Day 24 - Sioux Narrows

This morning I dreamt that I was in an Airbus A380 super jumbo jet that was struggling to get off the ground. When I woke up, the reality wasn't much different. I had that feeling you get in the thin, recycled air of a jetliner. There didn't seem to be enough oxygen getting to my brain. As I got ready for the day, I left a trail of misplaced items behind me and made many unnecessary trips between the tent and the truck as I wandered around like a zombie.

Eventually I did get off the ground and 6 km down the road reached the Ontario border.

It's hard to believe we're in Ontario already.

Another experiment today, this time with "chamois cream", a balm you put on your nether regions to prevent chafing. I've always been reluctant to put goop down there but after yesterday I was ready to try anything. I'm not sure if it helped a whole lot but I could tell it was there. Instead of eating sticky buns like yesterday, today I had sticky buns (TMI?).

I rode a lot more slowly today and was feeling better at the end of the ride than at the beginning. We went through Kenora, which looked out on a beautiful big lake, and also saw this thing.

Today's track

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Selkirk Rest Day

The day in Selkirk was the most restful of any rest day so far. I went for a walk to the grocery store, watched some TV, cleaned my chain, and that was about it.

There are a lot of churches in Selkirk. I guess the bible belt extends into Canada here. Here's a church sign we found amusing:

Another thing I noticed that is probably not interesting to anyone but myself was this AMC Eagle from around 1980, not long before AMC disappeared into oblivion:

The Eagle was ahead of its time in introducing four wheel drive in a wagon, way before Subaru grabbed onto that niche. This example was in such good condition, I wondered how the owner maintained it. Then I noticed no fewer than seven parts cars on the same lot. I guess that's how.

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Day 23 - West Hawk (mo' action) Lake

As we got going this morning, it occurred to me that I am still enjoying riding my bike. You'd think I'd be tired of it by now, but I look forward to hitting the road every day. It was a beautiful day for a ride, sunny but cool. There was a mild headwind, just enough to make us feel like we were working.

The highlight of the day for me was this bakery in Whitemouth (i.e. the middle of nowhere).

I had a tasty burrito and sticky bun. It was like walking into someone's house that happened to have tables set up in the rooms and a gigantic kitchen sticking off the back. In keeping with the religious theme of this area, there were bible quotes and stuff like that scattered throughout the house. On the wall next to our table was the Lord's Prayer and on top of the toilet a card inscribed with "God is Merciful".

With our appetites and souls replenished, we continued and soon reached the end of the prairies. Unlike the start of the prairies which were gradually revealed by flattening foothills, this transition was immediate. One minute we were riding through fields, the next we were riding through rocks and trees...

Today I tried an experiment, using a easier gear than usual and spinning the pedals a lot faster. This requires less pressure on the pedals and, I hoped, less pressure on my knees. The experiment was successful in preventing knee troubles but there were two side effects. First, the extra pedaling did a number on my butt - towards the end I was starting to grimace. The other was fatigue. With about 30 km to go I felt like I had nothing left in the tank. The love for cycling that I had felt earlier had evaporated and I just wanted to lie down.

And now I am lying down, hopeful that my butt will recover and pretty sure that tomorrow morning I'll be chomping at the bit to get going again.

Today's track

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Day 22 - Selkirk (... yup, Selkirk)

Today was supposed to be the flattest day on the tour and it delivered. It was 120 km of pancake flat prairie, with the occasional hay bale,

A few flooded areas,

And flies that were able to keep up with us at 25 km/h. Riding behind Chris, I could see literally a swarm of insects around him. At one point we were forced to ride faster because they were starting to bite us.

Now we're in a hotel in Selkirk, about 35 km north of Winnipeg. If I feel ambitious tomorrow I might get a bus into the city, but it's more likely that I'll hang around and do nothing. There's a Smitty's next door and a McDonald's and Subway next to that, so I'd say we have everything we need for a lazy day.

Today's track

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Day 21 - Portage la Prairie (aka Porridge la Prairie)

The adversity continued last night in Minnedosa as, for the first time on this trip, I had trouble getting to sleep. I had set up my tent in what I thought was a secluded spot only to have several huge RVs park next to it. As it happened, the occupants of these RVs were chatty and in no hurry to go to bed. Even with my trusty earplugs, I could hear every word they were saying. Finally at 2:10 am I shifted into assertive mode, got out of my tent, walked in the general direction of their campfire (I couldn't see anything else) and asked them politely to be quiet. I guess I cut an imposing figure in the dark because they immediately abandoned their fire and nothing else was heard. I felt like a hero.

Four hours of sleep later we were on the road again, riding through the endless farmland of Manitoba.

I rode with Chris, trying to take it easy on my knee. We had a sweet tailwind most of the day which made that much easier to do and we made good time despite my handicap.

We arrived at Miller's Camping Resort outside Portage la Prairie at 3:30 and I have to say that this has been my best camping experience so far. The showers are great, all the facilities are close to our tents, and supper was served at 5 so we've had lots of time to do laundry, write in our blogs and goof around.

I get a kick out of a lot of the random things that come up during our down time. For example (one of many), Owen explained the connection between reversible underwear and the Beatles song "Eight Days a Week."

And here's a look at the weird "tan" lines I got from my gloves and warmers:

One more short day tomorrow and then a rest day in Selkirk. We're already a third of the way through!

Today's track

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Day 20 - Minne-do(h!)-sa

OI knew things were going too smoothly. Today just was not my day. It started out okay. There was a vigorous but manageable headwind. There was just enough cloud cover to keep the temperature comfortable. We were on a quiet road, taking it easy and tyaking in the sights.

Then, about 60 km in, my right knee started to feel not quite right. It's not unusual for me to feel a little knee pain now and then, but this persisted. It could be my punishment for pushing too hard yesterday. On the bright side, it is easy to manage. The pain goes away as long as I stay below a certain speed, kinda like the movie with Keannu Reeves except instead of 60 mph it's 15 km/h (and much less exciting to watch). It's frustrating going at a slower pace but I'm quite happy to do it if it means I can ride another day.

Later on, I got a flat. That's always annoying. And when I finally got to camp, I realized that my GPS track had not been recorded for the day. D'oh! Considering all this, I'm in good cheer. I still get fed (a lot) whether I'm first to camp or last.

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Day 19 - (party on,) Binscarth

Another hot one today as we rode out of Saskatchewan and into a new time zone.

Here, as most places on the prairies, we could see evidence of the recent flooding.

Most of these new water features are already populated with ducks and the like. One particular kind of bird (mostly black coloured) makes its nests around these little lakes and is very protective, swooping and squeaking at us as we ride through its territory.

Graham had some drama today when his rear derailleur got caught in his spokes and was catastrophically damaged.

He got a drive to the campsite and will try to get it replaced in Brandon tomorrow.

Ilan and I were riding together yet again. We've developed a system now whereby we take 10 km turns leading and pointing out obstacles. Whoever is riding behind tries to save as much energy as possible using the draft. Depending on the wind direction, this could mean riding directly behind or to either side of the leader. This is more mentally tiring than riding alone but I am starting to get used to it.

We set a fast pace for the conditions today - maybe too fast for me at times but of course I was too proud to say anything. For supper I stuffed myself with perogies, bean salad, pasta salad and cheesecake and quickly fell into a near coma. Despite the time zone change I am more than ready to go to sleep at 9:15.

Today's track

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