Motorcycle Ride of a Lifetime!!- Part IV

The ride from Grand Falls to St. Johns, Newfoundland would have the usual side roads involved as Bob had planned to go around to the north side of Newfoundland onto a Peninsula near Trinity Bay.  We are off again in the morning to head onto Canada 430 towards Bonavista.  Bonavista is known as the place that has the largest museum and tribute to Newfoundland fishing and whaling in Canada.  Located inside the old Ryan Premises it provides a great history to those industries and I decided a visit was in order.  I soon met Bob here as he had stopped with the group for some breakfast along the road.  We continued on the loop on Canada 437 as Trinity was one of the places visit in this area.  We found this little fishing village and it was quite a gem of a town and with a stop for lunch in the pier side restaurant, we enjoyed another fish and chips lunch!  Cannot have too many of those with fresh Cod and homemade hand cut french fries, it was always an excellent choice!
We soon continued along the roads and reconnected onto Canada 2 for the quick ride into St. Johns the capital city of Newfoundland.  We decided to head that way and relax a bit as the weather started to look like rain and we did not want to be caught in it.  The Courtyard by Marriott was an excellent hotel located in the harbor area and with 2 days to explore the area, it would be a nice relaxing enjoyable stay.  We ventured out onto Water St for a nice dinner in a local pub as the rest of the group had arrived later in the day.
Our first day of real rain began the night before and continued into the next day.  Bob was convinced to ride another loop around the area, but I was not in the mood for rainy riding, so decided to relax at the hotel and wait to see how the weather developed in the afternoon.  Bob was back within an hour, wet and exhausted from the heavy rains he encountered.  By mid afternoon the rains had indeed stopped, so I hiked up to Signal Hill a steep 2 kilometer roadway to the museum and historic site.  Famous because the first radio signal from Europe was received here and it was also the point where the British defended the port of St. Johns from the French.  As a matter of fact it became a strategic point during WWII and the remnants of cannons placed, but never fired, are still visible.  As I ventured up and up the weather began to get clearer and clearer. I was able to see all the way over to Cape Fear, the northeastern most point of Canada and St. John's Harbor below.
As our time in Newfoundland was coming to an end the next day, we had to meet the ferry for the overnight passage back to North Sydney, but with a 1000pm departure we had the entire day to ride around.  Weather was good, Bob had planned some more 'long way round' routes, so we headed first off to Cape Fear.  This was my goal as I have ridden a motorcycle to various such points including Key West, Florida and Cabo San Lucas. Now Cape Fear would be my 3rd such point.  These were all considered the furthest points of the Continental North America and all that was left for me was Purdue Bay, Alaska. It as a great moment in my motorcycle riding career and I was going to savor it with numerous photos of the area!
We then headed south to Trepassey Bay and then to St. Mary's Bird Sanctuary with a great dinner stop along the way at Gannet's Nest for some Moose Stew and Rhubarb upside down cake.  What a treat!
We met the rest of the group at the Ferry embarkation point. We would not arrive in North Sydney till 4pm the next day and the 1 hour ride back to the Silver Dart Lodge put us back in Baddeck, Cape Breton   Island the next couple of nights.
Why 2 nights at the Silver Dart Lodge?  Well we had to spend the next day riding the infamous Cabot Trail known around the world as one of the best motorcycling roads in the world.  Of course Bob added some more to the loop and we road about 426 kilometers that day.  The route would take us counter clockwise around the Cabot Trail and then south on Canada 19 all the way south to Port Hastings and then loop back to the Silver Dart Lodge.  A great wonderful scenic ride along the oceans and seaways, but I think I had ridden some better roads than the Cabot Trail had to offer.  I thought back about those other 'loops' I had done and I was glad I had.  They were much more interesting and scenic than this road!
Bob was to leave me and head back the next morning to meet with some friends in New Hampshire, so I was back to being on my own or with the group.  As usual I decided to take a longer way around to Halifax, Nova Scotia and road the Coastal Loop as close to the water as I could.  With a breakfast stop in Guysborough and my smoked fish I procured from St. Mary's Smoked Fish Company, I had a great day of scenic riding along so many fishing villages and coves, they are just to numerous to mention.  But places like Larry's River, Isaacs Harbor, Sheet Harbor, and Mosquodoboit Harbor come to mind.
Even after the side road ride, I still came into the hotel in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia by mid afternoon.  This allowed me to go with Jeff and Takame out to Peggy's Cove and a kilometer down the road to the site of the 1998 Swiss Air Flight 111 disaster.  Dinner was with the group via ferry across the Halifax Harbor and of course finally Cow's Ice Cream for dessert.
The next day's ride northward to Moncton for motorcycle service was early so we could get there as early as possible to Adrian's Motorcycle Shop for oil change, front tire change, and look into my problems with the battery and charging system.  All taken care of except the charging system as it needed a new diode board that I had my friend John in Milwaukee ordered for me to install when I arrived there the coming weekend.  As long as I kept the bike on charger overnight I should be okay!
The group was to head to a picnic sponsored by the local BMW motorcycle club between Moncton and Fredericton, but I had to peel off for gas and decided to go directly to Fredericton for the night as I had an early start the next day to get back into the USA and begin to head south back to Mexico.  It was time to get focused and organized for the long ride back to Puerto Vallarta in as little time as possible.