The Flight of Bear Canada

Day 23 - July 23th
Ingonish, NS to Port aux Basques, NL

The rest of the Cabot Trail was lovely. The day started with rain, but a mere half an hour into the ride, the rain had stopped. I sailed into Sydney and hit a McDonalds to try a McLobster. Not bad.

The I hit the ferry. Unlike every other ferry I've sailed on, this one doesn't have preferential loading of motorcycles. It's kind of annoying. I waited in the standby line since due to preferential loading I've never made reservations before. I squeaked on board as one of the last few vehicles allowed onboard. I wasn't too impressed with the loading since the group of riders that I was with were busy scurrying around to tie down their bikes as semi-trucks and pickups were still being squeezed on. All someone had to do is step in the wrong direction.

Miffed with the loading, I headed straight for the bar where I sat down with a few other crazy bikers. (is there any other kind? :) My bad feelings were quickly dulled by the beers, (I'm starting to like Keith's India Pale.) and the entertainment. Two Newfie musicians, Bugs and Debbie Greene put on an excellent show on the boat. There was some excellent singing, music and jokes. I can understand the joke that Newfoundland is like a foreign country where Canadian money is taken a par. Another joke is that another name for a moose is a "Newfoundland Speed Bump"

Day 24 - July 24th
Port aux Basuqes, NL to L'Anse aux Meadows, NL

The drive north on the rock was beautiful. The weather was excellent. The road however was a bit rough. One rider at the ferries in Sydney limped off the boat with a dented rim, courtesy of a bump on a bridge. Well I found the "bump", a two inch squared edged ridge of concrete at both ends of a bridge. This was damn dangerous. I talked to a guy from the road maintenance company and he said that it was in the process of being taken care of. Then a short distance later I passed a construction site where the sign for bump was followed by a 6 feet wide, 40 feet long and two feet deep. Be careful, newfie humor can be dangerous.

xxx

Lighthouse near Gros Morne National Park.

The terrain changed as I headed north. When I arrived in L'Anse aux Meadows, the terrain was almost barren. Trees were short and stunted and packed close together and there was a lot of open barren ground. I kind of wonder why the vikings called it "Vinland"? It could possibly be an early form of false advertising. The Vikings were no stranger to that, I mean they called the snow covered chunk of rock Greenland in order to get settlers over from Iceland and Scandinavia.

Tomorrow a Hun attack party consisting of me will attack a Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows. They don't stand a chance.

The only downside is that I have to back at work at the end of the month. I know they'll be understanding, but still I want to keep on their good side. Also at times I do want to just stop traveling. But St. John's and Cape Spear beckon. The goal of crossing Canada still has to be completed. The I have to do a marathon burn back through the United States. (Don't worry I can still do a major ride of the US next time.)

And a belated thanks to my support crew, the Sylvester family for helping my mom out in my absence. I was kind of worried about two auto mechanics tacking home plumbing, but everything turned out okay. Thanks Derek, Peter & Bernice.