Day Twenty Seven - Rest Day Kenora

It was 8 before I opened my eyes and emerged from the tent. It was a rest day and I had plans to go to the bike shop at 10. Matt also needed to go for a derailure adjustment. When we left Duncan joined us as we were going for lunch afterwards at 1.

The bike shop said they had seen a few wheels like mine in the past year. They were all different brands of bikes. Common problem I guess. My wheel can only be replaced by another Trek wheel as it uses a through axel that only Trek uses. My next touring bike should have common parts that are available anywhere. 

Lunch was at the Lake of the Woods brewery. Wednesday is the only day that it is busy there because of the farmers market. We waited a half an hour to get a table for six as other riders were joining us there. Lunch was good and we had a lot of laughs. 

It was 3 when we decided to go back to camp before we fell a sleep. Once back at camp a couple of us headed to the lake for a swim but I opted for a nap on the grass in the shade. 

Dinner was leftovers shrimp jambalaya. It was good last night for dinner and good today too. Really quite an uneventful rest day but very relaxing. We have only 4 days to the next rest day where we will be staying inside for the first time since Vancouver. 

Lunch at Lake of the Woods Brewery

A welcome sign after 100 miles of horseflys

Day Twenty Six - Kenora

This morning it took a while to get up.  I still feel like I’m running on Pacific time and we are now two time zones away in Central.  Even though it didn’t rain everyone’s tent was soaked from the morning moisture from the grass.  John’s wife came at 7 to bring bagels, cream cheese and salmon.  Thanks again!

Today was the last of 6 days that we will be biking in a row.  Tomorrow is a rest day.  In the past six days we have travelled close to 1000 kms.  We did 172 kms today and it was supposed to be an “easy” century ride.  Some people did find it easy but my legs were very tired.  

As soon as I left camp today I noticed that my rear tire was rubbing on my fender.  I rode for a while like that until the group caught up to me and encouraged me to look at it closer.  I eventually took the fender off and it was ok for a while.  About 30 km after that the tire started rubbing on the frame.  I stopped and checked the wheel to find that a spoke broke away from the rim of the tire and the portion of rim was also gone.  No chance to replace the spoke.  I loosened the spokes around the missing one to balance out the wheel and that worked to Kenora. The wheel was still very unbalanced for most of the day.

Our first stop was to be at a bakery in Whitemouth.  One of the veterans had gone there four years ago but when we arrived there it was not there.  We opted to go to the hotel restaurant close by.  Most people enjoyed the apple, cherry, or blueberry pie.  At that point it was 11 and we were not very far into the ride and most people made it a short stop.

The terrain changed today from very flat prairie to undulating short hills.  It was a welcome change and for most of the day I found the scenery to be interesting.  One very notable point was the horseflys that were swarming around us.  There were about thirty around the five of us.  A couple of people got bit more than once but I didn’t thankfully.  We noticed that they were so big that they cast their own shadow. 

Our next stop was in Rennie for a cold drink.  A woman and man came up to us and asked about our travels.  The man said that he had completed a fund raising trip from Niagara Falls to Winnipeg.  People are interested in why we are doing this tour, where we are going, and where we came from.

The last stop was for some ice cream in ice Whiteshell.  We were told by other riders that we should stop but we didn’t find anything special about it.  I had a “fresh” pineapple shake.  It consisted of 3 rings of pineapple that had been quartered and then added to a vanilla shake.  Not really what I had in mind.  Cold and refreshing non the less.

Once we finally got into camp it was the normal rush to get the tent and sleeping bags dry with the remaining sunlight.  I asked the galley crew how long until dinner.  Then Matt reminded me that I was supposed to be on tonight.  It seemed that I just did it a couple of days ago.  The days seem to blend together and its hard to separate one place from another.

The hilight of the day was listening to a folk band practice for a performance while I was waiting for my laundry to complete.  Matt went back to the campsite to tell the group about it and two more people joined us to enjoy the music.  Tomorrow is a rest day and I plan to sleep in and then late morning make my way to the bike shop to see if they can help me with my wheel.

Manitoba done! Now only three weeks until cross through Ontario

Hills and more hills.  Come on rest day!

Panorama on bridge just before Kenora ON

Listening to musicians practice their folk music while waiting for laundry to finish at the campground in Kenora

Day Twenty Five - Beausajour

This morning I planned to get up early and leave with Sam to get into Winnipeg early to get to a bike store to get my shifter looked at and my derailures adjusted. Sam was feeling a little sick so we didn't leave at 6:30 but soon after 7. 

At the campground there was a little wind but not enough to keep the mosquitoes from bitting us non stop. On the highway the wind was pretty strong and from the west. A tailwind helped us make great time into Winnipeg. There was some construction like yesterday but it seemed not as bad.

We followed the transcanada into Winnipeg which became Portage Ave. it was a busy road so at Assiniboine Park we crossed over and followed a very nice residential street. I was surprised to see huge mansions lined the street. Houses that were much larger and extravagant than the real nice houses in Victoria. 

We arrived at Woodcock Cycle and a brought my bike right to the mechanics and they looked at it right away. I got six more tubes and some chamois butter. The mechanic said that my shifter was missing parts but they made it work. 

We met all the other riders at "The Forks".  The Forks is a lot like Granville Island but it is situated at the intersection of the Assiniboin River and Red River. It is quite beautiful and green. 

While there waiting for the group to explore the area I made some calls and arranged for a bike shop in Thunder Bay to get me a new shifter and rear wheel.  The rear wheel has developed cracks around 5 spokes. Bill at the Trek store in Victoria said that the parts should be covered by the warranty. 

We left The Forks around 2 and cycled the 20 Km to John's house. He was nice enough to invite us to his house for some drinks and snacks before we continue the 32 km to the campsite. Then at the camp John's family prepared a delicious meal with desert for us. Everyone ate too much and very happy. Thanks John, Teresa, and Madeline!

A very very good end to the day. 

Thanks John for the dinner.

Bridge over highway to John's house

Assiniboine Park

Day Twenty Four - Portage la Prairie

This morning  I was in no hurry to leave the tent as during the night the temperature dropped to 12 degrees.  I woke up to close both my fly at about 3.  Earlier I was awaken from the sound of fireworks.   Other tour members were woken up by some drunk women that started speaking with Australian accents.  Such excitement at the campgrounds.

Before I left camp I checked the weather.  The temperature was going up to 25 and the wind would be coming from the south west.  That was great news as that would be a tailwind for us.  Any time we weren’t travelling east the wind slowed us right down.

The first stop of the day was in Neepawa.  It is the hometown of Margret Lawrence.  Nobody in the group decided to visit her home but it was in the cue sheets.  Most of us stopped at a Tim Horton’s for a drink and a snack.  

Just after Neepawa there was highway construction.  The pavement had been stripped from the road and what was left made my bike vibrate so much I thought that it would fall apart.  We left the road and rode on the packed dirt/sand that was on the shoulder.  The road was still heading east but the packed sand slowed us down considerably.  Once we hit pavement again our speeds topped 50 kmph.  We talked to a construction worker and they said there was still more construction just past Gladstone.

Gladstone was the next stop.  We went into the town but everything was closed because it was a Sunday.  I didn’t realize what day it was.  To me it’s day 3 of a 5 day leg of the tour.  Our days off really feel like Saturday or Sunday.  We found a gas station that was on the highway to get a drink.  As we got there the other riders were leaving.

Before we left two other riders joined us and we contemplated taking a different route than highway 16.  We tried the alternate route but the wind was so strong that it would have taken a considerable more time than the suggested route.  We added an extra 11 km onto our day in the attempt to avoid the construction.

Before Portage la Prairie there was more of the same construction but the wind was still at our backs.  We did ride on some fresh pavement that was really nice especially with the tailwind. 

Once in Portage I noticed the town looks a lot like Peterborough, my hometown.  Most of the streets are tree lined and the some of houses in the downtown are brick.   The park that we are staying in is very nice and has a lot of grassy areas and trees for shade.  Tomorrow is a long day and I will be getting to be early.

Rough road very hard on bikes and bums

Pic doesn't show it well but the headwind was brutal

Crescent Lake in Portage La Prairie

Day Twenty Three - Minnedosa

Last night I woke up numerous times to the sound of rain on my tent. A wet 136 km day is not too much fun. My group was on galley duty so it was up early in the rain to prepare pancakes for the group.

Even though we lost a hour, because we are in the central time zone, we had all left by 8:45. The rain was still coming down and we had a headwind for the first coupe of kms.  Once we turned south, Sam and I, made really good time. 

We stopped in Birtle at a store for a hot drink and to warm up out of the wind and rain. Just when we arrived all the riders that were ahead of us were leaving. We spent 20 minutes getting warm and headed uphill out of town. 

Our second stop was for lunch where we met everyone again at the local hotel in Shoal Lake where there was a restaurant attached.  When the bills were being paid Matt explained to the waitress that he had a "cheese toastie".  He was referring to the grill cheese that he had for lunch. I really enjoy hearing how the English have different words for everyday things. 

Just before Minnedosa I saw a van that had pulled over and notice bikes on the back on being a Cervelo TT bike. I asked him if we could buy any tubes off of him and he gave me two free. Tyler and his wife AJ, from New Westminster BC, were on there way back home from vacation.

Tyler had an Ironman sticker on his bike and asked about it. He explained he had completed the Ironman in Whistler BC in 2014. It was the same race that I completed in preparation for this tour. I can't believe that I met an Ironman in the middle of nowhere and I was lucky enough to get some tubes from him. Thanks Tyler and family. See pic below. 

The rest of the day was about getting to camp to dry out our gear and refuel. Once at camp there was a nice wind and some sun that was able to dry out all our wet gear. A very nice end to a day that started out very wet and cold. 

Arlen using a Safeway bag to keep his helmet dry.

Prairie storm clouds moving toward us.

Tyler and AJ to the rescue with bike tubes.

Day Twenty Two - Binscarth

Last night the rain fell periodically on my tent. Not nearly as hard than it did during diner when we were under the tent shelter with the walls on (the walls have never been used until this point).  Every so often I would have to use the end of a broom to remove the pooling water in the roof before it clasped the shelter. 

After a very good sleep out of the rain I got up a little late at 6 because today we were only going 126 km. I know that sounds ridiculous but we have already done two days over 170 km back so 126 is "easy".

The cue sheet today said that the route was mainly flat with a couple of climbs out of the Qu'Appelle valley and out of the Asineboine river valley. Both valleys were very beautiful and peaceful. The were very green and most people would not recognize these areas as Saskatchewan. 

I was lucky enough to ride with Arlen today. He is a very strong cyclist and he has a lot of stories to tell about his life of 68 years. People can learn a lot from him if they listen. He is also very positive and has a lot of knowledge about the tour as this is his second time doing the tour. 

There was an option for an alternate route to avoid some rough road. We chose the rough road to avoid doing the extra 40 km. That rough road also cost me a PBJ that dropped from my bag when I hit a bump. Also one tube that has a slow leak that I still haven't changed as I was on galley duty and had to cook dinner once I finished my ride. 

The perogie and salad that we ate was good. It even made it better to have cake as dessert because we celebrated the leaving of another province. We are in Manitoba now. Three done and more than I want to think about to go. 

As John says most days when he rides into camp "Day 22 in the books".

Saskatchewan complete.  What a terrible road to get here!

Potash mine

Beautiful Qu'Appelle valley

Day Twenty One - Crooked Lake

The day started with me repairing a flat on my front tire just after breakfast.  I pulled the tube out and filled it with air to put under water to determine where the tube had been punctured.  Knowing that I reference the position of the stem on the tube and checked the tire for any foregin bodies.  I found what i hadn’t in the two previous tube changes, a small piece of wire.

Sam and I left the camp around 7:15 and about 20 km down the road I got another flat on my back tire this time.  This tire was brand new and I didn’t expect a flat this soon.  When I checked the tire this time I easily found what cause the puncture.  It’s what looked to be a tooth.  It turned out to be a piece of skunk bone.  The skunk was road kill that was spread out along the side of the road.

Others in the group had tire issues.  Kate had 2 flats on her front and one on the back.  Chris her husband had one.  They both use Continental Hard Shell tires with a special liner to prevent punctures.  The liner also was punctured.

Our first rest stop was in Indian Head, see pic below, to visit a bakery that previous Tour members had said to visit.  Sam and I found a number of our cyclists already there eating baked goods and soup and sandwiches.  I had packed 6 PBJs so I had a cookie and a cold drink.  The day wasn’t too hot but a cold drink always is a good thing.

Before we left the trans canada highway we stopped at an ESSO to fill up on water and I ate another sandwich.  There were no services for the next 50 km so we wanted to be prepared.  Chris and Kate also stopped there and we went in to the nearby information centre to sign the guest book and talk to the ladies named Doreen and Bertie that were attending it.  See pic below.

Not too far into the 50 km we descended into the Qu’Appelle valley for the second time on this tour.  It was beautiful compare to the rest of the days scenery.  We could feel the barometric pressure falling and I could tell that it would be raining soon.  I planned to set my tent up ASAP when I got to camp.

Once in camp I set my tent up and 5 minutes later it was raining.  The wind was blowing and there was thunder, and lightening.  After a quick dinner of sausage and salad I had a shower and got into my tent to relax and rest my legs.  

One more day complete.  50 tp go.

Indian head in Indian Head SK

Gerti and Doreen at the tourist info in Grenfell 

About to descend into the Qu'Appelle valley

Tents pitched before the rain