Paul Mondor has kissed the ground in Cape Spear, NL! A collective sigh of relief probably shifted the earth a little as thousands literally could finally exhale knowing that Paul had safely reached his amazing goal of riding coast to coast through Canada during the harsh winter. Paul has braved some pretty brutal climes and moment-by-moment weather transformations throughout. On Saturday, as he rode en route to St. Johns and Cape Spear--the most easterly point in North American--Paul faced winds of 120 mph! Doing so beat him up quite a bit. Not surprising, he reports being exhausted and sporting some hard-earned blistered fingertips from gripping the handlebars in a fight against the winds. Paul won. Along the way, Paul has been buoyed by the munificence of friends and strangers, many of whom have braved the elements to come out and cheer him on. This is huge people! No one has ever done this before on two-wheels during the winter! I'm glad to have been a micro-microscopic voice among the legends who could only cheer him on via the Internet and pray for a safe journey.
Who needs to watch such ridiculous shows like "Survivor" and "Fear Factor"? Paul's coast to coast is the real deal! An every day, ordinary, average Joe with extraordinary heart, pluck and determination has managed to accomplish the unthinkable. He did it. Not for fame and fortune. But because he had a dream and he did what it took to realize that dream.
I read this quote on Adventure Riders and its author labeled it: "Quote of the Day." The author is one of those amazingly helpful motorcyclists who made himself available should Paul need him and who provided updates to the information starved Adventure Riders forum.
"I say to Paul...
"We should probably get back up the Cape Spear highway to St. John's soon, because the temperature is dropping like a stone, and the road will soon ice over very quickly."
Paul looks at me and says...
"And your point is?!"--author DRZ400SK4 (Adventure Riders)
