I rode directly to Scott’s Motorsport in Cornerbrook, with just a short break for breakfast. I arrived at about 10am, to learn that one tire was in stock but the other had been ordered by air and was on a Purolator truck somewhere. It was expected before noon, so they started working on the back wheel – the one they had in stock.
Purolator arrived – with the wrong tire. The waybill was right but the tire was a 19” not an 18” as it was supposed to be. Panic time. Anyway to make a long story short, I have mismatched tires. Both are bias ply, though – the front is a Bridgestone Battlax, the rear is a Dunlop 203 (I think). While they had the back off, they said my brake pads were quite thin, so I told them to go ahead and change them. They took it apart, only to find out they didn’t have the right pads in stock! Grrrr. Ditto the front, but this one they did have.
Bottom line: I got out of there at 2:00, my wallet $629.99 lighter.
The difference is incredible. Even gravel is easy with tires that aren’t square! The bike is “flickable” again – turning before took considerable effort and continuous push steering, now it’s a breeze.
I rode up to Rocky Harbour, found a B&B and went out to shoot some pictures. Got some decent shots, I think. I had some dinner and then decided to go out on the road and get some sunset shots, watching carefully for moose (which I didn’t see any of). I found a great spot called, appropriately, “Photographer’s Lookout” at Norris Point and hiked out to the lookout platform. On the way back, there was great pink light in the sky but no good vantage point to shoot pix. In desperation, I headed for the furthest point, where I got a few pictures and chatted with a Newfie!
I have three observations: perhaps unfair but… (1) Newfie men tend to be scrawny and have bad or no teeth. (2) Newfie women are HUGE. An amazing preponderance of 300-400 pounders. And (3) they all have kids living in Toronto. This guy has one in Etobicoke and one in a suburb called “Sarnia”! OK, their geography is weak. Another woman said her kid lived near Toronto, in Kenora!
As we looked across the bay, we could see the headlights of a few cars stopped on the highway. He said, “probably moose”. Glad I wasn’t out there.
When I got back to the B&B I phoned Marine Atlantic and rebooked my ferry out at midnight tomorrow. That way I can save a hotel night and get back to North Sydney early Sunday morning. So I’ll probably write the Day 12 Blog on the boat…
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