Day 115: Codroy Pond, NFLD -> Corner Brook, NFLD

Date: Thursday, September 7, 2023
Start: Codroy Pond, NFLD (Salmon Run RV Resort)
End: Corner Brook, NFLD (Staying with family)
Distance: 125km

I woke to a dry tent!  And not too long after waking thought I heard some raindrops.  It turns out it wasn't raining...but it seemed like it was trying to.  So I woke, packed, and tore down as quickly as I could.  I wanted to try to keep my gear dry.  There is a LOT of rain in the forecast for Newfoundland in the coming week and I might have to take the odd hotel or two to stay dry.  If I could pack everything dry I would buy myself one more day!

After packing I had my breakfast of oatmeal and walked around the RV park as I ate.  Not far from my tent I saw the largest...slug or snail...I'd ever seen!

The RV park sat on the Crabbe River and I walked down to the water to admire it.  The whole area reminds me a lot of Northern Ontario for how rocky it is.  After my walk I was done breakfast and I loaded the bike and set off.  I managed to get away at about 9am which was good because I had a longer day ahead and I was still feeling the soreness and exhaustion of the previous days.

Not to worry though, I had a place to stay tonight!  I was destined for Corner Brook, Newfoundland.  This is the first major town on the ride and the home to a cousin who had heard about my trip and offered to let me stay with them.  It would mean 125km of riding though, and I was pretty sure it was going to be a lot of up and down.

Sure enough, it started with a climb.  And it didn't stop all day.  I spent the entire day going up and down non-stop.  It was also a day of headwinds.  I was sooooo slow.  The fatigue, the soreness, the hills, and the headwinds all conspired to make it an especially difficult and miserable ride.  Miserable is a pretty harsh word.  I don't use it to describe Newfoundland at all, just how I was feeling all day.

It was also a VERY quiet day.  I had passed the Irving gas station I'd gone to the night before to use the ATM just 1km into the ride and didn't see another gas station, restaurant, rest area, or town for the next 103km.  I passed the entrance to one provincial park about 50km into the day and looked down the road towards it but couldn't see any picnic tables so didn't stop.  The only sign of a town the entire day was Stephenville, Newfoundland...but it was about 10km off the highway and would have meant an extra 20km in total to the ride.

It turns out that most of the communities on the West Coast of Newfoundland are built along the water!  And the highway runs a few kilometers inland.  This translates into there not being anything on the actual highway.  Part of me is glad for this that the towns could stand on their own, but it meant for a long day of riding.

After about 60km I stopped for lunch.  I sat on the guard rail of the highway before another long climb.  I ate as I looked out and enjoyed the views.

After this I got back on the road.  The day was soooooo difficult.  I hurt and was so tired.  I felt like I spent the day in a fugue state just grinding along into the hills and headwinds.  It was another day of spectacular views, but I had a difficult time enjoying any of it.  I was very much overtired.

Another 55km down the road and I came upon a restaurant/store.  I stopped, bought a chocolate milk and Gatorade (I had run out of water 20km ago) and sat and drank.  After about 20 minutes I got back on the bike and started into Corner Brook.

Corner Brook sits on an inlet from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and is all hills that descend towards the water.  This means that almost every house is built higher up than the houses in front of it and affords beautiful views of the surrounding area.  It also meant that I went downhill all the way into Corner Brook!  I navigated around the town to find my destination, and got lost more than once as Google insisted I had some local walking paths rather than the easy to navigate roads.  But after passing through a satellite campus of Memorial University (Grenfell Campus) I found my destination.

I was pretty stunned.  Ready to fall over.  I showered, changed, did laundry, and sat down and debated about whether I should eat or just go to bed.  Eventually I went out and found a place called Newfoundland Comfort Food where I had a burger and a poutine.  It was the right choice.  My aching muscles needed the calories and protein.  I then went to the grocery store and bought a pint of ice cream.  I returned back to the house, ate the ice cream, and turned in.

I'm over tired.  I need a break.  I haven't felt like this since I rolled into Guelph, Ontario.  At that time I was ready to give up the entire ride and I'm feeling the same way again.  I'm going to take a day off here and try to recuperate.  Newfoundland is going to continue being pretty remote for quite a while, and I have some more big days of biking ahead of me.  Hopefully one day is all I need to rally and get back to it and at it.  I'm about 700km from St. John's at this point.  It's almost over.  Once I take a break I should have the energy to at least enjoy Newfoundland while I'm here!