Headin' Up Country: 8/16 8/17 8/18 About Face

A heavenly view of St. Anne's Harbor woke me on my birthday , and as I watched the gulls cross the sunrise, the whirlwind of our last few days on The Rock is finally subsiding.

8/16/15

Reluctantly turning our backs to the North Atlantic, we headed west on Sunday. There were roads yet to be ridden and we decided to try a few more. Our first venture was a ride around the Penninsula that juts into the Labrador Sea. Conception and Trinity Bays treated us to yet another stunning aspect of Newfoundland. Dotted by small towns with names Hearts Desire, Hearts Content and Dildo, we smiled our way through the morning.

Back on to Route 1 , we made fast tracks across the island. Again, this "highway" gave us a changing panorama of lakes and mountains at every turn. Having done this section in the rain coming into St. John's, it was a much better experience for us this time as we rode into the sun.

Our destination for the night, Gander, was coming up too quickly, so late in the afternoon, we decided to make one more detour along the Kittiwake Coast, named the Road to the Shore. Rumbling along a bumpy, pock marked road, we soaked in our final views of coastline for the day. From Gambo to Gander the long way, we added another 150 miles to our ride and it was worth every jolt.

Over wine at dinner, we counted the days left for us on this trip and contemplated Labrador. In denial about leaving Newfoundland, we concocted impossible plans and routes. At least the daydream was fun!

8/17/15

Sober over breakfast, we ditched our Labrodor plan and booked the ferry to Nova Scotia. Packed and ready for a six hour ride on the TCH, we roared out into full sunlight. Another day in this Newfoundland heat wave greeted us. No detours today, only a brief lunch stop where we scrambled for shade.

For 100 miles, from Stephanville to Port Aux Basques, no towns or villages bordered the road. The rugged green mountains that enchanted us a week ago performed their magic all over again. Twisting down into our final destination on Newfoundland, we realized that we could never tire of the endless changing beauty of this island.

8/18/15

Back on the ferry! The bikes were loaded first, so we rode on with a group of adventurers from North Carolina. They had ridden to Labrador. Once there, they had a 60 mile ride until the road turned to dirt and then a return. The appeal wore off with this story. We had made the right decision and Rascal was now strapped in for our return to Nova Scotia. A dark and dirty cocktail completed my immersion in Newfoundland, giving me my first taste of Screech, the rum of the island.

A much different voyage than our rough trip over, the strait was perfectly calm and record temperatures allowed us to bask in the sun on the observation deck. Gaining a half hour (only one of two places in the world were the time zone is split ), we rode the sunset into North Sydney. After a flawless ride and departure, we throttled onto the twilight highway toward our reverse trip on the Cabot Trail.

We celebrated my birthday eve with lobster and wine at the tip of St. Ann's Harbour, nesting for the night in a "View with a Room" as our motel touts, and they are spot on!

We are going home, but we are not done! Our glass is half full and we intend to drink it to the dregs as we find new ways to enrich this trek into the north.