XCAN Day 30 Rest Day Winnipeg

Town and Country RV Park   3/10 for bathrooms.

Great location.  Last night we had a very nice meal at Inferno  in the Tiki Tiki hut!

Today sleeping in, meal planning, shopping at Mikes favourite store...next to MEC.

Nice bike shop to pick up more inner tubes for the skinny wheel people.

Resting, refuelling, Mike, Greg and Heidi went out for sushi.

Nancy and Dave caught up with old friends, Michelle, Ruth and Eric.

Looking forward to West winds tomorrow...as we head towards Ontario!!!

Yah...Hip Hip Ontario!

Cheers
Mike!!

XCAN Day 28 Brandon to Portage La Prairie

Distance:               125 km
Time:                     4:06 -
Weather:                Sunny and Warm  No Tailwinds headwinds 25 Km out.
                               12 - 32 C
Bathroom rating    8
Flats:                      0    7 Total

Up a little later today with Mike taping on the door at 7:00 am   Nice extra rest.  Still managed to leave camp at 9 am heading east!!

Another easy ride today...no tailwinds but no headwinds either.  Scenery changed a bit today...a few more trees along the road...and passed by a Provincial Forest on the other side of the road but absolutely no signage.   Looked like a nice park.

Landscape was a little more rolling today...so we actually had a couple of inclines.   What is with that.  haha.  They were easy and nice views from the rise.

Not many towns along the way today to stop at.  A few gas bars and Dave found a small general store in Sidney....don't stop for coffee there after 8:30 am.  The cup of coffee he was served was from the 8:30 pot served at 11 am.

No wildlife other than a herd of about 6 deer running through the field and across the tracks and gone.    Fewer birds as less water beside the road today as well.

A large section maybe 20 km of TCH was being paved about 15 km outside of Portage la Prairie.  So it was nice to ride on brand new asphalt...but there were no lines and only single lane...but the truckers were terrific.  One followed me at 33 kph for about 2 km until I was able to pull off to the side and let him go.   Mike and Dave were a little later on that part and said that the new pavement made it a bit hotter to ride.

Made it into Portage la Prairie and to the Exhibition Grounds Campsite on the "Island".  There is an oxbow lake that goes around 3/4 of the "island" and it is quite scummy.  But by the grounds there is a golf course, lots of buildings for exhibition, an arena and indoor pool (where Graduation is happening tonight), an outdoor pool with waterslides, a big park with an arboretum, fields, tennis and on and on. Beautiful setting for sure...all green and grass.  Not bad for bugs either.

Peter Brand put us in touch with Bob Gunther who is the head of the Portage la Prairie road cycle club.  Dave and Nancy spoke to him about the road conditions in Manitoba and he advised that TCH #1 would be the best.  Especially with the new paving on the shoulders that we went through today.  So we took his advise and are on the TCH.  Bob invited us to his house for a campfire, but Dave asked if he could come and visit us here instead.

After Dinner Bob, Nettie rode out to the campsite to visit

and Nettie's husband Phil stopped by.  Nettie was National Champion for her age category for 3 years.  Had a great discussion about biking, travels, clubs and traveling to PEI, very informative and lots of information.  It was a great visit and nice to meet others who share an interest.

Just before Bob and group left Nettie received a severe Thunderstorm warning for the Northern States and southern Manitoba.  Possible winds up to 90 K and golf ball sized hail.  It is not expected to pass until tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 pm.  Hopefully it gets downgraded and doesn't hit us!  We will let you know in tomorrows blog!  Stay tuned!!

All in all a good day.  One more day 112 km to Winnipeg and then a well deserved day off.  It will have been 7 days of riding to get back on schedule.  I will post the schedule at the bottom for Ontario.  We may be mixing it up a little bit until Thunder Bay...but once we leave there I think we are pretty well set.

Enjoy life because it can be short!  Heidi

30 30-Jun Rest Day (Winnipeg) 31 01-Jul   Winnipeg Brereton Lake Ontario 32 02-Jul Brereton Lake Kenora 33 03-Jul Kenora Dryden 34 04-Jul Dryden Ignace 35 05-Jul Ignace Savanne 36 06-Jul Savanne Thunder Bay 37 07-Jul Rest Day 38 08-Jul Thunder Bay Niipigon 39 09-Jul Nipigon Jelicoe 40 10-Jul Jelicoe Long Lac 41 11-Jul Long Lac Ameson/Nagagami 42 12-Jul Ameson/Nagagami Hearst 43 13-Jul Hearst Moonbeam 44 14-Jul Moonbeam Cochrane 45 15-Jul Rest Day 46 16-Jul Cochrane Kirkland Lake 47 17-Jul Kirkland Lake Latchford 48 18-Jul Latchford North Bay 49 19-Jul North Bay Deux Rivieres 50 20-Jul Duex Rivieries Petawawa 51 21-Jul Petawawa Forester Falls 52 22-Jul Rest Day 53 23-Jul Rest Day 54 24-Jul Forester Falls Buckingham, QC

XCAN Day 27 Moosomen Sk to Brandon Man

Distance:          145 km
Time :               4:27 - 5:01
Weather:          Clear and sunny in morning with South Western Winds
Temperature:    14 - 33 C
 Bathroom:        Nancy 8/10
Flats:  0            Total for trip 7

Started at 8:30 anticipating the border to Manitoba in 20 km.

 Luckily there was parking for Greg and RV...even if there was no good signage...so caused some fast breaking.

Good photo ops at the border.

Only 2 out of 5 knew about the time change at the border....but we knew after we were told.

Mike sidelined for the day and kept Greg company.  Met for quick snack at Verdin.  Nancy and Dave arrived but decided to go into town to eat.

Greg and Mike did grocery shopping and liquor store after setting up the trailer at Meadowlark Campground. Nancy and Dave were interviewed by some Verdin newspaper.

Not much wildlife to be seen.  A bit different scenery with more shrubby type trees.

Today was a higher speed ride for the bikers with the great tailwinds.  Nancy and Dave said when they were leaving Verdin they had to ride against the wind for a bit and very glad it was behind us all day. Today was the big reward or prize after hills, headwinds and sidewinds for sure!

No mosquitos today....after yesterday it is nice.

Cheers      Mike!

XCAN Day 26 Grenfell to Moosomin

Distance:               103 km

Time:                     4:15

Elevation gained:  129 m

Weather: Sunny, little wind in am, after lunch huge headwinds and thunderstorm 

Flats:                      0  Total 7

Shower Rating: 5

We started the day in beautiful sunny weather, comfortable temps and rode a flat, quick route till the lunch break.  Today was a multi-bottle day as the temperature rose throughout. 

Mike spotted a coyote today doing normal coyote things so no scare this time.  We met two riders at the lunch spot - one from Estonia and the other from France who met in Moose Jaw and decided to ride together after that.  The Estonian started in Cambodia 7 months ago and left us feeling pretty incompetent in comparison.  

After lunch, as usual, the winds picked up and we were battling gusts for about 1.5 hours until the lightening appeared.  Dave and I were fortunate that we were near a Quonset hut that was being constructed and insulated (Murray Banting would be jealous of!). We beetled over there and met Bob, a very nice gentleman who was building this as a cottage on his mother's property.  Bob informed us that this narrow stretch of land was called Red Jacket during the railroad heyday with the sole occupant at this point a bachelor and Bob's Quonset. Bob joked that his wife was the mayor, the bachelor was the sherif, and Bob was the maintenance Director 😊.  At this point Mike came along and we chatted until the rain slowed enough to continue.  

The wind had really died down and we made great time for the last 12 km to our campsite.  A nice shorter day.

Cheers,

Nancy and Dave

Sent from my iPad

XCAN Day 25 Regina to Grenfell

Distance:             114
Time:                   5:10
Elevation:           198M
Weather:             Sunny warm windy  17 - 31 C
Bathroom Rating: -1
Flats:     3.   Total for trip. 7

Up with the sun and wind this morning.  Usual morning routine and pack up and then hit the road.

As soon as we got to the highway Nancy had a flat tire.  Mike and I went on and Greg met us all at different times in Indian Head about 55 km out.  About 30 km out Heidi had a flat tire on the front as well.  Those retread pieces all over the road and those little tiny shards of wire!

Heidi had a quick stop with Greg...Nancy and Dave came in when Heidi was leaving and went in search of food.  Mike came in and then Greg headed off to Grenfell, our stop for the night.

Scenery today was different than yesterday again.  More ponds along the road and even a sign for Moose.  Greg did see a cow moose and calf about 200 M off the road in a pond.  The only thing I (Heidi) thought about after seeing the sign...was how close the moose would be and how fast can it run after me!! :)

Just a bit of a sprinkle of rain while going through Wolseley but no other today!  Yay!  Some head and side winds though...a southeastern today.  The roads were great today.

About 6 km outside of Grenfell, Heidi had another flat.  On the back tire this time and it was hard to get the little sliver out of the tire!

We all arrived at the Community Campground which is behind the pool and arena.   Greg again had us all set up and ready to go!  Nice place...but the mosquitos love Nancy.

A COLD shower was had by all....does cool you down though!

Dinner and then route planning by Nancy and Dave.

Another amazing day on this journey!

Thanks for reading
Heidi

XCAN Day 24 Besant Campground to Regina

Distance                  118 Km
Time                        4:59 - 6:04
Assent                      240 M
Temperature            17-35 C
Weather:                 Overcast to Sun then Rain and black clouds with HEADWINDS
Flats:                       1   Total for Trip - 4

Well...cool weather, beautiful biking temperature, endless straightaways!!  More farmland again rather than rangeland as the last few days.

Easy going today until the Headwind and Rain...about 25 K out.

Awesome road shoulder today.  Nice and wide...feels very safe.  Varies how much thump thump with the different types of expansion strips.  A Portion of road between Moose Jaw and Regina was quite bumpy.  Some drops/gaps were about 3 inches.

Traffic was quite light until just before Regina....a lot more people going home after the weekend.

Nancy, Dave, Greg and Heidi met at Smitty's in the Jaw of the Moose....for a small snack and coffee. Mike soldiered on until Belle Plaine.

After yesterday was a nice quiet ride.  Mike Stopped in Belle Plaine at Chubbies Bar and Grill for a BLT.  It was good.

Some of the trains going by were very impressive.  Seems like 2 miles long and the never seem to end.

Discovered Wendy's Lemonade in Regina to help with the heat.

A lot of the ride today had to do with mindset.  A character builder for sure...and all part of the challenge.  Would have preferred to be the guys heading to Vancouver on the downhill with the tailwinds. though.

Also...don't get a flat in Pense...there is virtually nothing there but Mosquitos as Nancy and Dave found out when they went there with Dave's flat tire today!

Also...this is tick central.  Mike got 2 on him when he went into the grass about 10 feet to take a pee! Greg had one in camp and Mike had some flying on him in the wind.

Happy Happy Day.

Cheers Mike.

XCAN Day 23 Swift Current to Besant Camp Ground

Distance: 143 km
Time: 6:18
Weather: Sunny and partly cloudy for the morning, then windy and rain in the afternoon
Flats: 1, total now is 3
Shower Rating: 2-3

Dave, Mike, and Nancy decided to draft for the morning which worked out quite well.

We met Heidi in Herbert for a coffee at a Chinese Restaurant - one of two restaurants in Herbert.  We had a great time - the owners only spoke Chinese and were very impressed with our bikes.  They used a translate app on another patron's phone to ask how old we were, where we were going, etc.  Nancy was wearing her team bike kit with our route on the back so we showed them where we started, where we were going, and where we were today - that was quite a hit with the owners and other patrons of the restaurant.  Really nice people.
From there we continued our congo line where we were interrupted by a coyote chasing us down the highway.  This is what happened:  Dave and Mike in the front were looking at a huge bull in a field on the right, Nancy in the rear notices an animal running beside her.  She thinks its a dog until she notices it really is a coyote at which point she yells "coyote" and the guys think there is a coyote in the field and start to slow down.  She then yells "I'm serious guys, its a coyote" at which time they start to brake and the coyote goes behind Nancy.

Nancy makes a bee-line through the boys and decides its every man for himself.  Mike decided to fend it off using his bike but the coyote only circled him - at this point he's now scared too.  Eventually it did decide to leave and we reconvened at the top of the next hill where Heidi called to see if we were OK - turns out the same coyote had chased her for about 2 km down the highway until a woman driving by used her car to get between Heidi and the coyote.  We have no idea why this happened, or if it was a sick animal - needs more investigation.

Dave, Mike and Nancy continued riding to Chaplin for a lunch break.  Chaplin is known for their salt flats.

Kitty, the owner of the restaurant used to own the restaurant in Herbert and we had a great chat with two farmers about why the crops were bad this year, why its so windy in Saskatchewan, and what the highway was like to Besant, our campground for the night.  After leaving lunch, we waited out the majority of the rain, Nancy got a flat and Mike continued on to the campsite - he had done his heroic act for the day!
A really fun day.
Cheers,
Nancy and Dave

XCAN Day 22 Rest Day Swift Current

We did the usual rest day activities today.  In the morning we spent about two hours revamping our route through Saskatchewan and Manitoba.  We decided not to go north to Yorkton and were investigating highways in Saskatchewan south of highway 1.

To that end, Dave, Mike and I went looking for a bike shop, stopped at the local RCMP, visited CAA, and the local tourist office to see if anyone knew what the shoulders on the southern highways were like.  Turns out, the major road through Saskatchewan is Highway 1, other than that all bets are off.

Another interesting fact - the Swift Current RCMO office acts as city police - they don't know anything about the roads outside of the city.

Other than that we rested and went out for dinner at a local restaurant that Heidi an Greg choose.  Always good to have a rest day!

Cheers,

Nancy and Dave

XCAN DAY 21 Gull Lake to Swift Current Saskatchewan

Distance:                55.84km
Time:                      2:27
Elevation:               222 m
Temperature:          23 - 30 C
Weather:                 Sunny and Warm, Then clouds moved it.
Flats:                      0   Total to Date 2
Bathroom Rating:  Nancy scale  4 (tepid water)  Heidi's scale is 2 as no hot water till end of shower.

Short little hop from a Cute Saskatchewan town Gull Lake to Swift Current.

Easy ride with a bit of headwinds.

The scenery was spectacular.  So colourful and endless.

 Lots of stops to enjoy the views.

No animals except for some birds today.  Even our little ground squirrel carcasses were few and far between.

The road was good for 90 percent of the ride.  The other 10 percent was kind of rough.

When we arrived in Swift Current, Greg had camp all set up and ready to go.  People had lunch and then the guys went grocery shopping.

Mike built great taco salad fixings for dinner...and used 12 bowls to do it.  That is a new record!

At 7:00 Dave went to brush his teeth.  He thinks bedtime is 7:17.  haha.  He even had a nap before dinner.  Shopping must have took it out of him!

Nancy says weather is hot.  Air Conditioner is on!

3 out of the 5 are on the new drug of choice for the bike trip so far.  Antihistamines!!

Living Life!
Heidi & Greg

XCAN Day 20 Eagle Valley Campground to Gull Lake SK

Total Distance:        117 k
Time:                       4:50 - 5:03
Elevation:                486
Temperature:           16 - 32C
Weather:                  Sunny with a bit of cloud
Flats:                       0
Bathroom Rating:   4 (2 ply but dark and cannot regulate the water...quite hot)

Greg kindly drove back to the Tourist Centre in Alberta to start our ride.  In trying to maintain an EFI approach we wanted to start where we left off.

Us

We rode 3 km to the Saskatchewan border for a group photo.  Sorry Greg couldn't be there as the approach was quite narrow.

Well it was a terrific ride for seeing birds and white tail deer.  Mike saw more than a dozen deer.  Heidi did a count of ground squirrels that were recognizable as such for 10 km and counted 61 carcasses along just the side and one lane.  And surprisingly a number of seagulls who have died trying to eat the carcasses of the ground squirrels.

The side of the road at times were gravel and about 1/3 of the day was quite rough.  Along with the bump bump bump expansion strips every 10 M it made for a rough ride.

We met Murray who left Victoria on June 10th.  Put us to shame!  Hard to get away from him as he just wanted to talk.

Mike saw a dust devil at one of the alkali lakes but it was gone by the time the camera made it out.

Nice campsite off the highway.

Cheers Mike

XCAN June 19 Bow Island to Walsh Alberta

Distance:     110.7 km

Time:           4:24

Elevation:    355m

Weather:      cloudy with sunny breaks. Avg temp:17, high 22

Flats:            none

Bathroom/shower rating: 1.5

We aren't in Kansas anymore.  What an enjoyable ride!  

We have officially left the mountains of BC and have hit (for now) flatter terrain.  Started earlier in cooler weather - cloudy with sunny breaks.  

us

With very few hills and virtually no wind we were able to make really good time on Highway 3 till we met Greg in Medicine Hat for lunch. 

We were feeling pretty good about our ride until we met Marc heading west on his bicycle.  Marc is a lovely gentleman from France who started riding in Montreal on May 15 and is pulling a small trailer with his camping gear, travelling to Chilliwack to see his daughter who married a Canadian. He told us he lost 15 kilos since leaving Montreal!  

After lunch (Tim Hortons) we headed to Walsh via Highway 1 and ran into some headwinds which slowed our journey a bit.  We stopped at the Alberta Tourist Bureau right before the Saskatchewan border.  From there we loaded into the truck and drove to our campground in Saskatchewan because campgrounds in this part of Canada are pretty scarce.  

Tomorrow we will drive back to the Tourist Bureau to start our ride (Mike suggested Dave go into the Tourist Bureau to see if we can get more Cliff Bars as they gave us each a care package when we arrived today).  Beautiful ride and we didn't get wet 😎

Cheers,

Nancy and Dave