Mary Jane’s B+B, Winnipeg Manitoba
20 Aug 2004
110.9 km
5.06 hours
21.7 kph
Total 1442 kms this year
Quite a variety today…
St Claude - good breakfast at Maria’s, then off down the narrow shoulder-cement road, taking our first break at Elm Creek. Hard to tell who was swearing more - Olin about the cement and the rest of us about the dangerous road. Tony needed a photo op with his medical magazine in the sunflowers, which led us to noticing a dirt road going south… map consultations determined we would go S and then E on the secondary roads towards Sanford. We made a wrong turn and put on a few extra kms, but it was worth it - beautiful quiet road through enormous fields (hundreds of acres) blue flax on one side and yellow canola on the other. The road was gravel or smooth dirt and in excellent condition, with the wind at our backs , it was heavenly cycling.
Lunch at Sanford, a few km down a good road with shoulder - then agony. We had about 25 km where we were forced to ride on the gravel shoulder because the road was so treacherous.
The entry to Winnipeg was horrible. Awful traffic, huge trucks and not an inch for cyclists. It was a nightmare. Very hard to find our way as we went into the city.
Finally got to our B+B which is 1912 house in old neighbourhood south of the river. A quiet place.
21 - 22 Aug
A day in Winnipeg, seeing the sights, then back home to Vancouver.
19 Aug 2004
Commercial Hotel, St Claude Manitoba
81 km
3.23 hrs
23.9 kph
Our first 30 km was our fastest ever - we were in Holland in an hour with the wind at our backs. After our usual enquiries we were directed to the cafe “at the gas station”. What a gem! It was a bakery, producing huge gooey cinnamin buns, pies, muffins, squares - quite a pleasant break.
Back on the road to a much stiffer wind. The weather is very cold - last year at this time it was 39 degrees here - today’s high was probably about 16, with a very cold wind. The cycling conditions were very tough - wind from the side or the front, strong and pushing us off the road. Continuing no shoulders - only #1 and #16 have shoulders. Additional challenge is the heavy truck traffic - we learn that the heavy vehicles take #2 to avoid the scales. Also the vehicles with the extra wide loads avoid the escort rules and travel on this road. All contributing to its difficulty for cyclists.
Tough ride to St Claude, debating a little about whether we might forge through to Winnipeg - not a chance, too windy and too hard!
St Claude another little French town in the prairies with quite a remarkable modern church - built in 1964. Seats 500, in a community of about 750. Nice museum, St Calude Manitoba Dairy Museum, with school house, home, medical room, fabric (textile) room, nice young girl showing us around.
Dinner at Maria’s family restaurant, buffet with fresh veg from across the road and lasagne - excellent. We had to tour the garden at that stage - everything lush and green but about a month behind due to cold weather. Beer parlour to chat, bed to sleep…
Unnamed guest house, Glenboro Manitoba
111.6 km
4.46 hours
23.4
Our short day today got quite long… very blustery and cold day (high 13 degrees in Winnipeg, 26 degrees in Vancouver), though the wind was mainly at our backs.
Breakfast - peaches and yoghurt in our room, photo ops at the bridge. I did a little cycle tour of Souris, then we set off. Some crop damage from the heavy rain last night. Lunch at Wawanesa, home of the insurance company, which still has quite a presence there. Then on to this farm B+B, cupboards full of evidence of little visitors to the building.
For a little amusement we took a quick spin up to Spruce Woods Park, the ancient sandy delta of the Assiniboine River, reduced to 4 mi sq north of here. We walked in the dunes, wonderful strange desert ecosystem with sand and ducks.
10 km back to town, dinner at the motel cafe, then back to our B+B.