The Start of the Journey

Day 1 of the journey across the island on the retired Newfoundland Railway rail bed started with the car journey from Corner Brook to Port Aux Basques. I passed the journey by playing Animal Cards with my great niece Hayden (and yes I know the difference between a Gorilla and an Orangutan!). 

Hayden shares some traits with her great uncle in that she is restless and always has to be doing something. There is one exception, if a camera appears she immediately knows what to do:

Hayden with two relics of Newfoundland transportation: her great uncle and the defunct Newfoundland train

A few kilometers from Port Aux basques and we entered a deep fog. Not quite the weather conditions I was expecting for a summer ride but alas it was Port Aux Basques and none the less famous for it,  no matter what time of the year.

After attempting to find the true start of the tracks I settled on the ceremonial start at the railway museum.

Engine and Snow Plow in Port Aux Basques with my rather meager, by comparison, transport for my trip 

Apparently the snow drifts on the Gaff Topsails often reached deep enough to stop the plow! 

After some final fettling the bike was ready (not sure about the rider) and I set off at 12:38 pm on Tuesday the 29th of July on an adventure. Information about the trail and conditions was oddly sketchy so it was a "ride and see" approach which is often the makings of a disaster or a proper adventure (the latter was the plan).

On queue the fog lifts and the trail ahead unfolds

Not long before the first obstacle becomes obvious: rather large puddles to ride through :-(

But the coastal views made up for the puddle dodging ;-)

The breeze that had lifted the fog also picked up along the coast so I was relishing the experience through the famous Wreckhouse section (where winds were strong enough to blow 10 ton locomotives off the track). 

Wreckhouse proved to be very quiet on this day

The trail was sweet for the first 20 kms but then approaching Codroy Valley and 20 kms of loose rock. Like riding on sand, very exhausting and required a lot of concentration to stay upright. A photo of this surface appears later in the blog (see Day 3).

Overall I was relieved to find no bridges were out as I didn't relish the idea of swimming with the bike. 

The approaches to the bridge have been washed away and repaired but the bridge itself doesn't look a day over 100 years old!

In fact several crossings sported very new and somewhat architecturally sympathetic (trestle design) bridges.

And a very modern replacement in the Codroy Valley

And of course traffic is an ever present problem?

Sunset the first evening and I still had miles to go before I slept...

The section from Codroy Valley to St Georges was rough but tolerable but as darkness approached  the day ended with 20 kms of overgrown track. 10 kms of having my right side slapped by sapplings and then 10 kms of the left side (on a bicycle you need to ride in either the left or the right wheel rut left by the ATV's!).

Overall enjoyed the coastal piece but the trip across the moors from St Fintons to St Georges was a little less interesting.

Arrived on darkness in St Georges and managed to find a B & B, so scored a shower which was much needed after a very hot and muggy day in the saddle.

A decent first days effort with 143 kms covered with an after-midday start and not too late finish (about 15 minutes using the headlight).

The elevation profile for the day is below:

By definition a railway needs a gentle grade, still elevation can't be avoided

Overview of the days riding and the start across the island:

Port Aux Basques to St Georges - 143 kms

Continued: Link to Day 2 of the ride