Well... I'm here in St John's, Nfld. The bike is safely put back together and I went for a 25km shakedown ride yesterday just to make sure everything is working before I set out tomorrow. After a loop into town and around Quidi Vidi, I headed up Signal Hill above St John's harbour. For those of you who have been here, you can appreciate that I did NOT load up the bike with all the bags for the test ride because Signal Hill is one very steep climb. I could barely ride it unloaded, but the view is more than worth the effort.
Of course, the climb might not have seemed as tough, if I hadn't spent the night before on George street drinking and listening to first, Fergus O'Byrne (of Ryan's Fancy), and then an excellent band called The Punters. In a cool coincidence, it turned out that the guy subbing in on bass was the boyfriend of one of Carmel's friends here, so we ended up staying out even later.
Last night, I felt a bit like the condemned man, enjoying his last meal. Some friends had us over for dinner, and what a dinner it was... steak and lobster... 2 giant lobsters per person... and it was the freshest, sweetest lobster I've ever eaten. A good several beers later and I was already a happy camper when the evening just got better. Out came the guitar and soon there was a cheery sing-along going on... what a great evening and send off!
Today was a last sleep in and then some final organizing and packing. Tonight will be a quiet night in preparation for an early start tomorrow. Unfortunately it looks like I'm going to be put to the test right away. It's pouring rain now and the temperature is dropping. Tomorrow's forecast is more rain, and a sickening, single-digit high of just 7C, with 40km per hour winds thrown in for good measure... what a way to start this adventure! If it wasn't for ferry schedules, I would seriously consider delaying a couple days. On the plus side though, the bags are lighter since I'll be wearing all the cycling gear I have... and it can only get better from here!
To everyone who has left comments on the blog... thankyou. I have fun reading them. For those that may have tried to leave comments in the past and found it restricted... my apologies. I have now changed the settings to public, so take your best shot. Cheers.
Good luck Brian! Other than the crappy weather forecast you have gotten off to an excellent start.
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about bringing a gun and hunting for all your food along the way. Otherwise this whole thing seems a little too easy. I mean who can't ride a bike.
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