Day 28: 197.07 km

June 3, 2012

Oak Lake - Portage La Prairie

I'll keep today's blog entry nice and short because I am exhausted!!! HELL YES!!! really could explain it all, but I'll put a little more into it then that.

This morning I took off at 7:30 am, and biked 50km for a well deserved, delicious breakfast at Cathy (my dads cousin) and David's house in Brandon. After possibly the most perfect pancakes ever (I ate 9) I took off again.

At Cathy, David, and Callum's for breakfast

and their leashed cat

I was really nervous all day that I would get a flat. I fill my tires with CO2 cartridges and I only had half of one left! That's not enough for one full tire!! My pump is out of commission at the moment so that was all the air I had.

 This was the beginning of one rough ride. It went from brand new pavement (amazing) to gravel.

And, of course 60 km out of portage I have a flat. This time, it was BOB himself that was flat. (BOB is my trailer.) And that's his actual name, I didn't make it up. If I would have made it up, it would have been much more creative, like Steve 2... Anyway, I had no idea what to do, so I called dad. Together chatting on the phone we patched the tire (there's no spare tubes for BOB) and we hoped to pump him up enough to get us there. How lucky was it that BOB had a super slow leak and that he was only half deflated!? Because it perfectly used up the air canister and filler him up nicely. Now I just hope I don't get a flat tomorrow. Then I'll have to thumb a ride in!

Today was super hot, and windy. They wind was definitely in my favor (Hence the 197 km!!!). I have the worst burn on my back from today. And I applied so much spray sunscreen! Just it seems that I did it in the same spots because I have a very bright red and brown polka dotted back at the moment.

Today's lunch was in Sidney, Manitoba. There were 3 stores in that town, all of which were closed. But there was a pop machine out front and that was good enough for me! And I got two cokes for the price of one!!!!! I was so happy!!!! But I went lunch-less and only had sharpies as a snack.

Finally, at 7:45pm I pulled into Portage. I was so happy to be able to eat at Boston pizza!!!! I ate potato skins as well as jambalaya pasta! I was so hungry! Now I am at Miller's campground, a beautiful campground 10km east of Portage.

 

During my shower I locked my tent, and then lost the tiny keys. Who gets locked out of a tent!? I felt like an idiot breaking into my own tent. There goes my security system!!! That's ok maybe I'll find new and better mini locks in Winnipeg tomorrow!!

 

Day 27: 88.89 km

June 2, 2012

Moosomin- Oak Lake

Today was incredible! I woke up to a very warm morning. I had a late start and ate breakfast in the campground. 

My gopher friend that joined me for breakfast. I was definitely more scared of him than he was of me.

Goodbye Saskachewan!

By noon I crossed the Manitoba border. Literally as soon as I crossed the border I felt as if the bugs attacked me! I got a bee stuck in my helmet (a very friendly bee that didn't sting me thank goodness) and flies and wasps were circling me as I went. I lost my mind at one that kept doing circles and went to swat it away and went biking into the ditch! It won that battle. It was so sunny and hot. Yesterday at some point I had passed the 2,000 km mark! So I'm about a third of the way there! It was so hot today it was crazy. I was biking in my bathing suit top and loaded on the sunscreen.

I stopped for a quick snack to cool off.

I had talked to Maryann's sister-in-law letting her know that I wouldn't need a place to stay and she warned me about the highways around Elkhorn, a town I was close to. I guess a few cyclists have died biking around the turns and getting hit by cars there. But I made it through safe and sound. As I was biking, a semi pulled in front of me. I got a little nervous wondering what this guy was doing so I took a picture of the back of his truck and plates to send to my dad. As I was sending the picture, Carl, the truck driver I met in Chaplin, got out of the truck!! I was so happy to see him again! He was on his way back home. We chatted a bit, and he gave more money to the cause! He also gave me dates. He had looked into it since the last time we had chatted and found out professional bikers eat dates as snacks to keep going, so he had bought a fresh package of dates for me! Very nice man, then we parted ways and kept going.

Just outside of Elkhorn (in a safe spot) I had another flat! This was the worlds easiest flat compared to the last one I had! I sat in my little chair and sang as I changed it. A fellow stopped and asked if I needed help, and we chatted for a bit as well, then I kept going.

By the time I was nearing Oak Lake, I got absolutely frustrated with the bugs. I looked like a human windshield! They we're stuck to my face and chest and it was so hot and sticky out I felt disgusting. They were so annoying and I could feel them in my hair and crawling everywhere! I had to stop and shower! My plan was to stop and shower in Oak Lake and push on 40 km to Brandon. I found a tiny little campground and went to shower there. The shower didn't work!! So I put my clothes back on as someone pounded on the door to get in. I had my bike in the washroom with me. It was a big washroom with 2 sinks but not a very private shower and it was for girls and guys and had a lock on the door so I had assumed it was a personal shower. I felt terrible assuming this so I ran to answer the door. These kids were on the other side and one really had to go to the washroom. We ended up chatting for over an hour in the washroom. The kids ranged from 6 years old to 12 years old and they had so many questions about everything! They were so excited about my trip! They told every adult that came into the area about it. The young girl, Zoe, helped me wash my hair in the sink, and they all helped me set up my tent. I guess I'm not going to Brandon!

We had an awesome time! These kids never stopped talking. It was so refreshing after being so alone all day! 

They unpacked me and set up my tent!

They biked with me in town and showed me their houses, and introduced me to their neighbors, and took me to the "cream" for dinner. Zoe's dad ended up buying dinner (thank you again!) and we all went back to the camp ground.

On our way back from dinner with fried chicken

They were continuing the celebrations for a wedding! We all ate and had a few beers and chatted. The kids and I played in the park, and I got to know a lot of the adults. It was an amazing time! So many of them donated, and they were all so supportive of my cause. I even got to camp there for free! I can't even explain to you how open hearted these people are! It is incredible here!!

Each of the kids took a turn riding my bike. They put 10km on it!

I guess Brandon plus some is the plan for tomorrow now instead of today!!! But it was SO worth every moment of it!