Port-Aux-Basques, NF to Cornerbrook, NF

 

Last night was a late night as we didn’t get into our sleeping quarters until about 11:30 pm. We all slept in a gymnasium together as one big group - bodies strewn about, making it an obstacle course to try to get into the washroom. I was pretty excited about riding, so didn’t sleep overly well.

 

There were about 12 of us that were going to attempt the whole distance today. Four people left at 6:30 am, ate breakfast at Timmy’s and were on their way to get a good head start on the day. The rest of us headed over to breakfast and led the rest of the riders out of Port-Aux-Basques.

 

The morning was cool and soon wet. The rain was coming down quite hard. I was wearing a long sleeve, biking jersey and lightweight jacket with long tights, pretty much on the verge of being chilled the whole day. The first parts of the ride were stunning - very much like Scotland with hills upon hills shrouded in mist. Jack and I were riding together per usual, very excited about the challenge that lay ahead.

 

Lunch was at the 92 km mark and we met up with some of the riders that had gone before us. We had had a light tailwind and were feeling really good about accomplishing the distance. My how things change...

 

Soon after lunch, we found ourselves in some of the hilliest terrain, no probably THE hilliest, that I have ever ridden. These hills just kept going and going, and going. It was amazing!! The wind was also more against us as it continued to rain. Water was just flowing down the hills as we biked up them. Part of me was glad for the rain in New Brunswick because it prepared us for these rainy days in Newfoundland.

 

As we cruised up one hill, I rode over something and my tire went instantly flat. Taking the wheel off, there was a massive cut in the tire and it was useless. Thankfully, knowing that my tires were aging rapidly and wanting to make sure nothing would stop us from riding, I had decided to carry an extra tire on my rack this morning. So, after changing the tire and tube we were on our way again. Apparently Warren had also blown a tire around the same time.

 

We continued to chug along up these massive hills, which didn’t seem to have any corresponding downhills, eventually catching up with all the other riders except three that had left early. Around the 170 km mark, things started to get ugly. Since this was our first long ride, basically unsupported, we didn’t have enough food or water for the ride. I totally started to hit the wall. For the next 50 kim, Jack and I both bounced off the wall numerous times - eating half a powerbar every 5-10 km, or whenever we felt like we couldn’t continue on. We hit that point of tiredness/pain where you just started to laugh when you saw the next massive hill approaching. The heavy rain and chill definitely added to the struggle.

 

Nevertheless, we eventually crawled into Cornerbrook, and the other riders soon followed. We were greeted with hugs and applause from some of the other riders that were waiting for us (we were unaware they had been waiting a long time and felt badly that it had worked out that way...). We were then supposed to ride into the church as a group, but as I was shivering and freezing, I really didn’t think I was fit to ride 20 more minutes in the freezing cold rain. I hopped into a van and tried to get warm instead.

 

We had a good dinner and were in bed relatively early, not really sure how the next day was going to work. 270 km!!