8/28/09: Off segment. 45K west of St. John’s, NFLD at an exit ramp off of the QEW to Cape Spear, NFLD. 41 miles. Trip complete.
Check out Barney’s blog on http://www.nwpassage2.blogspot.com/
Not exactly a fairy tale finish that’s for sure, but for drama and soap opera theatrics………yesterday had it! And despite the totally “unfun” way this trip ended – it’s now in the books. So for the final time, let’s reset.
We all got in a very good night’s sleep last night what with our “last supper” that Tom had made for us, with the anticipation that today is THE END. So the rise & shine was very casual. We noodled around for a bit, making instant and real coffee, eating some cereal, fresh bread and left-over salad, and watching some morning news. Finally got the ball rolling by loading into the van to go back to the QEW where I last left off, some 45K outside of St. John’s. It took us a good 40 min or so to drive out there from Tom and Della’s in Torbay. Got to our start point and the wind was just blowing, gusting, slashing like I’ve seen only one or two other times on this trip. Thankfully though it was out of the west. But to look at the way the trees were being bent over, the way that my van was being buffeted all over the road, and the way the small bits of sand and gravel were being tossed into us in the parking area, we knew that this was going to be a beast of a wind to ride in.
So we got it cranking. In some sections where the road was going due west, this was such a powerful tailwind that you could soft pedal and do 28-30 mph. In other areas where the road deviated from the west to east trend, and dipped a bit north or south, it was a dangerous crosswind that could either send you right off the road and into the gravel berm or guardrail, or, could send you to the left into oncoming traffic. Now to up the ante, couple that crosswind with a good descent, and then things really get hairy, as you’re literally S-swaying all over the road to keep it upright. You really had to lean into the wind to keep the bike in a straight line. So again, I’m just thinking, “dude, just keep this rig on the road. Nothing fancy, nothing daring. Just ride with the front wheel really forced down into the pavement.”
We all rode this way. About 15 miles in Bill got a flat, while Ryan and I had rode further up the road thinking that they were back getting some stuff from Judy. Finally, Judy catches us and lets us know of the flat, and had us wait for about 10 min for Bill and Barney to catch up. Then we got it cranking again. K’s got smaller for St. John’s as we saw the 32K sign, 23K, and finally exit 41a, into the downtown and next to our Cape Spear turn-off. So we take Rt 2 to downtown, and at that point we’re just totally going in a dead easterly direction, just riding this blasing freight train of a tailwind for everything. And then we pass a sign that read: “Pedestrians and bicycles not allowed beyond this point.” Yeaaaaaaaa right! We were just about 5K from the downtown. Oooopppps missed that one. And on we went blasting down towards the ocean.
Now this is where the *%$^##@ part of the day started. I had told Judy to exit off of Rt 2 onto Cape Spear Drive, otherwise known as Blackhead Road, just before the downtown. But, there was no exit, as Rt 2 just went right over the top of this road and sent us into the downtown in a matter of 2-3K. And I knew that as soon as I saw us go over the top of what looked like a long, steep climb to the east. So we finish the descent, all gather together and look for Judy. Nowhere. So Ryan goes down to Water Street to see if Judy is parked there. Nothing. And I’m bumming because I know that she expected an exit to Cape Spear off of Rt 2. Trouble was that you had to end the Rt 2 freeway, and then go right on Water Street to get to the road out to Cape Spear. So we all rode out on Water Street to the light where you’d turn to go under the freeway and east out to Cape Spear. Nothing. No sign of Judy anywhere. And to make matters worse, there was road construction all the hell over the warf area, so the downtown was a conjested mess.
The guys waited on their bikes on the sidewalks at the light while I rode back to look for Judy just several blocks back towards town. Ryan’s words were, “I’m not moving from here.” Rode back into town and I eventually just parked myself at the intersection of Water and at the bottom of the freeway exit, as this is a small city, and I know that she had to come back this way somehow, someway, and figured that she’d ask for directions to Cape Spear and then come out on Water Street. Well, it took about 10-15 min, but she did indeed come back at me on Water Street. I then had her follow me back to the intersection that the guys were waiting……except now THEY were gone. Not a sign of the three of them or their bikes at the intersection. So I just had Judy turn onto the Cape Spear road and park in a little gravel turn-off prior to the initial climb while I went back for my second personnel search. Back east down to Water Street, past the deli, then east again towards town, thinking that maybe they jumped on a side street. Nothing. I thought that maybe they’d hit a small grovery, so I went to this joint called Oranges. Nothing. Maybe at the convenience/drug store. Nothing. Wonderful. So I go back to this triangle that sits up next to the beginning of the climb and wait. Nothing. Ride back down the sidewalk to the intersection where I originally left them. Again………nothing.
At that point I was wondering if they decided to do the start of the Cape Spear Drive and just wait at the top, or maybe even just noodle and let Judy and I catch them. By this time it’s been close to a half hour since I last saw them. I finally told Judy to start driving up to Cape Spear because this is about the only other logical possibility of where they could have gone. Figured I see them waiting at a rest stop up ontop of the mountain. So off we go, and this climb was a zinger of a climb. First real middle cookie thing I’d done since back in Nova Scotia. And it took you up pretty quickly to a wonderful vista about St. John’s. But it wasn’t over. Descend just a smidge and it’s right back up again, this time hitting a very steep pitch for about 300 meters. Got over this and it was a bit of a gradual up again for a bit until it finally leveled out. Then it was the giant push of the wind as I rode east again. But still, no sign of the guys. I kept thinking that they’d be just around the corner, just hanging out. Nothing. And then I see the van parked up ahead and figured that they were there talking to her. Nope. So we go further down the road, and I have another long OTS climb in the middle ring to surmount. This one is steep, but now a killer, and I top out within several minutes. At the top I look down the road, down this moderate descent and off to the east about 2 miles, and there it was - the Holy Grail – the furthest point east in North America, right there in front of me.
At this point I realized that the guys had not done this road, as they’d certainly have hung at the top of this puppy for the finish together. They were still back in St. John’s somewhere, possibely riding all around the city looking for Judy and I. So it’s now bitter-sweet, the end is in sight, the end to a ride of 3.5 months - that I’m about to finish alone, except for Judy at my side when I got down to the Cape, but the guys who I rode with are not here. I stopped at the top for several min and just gazed down at the view of the Cape, of the deep blue sea, the waves just hammering the shoreline, the lighhouse just to the north, the last 2-mile ribbon of highway threading its way to the end of the line – a parking area with a boardwalk that went down several hundred meters to the tip of Cape Spear. It felt good/it felt bad, so happy to have finality to this journey/so sad to not share my feelings with the whole group. It was Judy and I.
Clipped back in and did the descent down to the Cape. Spun up to the parking area and met with Judy. I was anticipating the guys probably figuring out that I went ahead possibly looking for them on this road, so I held out hope that we’d see them tooling down this descent in the not too distant. By now it was just a complete cluster F of second guessing yourself, something I’d done several times on this trip when one or several people were not where you expected them at a certain place in a certain time frame. Judy gave me a big kiss, and then we got two of my cameras and I coasted down the boardwalk to the Cape. I waited for a tour group party to take pics of everyone next to the sign detailing this as the furthest point east. Then I held my bike up in the air in front of the sign and had Judy take two shots each with the two cameras. That was it. I gave her a big hug, and we walked back to the van half expecting the guys to arrive, but still no sign. Very disappointing to say the least. I had visions of what that moment would be like, and THIS was never one of them. This was a total let-down.
We had planned on having a number of sponsor shots done at this time, so we hung out in the parking area for another 15 min. Nothing. Such a solemn ending to such a fantstic trip for sure. Well, we put my bike on the rack and headed back to St. John’s, still thinking that around one of the curves would be three riders coming towards us. Finally, we got all the way back down to St. John’s, to that &%$&^#^#@ intersection, and again – same story. This was totally bizzar. So we drove around the immediate downtown looking for the guys. And then one final time we drove back to what had now become, for me, most famous intersectionm in this whole trip - Water and Cape Spear Drive. Nothing.
Ok, I give. I had no computer, thus no phone numbers. And I was thinking, “for a time when I should be on top of the world, this SUCKS!” So we drove back to Tom and Della’s house in Torbay. Popped open my computer and got Barney’s cell number and called from the house. He answered and said that they had just started up the Cape Spear Drive, with Tom and Barney’s wife, Val, following. They had moved away from that infamous intersection, and crossed the street to a bakery and waited inside for over three hours - with their bikes parked on the outside. Massive cluster F here. I told Barney that we’d already been to the Cape and that we were in Torbay. So I was nearly speechless, and at that point I’m even more disappointed about this day.
But, the real drama began when Tom stopped back at the house to pick up some of the guys stuff, this to move over to a nice like cottage that Barney and Val rented for the weekend in dowtown St. John’s on Battery Street. Tom comes in and warned me that a couple of the boys are a bit mad at me for not waiting for them. And that’s when 10,000 sticks of dynamite go off in my brain. MAD…..at me. Those of you who know me well enough know that my fuse is, well……….rather short at times? And this was all I needed to just go over the edge into temporary and complete insanity. And Tom further informed me that I HAD to drive back up to the Cape to “rescue” the boys, because they did not want to ride back into town to the Battery cottage of Barney and Val’s. Well, unfortunately Tom heard a flurry of four-letter words just gushing out of my mouth like a broken, wide-open fire hydrant. I was about to blast off and land on Mars. “Mad at me,” I thought.” So now I was pissed at them for bloody moving out of the spot that they were supposed to be waiting at. Tit for a tat! And poor Tom is listening to me vent, and trying to calm me down as I’m ranting like a psych ward patient whose about to get injected with a sedative.
He spends a couple more min talking to me, pleading with me to hold my composure if “one of the boys” says anything. And I’m like, “Tom do you own boxing gloves, because if anyone even like vaguely gives me grief it’s on,” Nope, I was just a mess, and this day to end 3.5 months of an amazing journey, has in my mind turned into a massive spiraling abyss with such nonsense. So Tom has to hurry back to drop off the gear, and get back to work because he took a couple hours off to come watch the “Big Finish.” Me, my brain was racing as if I were on amphetamines. So Judy and I headed out to “rescue the boys.” I just stripped off my cycling gear, jumped in shorts and top, and out we went. And poor Judy is just talking and consoling me. And she was right - it was just a major mess with no fault on either side. But still, that seed had been planted. So we got up to the Cape, and it’s almost dark, and the winds were blowing and gusting like no tomorrow. It was freezing out there and the guys looked pretty cold. We all kept our cool, with no bad words said, but still, there was a LOT of tension in the air. This was the big finish!
We drove back to Barney and Vals cottage on the water, a fabulous little place that we’ll all hang at tonight and tomorrow night. Plan was to just go back to the cottage, they’d do the showerless switchO changeO and we’d hit a pub on George Street for some food. Bill decided he wouldn’t go without taking a shower, so just the five of us rolled back down to the nightlife of George Street. And it was there that we, mostly me, just kind of put this stupid mess up, out of the way, and began to mellow out and celebrate the accomplishments of the three of us: Ryan – going coast to coast in Canada for 4260 miles and then adding NFLD to the game, Barney – going 2000 miles from Quebec City to Cape Spear, and me – doing 6269 miles across Canada. We listened to a really good solo act who did Irish folk, music that Barney said was truly the “real deal.” We ordered some Irish red ale, some wine for the ladies, and Ryan had his usual softdrink.
And then life began to feel good. The accomplishments of us all were toasted, and we toasted our fantastic ladies, Val and Judy, for their patience for their understanding, and for their support during this very long journey. We were going to leave after the solo act, but then this place is filling up like a concert hall, and this young kid tells us we were about to hear the main act, a 5-piece NFLD Irish band who is the most popular on the island – the Masterless Men. So we hung for one song, and then two, and then 3, 4, and finally stayed for the whole first set. Ryan was on the dance floor kind of gyrating and shaking, Barney was literally singing the songs verbatim, Val was clapping, and Judy and I were tapping our feet. These guys were really good. We had a great time, and finnaly left at nearly 1am. And Gearge Street was just rocking like you couldn’t believe. This place is one of the party capitals of the world. People were everywhere. We dropped the three off at the cottage and Judy and I drove back up to Torbay to Tom and Della’s.
Tom was up when we got back and kind of talked to me, and I told him I was fine. We’re good. He was real concerned about this whole deal. But I assured him that all was good, and that it was time to hit the rack. So it’s now Saturday morning, the sun’s out and it’s just a fantastic day here in Newfoundland. No riding today, no want to ride, no obligation to ride, no itinerary to ride for, no destination to ride to. I’m there. I’m done. Mission accomplished. Now I’ll just sit back and savor the day, soak up the warm fall rays raining down on this the furthest point east in North America. We’re home!
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