Eastern Canada - Cycling in Newfoundland (St. John's)

My wife and I are vacationing for 2 weeks in Newfoundland to see family and to just enjoy what the island has to offer. We'll be staying on the east coast near St. John's. We are both avid cyclists so we'll be renting road bikes up there.

Does anyone know of any nice routes or group rides we could do? Mileage is not important as we'll have plenty of time. We just want to enjoy the scenery on the bike.

Any information including websites would be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to some fresh seafood and Newfie steak. :)

Thanks!
Mike

Sorry, I can't help you on routes but can say, you will have a great time in St. John's.

Maybe try an email to these guys http://www.bnl.nf.ca/recreation.asp . The contact page has several members info in St. John's.

I hope you like hills. This is the best reference for routes in Atlantic Canada. Their ratings and comments are quite accurate. Look for roads with a rating of 3 or 4: http://www.atlanticcanadacycling.com/cyclingdata/newfoundland/avalon/index.html

I rode into St-John's from western Newfoundland via this route (http://www.google.ca/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=fr&msa=0&msid=111886763048689143031.00046b56928eadd542595&ll=47.41322,-52.852478&spn=0.521341,1.267548&z=10) and it was great. The Trans-Canada has a decent shoulder but there's lots of traffic and noise.

The Avalon peninsula has great biking, but I'm not sure of exact routes. Roads are mostly fairly thinly trafficked, and drivers are quite considerate. Newfoundlanders are NICE.

It you have time, think of the west coast as well. I just got back from an awesome trip from Deer Lake to St Antony's, including some truly ferocious hills and some truly awesome tailwinds. Grosse Morne is stunningly beautiful.

I haven't done any riding in Newfoundland, but have visited before. I would suggest a ride to Ferryland. It's beautiful there, you can have a picnic by the lighthouse, there's a nice restaurant there as well. Archeological site and a small museum. You can spend a bunch of hours there just walking around and looking at the ocean.
It's about 75 kms from St. John's. I would check if there's a place to stay overnight, as it's nice to spend some time there, and enjoy the sites.
Here are a few links:
http://www.heritage.nf.ca/avalon/
http://www.lighthousepicnics.ca/
http://www.theirishloop.com/

Actually, it would be cool to ride the entire Irish Loop.

I've done lots of riding in the city of St John's. As noted, it's hilly but traffic is light even in the downtown (on many routes). Street layout isn't a grid, but more radiating out from the harbour. But it's easy to find a low-traffic street. And drivers are pretty easy-going.

Out of town, I would recommend the Trans-Canada highway, where there's a great shoulder and bikes are allowed. Many of the local roads out of St John's, particularly Conception Bay and the Southern Shore, are somewhat crowded for the traffic they support. And no paved shoulder.