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SPRING 2017 ISSUE 01 / VOL. 02
Main: The Cape Bonavista Lighthouse from 1843 originally used whale-oil lamps. This lighthouse received the first distress signal from the Titanic more than a century ago. Right: Inside the lighthouse. It’ s been well preserved and has very authentic re-enactors. I met the lighthouse keeper and his wife.
The roads are in good shape and the traffic was light. Tourist season wouldn’ t get into full swing for another few weeks, but even then this is not a place of crowds. I made no reservations and always had a few places to choose from each day. The economy is tough here and many people offer B & Bs in their homes.
I arrived in Rocky Harbor and quickly found a nice B & B. I was in the middle of Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This dramatic area includes the Western Brook Pond fjord with its 2,000-foot-high cliffs, and the Tablelands, one of the few places where the earth’ s mantle has been pushed to the surface to create a moonlike landscape. I enjoyed a hike and boat ride to see these places— well worth some time out of the saddle.
One of my main goals for this trip was to ride the T’ Railway, the abandoned railroad bed that runs 500 miles across the whole island and through the most remote interior. I had new Continental TKC80 tires on my Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom, camping gear and assurances from a local rider’ s group that my heavy bike would be fine on the railroad bed.“ We don’ t even consider it offroad.” I’ m not a great dirt rider but I have ridden the Rue du Nord, the TransLabrador, Top of the World Highway and the Dalton to Prudhoe. How hard could this be?