Clarenville to Bellevue Beach
On the road at 8:10 and climbing back up to the highway. One thing we have realized on 'The Rock' is that if you leave the highway you can count on doing some climbing. Newfoundland's population is coastal and the Trans Canada is not.
Today more than made up for yesterday. The wind was still strong but primarily in our backs so even though there was still lots of climbing, it did not seem nearly as difficult. Our biggest problem today was a result of yesterday...'tight leg muscles'! It is hard to believe that after all of the cycling that we have done we still have 'fatigued' leg muscles!
As we rode along we came upon the community of Arnold's Cove. We could 'smell' it before we saw it. Arnold's Cove has a 'huge' oil refinery...thus the smell! I suspect it has something to do with Newfoundland's new found offshore oil. As we climbed away from the refinery we passed through an area almost 'void' of vegetation. Either this area had a 'nuclear attack' at some time or it must be one 'windswept' chunk of rock. I suspect it is the latter since we probably would have heard about the 'nuclear theory'!!!
We decided to leave the Trans Canada and head out to a coastal community for our accommodation tonight. Remember that thing about leaving the highway and hills, well we met the 'steepest' hill we have faced in Newfoundland. We are staying in a 'log cabin' on the ocean at the Fiddler's Green Resort. It is a really nice 2 bedroom unit with a full kitchen. Too bad all we have to cook are 'Sidekicks', our old standby.
Daily Distance = 82.57 km. Time on the bikes= 5 hours 4 minutes. Average Speed = 16.29 km. Maximum Speed = 53.94 km. Wildlife Sightings = Osprey, Bald eagle, Cormorants, Black backed gull, Red Squirrel, Mourning Cloak Butterfly.
Kevin = 3, Sue = 0.
