Day 28 (July 30th)

Lodge Lake Rest Area to Thunder Bay, ON

When I awoke, Dave was already starting to pack up his gear and so I hurried up and we hit the road before long. I even managed to clear my bike and equipment of all but one of the many slugs that covered it.

We passed into the Eastern Standard Time Zone and I adjusted my watch.

Dave's watch is complicated to adjust and he has decided to keep it set to Hobart time.

We passed from the Arctic Watershed into the Atlantic Watershed and continued our push, hoping to make Thunder Bay before nightfall.

A roadside sign with a diagram of the route managed to distracted both Dave and I from the end of the paved shoulder, but each kept from losing it on the gravel.

Roadwork made for some rough riding, but all-in-all, it was a good go.

Dave and I said our goodbyes when we arrived in Thunder bay, and I headed to my friend Eric's for a visit.

Route: Hwy 17, Hwy 102, Red River Dr, Algonquin Ave, Balmoral St, Academy Dr

Day 27 (July 29th)

Dryden to Lodge Lake, ON

I slept in 'til after 09:00 today but was rolling soon after.

The day warmed up fast, and I stopped for a popsicle before too long.

Later on, as I was leaving a lakeside rest area where I had lunched another loaded cyclist was just coming in. I ran into that cyclist again later on at a grocery store in Ignace. After quite a conversation, Dave and I decided to ride together for the remainder of the day.
Dave is from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia and is a sailor and jack of several trades.
He started his ride in Anchorage, Alaska and is headed to New York.

We pedaled another 40 or so km and set up our tents at a rest area near Lodge Lake.

Route: Hwy 17

Day 26 (July 28th)

About 30km W of Kenora to Dryden, ON

I found a roadside restaurant and had a morning hamburger soon after starting my day.

Lakes were very plentiful in this area.

As I approached Kenora, I encountered two of the riders from the Velo Quebec group.

In town, I bought more sunscreen and finally found the bear mace Shireen insisted I buy... Probably a good idea.

Close to mid-day, I stopped for a slushy and met Paul, a fellow headed East to West on a four wheeled, two seated bicycle of his own construction. We hid in the shade and talked for a while.

Dryden offered much as far as services are concerned, but the town was very much divided by the rail line that bisected it. Few road or even pedestrian crossings really seemed to sequester its downtown, quite unfortunately.

A few more tempting lakes were passed and I gave in -- taking a cool dip and resting beside the water.

After passing through town I found an abandoned and well treed gravel pit and camped.

Route: Hwy 17

Day 25 (July 27th)

Starbuck, MB to about 30km West of Kenora, ON

As I was packing my tent and loading things back onto my bicycle, Tony approached with two coffees and some cookies and we chatted about cycling and whatnot. I didn't ask, but Tony was either the owner, manager or groundskeeper of the golf course and also a cyclist. He even offered me the use of the washroom at the clubhouse. What a great start to the day.

Increasingly, almost all signage has been in both English and French, reflecting the large French speaking population in this part of the province.

There were many happy honks and friendly waves. A few angry honks and one random middle finger from a car headed in the opposite direction... But by far more friendlies than unfriendlies.

I passed through Winnipeg around mid-day, and after experimenting with some smaller roads opted on taking the TransCanada as it seemed to be the lesser of all evils.

In many places there was no paved shoulder to ride on, but drivers were giving me plenty of room.

I passed the longitudinal centre of Canada!

I lost my sunglasses at a convenience store and couldn't find them. When I went to buy a new pair, the attendant kindly offered me a pair that had been in the lost and found for some time, and I accepted. I finished my slushy and carried on.

I crossed the border into Ontario and kept pedalling until the light was out.

Route: E on Hwy 2, NE on Hwy 3, NE on Route 155, N on Route 42, N on Route 70 (Stafford St), E on Route 85 (Portage Ave), S on Donald St, E on Graham Ave, N on Main St, SE on Route 57, S on Route 30, E on Route 115, E on Hwy 15, S on Hwy 207, E on Hwy1

Day 24 (July 26th)

Brandon to Starbuck, MB

I was up at a fair hour, had breakfast and said my goodbyes to Jenna and Scott.

The forecast called for rainshowers and a thunderstorm and I decided I'd ride until the weather was poor enough to justify stopping for a nap. Aside from a light drizzle, the weather held off and I never did get that nap.

I headed South from the city towards Highway 2, the Red Coat Trail, in the hopes of avoiding the TransCanada. Highway 2 ended up being mostly without a paved shoulder and cracks that ran the width of the road made for a bumpy ride. Traffic was mostly courteous, though, so no real complaints.

As darkness fell, I pulled off the road and set up my tent in the trees that bordered a golf course, pet a kitty-cat that walked up, ate, and went to sleep.

Route: N on 3rd St, E on Victoria St, S on 1st St, W on Patricia St, S on Hwy 10, E on Hwy 2

A quick update

I'm in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The bicycle is rolling very well and all is good.

Posts for the past five days should be up tomorrow!

Day 23 (July 25th) - Rest Day

Still not on the road yet so today will be a Rest Day.

Fine tuning the bicycle again.

It would seem that the problem with the Continental Gatorskins wasn't the tire but the way I was using them... so... FacePalm.

Because my pump doesn't have a pressure gauge on it, I've been going by feel of the tire. This tactile test worked on my old specialized tires, but when I switched to the new ones the feel was totally different. Maybe I should just buy a gauge... But then I'd have to buy two in case one or both gradually became inaccurate!

Hmm. I'll just get used to the feel of these tires at pressure.

Anyway, they should work now.

Thanks to Corey at A&L Cycle in Brandon for his help today.

Day 22 (July 24th)

Thunderstorms overnight and a pleasant sleep.

The patch held and I made my way to Brandon.

Just outside of town, my helmet was either attacked or humped by a redwinged blackbird.

It was very soft for an attack, however... so it was probably a hump. Perhaps the consequence of wearing a black helmet and a red shirt and gloves in redwinged blackbird territory.

Brandon is the most tree filled town/city I've been through in some time, and it was a nice ride in.

I arrived at Scott and Jenna's house just in time for brunch.

Now we'll see about the tire.

Day 21 (July 23rd)

Wawota, SK to Oak Lake, MB

I woke up in a much better mood today, helped a great deal by the food, drink, and conversation of the night before.

I pedaled to Maryfield, where I took shelter from a mid-day thunderstorm and passed the time eating delicious penguin candies and napping.

A half-hour after the rain stopped I crossed into Manitoba (and into the Central Time Zone, making my daily phone call to Shireen at sunset less likely to wake her up).

My mind wandered to to the fellow I've heard is walking coast-to-coast pulling a hand cart and to another fellow I've heard is riding his horse across. If I find either of their stories on the net, I'll be sure to post a link.

Riding past a flooded ditch I encountered the least intelligent duck to date. Six times he quacked in surprise, took flight as I passed, and landed twenty feet ahead. Six times. I tried to tell him the third time that he should fly another direction, but he didn't listen.

I was hoping to push darkness and make a go for Brandon, but another flat courtesy of my Continental Gatorskins exhausted my supply of new tubes. I set up my tent off the road, called home, ate and patched some tubes for the morning.

Update: It seems the problem may not have been with the tires but with the Ian.

Day 20 (July 22nd)

Candiac to Wawota, SK

A very strong opposing wind today, the strongest of the trip so far.

Still angry about the tires.

I passed through Kipling of "One Red Paperclip" fame, if you remember that story from a few years back.

The roads still showed evidence of flood damage, and the water level was still pretty darn high in the farms, ditches and lakes. The upside of all the rain, I guess, is that wherever I looked I saw lush greens and blues, and some gorgeous vistas.

I decided I was in desperate need of a drink and found a great bar in Wawota.

I exchanged rounds and stories with Jeff, Brad, Hawk and Katrina.

Brad kindly offered me his couch for the night.

Day 19 (July 21st)

Regina to Candiac, SK

Up fairly early today, and after a lovely breakfast I spent the rest of the morning cleaning and otherwise servicing my bicycle. I had purchased a new pair of tires the night before... and more on these later.

After a splendid lunch with Gloria, and her family, I was on the road.

Within 10km I had two flats, and so began the worst two days of the trip so far. The Continental Gatorskin tires I bought -- assured by sales reps at two different bike shops that they were excellent touring tires -- were complete lemons. If I ran them anywhere near their recommended pressure, they blew. In order to keep them rolling I had to run them so flat that I could feel the rims bottoming out anytime I hit a rock or bump. Rage. Absolute rage. Hard to control, rage. Running on such flat tires also made for a very sluggish speed. I should have gone back to Regina and returned the tires... but I pressed on.

In and around Regina there was a tremendous number of dragonflies, and they all seemed rather apathetic about being alive or not.

I missed highway 33 and took the 48 instead, heading Southeast and off of the TransCanada Highway. Severe flooding had turned this road from somewhat inappropriate for road cyclists to very, very bad for them.

I called it a day just West of Candiac. Still mad about the tires. Should never have left Gloria's house...

Update: It seems the problem may not have been with the tires but with the Ian.

Gloria, Arman, his two boys, and myself. Missing from the photo are Consuelo (holding the camera), Joy and Vincent.

Home...

Well, my leg of the TransCanada 2011 dream has come to an end. The choice to come home was a few days in the making, and was decided that Regina SK would be the best choice for flight availability.

The past 19 days on the road have been incredible! I would not go back and change any aspects of this trip... aside from the hordes of bug bites that I received. (Now that I am gone, guess the mosquitoes will just have to settle on you Ian!)

It was a great time to reflect on life and all that philosophical junk. The physical and mental challenge of putting the bike on the road day after day was quite satisfying. But the bottom line was, to spend time with a stellar friend.

For anyone out there who wishes they could 'do something like this', you can! You just need to outline what your desires are. There of course will be hurdles that you will run into. It is all in how you approach them, and how quickly you can put them behind you.

As for the tan lines... Sorry Andrea!

Tyler lets us all know what time it is.

As a tribute to Tyler's 18 days of riding (19 when you count the Courtenay to Vancouver jaunt he did on Day 0), I present what is perhaps the best video of him from the trip.
The video was recorded just West of Morse, SK on July 18th.

Day 18 (July 20th)

Belle Plaine to Regina, SK

We awoke a bit damp, but more or less dry and sunned ourselves for a moment before starting off.

After stretching our legs out for 12km, we stopped in Pense for coffee, teethbrushing, and etcetera.

As if on cue, the sky unleashed a few more minutes of torrential downpour as we hid inside and found someone who could tell us about the piles of white powder beside Lake Chaplin (sodium sulphate taken from the lake) and the orange and blue tents in some of the fields as of late (to protect cutter bee hives used to pollinate the fields).

The rain stopped, and we continued on our short ride to Regina in cool air and with the wind blowing our way.

Arriving in Regina, we were treated to a delicious feast of a lunch by Gloria and Consuelo (the mother and Aunt of Ahmad, if by chance you know him). A photo of our hosts is to follow.

After filling our tummies and chatting, Tyler and I went through his equipment and I took a few things that I'd need for the rest of the trip.

As for Tyler, he said his goodbyes and headed for the airport to catch a flight home to Andrea, the bun in the oven... and his job. He also stopped at a bicycle shop to have his pedals removed and to get a cardboard box to pack his bike in for the flight.

After visiting some more, showering, and being fed again, I biked to the airport so as to enjoy a pint or two with Tyler before take off.

Oh, also, Tyler had another flat tire today. [Tyler Edit: I'm not the only one, Ian did too...!]

Day 17 (July 19th)

Morse to Belle Plaine, SK

Not much to say about the day itself, aside from some beautiful scenery and some sweltering temperatures.

We passed and were passed by the Velo Quebec group again today, and had the chance to talk with them for a bit longer. Their group consists of around 10 riders and they started out from Vancouver. When they get to Montreal, some of the riders will stop, while the others will continue to St. John's joined by more they pick up. Riders Simon and Gilbert, and the support driver Eric made us promise to stop in for cold smoothies next time we encountered them. We will indeed take them up on this kind offer if the opportunity arises!

As night closed in, we set up camp in Belle Plaine and waited for another storm to hit... and hit us it did. Lightning, thunder, wind and rain. No hail, but this was made up for by the intensity of the wind and absolutely blinding flashes of lightning.

We we're a bit concerned the tent wouldn't survive the night. Several times it was blown flat by the wind and if there had of been someone outside to see it, they would have seen something like the image to the right.
The tent, however, endured the onslaught, rebounding each time it was flattened.

Day 16 (July 18th)

Tompkins to Morse, SK

We had intended to hit the road at dawn today so as to avoid the heat.
Instead we slept in.

It was a very hot day, though a strong wind from the South cooled us slightly. It also slowed us down, but as our road veered from an Easterly route to a more North-Easterly one, we picked up some speed.

We stopped in Swift Current for a mid-day rest (read: siesta). We relaxed under some Elm trees beside the creek that gives Swift Current its name. The current didn't seem at all swift... but it was all still very nice.

We continued on down the road... There may or may not have been more flats on the way.
We found some cold drinks in Morse, found a place on the shore of Reed Lake to set up a tent, and called it a night.