Day 90 - Brigus Junction, NL to Cape Spear, NL

August 11 (Tuesday)

Start Time: 6:45 am

Stop Time: 12:15 pm

KM Travelled: 75.9 km

Elevation: +978/ - 1,053 m

Special Stuff: Finishing the Ride

I am awake at my usual time, just before the 4:00 am alarm goes off. I had a good sleep, but recall turning over many times, putting my hands in my pockets to get comfortable on the firm air mattress. As I consider venturing out to the 'comfort station', it starts to rain - I take a deep sigh an opt instead to quietly pack up my sleeping gear as I wait out the shower (I made sure to put all the packing materials in needed in my tent last night.)

As I am packing up, I notice that dawn is not arriving as early as I expect, and then realize that Newfoundland is 1/2 hour behind Nova Scotia (4.5 hours behind B.C.)...which means our departure this morning will be delayed to around 6:30 am.

I check the weather app but can't get access to the internet. Today's riding attire is going to be a crap shoot. I gauge my clothing selection by the the fact that I slept in my long pants and winter coat and the current rainy weather conditions. I choose to go with long pants over my biking shorts and a raincoat.

At 5:00 am I get up and out of the tent to go to the bathroom and then hydrate with my standard electrolyte beverage and 2 cups of java. The timing of my hydration is important so that the liquids can make their way through my body before I hit the road. I rummage around my handlebar bag and find a dry bun that I've stashed away. I locate the nearly empty jar of peanut butter (that's has also been a back-up emergency food) and polish it off - in the process discovering that peanut butter buns dipped in warm coffee tastes great!

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My daughter will be arriving in St. John's this morning at 6:30 am off a red eye flight from Vancouver. I'm so excited that I will have family at the finish line waiting for me. Unfortunately not all of my kids could come out - it's not always possible to get away from life's responsibilities - I completely understand and know they are cheering for me from afar.

I reflect on today's ride and have mixed feelings. I'm looking forward to seeing my family, and completing the ride. On the other side of the same coin, I'm also sad that I won't have a new adventure every day. I will miss the things that I love so much about riding. I love the wind. I love the challenge of the hills. I love the expansive space. I love the time for reflection. I love thinking about nothing at all.

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The ride today has lots of hills - I can see my breath during parts of the ride. I am so glad that I mentally prepared myself for a hilly, more challenging ride in Newfoundland. It meets my expectations!

Riding with another person is such a great addition to my cross-Canada tour. Steve the Cross Canada Biker is the lead rider - navigating out path. Being the 'follower', I realize that I need to adapt my biking style. In my style of riding, when I see a hill coming up, I like to take a running start, tear up a hill, getting as far as I can before I switch into granny gear. I learn that this does not work when biking with someone who starts slowly and then goes fast over the crest of the hill. When I see hills coming up, I fall back a kilometer or more to allow me to use my usual approach. Had I learned this different way of tackling hills, I may have tried it earlier in the ride, but I'm not willing to change my approach this late in the game.

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Riding along with Steve the Cross Canada Biker, I draw upon my flexibility and adaptability skills. The front approach to Cape Spear has a very steep incline that many bikers on my social media channels have mentioned. I have been proactive and have plotted out a route on my RidewithGPS app that takes a backroad with a gentler elevation gain. Steve the Cross Canada Biker as the lead rider is navigating the route (I assume he is taking my suggested route because it is easier). Steve the Cross Canada Biker, however, uses Google maps (which is really out to get bikers - "Google f*cked" as he calls it). We get to Tim Hortons for a coffee break and I realize that we are en route to taking the steeper approach. I surprise myself by thinking, "Oh well, I guess this is all part of the adventure."

Through lived experience, I can now attest to the fact that the front approach to Cape Spear has very steep, nasty hills. There are a few sections with grades ranging from 9 up to 17%. I shed my rain gear and get off my bike to walk - twice! I learn that Steve the Cross Canada Biker is a phenomenal hill climber - he stops part way up 13% grade hills - to take pictures and videos - and then just casually gets back on his bike and keeps riding. Like, WHAT THE HECK! When I get off my bike on a 13% grade hill, there is no way I'll be getting back on my bike until I get to something like a 7% grade! I now see the superiority of his approach to riding up hills and the phenomenal strength he has developed by using his approach.

Brian and my daughter leapfrog me (and Steve the Cross Canada Biker) all the way up to Cape Spear. They stand on the side of the road cheering and clapping. I know this is Brian's idea. I also know my daughter knows that I find this very annoying. I like to suffer privately - without an audience. But alas...I am being 'flexible and adaptive'...so I endure it, knowing it is coming from a place of love.

I see the final corner to the Cape Spear Lighthouse Park. I stop and take a pause for a moment. So many moments along the journey. I feel fully present. I feel grounded. I think to myself, "Let's finish this!"and off I go. I hear Brian and my daughter before I see them. They are cheering - my daughter has her phone out and is taking a video - and Brian is waiting with a special poster that he has commissioned to be made (by my daughter). Brian greets me giving me a big congratulatory kiss as I arrive at Cape Spear, the most eastern point of North America.

Over 90 days (67 days of riding) I have covered 6,830 km. I've met so many wonderful people. I've learned so much about myself and what I am capable of. I have experienced so much kindness and generosity from people when I have been at my most vulnerable. If you've been reading along in my blog, it must be apparently clear by now that I've got issues with anxiety - I have wrestled with it in different ways my whole life AND it feels amazing to have completed this journey in spite of it.

And now it is time for Brian and I to slowly make our way back to B.C. The drive will be very interesting - with the scenery wizzing by from a temperature controlled vehicle. I'm looking forward to seeing the prairie crops and bull rushes as they enter the peak of their growth.

As we return to BC, Brian will continue working remotely and I will continue riding - picking and choosing rides that will help me to train for the Grand Fondo on September 12th.

I look forward to the change of season with autumn bringing family potlucks and gingerbread lattes. I miss spending time with my family - my husband and my children (which includes their lovely partners) are precious to me.

I have learned many things along this journey - and one of the most outstanding themes has been that of my changing role as mother. In some ways I feel like I've been going through a transition - one that requires that I care for myself and that I support and give strength to the generations that come behind me (children, grandchildren, and generations that I will never directly know). I have really felt the presence of all my grandparents on this journey - they have helped to give me strength and tenacity. I have seen so many beautiful graveyards, and I think about my legacy - and ask myself - "How do I want to be remembered?"

Preparing for and completing this ride across Canada has consumed me this past year, and I'm still processing what things will look like when I am back at home. I'm not exactly sure what comes next - some ideas are incubating. One thing for certain is that this ride has highlighted for me is that I can do more and be more than I think I can. I am the author of my life story and it's up to me to continue pushing past my limiting beliefs and my anxieties to fulfill the desires of my heart.

The Stats

90 Days (May 14 - August 11, 2026)

67 Days of Biking

23 Rest Days

6830 KM from Victoria, BC to Cape Spear (St. John's), NL

102 km/ Riding Day

10 Provinces

7 Flat Tires, 3 new chains (Fernie, Winnipeg, Lévis), 1 exploded gear shifter

Special Note to Readers:

I cannot thank you enough for your encouraging words along this journey. I have not been so great at responding to comments on the blog or to emails, but please know that I read them - and each word was and continues to be so uplifting.

Thank you so much for following my journey and encouraging me along the way.

I will post a couple epilogue blogs as we travel back to B.C. and finally conclude this adventure.