Rain Day Ride To St. Anthony

It rained all day. Sometimes hard, sometimes it nearly quit. At least we knew what was coming, so had all of the rain gear on before even leaving the room. The Aerostich 3 wingered glove covers, and the boot  covers really worked. This was my 1st real acid test for them - and they performed really well.

I am also happy with the stock  Bridgestone Battleax BT023 tires. One a cold day - between 5C and 7C all morning - in deep water at times - they were predictable and reliable -but I admit - this was cautious touring riding - so some of the negative feedback about these tires when you really push them might be valid. But - they were very good to me today - and they continue to wear about as I had expected - so I am happy with them.

If the weather had been better - this might have been the best day of the trip. The route was really very pretty. This is the 1st time I have ever ridden a motorcycle past 1 meter deep snowbanks that were 10 meters from the road - and went on for a kilometer at a time. This was not looking at the occasional snow "up on the mountain" - the snow was right beside the road. Yikes! The snow must have been drifted way high this winter for so much to still be left.

We blew past a bunch of good places to stop for a look - because it was raining so darned hard. We will try to hit those on the way back. Thins like the arches, the shipwreck, and the port that youuse to go to Labrador cometo mind.

When we go to L'Anse aux Meadows - the rain was not coming down too hard - so we stopped to have a look around.  A good choice - a very neat place!

The view of the bay and ice was very nice

We walked past some huge snowbanks

 The scenery - including the rocks, moorland,  and lichen is very pretty.

The ruins of the viking buildings are very distinct. Very interesting story about their discovery by using local knowledge.

The re-creation is very cool. The sod walls are likely nearly a meter thick - and with a fire going inside - they are very warm. Had an interesting discussion with one of folks running it about bog iron and how it was refined - and he even had a piece for me to have a look at.

Cool - an iceberg just off the coast that looked like a viking longboat!

Laurence and I posing.

Some more icebergs on the way out of L'anse Aux Meadows.

Cool - an old PBY on display in downtown St Anthony

Fantastic dinner  at the Lightkeepers Cafe. Very good food,and great service. If you are in St. Anthony - eat here. Tomorrow - we will try the viking feast - in a sod building just behind the cafe. I will report back. Very pretty iceberg just off the point.

Iceberg and burgy bits in the St. Anthony Harbour.

Last - but not least - after dinner - while I was writing this - the sun came out!

Could this be a good sign for tomorrow? The weather forecast looks good for the morning! Stay tuned and I will let you know how it goes!