Motorcycle Ride of a Lifetime-Part III

By the time I had arrived in North Sydney for the Newfoundland Ferry, everyone else was already there including a past riding buddy Bob Melton.  Bob and I have ridden from Denver to Daytona and several of 100,000 foot rides put on by the local BMW motorcycle club in Denver.  We were friends and we liked to ride, so I was very pleased to see Bob's face and knew that I would have a "buddy" along for the week riding the kind of roads I like to ride in the fashion that Bob and I both liked to ride.  It was going to be a great tour of Newfoundland!  Like I said in the last blog we were late to bed that night and early to rise as we have to make some miles all the way to Rocky Harbor our next overnight.  Bob had already pre-planned some routes and we were off to explore those side roads leaving from the Trans Canada Highway 1. Our first sojourn was into Corner Brook and then east as far as the road would take us and we ended up at the very tip of the bay past Blow Me Down Provincial Park to Lark Harbor the end of the road.  Of course it was a great ride that was enjoyed by us and the other couple from Colorado Springs! We met fishermen along the way and we found out very quickly the "Newfies" loved to chat and learn more about you as well talk about their life's experience in this area.  We found out that lobster was only paying $3.00 a pound to fish, so why would a fisherman fish it?  Since we had just paid $40.00 for the 1 pound lobster on PEI, I wondered who was making all the profit........probably the middlemen!  The road was rolling hills along the water and it make for a spirited ride for the whole group.   Since the road was one way in and out we had to back track and continue along Canada 430 to meet the rest of the group in Rocky Harbor, but not without a stop at the Captains Galley for some fantastic fish & chips.
The next day from Rocky Harbor the ride continued along 430 into Gros Morne National Park supposedly the home to most of the moose in Newfoundland.   Everywhere we rode there were not only warning signs along the road about the moose, every gas and restaurant stop warned us about the moose.   After riding all those miles, I never did see one moose!!
430 was another great road along the coast of the St. Lawrence Seaway; passing through so many fishing villages like Cow's Head, Eddies Cove, Port au Choix, Flowers Cove, Pine Cove, etc. etc.  There even some shipwrecks along this coast and while our day of riding was great (no winds) we could see the evidence of trees that were growing diagonally due to the fierce winds along this coast.  We made a stop in St. Barbe to explore the possibility of the taking the Labrador Ferry over to Labrador.  We were so close and who knew if we would ever be in this area again.
Our final destination would be the northeastern point of Newfoundland in a place called L'Ans aux Meadows the official landing point of the Vikings in 1000 A.D.  Not much to see...just fields and a museum so a ride down to the actual end of the road I see an old fisherman drying Cod out.  Of course another conversation was started as he explained to me about what he did the dried Cod, his house, his life, and the whole area that surrounded him.  Very Interesting!  We are a short ride back on Canada 437 to St Anthony for our planned overnight at Grenfell Heritage Hotel.  Around dinner that night discussions were again held about trying to work out a ferry ride to Labrador by Bob, Jeff, and myself, however, by bed time we realized that the timing of getting to the ferry would preclude us from leaving the hotel by 5 am and with moose worries, we decided not to pursue it.
Bob had once again planned an alternate route back to Rocky Harbor with some side roads towards the St. Lawrence Seaway.  As we were riding that cool foggy misty morning I began to plan a way to make it Labrador in my head and by the time we stopped at another fishing village along 430 I told Bob I was going to attempt the crossing.   After watching the Turbot being off loaded into holding ice bins, we bid our farewells with my plans to head to Labrador and if I could not get on the ferry, I would meet him in Rocky Harbor later in the afternoon.   Labrador Here I Come!!
Heading back along 430 to St. Barbe I was fortunate to find a ticket on the ferry at 130pm and I was on my way.  It seems that motorcycles are always 'squeezed' on and I was indeed the last vehicle at the very back of the ferry.  The short ferry ride of 1.5 hours had me arriving around 3pm with a few sightings along the way of whales, it was a nice ferry ride.
Since arriving in Blanc Sablon, Quebec was on another time zone, it was a bit tricky to make sure I knew the schedule back today or the next day.  There is only 1 paved road in Labrador of 70 km going north to Red Bay, so I was off to head there before sunset.  Red Bay is the starting point of the Labrador Highway into the interior of Labrador and by highway they certainly did not mean paved interstate!
I had arrived in Red Bay around 5pm and while trying to figure out where to stay, I enjoyed another great Fish & Chips dinner at the Whaler's Restaurant.  It do  believe it was the best one of the entire trip!  Speaking with the owner she had rooms there, but I really wanted to be closer to the next morning 1030am ferry departure, so she said my waitress' grandmother had a B&B up the road.  They made the call for me and I was in L'Anse au Loup (Wolf's Cove) way before sunset at Barney's B&B to meet the 80 year old Mary Barney who once again gave the Newfie life story and history of her family.  Later that evening her son in law joined the conversation and his live story became the next topic!  These people are just so friendly, warm, and sincere!
The next morning checking in much earlier than necessary, I had secured my ferry ticket back to Newfoundland and make a little ride to the south into Quebec to see the French side of the Canada 510 to Lourdes de Blanc Sablon.  The ferry ride back was very quiet and the ocean was like glass, but no whale sighting this time, and at 1230pm I made tracks on 410 south to Cows Head.  I remembered Cows Head was the place for Mooseburger, so it had to be done!  Then onto TCH 1 at Deer Lake to catch up with the rest of the group in Grand Falls at the Red Robin Motel.  Of course everyone knew from Bob that since I did not show up in Rocky Harbor I must have been in Labrador and I was sporting my Red Bay, Labrador T-Shirt to prove it!!