Homeward Bound

As the group turned their wheels towards the ferry port at Argentia, Newfoundland, there was a sense of triumph and sadness. Triumph in having achieved the Trans Canada goal of riding from coast to coast across the world’s second largest country and sadness at the realisation that there were only a few days to go before the end of the expedition.

But good days lay ahead. After a straightforward ride to the ferry, a pleasant evening was spent on board with a group of Canadian armed forces veterans. Beer and tall tales flowed and expedition leader Craig was finally ‘screeched’ – via a tot of the rum based Newfoundland spirit consumed as a night cap.

An early arrival at the Cape Breton port of North Sydney meant that the group were on the road just after dawn and looking for a decent breakfast and fuel stop, as bikes and bodies needed to be stocked up for a day’s ride on one of the world’s iconic routes; the Cabot Trail.

The Trail is essentially a 150 mile circuit of the Cape Breton north coastal area. But what a route it was. Starting with several miles of winding road through villages and alongside a serene coastline, the road soon gains altitude as it weaves its way through a series of tall mountains before swooping down to follow the coastline and then once again taking riders up into the skies through steep hairpins and broadening vistas. The Cabot Trail offered some of the best scenery and mountain riding since British Columbia and provided a fine finish to the last of our ‘regular’ days of the journey.

The ride finished at Whycocomagh at an excellently located motel which looks over the lovely, but amusingly named Bras d’Or lake, or the lake of Bras of Gold, as one of our resident ‘wags’ immediately translated it. We held the last of our successful series of barbeques that evening, with conversation once again revolving around the question of why supermarket steak seems to be far better than anything served in Canadian (or British) restaurants.

The final ride to Halifax was marked by high winds and a sense of ‘journeys end’ as we turned our wheels towards the shipping company in Dartmouth which is handling motorcycle transportation back to England on behalf of James Cargo.

With a hotel conveniently located on Halifax’s historic waterfront, the group enjoyed a final meal together, where speeches were made and the highlights of the journey relived.

So now we are slowly departing in ones and twos, a few staying on to enjoy the sights of Halifax, one of Canada’s most interesting and historic cities. Trans Canada 2011 is now concluded, but after a great achievement by our group of riders who have travelled together for almost 7,000 miles. From the Pacific Ocean to the vastness of the Rockies, along the endless highways of the central prairies and into the lakes and forests of the north and east. Then into the remote Labrador along the challenging Trans Labrador Highway before emerging to enjoy the beauty of Atlantic Canada; Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

This was the inaugural Trans Canada expedition and a real first for organised overland travel. The group were all trail blazers in their own right and their thoughts and impressions will help to mould this iconic journey as we plan future editions of this incredibly successful first expedition. But for now, we are all celebrating the end of the journey, though more than one of us is wondering if we should have built in a quick blast back to Vancouver – hey it’s only a few weeks’ travel! …