CCCT Part II - Port aux Basques to Doyles, NL

Sunday, July 7, 2013 - Day 24
We arrived in Port aux Basques, NL, at 5:30 AM NL time. I reset both Bev's and my watches to NL time. We lined up at the snack bar on deck 9 for O.J. and a muffin for breakfast. There was also coffee and tea available but we passed on that. After packing away my sleeping bag I went into the Men's washroom to change into my cycling gear. There was such a line up for the elevator that we decided to take the stairs down to the 3rd deck where we had left our bicycles. The stairs were also quite crowded but at least we were moving. We waited for an hour or so while the ship tied up and the vehicles at the front disembarked before we got to proceed. We stopped a couple times to take photos of our arrival in our last province before going up the highway about a kilometer where we stopped at a gas station for water. Bev walked over to the Tim's next door to get a couple ham and cheese sandwiches for our lunch. I took a few more photos while waiting for her to return. The TCH was well paved with a clean meter wide paved shoulder which made cycling along the highway much more comfortable than we had expected. Once the ferry traffic cleared it was relatively quiet and smooth sailing. It was only 40 kms to Doyles with a few hills on the way and thankfully a nice calm sunny morning. It was the first time we had managed to get started before 7:30 AM!!! We stopped at doyles' Corner Store and asked for directions to the Grand Codroy RV Campsite. We arrived at 9:30 AM and went into the gift shop to enquire about campsite. It was $25 for our little tent and 2 adults ($28 if we wanted an electrical hookup) and free Wi-Fi. We met the person driving the support RV for the double leg amputee who was cycling across Canada to raise money for service dogs. ? had set off just before we arrived and would cycle 120 kms that day. We were so impressed with the size of his "land yacht" support vehicle that we regretfully didn't make a note of his name. I had chosen a site with electrical hookup so I could plug in my GPS to charge it up and also to use my Notebook just in case there was a decent Wi-Fi signal. Unfortunately there was no shade to be had at the designated sites so we set out tent up in the bright sunshine and walked back a short distance to the "office" to pay. We ate our sandwiches at 10:30 AM and washed them down with bottled water. I hadn't gotten much sleep on the ferry so lay down for a nap at 11:00. I got up at 13:15 PM. There was a nice breeze blowing which helped to keep us cool as long as we went over by the washrooms/showers where there was some shade. We just had to keep moving the damn picnic table. When Bev tried to plug in her cell phone to charge it she found out the socket was only good for a large RV/trailer type plug. I was able to get an adapter at the "office" for a deposit of $10 and plugged my GPS in to charge it up. Later on I checked the Wi-Fi and was able to get a connection but it was quite slow. Bev posted a note on Face Book re our arrival at Doyles campground. There was nothing to be had in the way of drinks or groceries at the park so we cycled to the corner store and got an ice cream and supplies for tomorrow's ride. Bev went across the highway to the Pharmacy to see if she could get another book to read. I waited patiently by the bikes. We cycled back to our campsite and had a cold beer before going for a shower. Meanwhile a convoy of about 20 land yachts began arriving. They were a group that had come to NL to get "Screeched IN". It seems they all got on the Internet at the same time as when I tried to update my blog the signal was so poor I gave up in frustration. We prepared KD with  maple flavoured baked beans and chopped up cocktail sausages. After cleaning up we went for a walk around the park and returned the adapter in order to get my deposit back. The black flies and mosquitoes were to much to deal with so we quickly got into our tent and called it a night. We wanted to get an early start the following day in order to cycle all the way to Robinsons. So we were off to sleep at 9:00 PM.
Chez Marilyn and Max Dyke's, Corner Brook, NL