A Pox on your Mother’s Bones
It's an easy ferry ride from Rencontre East to Pool's Cove, a tiny (duh) community pretty enough to be in House and Garden. I don’t linger; it's now a cycle of some 50 kms to Hermitage, from where I catch that crucial once-a-week ferry that will let me jump the gap to Francois and continue on toward the West coast. The first hill, just out of Pool's Cove, is amongst the most badass hills I've been on. Ì walk it, leaving the road slick with a trail of sweat all the way up. It brings me to desolate meadows above the tree line. I keep my eye out for caribou.
I’ve left the sea and now, after an hour of constant uphill, I’ve left the forest. I emerge on high, to barren meadows above the tree line and into the open sky. As a gas fills a vacuum so now does my spirit expand and fill the heavens. I’m thrilled, the space is limitless and I’m limitless with it. A good dose of fear adds to the excitement; it’s too wild and my friend the glowering sky has returned, now grinding its teeth and sharpening its kukri. It spits at me but I'm full of beans and I spit back: "Fie! A pox on your mother's bones!" The hills are so numerous that I barely notice them any more; I just get off and start walking, pushing my bike along. On the ‘downhill’ to Hermitage I almost run into a moose, a cow. With her big honker she will win no beauty awards but I can only marvel at the elegance of her movements as she slips away into the forest. At least three times today I stop short as I turn a corner and the beauty of the scene catches my breath away. I am humbled; how have I earned the privilege to be able to experience this?
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I have a reservation at Hickey's Inn in Hermitage. I’m supposed to call the lady in charge when I get there so that she can open it for me. I can't find it though (the sign for it is 6 inches high and behind a parked car) so I stop at a random house to ask. Of course, (of course!) it's the house of the lady I need to call. The place is just an ugly box from the outside, but inside it’s warm and welcoming; there is a large lounge, a pool table, and a full kitchen. There is free coffee and in the fridge the lady has put some muffins she had baked herself. I eat every last one of them.
Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 430 km (267 miles)
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