Deer Lake to Trout River, 54.4 miles
Crocker Cabins
Tour Guide description: We begin our tour at the inland town of Deer Lake. We start off by going westward. By early afternoon we will reach Gros Morne National Park. Taking the southern option of the two routes into the park, we cross the "tablelands," rocky barrens formed by the wearing down of very old mountains. The far end of the road at Trout River offers us an incredibly spectacular vista.
Suz and I got out of Deer Lake’s Driftwood Motel by 8 or so and rode our bikes to the bottom of the hill to a Tim Horton’s for breakfast. I had a cream cheese bagel and o.j. We got lost getting back from TH’s and followed another rider (Wayne) who was lost also, but we got to Hwy 430 just before it crossed the Humber River, and I remembered the way from my visit to the Insectarium the day before.
The day began overcast with big storm clouds, so I started off in my rain jacket. Soon it was tied around my waist. I generate enough heat hill climbing to warm a village of fifty.
We stopped in Lomond for lunch. Lomond is a popular fishing area and is located in a woodsy, beautiful mountainside with the stream running through it. We stopped at a cabins/campsite and availed ourselves of their tables and snack bar, getting cold drinks and eating an energy bar or two. The black flies lunched here also, so we applied insect repellent. Just as we finished, Aki Iwase, a Japanese rider from Yellowknife, and Pat & Rick Watt, a couple from Florida, arrived. We learned last names and got to know each other a bit as no introductions had been made the evening before.
Almost immediately this day we came across some Showy Lady Slippers.
Up and down we continued along Hwy 430, which contained some good sized but manageable hills . . . until at Wiltondale we turned left onto 431 to Gros Morne’s Trout River. Suddenly we were mountain climbing and the way was often steep. The gray, rocky, flat-topped tableland loomed above green mountains making me feel like a speck on the face of the world.
At Winter House Brook we made another sharp left turn, and the climbing really began. We were toward the end of the group but shortly after we turned at the Interpretative Center, we caught up to a small group of four from New Brunswick (whom I later dubbed Barry & the Unsociables—or “The BUNS,” for short) trying to help a woman named Arlene Eliason (a SD native transplanted to MN) whose back brakes were nonfunctional. Barry removed a spacer washer and pronounced the job done, so he and the BUNs took off. But Arlene's brakes were still nonfunctional, so Arlene had to walk her bike.
Shortly before we turned at Winter House Brook, Suz’s knee gave out. She’d been riding with her seat too high, had stretched a muscle/ligament/tendon? behind her knee, and could not go on. Ed was in the SAG van and had passed us two hours previously saying that he would return in an hour but had to go to the Deer Lake Airport for an Australian woman and her bike.
Lo! while we were at the lookout pondering what to do for Suz & Arlene, Ed pulled in. Both he and Gary were in the van and had gone together to the airport and grocery, thus leaving no one on the road to support the riders. Furthermore, the van was not equipped with a bike rack and was filled with tools, groceries, and junk. Only two seats were available and one would have had to use a backhoe to find them.
We stopped in Lomond for lunch. Lomond is a popular fishing area and is located in a woodsy, beautiful mountainside with the stream running through it. We stopped at a cabins/campsite and availed ourselves of their tables and snack bar, getting cold drinks and eating an energy bar or two. The black flies lunched here also, so we applied insect repellent. Just as we finished, Aki Iwase, a Japanese rider from Yellowknife, and Pat & Rick Watt, a couple from Florida, arrived. We learned last names and got to know each other a bit as no introductions had been made the evening before.
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| Not a flattering photo of either Suz or Aki in Lomand, a fly fisher's mecca |
Almost immediately this day we came across some Showy Lady Slippers.
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| Showy Ladyslippers at roadside |
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| Blue flag that grew everywhere along the highway |
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| This large-leafed plant with white flower may be Scotch Lovage; the plant is similar to Scotch Lovage, which is in the parsley family, but the leaves seem more pointed and the plant seems larger and more prevalent . . . or it may be Cow Parsnip, AKA Giant hogweed, a large invasive plant from Eurasia that contains sap that can cause severe burning on one's skin. We did not touch it to find out. |
Up and down we continued along Hwy 430, which contained some good sized but manageable hills . . . until at Wiltondale we turned left onto 431 to Gros Morne’s Trout River. Suddenly we were mountain climbing and the way was often steep. The gray, rocky, flat-topped tableland loomed above green mountains making me feel like a speck on the face of the world.
At Winter House Brook we made another sharp left turn, and the climbing really began. We were toward the end of the group but shortly after we turned at the Interpretative Center, we caught up to a small group of four from New Brunswick (whom I later dubbed Barry & the Unsociables—or “The BUNS,” for short) trying to help a woman named Arlene Eliason (a SD native transplanted to MN) whose back brakes were nonfunctional. Barry removed a spacer washer and pronounced the job done, so he and the BUNs took off. But Arlene's brakes were still nonfunctional, so Arlene had to walk her bike.
Eventually we all made it to a lookout with a scope on it. We took turns looking up at the tableland and valleys still dotted with snow. We knew we had a big bit of climbing left to get to the top of them.
Shortly before we turned at Winter House Brook, Suz’s knee gave out. She’d been riding with her seat too high, had stretched a muscle/ligament/tendon? behind her knee, and could not go on. Ed was in the SAG van and had passed us two hours previously saying that he would return in an hour but had to go to the Deer Lake Airport for an Australian woman and her bike.
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| Bonnie Bay looking toward Woody Point |
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| Winter House Brook |
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| Truck hitting a wall? |
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| Suz with injured knee, me, and Arlene with Barry of the BUNS, messing with Arlene's brakes |
Lo! while we were at the lookout pondering what to do for Suz & Arlene, Ed pulled in. Both he and Gary were in the van and had gone together to the airport and grocery, thus leaving no one on the road to support the riders. Furthermore, the van was not equipped with a bike rack and was filled with tools, groceries, and junk. Only two seats were available and one would have had to use a backhoe to find them.
Gary did not want to give up his seat and ride his bike, and he definitely did not want to unearth everything to give Arlene or Suz a ride. He told Suz, in effect, to suck it up, and he tried vainly to repair Arlene’s brakes, but it was a job that required replacing the brake cable. He was about to hunt through the piles in the van for a brake cable when I suggested loading Arlene’s bike and Suz into the van and letting Arlene ride Suz’s bike to Trout Lake with me. When he got to camp he could take his time repairing the brake cable. He decided on this plan and Arlene was good with it, too. I was tired and would not have turned down a ride, but am glad now that I rode in, though it was a tough 9 miles.
Arlene was unused to Suz’s bike, which was too big for her, but she did okay, though walked every climb. Though I walked some too, I could usually ride most or all of the climb, so waited at the top of each for Arlene . . . sometimes for long periods in the cold and mist. I managed to ride three fourths of the last big climb (surprisingly the last portion), directly into a wet cloud that sat atop the mountain, pushing the temp down into the forties. I was freezing but had on my raincoat. Arlene, poor thing, was dressed only in shorts and two jerseys.
Finally, we descended a very steep, short section of road, and I ended up in Trout River, face to face with the van, which had deposited Suzanne at Seaside Restaurant and was returning to look for us and the Australian rider. It was near dark and after 7 pm!
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| Camera doesn't capture this well but it is a scree where water has washed the earth away and left only rocks; it was very large and extended well into the canyon |
We met Suz and Ancilla Chui in Trout River at Seaside Restaurant where they’d been waiting for us for quite awhile. I had the scallop dinner and though it was delicious, it with pie, coffee, and tip set me back over $40. Shades of Norway! (Later that evening we vowed to pack lunches, shop at grocery stores, and to eat from our boxes for the remainder of the ride.)
Our decision to stay in lodging rather than tenting over the course of the ride was a good one. Putting up a tent in the cold wet as chilled and exhausted as we were would have been odious.
After dinner, Arlene and I cycled to Crocker Cabins, about a mile and a half from the restaurant, so that Suz’s and my bikes would be there for the following day’s ride. Suz stayed at the restaurant waiting for Ed and Gary to return in the van. Arlene and I found the cabin lovely—two bedrooms, a kitchen with kitchen table, microwave, l.r. at one end of the kitchen with a TV, and a very large bathroom. I was cold to the bone and the warm shower never felt so good!
Meanwhile, Gary finally arrived back at the restaurant. He wanted Ed to help him at the campground, so told Suz that it was a “short walk” from the restaurant to the cabin. But Ed knew better and insisted on driving Suz to the cabin after dropping Gary at the campground. She reported that Ed repeatedly said, “It’s a short walk, but we’re not there yet” as he drove the mile and a half.
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| Suz at Seaside Restaurant |
After dinner, Arlene and I cycled to Crocker Cabins, about a mile and a half from the restaurant, so that Suz’s and my bikes would be there for the following day’s ride. Suz stayed at the restaurant waiting for Ed and Gary to return in the van. Arlene and I found the cabin lovely—two bedrooms, a kitchen with kitchen table, microwave, l.r. at one end of the kitchen with a TV, and a very large bathroom. I was cold to the bone and the warm shower never felt so good!
Meanwhile, Gary finally arrived back at the restaurant. He wanted Ed to help him at the campground, so told Suz that it was a “short walk” from the restaurant to the cabin. But Ed knew better and insisted on driving Suz to the cabin after dropping Gary at the campground. She reported that Ed repeatedly said, “It’s a short walk, but we’re not there yet” as he drove the mile and a half.
The two did not get to the cabin until after 8:30 pm. Arlene would have gladly slept on the couch in the l.r. but did not have her things with her, so Ed and Arlene left for the campground around 9 pm. So glad 1) I am not camping, and 2) not working for this bicycle touring company.
I did not envy either Arlene or Ed. Ed is sleeping in the truck, alternating nights with Andrew. I’d given Andrew a pillow this morning before we'd locked our tenting gear and extra stuff in the car, which will sit in the Driftwood parking lot for the duration of our ride. When Andrew told me that he’d slept in the truck but had no pillow so was uncomfortable, I'd given him the full-sized pillow I'd bought but thought was too soft. Andrew is new to staffing for Atlantic Canada Cycling. He had been hired only the day before the ride start because Gary was desperate, I understand. Ed has worked for Gary before and tries to cushion riders to some of Gary's eccentricities, as seen by his giving Suz a ride to the cabin.
After Ed and Arlene left for the campgrounds, Suz and I washed out our riding duds, showered, and I brought this journal up to date (hand writing notes in a small book—I did not bring the computer on the ride) before we fell into our respective beds. We must be up at 5:45 tomorrow to leave by 6:30 to catch the ferry at 9:15 a.m.
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