Nova Scotia/Newfoundland Trip Day 11

Went to bed late as I was posting until around 1 am. My phone rang at 5 am. Darryl called but by the time I was able to answer he had hung up. I found out later they were riding out to Cape Spear to see the sun rise as it is the furthest Eastern point of North America so the first place the sun rays touch this continent They went as we weren’t getting up that early. We were up by 6 and rolling to the Cape by 8 am. 42°F and WINDY! WIND ADVISORY was active. 30 mph sustained with gusts up from there. Mike and I took off for the Cape and then to follow the coast around the peninsula instead of cutting across the peninsula. Darryl and Scott were going to cut across at a later time. Windy and sunny at the Cape but in the west were some clouds that were building and blowing in. Down the coast we went. Winding down into small villages in the inlets then climbing back out on the other side of the town. Long stretches were 50 kph (31 mph). I would usually go faster but there were enough cars that went 50 kph that we were obligated to do the same. Going that slow in those high wind conditions allows the wind to push us around more and I wasn’t comfortable living on the edge of stability and literally the edge of the ditches that were non-existent. Just drop offs of a few feet or worse. No nice gradual slope. Then the clouds came and started spraying water on us in the form of light rain. Then the cloud would be gone and the sun would come back. So we kept going. But the clouds were coming at an increasing rate. We pulled over at an overlook of a bay and decided we were at the point of turn back 8 km and cut across the peninsula or continue with no other roads but the coast road. Decision time… That was going to be a slow 200 km ahead. Another round of clouds passed through and that sealed the deal. We turned around. We had an hr and 25 minutes to go. When we had gone for 25 minutes the clouds became solid and rained some heavy and some lighter. No big deal… but throw in the 30 mph winds with gusts going higher, rain, and 42° weather and we were looking forward to the motel. I wasn’t miserable but I was starting to get a bit chilled. Mike had on his heated upper gear. He was saying something like… I told you so… but I couldn’t hear him to well because of the wind! About 40 minutes later we were on the other side of the rain but still cloudy, windy and cold. We had planned on going all the way to the town of Placentia before fueling up as we had plenty of gas… or so we thought. Running against the wind had caused our fuel economy to plummet and Mike needed gas much sooner than usual. Hey they had fresh popcorn at the gas station. That was good.

No matter where we park the bikes a friendly Canadian comes up to talk bikes with us. It happened at the gas station and we talked about 3 or 4 minutes BUT this time that strong cold wind and it was starting to sprinkle heavily again… Mike decided to cut the conversation short. “It’s been nice talking to you but I am getting cold standing here. The guy rides and totally understood and wished us well. A minute or two down the road I hear… ahhh, starting to get warm again. He had plugged in his heated gear and his core was warming up. The wind was pushing us around as there was no more protection from any trees as we were out on bald rolling prairie. When we came to the town of Placentia we dipped down by the water below the mountains and it was calm. I don’t know how to describe the feeling when that happens. No more wind badgering you and the bike, the constant noise is gone (and we have earplugs in), you’re instantly warmer and it feels calm after that maelstrom we were riding through for the last hr and a half. It’s a good feeling after all that.

Checked into the Bridgeway Hotel and we were the only ones there and talked with Mary (pronounce it locally like “Meary”)and asked about laundry. She said we can use the hotel’s after she is done with it.

Some strong accents up here that are very difficult to understand. Hers wasn’t bad. She said she worked for the US Navy down in Argentia even though it was in Canada. Put there during WW2 and closed down in 96.

Went out to eat locally. I have been having a lot of seafood and fried foods and I ordered a Turkey Club sandwich becausethey were out of chowder and scallops. Wasn’t impressed by it. I don’t care for miracle whip and it was swimming in it. We went to the Dollar Store and got a 3 into one plug. Needed this as there is only one plug in per cabin on the ferry.

Oh, they call oatmeal porridge up here.

I was sitting in the hotel lobby writing this up and I met Norman Jones. He is a transplanted Australian living in Ontario. He has a 1973 MGB GT in Maroon. My dad had a 1974 MGB roadster/convertible in maroon. I had to go look at it. It looks in excellent condition especially for a car that is driven. He is on a trip by himself. Went up through Labrador and took the ferry here and has wandered around the island and is headed to Nova Scotia via the ferry too.

The following photos are from Darryl Jones