Well we are back to blogging in the bathroom. Fortunately this one is actually pretty nice (comparatively speaking). I don’t know why but I enjoy Manitoba. I have every reason to hate it I mean the bugs are as bad as sask, the roads for sections have no shoulders and are pretty beat up, and the winds never seem to be in your favour. But I have found a way to look beyond all of that. It helps that the province is working to correct its issues. The roads are getting rebuilt, and most cities have been or will be getting aerial sprayed for mosquitoes, which is something I was sure to thank the owners of this campsite about.
The morning was really awesome today. I woke up at the same time as everyone else so we all had breakfast together near the mosquitoes infested forest, and packed up most of my camp. This is when Charles says, “don’t pack up the tent”. They were off to visit the local bike shop so I took the extra hour and a half and used it to relax. I have no clue why but I decided to listen to the Mexican radio station, which through its frantic beats somehow managed to put me to sleep for a few minutes.
Today’s ride was hard. I was thanking my friends every minute for giving me that extra few minutes of sleep. We traveled less then 150k and it felt like we but in the same effort as the day we summated Rogers pass. There is not much to look at here in Manitoba so for most of the day I was plugged into my ipod listening to the radio. This is when I found out “o crap the time has changed” so we were an hour further behind.
Bike touring is like nothing else you see everything differently. To you passing by you see a splat on the window of a dead dragon fly. To us today we rode through something beautiful. We rode through a flock of dragonflies. I mean hundreds of these dragonflies in this one small area. It left me speechless.
Lunch is always interesting. Today was no exception. We stopped and this obscure little café which had 4 people working in it. All of who were women under the age of 20. Our service… well let me just say it was the first time I have never tipped in my life. They lost that privilege when I had to get up and go to the bathroom to get more water. It frustrates me when a server who is supposed to be serving here 2 tables is in back with her chums not doing anything. I was living life on the crazy side and had two sandwiches I have never tasted, a Rubin and a Denver. The Rubin I was not to fond of, but the Denver kept me going through the day.
Once we got to our destination in Portage La Prairie we strolled through the downtown core trying to find the visitor centre. Funnily enough the most helpful place turned out to be the gas station attendant. We went to the campsite in town first right near the lake (which is a beautiful addition to the city) where we were greeted by the county fair. The place was packed. It explained why the downtown core had no traffic and we were able to mess around a little bit on the main road. Olivier and I let our inner racers come out cutting every corner as tight as possible trying to make the mundane 20km/h a little more exciting.
The fair was interesting. I did not realize that many young people lived here, and I was amazed how honest everyone was. We were pretty dead-set on staying there because we did not want to go any further but the ladies at the office said “you guys do not want to stay here” they even took the time to look up find the prices for the other campsites near by.
Our journey out of Portage was short only another 5km down the road to our destination. Before we set up camp we decided to eat out instead of cooking. I could tell that beans tonight were not going to cut it. The esso truck stop was our dinner choice. These truck stops continue to impress me. The people are usually very friendly, we always get people asking us what we are doing, and the food is usually quick. I am also learning the value of the daily special. You get so much extra bang for your buck if you are willing to live life a little on the wild side.
That brings us to this bathroom where I am left reflecting on our first full day in Manitoba. I have to say the funniest thing thinking about it now is the fact we used the words “only in Manitoba three times today”. Once when we saw that the roadwork was being done with farm equipment. Once when we saw farm equipment going down highway 1. And once when a car was stopped and abandoned in the middle of the main street in Portage with 4 way flashers that were next to useless. Remember if life is worth living it is worth recording.
Trip Distance: 143km
Ride Time: 6:36hr
Avg. Speed: 21.77km/h
Total Distance: 2480km
Total Ride Time: 116hr
Destination: East of Portage of Prairie, Manitoba
As a bonus here is a list of thing I am glad I brought or glad I did not cheap out on.
-Great tent. Hilliberg or nothing
-iPod
-Stool
-Ear plugs
-Good sleeping bag
Thing I wish I brought:
-Can opener
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment