Toronto to St. John’s, NL
Traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq and Beothuk
8 km
Clear skies and windy, 3 ºC
Newfoundland is blue sky and generosity. The sun rose as we were picked up from the airport by a friend of a friend of a friend, then the 24-hour Tim Hortons grew more crowded as dawn shifted to day and our bicycles began to take shape from the boxes they were shipped in.
When we arrived at the bike shop Earle Industries, it was an empty old building with some rusty machinery in the parking lot. When we left, it was a bustling hub biking culture and a powerful story of human connection.
“Is Howard [Earle] in?” people approaching the shop would say. We got mistaken for proper bike mechanics while screwing bolts onto our racks and trading different sizes of nuts beneath a blue sky. We had several conversations with locals imparting different tips and words of encouragement. We’re in a lot of people’s hearts. I know it because I can feel it.
Bought another layer at a second-hand store. Next stop, sunrise.
