Let's catch you up.

Yesterday - 8th of July

Can't tell you how many times I woke up that morning - trying to tell how bad it was raining - and deciding it was raining too hard and I should just fall asleep again and the next time I woke up it would be sunny and birds would be singing.  I only got part of that right - after trying it about a dozen times -- I finally got up to a drizzle on my tent and the terribly annoying squawks coming from a pair of crows -- guess it's the only way they can sing.

Anywho - we sang our own little tune while we took down our camp and loaded up our bikes - something about Hakuna Matata --- Nick's pick - we were really trying hard to stay optimistic about our 65 mike ride in the rain - and cold.

Turns out it wasn't too bad - once your wet, your wet -- the only down side is the glasses fogging up.

After reaching our destination - Gander - we rode to our CouchSurfer host Jon's house.  No one was home when we knocked, so we unloaded our bikes on the back deck - borrowed his hose to rinse everything off - and took a rainy stroll down to a restaraunt we passed on our way in town - where we waited to make contact with Jon. Turns out, Jon - who is a helicopter pilot for the Canadian search and rescue - was called out to a rescue in Labrador and not even on the island - not a problem though - he contacted Erinn his gf who kindly let us in and showed us around. Showers then laundry!!  2 very appreciated luxuries.

Once settled in - spreading all our stuff out in the basement to dry - we chatted with Erinn about the area and Nicholas found a new bestie - Kevin, a very energetic German Shepard.

Today - 9th of July

I could have slept in their guest bed until noon - super comfy!

Once up, we started to collect our things - taking what was still wet out into the sun to dry before packing again.  We met our other host Jon - who ended up getting back from his flight super late last night - and was nice enough to get up early to meet us and review our map and discuss potential destinations to visit.  At one point I mentioned icebergs - he got super stoked and asked if we wanted some -- huh?  Yep - he had a piece of an iceberg in his freezer!! Super cool!! He grabbed a hammer and we broke off some pieces and put them in water to drink - ice that's probably thousands of years old!! And to top it off - he showed us a video of the iceberg it came from - they flew over it doing some training and snagged a chunk -- all on his helmet cam (GoPro). I'm hoping he's either able to share the video or send me a couple still shots - it was incredible -- there was actually a giant pool of water at the top in the center - and 2 rescue divers went into it -- totally bad ass!!

We finally packed up - most of the stuff being dry -- said our goodbyes - grabbed some breakfast and were off.  It was a 54 mile day - potentially one of the hilliest - ending up in Terra Nova National Park. 

Have you ever been riding - up a big hill - I mean a really big hill -- and you're giving it all she's got - you know your in that easy granny gear -- but you try, one more time - just in case -- to see if you maybe didn't shift all the way - and you CAN find an easier gear -- not super shocked but disappointed that it didn't work? Have you ever tried it again on that same hill - maybe just a little further up? Well - that's the kind of hills we had - and the kinda shifting I repeated over and over :)

In all, it was a great day - partly sunny - partly cloudy - some tailwinds - some headwinds - and smooth roads.

Camping for the night in Terra Nova -- all showered up and ready to sleep. Might spend the day here tomorrow and hike around -- we'll sleep on it.