from the highway yesterday. The skies were cloudy all morning; it even drizzled a bit. I supposed this to be appropriate considering it's October. By the time I started riding surprisingly the clouds disappeared!! Believe it or not the wind changed direction too, it blew strongly towards the East! Everything seemed rather surreal today.

Almost immediately after getting out of the car and getting on my bicycle I met up with Ayumi and Hirokazu! They had spent the night in Whitbourne. Happily we rode together for a couple of hours discussing our adventures. I could not believe the amount of weight that they carried. Especially Hirokazu, he had a trailer that was well loaded, in addition to that he had a large backpack on his back (containing among many other things a laptop and numerous camera lenses!), around his neck he wore a large camera bag containing a medium format camera and a large professional digital camera. The mere thought made my butt sore

Krista drove ahead of us, but waited every 10 or 15 minutes. We were all pretty excited about finishing the trip. It was great to have someone to share the excitement with. About 20 kilometers out of town Krista had been on the phone and discovered that the news people would be waiting for us at 3PM. I had to hurry a bit so I said goodbye to H and A and sped ahead! My speediness was curtailed a bit by a flat tire from a rock on the roadside that I hadn't noticed until it was too late. I proceeded to change the tube in about 3 minutes and continued on. On the outskirts of town I met up with Krista on the roadside. Krista had the radio on in her car - the announcer (whom she had called) came on to mention that I was nearing town and that drivers should give me a honk if they see me! Within a few seconds a car went by with a honk! We laughed.

I rode into St. John's and down to 'Mile 1'. There I met Darin, Krista, Bob and Marguerite who applauded my arrival. Within a few minutes the NTV newsman was there. We spent a couple minutes with the interview and that was it! A few minutes later it came up that the eastern-most point is Cape Spear (another 18 kilometers away) so I decided I'd better continue on to there!

Darin and Krista went ahead in the car while I rode the incredible hills up and down, on the last descent I nearly reached 70 kilometers/hr, it was a little scary considering that the road was very rough! When I finally arrived at Cape Spear I wheeled my bike across the parking lot and discovered I had another flat tire! What timing! Cape Spear is beautiful and very rugged.

We wondered about for a few minutes and then went home to shower. After getting cleaned up we went out to Chess’s Fish n' Chips for fish and chips. The following 3 days were great. Krista and her family toured me about the town, went to movies, saw the sites, went kayaking, went out on the open Atlantic in a FRC (Fast Rescue Craft), toured the various museums and historic sites.