Day 122: Arnold's Cove, NFLD -> St. John's, NFLD

Date: Thursday, September 14, 2023
Start: Arnold's Cove, NFLD (Jack's Pond Park)
End: St. John's, NFLD (Staying with friends)
Distance: 141km

I had set my alarm for 6am but woke up before it went off.  It hadn't been a great sleep, but I think that was the anticipation of seeing my friends and being done the trip!  I got up as the first signs of dawn were showing and started prepping for the day.  I made breakfast and when it was done supplemented it with a coffee.  It was going to be a long ride into St. John's and I expected I would need it!  I also took the time to pump my tires and oil my chain.  That poor chain had been through days of rain, drizzle, and fog and despite oiling it every morning I could feel the grit in it and hear it creaking as I pedaled.  Figuring I was up early and had plenty of time, I spent forever trying to get one last picture of me staring out wistfully...

When I was ready to go I changed and got back on the bike.  I needed it to get me another 140km and I wouldn't have to worry about breaking down anymore.  I pedaled out of the campground and hit the highway.

Arnold's Cove is at the north end of the isthmus that travels down to the Avalon Peninsula where St. John's lies.  As I've mentioned, I was warned that the rain/drizzle/fog in this area can be pretty intense.  It did not disappoint.  I was immediately going up and down.  On top of this, the winds were BRUTAL.  Just punishing.  Faster and more persistent than the past two days.  I could hardly believe it.  The wind had shifted to come out of the Southeast.  The exact direction I was biking for the morning.  I kept having to take small breaks.  Not so much because I was physically exhausted as the fact that I needed time to calm myself from how frustrating I found it.  I was having difficulty maintaining 13km/h in places.  I noticed that I would eventually turn Northeast and this would turn into a cross wind.  I hoped that would help.  I messaged my friends in St. John's to let them know I was going to be later than I'd hoped.

Despite the poor weather, the bike across the isthmus was beautiful.  Cell phone towers are usually located at the highest point in an area, and the road seemed to be passing close by a LOT of cell towers.  This meant the road was going over the highest points around.  That was a touch frustrating, but it did afford some beautiful sights.  And I'm not talking about vistas.  There were almost none of those!  These high up areas were all rocky outcroppings that were beautiful.  Dropped in fog and rain, the green of what little grew up here was the colour of emerald.  I went up and down into the wind, but at least the landscape offered something interesting to look at.

The shoulder of the road was also in rough shape.  Lots of potholes, washouts, and long stretches where the shoulder was little more than the rumble strip.  I spent about 15km balancing on the thin strip of asphalt between the rumble strip and the gravel shoulder.

After about 60km I came to another fork in the road.  This one was the turn off for Placentia, Newfoundland.  If you'll recall, this is the place where the other ferry from Nova Scotia lands in Newfoundland.  Had I taken it I would have been a single day's ride to St. John's instead of the almost 1000km I was about to finish.  This was also the last place with restaurants, gas stations, and picnic tables until St. John's.  I stopped and polished off a bunch of different foods that I had left.  No more grocery shopping.

When I finished lunch I hit the road again.  The wind was infuriating.  I was so slow.  But I had to keep going.  It was still another 40km until I reached the turn in the highway that would turn the headwind into a crosswind.

The day was at least clear in this section.  I was finished with the weather of the isthmus and though it was cloudy, the day was remarkably pleasant.  I was in the home stretch now and put on some music to keep me going.  First on the docket was the Coast to Coast playlist you all made for me.  As I listened I thought about each and every one of you and was thankful for you taking the time to give me that little boost through music!  Later I switched to Great Big Sea, perhaps the most famous band out of Newfoundland whose music never fails to uplift.  I saw them live in Ottawa once.  They'd just returned from a tour of the United States where they're far less well known.  They were happy to be back in front of a crowd who knew them, and the 40,000 people who were in attendance were happy to give them all the energy they needed.  It was a great show.  Their recordings just don't hold water compared to their live stuff, so here's a live recording of one of my favourites:

After 90km I stopped to take another photo.  With just 52km until St. John's I was about to make the turn Northeast, but I was already exhausted.  I was estimating it would take till almost 6pm to get to St. John's.  So I took a minute to gather myself and set off.  Sure enough, the wind was MUCH better as it stopped pushing back against me and switched to pushing from the side.

However, the weather took a turn and I climbed into the fog.  The air started clinging to me and I couldn't see very far.  It was so serious that I turned the rear flashing red light on for fear that someone might not see me in the fog.  I pressed on, up and down hills.

Eventually the fog cleared.  The sunlight still couldn't fully break through, but there was plenty of warmth there.  And as I bike past a body of water - that I can only imagine is named "Jenny's Pond" or "Rick's Lake" because almost every body of water in Newfoundland is named like someone stumbled upon it last week and named it after themselves - I saw a rainbow in the distance.  I took this as a good omen!  I stopped, snapped a picture, and updated the blog with a little post about the progress into St. John's.

After this rainbow the skies opened up.  I honestly can't remember if it rained or if it was just that sticky fog again, but I was soaked.  I didn't stop to put my jacket on though.  I was so focused on getting to St. John's and didn't want to waste any more time.  I had a few choices for roads to make it to my friend's house but chose to stay on the highway as far as possible.  This actually made things pretty difficult.  As I started getting into the metropolitan St. John's area there were lots of on/off ramps and I would have to stop before them and wait for breaks in the traffic before I could cross over them and continue down the highway.  It was now about 5:30pm and so rush hour traffic surged down the highway.  I was that idiot on the bike on a highway...and I hated it as much as I'm sure the cars did.

But that's alright, because just before it started raining I changed the band I was listening to.  And now as I waited there on the shoulder of the highway for a break long enough to cross the on ramps and off ramps I listened to The Tragically Hip play me home.  And as my willpower flagged under the weight of the rain, the cold, the sound of vehicles speeding past...Gord was there to give me a little courage.

It took a while, but I eventually made it to an exit that brought me to a street that was all downhill to my friend's house.  And once I took it I knew exactly where I was in the city.  I coasted down and to one last intersection.  I could see them down the street standing on the sidewalk in their rain jackets snapping pictures.

And like that...I had arrived.  I want to tell you that I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment or pride or relief.  But I was so cold and wet and tired and aching that I was in no state to ponder, yearn, or reflect.  I said hello to my friends, snapped a few pictures outside the window they'd setup to welcome me, and got my stuff inside so I could go shower and warm up.

After that was all done I gave them both a big hug and we had dinner.  We spent most of the evening catching up and I sat stunned on the couch trying to remember why I felt so tired.  At some point we decided to call it a night, and I went to bed.

I'd made it to St. John's.  Though this is the last city on the itinerary it is not quite the last day of the ride!  I still need to go dip my tire and that will happen soon enough...