Day 10 CCR: Leaving “The Rock”

Another day in Newfoundland, another cold, wet ride.

We departed St. John’s a little after 7:00, knowing we had at least eight hours between departure and arrival in Corner Brook as we crossed nearly the width of Newfoundland in order to catch our ferry back to Nova Scotia tomorrow morning. I expected there might be some light precipitation, but anticipated it would be limited in amount and duration, if we saw any at all. I certainly didn’t expect to encounter it before we made our first planned stop in Gander. Consequently, with dry pavement and temperatures in the mid 40s in St. John’s, we left the capital city without putting on our rain suits over our heated gear.

About 20 miles outside Gander a light mist, almost fog-like surrounded us, and while it never rained, by the time we reached Gander the lower half of our pants legs were soaked and the temperature had dropped to 40°. Chilled, we grabbed a bite to eat, hoping our pants would dry a little if we ate slowly, but they were still wet when we FINALLY put on rain suits and climbed back on the bikes. Fortunately, the combination of heated gear and rain suits warmed us and, happily, the first episode of light moisture ceased about 20 miles the other side of Gander.

We rode through light rain and misty fog several more times during the remaining 225 miles, but that part of the ride wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as the morning ride with wet pants. Nine hours after we fired up the Harleys this morning, we pulled into our lodging for the night in Corner Brook, glad to finally get fully dry.

I’ve mentioned several times how cold it’s been in Newfoundland this trip, but the picture below gives a better idea. “Blow Me Down” mountain, visible from our hotel dining room, is part of the “Long Range Mountains” that rise on the west coast of Newfoundland and, in turn, are the northern end of the Appalachian Mountains I see every day from my porch in North Carolina. Blow Me Down Mountain only reaches about 2,500 feet at it’s peak, but the abundance of moisture from the nearby sea and the cold northern climate means snow lasts well into the summer.

Other than a wet ride which kept me more focused on the road than on scenery, not much happened today. I did spot a young bull moose about 20 yards from the edge of the highway, but he never posed a danger and was more interested in eating fresh shoots than interrupting our travels.

Today’s post adds some of the pictures I took in St. John’s yesterday, mostly of downtown architecture with one more photo of the 1836 Cape Spear lighthouse. Tomorrow, another early start will get us to Channel-Port aux Basques in time to catch the ferry to the mainland.