Day 77- Dreams Realized

My flight departed at 7:30 AM, so it was an early rise for the trip to the airport. Matt was awesome enough to get up early and drive me to the airport, and he dropped me off with just enough time to check in and board after a paltry 20 minutes of waiting.

It was a brief flight to Halifax, lasting only about an hour and a half, so I arrived very shortly. My parents happily greeted me at the airport; relieved that I was back. A four hour car ride later, I was home, and my journey was finished after two and a half months of biking.

It is hard to believe all that has happened, and all the places Ive been this summer. Looking back on the earlier stages of the trip, they feel like a lifetime ago, even though it has only been two and a half months. Its hard to believe so much has occured in such short time frame. I have seen incredible places I could only imagine beforehand, met many amazing individuals across the country and shared a piece of their life storey, and gained an intimate appreciation for the spectacular country we live in. I am quite proud of how far I have come, and all the hardships I overcame along the way. I feel thay they have made me a more resiliant person, and now anytime a challenge seems too big, I can just remember these times and find that I have the strength to get by. I have realized one grand dream, but it is only the beginning, as there is so much left to see and do. I need only set my sights on them.

Having been back a week now, I find myself missing life on the road greatly. Being back in everyday life is like a bizzare system shock. I also feel a little bit of the emptiness you feel when a really good book comes to an end. The great thing about these stories though, is that there always new ones to be found.

Day 76- Dude, Wheres My Wallet?

It was Kieren and Kaveta's turn to venture out to Cape Spear in their SUV this morning, so Lori and I tagged along to search for my wayward wallet once more. None of the park employees had seen it, and my second ground search proved just as fruitless as the first. I left Cape Spear frustrated and worried for the second time in 24 hours.

Once back in town, Keveta kindly took time away from their sightseeing to drive me around town in search of the police station to report my missing wallet. We recieved a few sets of bad directions, electronic and verbal, but eventually reached the provincial police station, where I reported that my wallet was AWOL and recieved a temporary ID I could use to board the plane tomorrow. While I was taking care of this, the others were at the grocery store, and Keveta bought us a light lunch, which we shared in the adjacent area. It wasnt a park, but it could be said to possess park-like qualities.

Kieren, Kaveta, and Kieren's sister wanted to go shopping at the mall, so Lori and I parted ways with them downtown, with many thanks and plans to meet up that night. We spent the afternoon perusing the specialty shops downtown, and taking care of some business. I went to the bank and got a new debit and visa, while Lori booked her flight off the island for the end of the month after the George Street festival. We also stopped for some fancy coffee at a local shop, and Lori interviewed me for her website on inspiration. It was pretty cool to be given the opportunity to add my voice to her project, and I look forward to checking out the site online. We had a pretty fun afternoon filled with levity, and we topped it off with a nice seafood meal at a pub on the way home.

Once back, we hung out with Matt for a while, happily talking away. We then took a stroll down to a few establishments on George Street to survey and evaluate their services. Matt was generous enough to even buy us a few beverages while we worked. We stayed out for quite a while, and had many more great conversations, before getting some street pizza and heading back to get a few hours sleep before tomorrow's flight to Halifax.

Day 75- Trail's End

After yesterday's feverishly long day, I relished the luxury of a comfortable bed, not rising until past 9. Both Lori and I took our time preparing to depart, relaxing and sharing accounts of our journeys with Matt and Susan. I was pretty happy just doing so, but we had plans to complete the 15 KM ride tp Cape Spear; the most eastern point in North America, so we eventually took our leave at around 1 PM.

The 15 KM to Cape Spear was some of the hardest terrain of the trip. With nary a warmup, we launched into one giant hill after another; dragging ourselves up one side before flying down the opposite. Some parts seemed practically vertical. It was a beautiful ride though, with fantastic views over the city at the start, rolling forested hills in the middle, and rugged coastline at the end. We even found a few comfortable chairs to relax in overlooking the ocean.

We were both extremely excited to arrive at the cape. We were greeted by the deep blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean crashing against the rocky shores in either direction, and cliff faces curving around the bay, where the city of St. John's was visable on shore opposite from us, kilometers away. It was an absolutely stunning vista, added to by a pod of whales periodically exhaling sprays of water into the air as they briefly surfaced before submerging once more. Lighthouses and military installations were visable ahead on the cape itself. We took our time, soaking in the beautiful place as we followed a path along the edge, stopping to pose with our bikes for posterity's sake. This marked the official completion of my bike tour, which excited me, but by this point I was so wrapped up with enjoying the adventures with my new friends that I barely registered it. I wanted to keep going in that moment.

We spent several hours walking along the cliffs and bays, talking about all manner of things as we explored the beautiful location. It was getting late, and we had a bbq with Matt's family to attend, so we made our way back home. The ride home was just as fierce, but ended with a crazy fast downhill descent into the city. Upon arriving ay Matt's, I discovered my wallet was missing, and entered into panic mode. Matt and Susan drove me back out to the cape, but to no avail, there was no sign of my wallet and no staff left to ask. I resigned to wait until tomorrow to check with the park staff, and did my best to not worry, telling myself someone must have turned it in.

Once back, the four of us went to Matt's family's house, where we met his parents and three siblings. They were extremely kind and entertaining people, and we shared another great meal full of conversation. We enjoyed their hospitality for several hours before heading back. Our last stop was to a local pub to watch Keiren, her mom, and her sister get screeched in. It was a hilarious spectacle of silly words and silly acts hosted by an enthusiastic man in a rainsuit with a paddle. We all left pretty enthused, and it was now time for another satisfied sleep.

Day 74- The Final Stretch

After a long restless night on the floor, and a light breakfast, our vessel reached our destination, and it was now time to depart. Lori and I repacked our bikes and headed off the boat into the overcast Newfoundland weather. Not long after exiting the ferry, we met up with Kieren and her mom, Kaveta (Wrong spelling Im pretty sure, but Im gonna go with it haha). We took a few photos with the welcome to Newfoundland sign, marvelling at how far we had come. We decided to cycle the 140 KM to St. John's together, and Kaveta packed all our gear into the SUV, allowing for a gear-free ride.

Our first stop was a coffee shop in the pretty waterside town of Placentia. The town painted a very picturesque scene as its docked boats and waterside homes came into view over the cliff face. We stopped to fill up our water supply and grab some caffeine to compensate for our poor sleep. Kieren decided to rush on ahead to meet family who had arrived at the St. John's airport, but Lori and I remained behind, intending to take our time and meet up with her once we arrived.

After our coffee fix, we cruised on down the highway to St. John's, passing through pine forests, over rock faces, and past scenic ocean vistas. The shoulder was often wide, so we were able to ride most of the way next to eachother, talking about endless things; from the whimsical to the personal. It was a great ride, and I really enjoyed the conversation.

We continued like this all afternoon as we steadily made our way to St. John's. The highway soon became quite hilly, as we passed by more endless pine forests, lakes, and rocky hills that looked like they were straight out of Ireland. We didnt leave Placentia until noon, so it was past 7 PM whem we finally made our way into town and arrived at Matt's house. Matt and his girlfriend, Susan, were at a friend's wedding, so we simply locked our bikes up on the veranda, and headed downtown to meet up with the Brittons.

They were at an Irish restaurant called the Celtic Hearth, and once we arrived we all shared a victory feast. It was a good meal with great company; everything I expected of my victory meal, and more due to my new friends. In an extremely kind act, Kaveta paid for the entire meal, which I cant thank her enough for, amoung many other kind acts to follow. Exhausted, we all returned to the hostel they were staying in; a beautiful old fashion row house converted into living quarters, and relaxed for the remainder of the night. Around midnight, Matt called to say they would be home soon, and gave me the door code. Matt and Susan had said it was okay for Lori to stay at their house too, so we both got dropped off by Kaveta, and we moved in for the night, ready to collapse.

Day 73- New Friends

The ferry wasnt leaving until 6 PM today, nor could I board before 4 PM, so I slept in and relaxed in camp all morning. I lazed around until well past lunch before venturing back into town. I didnt want to buy food onboard, so I ventured to the local superstore to stock up on goodies for the trip, including an entire dish of really delicious looking brownies. On my way there, I passed another cyclist loaded with gear, headed in the direction of the ferry. I had a feeling I would end up meeting them and other cyclers on board during the 15 hour ride.

My snacking needs satisfied, I headed down to the ferry terminal to check myself in and wait for boarding. I found a pinic table outside near the boarding area, where I bunkered down to repack my stuff into a bag to come onboard, cook an early supper of rations, and read until boarding time. A boistrous group of entertainers were set up near by, and began blaring their own brand of Newfoundland music for those waiting to board, and a crowd began to form.

I kept on reading through the din, but not long later, a girl around my age and her mom approached and began asking me about my bike and my trip. It turns out that the girl, whose name is Kieren, was also biking across Canada, and had left Vancouver just a few days after I had. She was raising money for prostate cancer research, and her parents accompanied her for some parts of the trip, while other portions she had been alone for. We spent the next while talking and sharing stories of our experiences, but it was soon time to board, so we parted with plans to meet up on board at some point.

I wheeled my bike over to the boarding traffic, lining up with the motorcyclists, like a tack in a paperclip factory. They were all just jealous of my ride. And there was the cyclist from earlier today, just as predicted! We ended up boarding the ship together and hanging out in the multi- coloured psychadelic upstairs lounge together, talking about our trips and our lives. While I had been on a fast paced journey across the country, Lori was on a much more leisurely course from Ottawa through Quebec and the Maritimes. She told me about the cool places she had stopped for days at a time, and the awesome people she had met. She was all about just slowing down, and going wherever life takes you, and having unexpected adventures. She had a very open and free spirited manner I liked, and made me feel like I needed to tap into that side of myself more. Her trip was also about raising awareness for Systemic Lupus, a dangerous autoimmune disorder she has struggled with for the last ten years, that nearly killed her and left her blind in one eye. Thankfully, it has been in remission the last few years, and she has been using this chance to get out there and live life. Her site, called Inspiring Spokes, is about interviewing people to find out what inspires them. I think that aspect is a really cool empathic path into other people's lives and personal experiences of life.

We hung out for a while, sharing the ridiculously good brownies I had bought. After supper, Kieren and her mom found us in the obnoxiously bright and tacky lounge, where after more introductions we all just sat and shared our stories. They even let Lori and I use the shower in their cabin, which was awesome!

It was getting late, so we decided to retire for the night. Neither Lori or I had booked a cabin, so we made our way down to the dimly lit movie theatre with its reclining chairs to sleep. Like airplane chairs, I couldnt really sleep sitting up, so I laid down across the isle on the hard floor, amongst many similarly sprawled and snoring figures, and did my best to sleep. It was a rough night, drifting in and out of a uncomfortable sleep, but I got by.