Some of my clippings

Patrick Healey
Reporter
The Packet (Clarenville, NF)
186 Hwy 2
Enfield, N.S.Canada
709-466-2062
cell 709-673-6896
pat_healey21@hotmail.com

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Aussies visit Clarenville during 'dream' cycle across Canada By PAT HEALEY the Packet A 'childhood dream' of cycling across Canada is coming true for an Australian couple. Debra and John Fast, who call Fern Tree in Hobart, Tazmania their home, peddled into Clarenville on Sept. 1. They were on the last leg of a journey from Victoria, B.C. to St. John's. "It's sort of been our childhood dream to cycle across Canada. Then the more we thought about it, the more we thought 'we can actually make it a reality'," explained Mrs. Fast. The pair chose Canada for their cycling adventure because they wanted to see the country. Until they moved to Australia five years ago, they lived in British Columbia. Mr. Fast is a Canadian while his wife hails from Australia. While it may have been easier to use a car to make the journey, Mrs. Fast said cycling from the Pacific to the Atlantic was much more interesting. "You feel the weather, you smell the smells, particularly dead skunks. There are some things that stick with you a bit longer when you're not in a car," she quipped. "I thought it would also be a good way for us to learn about ourselves as a couple, as individuals and learn more about Canada, most importantly." Their journey, which beagn in mid-May, was njot in a straight line following the Trans Canada Highway. "We've sort of zigged-zagged our way around, trying to stay off the Trans Canada and go to the smaller towns so we could meet the 'real Canadians'," Mrs. Fast said. "We saw whales while we were on the Cabot Trail, and that made the cycling a bit easier." One of their highlights in Nova Scotia was seeing a tuna being hauled in as they rested on a Halifax jetty. She couldn't believe that they were eating it raw. By the time they ended up at City Hall in St. John's on Sept. 3 the Fasts had travelled 10,000 kilometres through all weather elements, except snow. Rugged beauty Mrs. Fast pointed out every province they've come through they thought would be the best. However Newfounland's beauty has won their hearts. She said 'The Rock' is similar to Tasmania, so they felt right at home when they arrived at Port aux Basques aboard the Marine Atlantic ferry. "Every province we hit we think 'Wow, this is fantastic'," she explained. "But . . . as we came into Port Aux Basques, we both said 'Wow'. "The rocks, the scenery, the people have all exceeded our expectations. "It's a very rugged beauty," Mr. Fast added, explaining the similarities between this province and Tasmania. Mrs. Fast said the one surprising thing about Newfoundland ha sbeen the wind. "The scenery and the people have just been amazing," she said. "It's been exciting for us to try some of the things unique to Newfoundland . . . like the partridge berries and bake apples." While Newfoundlanders often complain about road conditions, Mr. Fast, 32, said others could learn a lesson from the road system in this province. "It gives you a shoulder, whereas other places don't," Mrs. Fast, 27, said. Friendly drivers have also made an impression on the couple. "The people have been very friendly, because they would honk their horn and wave," Mr. Fast said. "It can make your day, especially if you're cycling with the wind in your face," Mrs. Fast said. One of the things the couple does after each day, is get out their map and highlight the area they cycled that day. "We tend to average 100 kilometres a day, but sometimes we've gone up to 160 while on others we only managed 60 or 70," she said. "The scale of the map can really influence that. Sometimes, like Ontario where it is so big, we'd come home and say, 'Right, we've done a 130 km,'" and mark off an inch. "Then other times, like P.E.I., you might do 60 km and come home and highlight half the map and you just feel great." The pair say they didn't wake up in the morning thinking of the daunting challenge to cycle across Canada. "You take it day by day. Then you head off and look forward to getting to the next place," said Mrs. Fast. A couple of times while they were cycling in Quebec, they were lucky that Mother Nature spared them. They were riding on a bone dry road when all of a sudden they hit a wet patch where a storm had cut across just before they peddled onto that section. They experienced their coldest weather in B.C. when temperatures crept close to freezing. "When we were in B.C. on Allison Path it got down to 0 degrees, so it was cold," said Mr. Fast "Then three days later we were in another town and it was 33 degrees. We've had thunder storms, bucket down rain, wind, hot weather. You name it, we've had it." Memorable experiences The pair also had 'memorable' close encounters with several animals from Canada's wilderness during their trek. "We've seen all kinds of wildlife, lots of deer and loads of squirrels, all the ordinary things," Mrs. Fast said. "We haven't seen any moose (in Newfoundland). We're hoping to, we keep seeing all the signs and the droppings. "We have seen them in Ontario," Mr. Fast reminded his partner. Explaining their lone encounter with a moose and her baby in Ontario, Mrs. Fast said they stopped for a couple of moments and watched them. Then as traffic began building up, the moose ran off into the woods. They've also seen black bears eating dandelions along the side of the road in B.C. Mrs. Fast did have one particularly close encounter with a black bear. "We pulled into this camp site and were chatting with this couple. They were telling us this long story and we went 'Excuse me, sir, but there's a bear walking behind you," recalled Mrs. Fast. "The next morning I went down to use the bathroom and came almost face to face with the bear which was standing right in front of the washroom door. "It was a moment when we caught each other's eyes and I thought 'Right, who's going to make the first move and what is it going to be?'. I decided I really needed to use the washroom and I took a couple of steps. The bear looked at me, and then turned and ran off into the bush." On the Prairies they encountered a mean badger. "I was riding down this hill, with John way ahead, and I saw something come running out in front of me. So I came to a screeching halt just as the badger came to a screeching halt, less than a meter away." "It then rose up onto its huge claws and barring its teeth and hissing at me. If it wanted a go at me, all I was wearing was shorts and it could have made a mess of my legs. It then made a run for it across the road." During a stop along the Cabot Trail on their way to Newfoundland, they were warned of a family of dangerous foxes. "We went into this lovely campground and were told there was this family of foxes that we had to be careful of," Mrs. Fast said. "We thought that was strange, and asked if there was some place we had to put our food. They said 'Don't worry about your food, they've been stealing people's footwear from under their tents'. So we had to put our shoes inside our tent so the foxes wouldn't steal them." Mr. and Mrs. Fast said when they began their journey they didn't know they would be able to complete it. Now that they have, they say they encourage others to try the same thing. "You don't have to be anything special to be able to do it, you just have to know what you want to do and put aside your fears and worries about it," Mrs. Fast said. "We had no idea if we could do this or not, but we thought we had to give it a go and boy are we glad that we did. It's been worth it."