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Old 11-12-17, 12:47 PM
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Erick L
Lentement mais sûrement
 
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Montréal
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I had a few perfect days in a row when even troubles were resolved smoothly.

This was on a tour around the gulf of St-Lawrence. I was at the beginning of the famous Cabot Trail stretch and stayed two nights to spend a full day in the park and do some hiking. That full day began under thick clouds so I went hiking along a river. Nice but not great. In late afternoon, the sky cleared and I ran back to my bike to bike part of the Cabot Trail as the sun set on the cliff (my avatar). An eagle flew overhead but I wasn't quick enough... then it flew over again. I was biking back to my site when a moose was feeding next to the road.





The next day, I rode this part again and stopped at a lookout where some Harley guy was telling Harley chicks how they had "real bikes". As soon as the guy left, one woman turned to me and said "OMG, your legs!, I wanna bite into them!" I got a kick out of that. Later I hiked the skyline trail and saw more moose, eagles, hawks and whales. One moose calf was so close that someone tried to feed it grass. The mother was just lying in the shade as if she didn't care.

I stopped at another lookout when a car stopped and some guy came rushing out babbling some unintelligible gibberish. It's only when he showed his cleated shoes that I understood he was a cyclist. Ed the Australian had been biking and driving parts of eastern Canada. We chatted a bit and parted. I kept going, climbed North Mountain and down to a small campsite. A car was there and I was a bit miffed that I wouldn't have the place for myself. It was Ed the Australian! The campsite had a little shelter and stove. Ed had wood, beer and some leftover food. It was a nice evening.



The next day, I stopped at a small store but it was closed so I got something from a vending machine. I kept going, got out of the park for good and stopped for ice cream. Oops, no wallet. I called my bank to cancel my cards and rode back 15km to the vending machine but couldn't find my wallet so I kept going. The next town was two days away and thanks to Ed's food, I had just enough left to get in town without skipping a meal. I stopped at a lookout looking for my wallet and a guy offered me 20$ but I didn't need it. Also, I heard that a cable car that would save me 30km of hilly terrain was free for cyclists but I wasn't sure. Just before the crossroad, I came across a couple on a tandem who confirmed the ferry was free.

I got in town in late afternoon and went straight to the bank. They asked me a bunch of question, issued a new debit card and made arrangement to pick up a new credit card in another town. I had just enough time to stop for fuel, then I hopped on the ferry to Newfoundland and we were off within 30 minutes. Timing wouldn't have been better if I had planned it.

A month or two later, I got a package from the police. It was my wallet with the cash still in it.
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