A Day in the Life - Episode IV: Canada (Newfoundland)

By rights, as each province is different from the other, I should’ve written 10 A Day in the Life posts. I didn’t. Mostly because it was frequently cold and writing out the day’s events is rather difficult with my thick lobster gloves on. Then, when it was warm, I was just lazy. At the very end of Canada I finally got off my ass. Newfoundland, I think, is a good summary of all the provinces combined.

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May 31^st, 2012 – Started from a camp spot in the forest off the road between Gander and Benton

4:50am – Kevin is woken by his alarm.

4:52am – Kevin gets up and snacks on food.

4:59am – Kevin goes to the washroom and then returns to his tent and resumes snacking.

5:45am – Kevin finishes snacking and starts packing.

6:30am – Kevin gets out of his tent and starts tearing it down.

6:35am – Kevin calls out to Trevor, “It’s time to get up.” Trevor gets up and starts packing.

6:42am – Trevor emerges from his tent and takes a leak.

6:44am – Trevor returns and removes slug found its way into his tent and then tears down the tent.

6:50am – Kevin finishes packing and is ready to go.

6:58am – Kevin heads out to the road.

6:59am – Trevor finishes packing and heads out to the road.

7:01am – We both make it out to the road.

7:05am – Trevor puts on his MP3 player and headscarf.

7:07am (0.00km) – We go.

8:37am (28.35km) – We stop for a break at the Gambo lookout rest area. We both snack on our Italian Specialty Cake.

9:03am – Trevor prepares his (Trail) Mix for munching on the road.

9:05am – Trevor is ready to go.

9:08am – Trevor takes this photo.

Kevin getting out his camera at the Gambo lookout.

9:09am – Kevin takes this photo.

The town of Gambo.

9:10am – Kevin resumes eating his Italian Specialty Cake and picking out the candied orange peals which he doesn’t like.

9:13am – Trevor does some push-ups to warm up.

9:18am – Kevin starts cleaning the accumulated garbage from his bags.

9:22am – Kevin throws out his garbage and then takes a leak in the bushes.

9:24am – Kevin drinks some water.

9:26am – We go.

10:47am (54.08km) – Kevin spots a moose which runs into the forest as soon as he stops to get the camera out. We stop so Kevin can take a closer look. It’s long gone.

10:48am – Trevor drinks some water.

10:50am – Kevin snacks on jelly beans.

10:54am – Kevin puts away the jelly beans and brings out the tourist map.

11:05am – Kevin has some water. The mozzies are out and Kevin kills one in his ear.

11:07am – We go.

12:43pm (84.23km) – We stop for a break at a look out rest stop.

12:45pm – Kevin takes this photo.

Terra Nova National Park lookout.

12:46pm – Trevor has some water from his second bottle and the last of this (Trail) Mix he prepared earlier in the day.

12:47pm – Kevin gets out the map and his jelly beans, then sits down on the bench and says, “Arghh.”

1:04pm – A Newfoundlander in a pickup stops and tells us about a black bear 100m up the road. We drop everything to go check it out. Well mostly Kevin does who runs up the road. Trevor slowly walks up the road.

1:14pm – We return from the bear. Lots of cars stopped to check it out. The bear didn’t seem bothered by all the onlookers and just chilled on the side of the road eating plants. Kevin and Trevor got to 10m from the bear. Kevin took photos.

A black bear that can't be bothered by passing cars and onlookers.

1:23pm – Another Newfoundlander drives up and tells us about the black bear. We didn’t understand the last part of what he said. We just nodded and laughed as if we did.

1:24pm – We go.

1:27pm (84.55km) – We stop again by the bear and Kevin takes a video of it.

1:31pm - Kevin fiddles with his MP3 player to find a radio station.

1:33pm – We go.

1:48pm (90.28km) – We stop to change the radio station which has started cutting out.

1:50pm – We go.

3:01pm (113.5km) – We stop for a break. Trevor immediately rushes off to the side of the road and takes a leak. Kevin gets annoyed and asks why Trevor needs to take a leak so far off the road. Kevin probably thinks that Trevor should take a leak right at the edge of the road so all the passersby can have a gander. Just as Kevin did the day before where two cars honked while he was taking a leak right in the open at the side of the road. Trevor thinks they honked because they were displeased. Who wants to drive through nice scenery and then come around the corner to see someone taking a leak? Kevin probably thinks they were supportive honks.

3:03pm – Trevor returns to find Kevin munching on his peanuts.

3:10pm – Trevor takes off his shoe covers since he is overheating.

3:12pm – Kevin packs away the peanuts and has some water.

3:15pm – We go.

4:15pm (133.3km) – We stop to see where No Fills is in Clarenville. Kevin asks in a Canadian Tire Gas Station.

4:21pm – Kevin emerges (after having gone to the washroom) and says No Fills is just down the hill.

4:22pm – We go.

4:27pm (134.8km) – We stop at No Frills. Kevin goes in. Trevor lubes his chain.

4:36pm – Trevor finishes lubing his chain.

4:49pm – Kevin comes out with:

• A can of diced tomatoes. 
• 2 packs of chicken flavoured oriental noodles

4:50pm – Trevor goes in to have a look.

4:58pm – Disappointed, Trevor emerges with nothing.

5:00pm – Kevin notices that Trevor hasn’t eaten his energy bars that we got from Dave (another touring cyclist we met the day before) and gets annoyed, “Why do you always save stuff? Eat it.”

Trevor responds, “What?! Why does it matter to you if I still have my energy bars? I’ll eat them when I like. I’m not hungry. I’ll eat them when I feel like eating them. I don’t need to eat mine when you eat yours.”

To which Kevin responds, “You always save stuff. Stop doing it.”

“Whatever.”

5:02pm – Kevin goes to Co-op to see if they have a washroom to fill up our water bottles. Trevor has one of the energy bars.

5:08pm – Kevin returns saying there’s a washroom so we walk our bikes closer.

5:09pm – Trevor goes to use the washroom.

5:14pm – Trevor emerges and Kevin goes in to fill up all the water bottles.

5:20pm – Kevin emerges with full water bottles. Trevor goes into Co-op to see if he can find some food at a reasonable price.

5:26pm – Again Trevor comes out with nothing.

5:27pm – We go.

6:20pm (151.8km) – We stop to scope out a camp site. Kevin goes into the forest and checks the scene.

6:30pm – Kevin returns and we discuss the two choices (one on either side of the road).

6:33pm – We decide to go with the spot on the opposite side of the road.

6:36pm (152.1km) – We get to the camping spot and start setting up.

Our prime camping spot.

6:57pm – We finish setting up camp and we head into our tents.

Our homes have been built.

7:39pm – Trevor finishes eating dinner (1/3 of a loaf of Italian bread dipped in syrup) and brushing his teeth. His laptop is out of juice so he goes to sleep.

9:45pm – Kevin finishes eating dinner:

• 1 can of diced tomatoes,
• 200 grams of jelly beans,
• Oats mixed with sugar and banana jello mix,
• Oats mixed with sugar and chocolate jello mix,
• A swig of syrup.

Brushes his teeth, uses his laptop (watched one or two episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm), records some notes of the day and looks at the map. After which he goes to sleep.

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Ended at a camping spot just after Hillview