Were on the road by 8:30 a.m. headed for Gander. We were happy the sun was shining and the sky was blue but the happiness was short lived, unfortunately, as about 30 km. out of town the sky clouded up and it started to shower. Add to that wicked winds gusting to 70 km. per hour at times and you will get an idea of how the next 550 km. went. While the rain eventually let up, the wind never did. You will see from these photos (taken from the backseat of the moving bike) that the cloud cover stayed for most of the day as well, though we did get the odd bit of sunshine and blue sky that lifted our spirits...albeit momentarily... :)
If I had to chose wind or showers on a bike I would definitely pick showers...the wind knocks me around on the back of the bike and by the end of a day of it my neck is sore. Harry would pick wind as visibility is better that rain on a windshield and visor...but either way it makes for a long day.
You can see from the next photo just how strong the wind was by looking at the trees on the left. Harry managed the bike beautifully though it was not much fun for him driving today. No chance to look at the scenery for him, as he needed his entire concentration focused on just keeping us upright.
The topography on the drive reminded us both a lot of driving through B.C. and Ontario...lots of trees and low mountains and rock. We were surprised as somehow we were expecting more views of the ocean from the road, but only had occasional glimpses of the big body of water...
We stopped for an early lunch in Corner Brook, the second largest city in Newfoundland with a population of about 20,000. The city is at the mouth of the Humber River, one of the world's greatest salmon rivers. The city also boasts one of the earliest industrial sawmills built in the province in 1894.
In total we stopped about four times today just to get our land legs. When it's windy on a bike and you get off it feels just like you have got off a rocking boat. Takes awhile to regain your equilibrium.
We arrived in Gander about 5:30 p.m....had supper in the hotel and are settled in for the evening as we plan an early start again tomorrow. Want to get to St. Johns as early as we can as the bike has an appointment for a new rear tire and we are meeting Mel, Rob and Amelia and Rob's family there for a couple of days of real Newfoundland hospitality. We are looking forward to seeing them all and finding out more about this beautiful part of Canada.
Til tomorrow...or maybe Saturday depending on what happens tomorrow! :) We have heard that we are in for a full afternoon and evening once we connect with the easterners so who knows when we will be in any shape to share further stories... :)
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