Final Day: It’s about the journey, not the destination

That morning I dressed for my final ride with the Tour du Canada. Last night a group of us decided to cycle to Signal Hill to bring the tour to a close. Before we reached Signal Hill we visited the Terry Fox Mile 0 monument. The monument represented the starting point of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope. I followed Terry Fox from coast to coast. In Victoria I began the tour at Mile 0 where a statue of Terry Fox was located, representing the place where his Marathon of Hope was to end; in Thunder Bay I visited the Terry Fox Memorial which was located not far from the place where Terry ended his run due to cancer; and now I made it to the place where the journey had begun. 

After visiting Mile 0 we made our trek to Signal Hill. It was quite the hike up the hill, but I made it! Unfortunately it was a foggy, rainy day and so I could not see the view from Signal Hill; however, it is an incentive to go back :)

Once we took photos at Signal Hill we cycled down to the water to put our bicycles in the ocean. I dipped my wheels into the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, coast to coast. I officially completed Tour du Canada 2013! 

I was quite surprised by my reaction. I did not feel overly exuberant. The Tour just ended and that was it; the end was very anti-climatic. I realized then what it meant when people say, “It’s about the journey, not the destination.” The tour was never about reaching Signal Hill. Yes it was a component of the tour, but the true meaning was the journey. To me Tour du Canada was about challenging myself physically, mentally, and emotionally and after all those challenges coming out with a smile. It was about perseverance. The Tour was also about family, friendship and experiencing great acts of kindness and generosity across this grand country I call my home. And finally, the tour was about taking it day by day, marvelling in the wonders of the day and all you experienced and witnessed, be it big or small.

After dipping our wheels into the ocean we went back to the Hotel and changed to go to brunch where we celebrated our achievement. The brunch was lovely, a final meal with my Tour du Canada family. I could not have asked for a better group of people to have shared this cross Canada adventure with, I felt very lucky.

Once brunch was complete we all said our goodbyes. At the hotel I frantically packed my belongings, said my final goodbyes and off I went to the airport. The journey was over but it will be an experience I will cherish for the rest of my life. 

Argentia to St. John’s, 140km: And the wind blows on and on

We reached Argentia at 10am. The trip took longer than usual because of the high winds. Once I got my bicycle off the van and my front wheel on Paula it was 11am. To get to St. John’s from Argentia it would take 140km. On a day in which the wind was at ones back, the ride would be quite easy; however, we had the wind in our face and it was the strongest winds we had experienced on the tour. As such, the last day of the tour became one of the toughest.

Before we set off on Route 100 a group of us took a photo under the Welcome to Newfoundland sign. I made it to the final province in Canada! 

When I turned onto Route 100 I was struck with the full force of the wind. As I was making my way to Route 1 I was going an average 12km/hr. The slowness of the ride was frustrating because of the fact that I had to cycle 140km and I had left late. Luckily a group of us formed a pace line of 10 people. It was nice to be part of such a large pace line because I was reminded that I was not alone in this situation; we were all battling the elements together.

The day was becoming quite long. The hope was to cycle up Signal Hill which has become the “finish line” of the Tour du Canada. Unfortunately, the group of us did not reach Signal Hill because we got to St. John’s at 8:30pm at which point it was dark and raining. We thought it would be unsafe to cycle up the hill because of the darkness and high winds. As such we rode to the hotel and decided to attempt cycling up Signal Hill tomorrow.

When I checked it I was given a card from my family. At that moment the significance of my achievement sunk in. I did it; I cycled across Canada, coast to coast from Victoria, British Columbia to St. John’s, Newfoundland! 

Englishtown to North Sydney, 43km: Goodbye Nova Scotia

Today was the shortest day of the tour, a whooping 43km. The goal of the day was to make it to the ferry in North Sydney by 2pm. Louise, Mary, Mike, and I left around 10am because we were in no rush to get to the ferry.

Last night and this morning several riders put purple and green ribbons on their bicycle in remembrance of Bob and Irene. Becky had come up with the idea and I found it to be a beautiful gesture. The colours purple and green were chosen because Irene had always worn a purple shirt and Bob had green handlebar tape with skulls on his bicycle :)

The ride to North Sydney was quite easy. We had to cycle up Kelly Mountain which was only 240m in height; however, we still took a photo by the sign because it was an accomplishment to make it to the top :) 

We cycled on the bridge over Great Bras d'Or Channel and I just had to take a photo of the bridge because it looked pretty awesome.

We made it to North Sydney at around 12pm. We gave our bicycles to Adam who strapped them on top of the van and trailer. We had to take our front wheels off in order for the bikes to be secured on the bicycle rack. 

We changed out of our bicycle gear, went to Tim Hortons for lunch, and wandered down Main Street in North Sydney. Soon enough we were boarding the ferry which would take us to Argentia, Newfoundland. We would be sleeping on the ferry as it was a 14-16hr ferry ride depending on weather. I was excited to be on the ferry because I had never been on a ship for so long nor had I ever slept on a ship. Mary, Becky, Louise and I stayed in one room. They were small but it was a fun experience. That evening we had an all you can eat dinner which each of us took advantage of.

Tomorrow would be the final day of the tour...I cannot believe it...what an adventure this has been. 

Dingwall to Englishtown, 108km: Moose!

Today we cycled the last bit of the Cabot Trail all the way to Englishtown. There were a lot of ups and downs but it was not as challenging as yesterday.

The ups and downs began right when we got out of camp. However, the scenery made up for the challenge. The Cabot Trail is absolutely gorgeous and I cannot stress enough how enjoyable it was to cycle. Along the way we noticed a male moose on the side of the road. It was the first time Louise saw a moose. They are such grand, massive creatures, and their head is huge.

When Mary, Louise, Clarke, Becky and I reached Ingonish we stopped at a general store for some chocolate milk and there we saw a young moose, it was awesome.

Can you see the youngin'?

The climb to Cape Smokey was a nice, steady, long climb. I could tell we were finally reaching the top when the tree line was levelling off. At the top Mary, Louise and I stopped for a lunch break. 

The decent from Cape Smokey was likely the best descent of the Cabot Trail. I am so thankful we went clockwise rather than counter clockwise because climbing Cape Smokey would have been significantly more difficult than climbing North Mountain.  There was one section that required us to take the turn at 20km/hr; it was definitely a tight turn. One of the riders in the group took the turn too quickly. He went off onto the gravel section which was created to enable trucks to take the turn.  

Before we reached Englishtown we stopped at the Clucking Hen Cafe and Bakery for a snack break. Mary, Louise and I did not stay long because we were on galley duty that evening.

That evening all the riders had to take all their belonging out of the Bristol truck and pack it up to go into the van and trailer which we would take on the ferry to get to Newfoundland. Thank goodness we had spaghetti that evening because it was an easy meal to prepare and so I had time to pack my gear. It was strange to pack my things because it meant the end was very very close.  Tomorrow we would take the ferry to Newfoundland where we would cycle to St. John’s, our final destination.

Lake Ainslie to Dingwall, 149km: Cabot Trail here I come!

Today was the day that ended up being the biggest physical challenge of the entire tour because we were combating the Cabot Trail. My parents had told me after they found out I was going to cycle on the Cabot Trail that when the speed limit signs say go 30km/hr around a corner, I was to go 30km/hr because those turns were tight. Plus, the reason for those turns was to slow drivers down because of the steepness of the mountain descent. This also meant it was a steep ascend. I would be lying if I said I was not anxious to climb those hills.

   

The first chunk of the ride was outside of Cape Breton Highlands National Park and it was an easy section to cycle. Before I reached the national park, Mary, Louise, Becky, Clarke and I stopped for lunch at a bakery just outside of the town of Cheticamp. I noticed a sign before we reached Cheticamp that there was a bakery ahead. I told the others that I thought it would be a great spot to take a break. We cycled through Cheticamp and we did not see this bakery; however, I was adamant to find it so we cycled out of the town and still this bakery was nowhere to be seen. I was getting nervous because the others wanted to take a break at a coffee shop but our next opportunity would not be until another 50km. But my perseverance was awarded because just when I seriously doubted whether the bakery existed it popped up. The bakery was called La Boulangerie Aucoin's Bakery and it was awesome. I had a yummy sugar donut and cheese croissant, a great energy boost for the challenge ahead. 

 The climb to Mackenzie Mountain was easy. When we reached the sign indicating we made it to the top we were surprised because it felt we had not climbed at all. Nonetheless, we still took a photo under the sign. Two down, one more to go. 

The last mountain, North Mountain, was smaller than French, with a height of 445m; however, it was the most difficult to climb. One of the riders said some of the sections had a grade of 17%. Unfortunately during this climb I had to get off the bike and walk a portion of it because of its steepness. However, I still made it to the top but I must admit I do wish to cycle up that mountain again without getting off the bike.

 The descent from North Mountain was awesome. I was constantly holding onto my brakes otherwise I would be flying into the ocean; it was quite thrilling. Once we made it down North Mountain we steadily cycled our way to camp. We were quite exhausted so it was a relief to finally make it to camp. Overall, cycling the Cabot Trail was significantly more difficult than the Rocky Mountains. But I was happy the Cabot Trail was part of the tour because it was gorgeous, a definite highlight of the trip.