Labrador, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia - another Ancient Mariners Adventure

[vtwin]

subscribed!

[RFlagg42]

Great pictures on the way up to Labrador City....

I found the section which kept crossing the train tracks to be tons of fun...and like you, I am always in such a rush to pick up my bike, that I forget to take the obligatory "napping" picture.

[frenchy750]

Cheers to you, my friend!

[lakota]

Some words about Labrador City. It appears that there are only 3 motel/hotel choices so you would be advised to make reservations ahead of time. We hit all three and appear to have gotten the last double room available. If you want an early breakfast Tim Hortons is the only choice. If you want an early start gas up the night before. Stations do not open until 7.
Leaving Lab City on Rte 500 towards Churchill Falls the first 41 miles are paved. You can fly over this section if you ignore the impossible to ride 80kph speed limit.



Does this bike make Jack’s butt look fat?
The view from the road.



Lots of boggy areas which require the road to be built up from the bogs.
When the road turns to gravel you have two choices, sight see or ride. I know this has been said before but it is true. The gravel demands 100% concentration.
The road looks like this



The gravel can be this



Or this



And if you get too close to the shoulder you may end up falling off this



The wind is no help either. It likes to surprise you with gusts that knock you off your line.
The last 30 miles of this leg is hard pack dirt and you can make good time into Churchill Falls where everything you may want - restaurant, hotel, or grocery store - is in this building.



We caught up with Markbvt and his group at breakfast here.



They agreed that the gravel was a lot of work, It doesn’t get any better af to start. After leaving Churchill Falls. Instead of 70 miles of gravel you get 120 folllowed by 10 miles paved, another 30 gravel, and the last 20 into town paved. Since it was not wet the pace could be fast. Lots of construction zones, road graders, and surveyors.
Road to Happy Valley







　
I know I missed a lot by the way we rode this leg but there really are only two choices, ride or look. And faster is easier than slower. I was aware of the surroundings and the beauty of it but did not really see it. I knew we were paralleling a river at one point but don’t ask me about it.
It was a great ride but that’s what it was - a ride. And that’s what I wanted.



There should be 8 ADVers in Happy Valley Goose Bay tonight - Jack and me, Markbvt + 3, and Jim and Mark from Maine.
We toasted the Best. Day. Ever!
Tomorrow we join the (countless) few who have ridden Phase 3. The weather gods have been kind so far and hopefully their largess will continue. Although the forecast is for about 39 degrees F in the morning.

[JaxObsessed]

I'll take your weather! Mid 90s at home all week.

edit...looks like Earl is gonna smack you this weekend.

[hector lethbridge]

i live in goose bay and ride the tlh regularly. enjoy the trip and keep it all rubber side down.

[RunLongVT]

Hi Markbvt!

That's great that these grounps ran into eachother! Spontaneous ADV gathering in northermost Canada tonight! I'd love to see all 8 fully loaded bikes parked in a line... or perhaps riding in formation?

[lakota]

The word of the day is DUST. As you can see from the following the dust cloud created by a moving vehicle is impressive. For an 18 wheeler it can block the sky. And if you ride second in a two motorcycle procession you get to suck dirt all day long. The dust all along the TLH is second to none.



The temperature this morning was 39F when we got up and got as low as 32F along the way. I had brought my heated jacket liner but was sure I would never need it this trip. Wrong bucko! Was really glad I had it and kept the heat on till about noon. Eventually it warmed up to the mid-50s and made for some great riding.

To get to the beginning of TLH Phase 3 you have to ride back out of town and make a left. Immediately you are on the dirt. Then comes an open grate bridge. Then a road grader. Then you get to mile 3. The intel along the way was that Phase 3 was in the best condition of all the legs of the highway. The intel was correct. Don’t get me wrong - there was still loose dirt, gravel, graders, dust, more gravel, etc., but for the most part the ride was fast, as long as your attention didn’t wander. The engineers have built a fine road through the boggy wilderness and they deserve a shout out. The scenery is not very changing. You know you are alone out there as there is nothing other than construction sites along the road.
Right after the start



It is about 240 miles from the start of Phase 3 to Port Hope Simpson so we decided to take a mental break every 50 miles.

At 50 miles looking west



Looking east



Road surface



At 100 miles
West



East



The shoulder is about an 8 foot drop



At 150 miles
West




East



The side of the road is a little different



What is Jack doing?



Jack at the end of Phase 3 looking back from where we came



The Alexis River just before Port Hope Simpson.



The weather gods smiled on us again today. I can see how the road is a different beast with rain but we were lucky in that regard. We covered the ride to Port Hope Simpson in about 7 hours including rest stops. We are overnight in the Alexis Hotel here. Tomorrow we have another 125 miles of dirt and then it’s paved road again. We will again be tourists heading for the ferry to Newfoundland.

[lakota]

Originally Posted by JaxObsessed

I'll take your weather! Mid 90s at home all week.

edit...looks like Earl is gonna smack you this weekend.

that looks about right. rain starts tomorrow

the ferry to Port Sydney could be no fun

[thatcanongirl]

the bubba says hello and pointed to the pic of him on jack's bike and said, me, my bike.

next year, can you hire me to document... that dust spot on the kodak zoom is plucking my nerves.

love you!

[lakota]

Originally Posted by thatcanongirl

the bubba says hello and pointed to the pic of him on jack's bike and said, me, my bike.

next year, can you hire me to document... that dust spot on the kodak zoom is plucking my nerves.

love you!

what happened to thecameratoter?

[McJamie]

You guys are going to have coronary issues long before the trip is over if you keep eating like this.

[Grim45]

Lakota,

Great ride report so far, thanks for sharing.

Would like to get some clarification regarding Phase 3 of the TLH. You stated that you left Goose Bay to get on Phase 3, where on 510 does it connect?

For some reason I thought that the road would travel from Goose Bay to somewhere close to Cartwright but that can't be as you stated that Goose Bay to Port Hope Simpson was about 240 miles.

Thanks,

[thatcanongirl]

so i created a new one.

[lakota]

Originally Posted by Grim45

Lakota,

Great ride report so far, thanks for sharing.

Would like to get some clarification regarding Phase 3 of the TLH. You stated that you left Goose Bay to get on Phase 3, where on 510 does it connect?

For some reason I thought that the road would travel from Goose Bay to somewhere close to Cartwright but that can't be as you stated that Goose Bay to Port Hope Simpson was about 240 miles.

Thanks,

the intersection to get on Phase 3 is about 3 miles before you get to Goose Bay- right at the Welcome to Happy Valley Goose Bay sign.

The intersection with the Labrador Coastal Drive is about midway between Cartwright and Port Hope Simpson. We skipped Cartwright as there was no point in driving up there just to turn around.(our opinion)