We’d heard that Newfoundland is reminiscent of Ireland, and as we cycled this fabulous province in Eastern Canada, we found this to be true of the coastal landscape, the Newfoundlander’s lilt and brogue, and the lively music festivals. What we also discovered while cycling through the endless variety of terrain that the island has to offer is that Newfoundland has a ruggedness uniquely it own and its people are sincere in a way that seems founded in a hardy lifestyle and concern for one’s fellow man.

Historically, Newfoundland’s economy was centred on fishing, and its communities are found primarily along its coast. This makes for beautiful scenery, but cyclists will often find themselves between major centres and far from any bicycle shop. As secondary highways are often rough, cyclists are advised to carry a tool kit complete with spare tires, tubes, spokes, and the like. Extra water is necessary along the sparsely populated stretches as well, and we found boil-water orders in place at several of the locations we visited.

The Avalon Peninsula – South Shore
Throughout the Avalon Peninsula, riders should be prepared for dramatic climbs and fast descents, strong winds off the ocean, and spectacular vistas. Paved shoulders are narrow to non-existent, but the local traffic is very accommodating and the roadways are seldom busy once out of the major centres. More adventurous cyclists will enjoy complete tours around the peninsula, and although there is ample opportunity for roadside camping throughout Newfoundland, riders looking for the comfort of a real bed are advised to book accommodations in advance.

We opted for taking day-trips from several good base sites in the area that allowed for challenging adventures. Salmonier and Colinet are two small communities about five kilometres apart at the innermost part of St. Mary’s Bay. A relatively level 80-kilometre stretch from Colinet leads to Cape St. Mary’s, where naturalists, bird-watchers, and tourists have been going for more than a century to view the many different species of seabirds. The graceful and powerful Northern Gannets made our visit worth every kilometre. With a wingspan of two metres, these birds soar to heights where smaller birds are buffeted about like mere feathers, and they can dive at speeds of up to 100 km/h to snatch prey from the ocean depths.

On the other side of St. Mary’s Bay, we chose Trepassy as our next hub. We found ourselves without accommodation on our first night in the area and were discussing our situation over dinner at the First Venture Restaurant. In typical Newfoundlander fashion, the waitress not only made some calls and secured us a bed for the night, she also insisted we call her once we reached the B&B. “Or else I’ll worry all night,” she told us.
Day-trips out of Trepassy begin with a steep climb up from sea level to the barrens, wide flat stretches of peat and bog, dotted with rippling pools. Sights in the area include whales just offshore near St. Vincent’s, wandering herds of caribou (we found them on the road to picturesque St. Shotts), and Cape Race, once the location of Newfoundland’s first wireless communication station. Chance Cove Provincial Park is about 15 kilometres east of Trepassy and an additional six kilometres in on a gravel road. We brewed cups of strong joe while resting on the rocky shore as we marveled at the dichotomy of Newfoundland’s landscape, epitomized here with the thunderous crashing of the surf against the calm sweep of marsh grass and wild irises.

Ferryland, a popular tourist stop, lies on the road north from Chance Cove to St. John’s and boasts remains from the Colony of Avalon, one of the few colonies established in the 1600s that resulted in permanent settlement. The roads, climbing and plummeting, are busier between Ferryland and St. John’s, and though Newfoundland drivers everywhere are quite accommodating, the extra traffic here leaves less room to share.

Another popular destination from St. John’s is La Manche Provincial Park. In search of the park, we found what remains of La Manche Village—in 1966, a severe winter storm swept into the narrow harbour and left behind only building foundations. A new suspension bridge spans the harbour and connects the provincial park’s trail network to the East Coast Trail. Whales are commonly seen diving in the harbour mouth.

La Manche is easily reached from St. John’s, and there are numerous other historical and ecological sites in the vicinity. We could have spent our entire holiday in and around St. John’s—riding there is a joyful challenge. The city has a number of historical buildings and commemorative statues, and the downtown is absolutely beautiful with loads of Old World charm. A hearty bicycle climb or a winding hike leads up to Signal Hill for a panoramic view of the city and evidence of Newfoundland’s military role in the Commonwealth’s history. Like the gunners of times past, Signal Hill provides a superb view of the surrounding hillside and the harbour below. Quidi Vidi Village, at the bottom of the Hill, offers a picturesque view of seaside living and many curiosities for the tourist. Nearby Cape Spear is the most easterly point in Canada and full of history: Newfoundland’s oldest standing lighthouse is here, as well as one of Canada’s few World War II bunkers.

Mountain bikers will find many trails in and around St. John’s and elsewhere on the peninsula. Local bicycle shops are a good resource, as is the Avalon Mountain Bike Trail Guide, available through Bicycle Newfoundland and Labrador. We learned of another mountain-biking hot spot, in the mountainous country surrounding Corner Brook, en route to the second leg of our trip on the other side of the island.

The Viking Trail
We quickly realized that the Northern Peninsula is more favoured by cyclists. While on the Avalon Peninsula we passed only three other riders during several days of riding, and that number was surpassed within our first day of cycling on the Northern Peninsula. It is on the Northern Peninsula route that the Atlantic Canada Cycling organization runs its Newfoundland Tour, which takes place this year from June 24 to July 3.
Although the Long Range Mountains run the length of the peninsula, they rise well in from the coast, and marshy grassland covers the relatively level ground in between. However, in Gros Morne National Park, at the southern end of the Peninsula, the mountains rise steeply on all sides and the highway dips down to sea level from great heights and back up again. As on the Avalon Peninsula, the route has narrow gravel shoulders and there is usually a strong wind coming off the ocean. Motels and campgrounds are reasonably spaced along the Northern Peninsula, but it’s still wise to book ahead.

From St. Anthony at the northern tip of the peninsula, Northland Discovery Boat Tours took us into iceberg alley to an immense luminescent iceberg. We had a fabulous time ice fishing, Newfoundland-style, and got close enough to a surfacing humpback whale to make out the detail on its two-metre-long flippers. We learned that humpbacks, in their characteristic tail-showing pose, are actually making a terminal dive that can last up to 10 minutes or more, and after several minutes of shallow dives, we were fortunate enough to witness just such a dive.

There are flights into the airport near St. Anthony, a fair-sized town with great restaurants and accommodations. In the area, Pistolet Bay Provincial Park offers camping close to l’Anse aux Meadows, once a Viking settlement and now a World Heritage Site. Discovered in 1960, the site is widely believed to be Leif Erikson’s Vinland the Good, so named because of the wild grapes Erikson’s crew found and likely made into wine. Encounters with Skraelings (native North Americans) eventually forced the Vikings to abandon the settlement and return to Greenland. Evidence of ancient aboriginal culture is found farther down the Northern Peninsula at Port-aux-Choix. Burial grounds, artifacts, and remnants of dwellings here belonged to the Maritime Archaic and Palaeo-Eskimo Dorset peoples.

Along the relatively level stretch between St. Anthony and Gros Morne, cyclists will be surprised to find garden plots as well as woodpiles and lobster traps at the roadside. Apparently, the locals use this area because it is already cleared and easily accessible. For the same reason, moose favour the area for browsing, and on a good day you can see more moose than cars. Fly fisherman are a common sight as well, standing waist-deep in rivers and switching their lines at salmon. The Arches are another natural site of wonder not to be missed. Along this same stretch, Labrador comes into view across the Strait of Belle Isle. Ferry service to Labrador is available out of St. Barbe and St. Anthony, and although there are few opportunities for the road cyclists in Labrador, those with mountain bikes will find trails and logging roads.

Entering Gros Morne, the landscape changes dramatically, as we were now in the mountains rather than viewing them from a distance. Hiking trails meander across the range, offering sights and remote wilderness campsites that can only be found by leaving the bikes behind. We highly recommend giving the bikes a rest for several hours to visit Western Brook Pond. A 45-minute hike leads to a boat tour between the flat-topped mountains of this spectacular landlocked fjord.

In the south end of Gros Morne, a 35-kilometre side-trip to Trout River leads through a number of small communities nestled in the great hills surrounding the south arm of Bonne Bay. Here you will find the Tablelands, another of Newfoundland’s World Heritage sites, and see layers of our planet not typically exposed. The earth’s mantle, squeezed to the surface during the Ice Age, is an iron-rich, orange-coloured rock. It is highly acidic and lacking in nutrients, so there is very little vegetation, and trees only a few feet high might be hundreds of years old. Tablelands Boat Tours offers an interpretive passage through Trout River Pond, another landlocked fjord, which runs alongside the steep orange hills. Hiking trails over the Tablelands are accessible from the shore of Trout River Pond and from the main road.

We viewed the Tablelands with mixed feelings, as it signaled an end to our trip, and the idea of leaving such a magical place so soon was disappointing. But Newfoundland had one last special moment in store for us as we waited for the ferry in Channel Port aux Basques. Stepping through a knee-high tangle of brush and rocks to get a view of the sunset, we were surprised by a van pulling up behind us. A man stepped out and hollered to us. “There’s a fine beach up the road a ways and walking trails. A better place to view the sunset and worth a visit.” It was almost as though he knew we were looking for the perfect spot to say “so long for now”, or “we'll be back over now d'once”, as they say in Newfoundland.

mo’ info
Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism,
1-800-563-NFLD,
www.gov.nf.ca/tourism;
Bicycle Newfoundland and Labrador,
bnl@bnl.nf.ca,
www.bnl.nf.ca
Bonne Esperance House,
St. John's,
888-726-3835,
annb@nfld.com;
Bon Tours,
Western Brook Pond
(709) 458-2730, (800) 563-9887;
Canary Cycles,
St. John’s
(709) 579-5972,
canary@firstcity.net,
www.canarycycles.com;
J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park,
near Channel Port aux Basques
(709) 635-4520,
www.gov.nf.ca/parks&reserves;
Leaside Manor Heritage Inn,
St. John’s
(709) 722-0387,
info@leaside.nf.ca,
www.leaside.nf.ca;
Lomond River Lodge,
Lomond River
(709) 453-2428;
Northland Discover Boat Tours,
St. Anthony
(709) 454-3092,
(877) 632-3747;
Round Cove B&B,
Renews
(709) 363-2266;
The Old Loft Restaurant,
Woody Point
(709) 453-2294,
www.theoldloft.com;
T & T Cycles,
Corner Brook
(709) 634-6799;
Tableland Boat Tours,
Trout River
(709) 451-2101