Journal - Sea to Sea
Part Three

Monday, June 19th - Day off - Weyburn

Noreen, Jack, Bryan and Gordon got up early and cooked bacon, eggs, sausages, perogies, toast and coffee for all 30 - a job well done. The day was not kind to us. It rained, rained and rained. It was a day you were not able to do anything. But Noreen had things planned and she wasn't about to change them. She did some shopping, laundry, visited the library to send e-mails, wrote letters, looked outside and yes, you guessed it, it was still raining. Well she said to herself, I'll just stay here and have some dinner. Finally she arrived back at camp and the place she had put her tent was flooded. So Gordon helped Noreen move her tent and all her stuff. The problem was, Gordon held the tent a little higher than Noreen and so all the water rolled down to her end, onto her back and into her trousers. Did she ever squeal!! They did get it moved and Noreen slept the night in the back of the truck.

Tuesday, June 20th, 117kms - Weyburn to Carlyle

Thie rainstorm had past, but not the wind. It is still quite cold but the wind was fantastic. Can you imagine 30-50km winds at your back all the way for 117 kms!! We arrived in camp, the fast riders at 12pm and the rest us of between 1-2pm. We left camp at 8:45am - what a RIDE!! The reporter from the Carlyle Observer was here at 2pm to do an interview and stayed for about 1 hour interviewing different people and taking pictures. She really did a great job.

Wednesday, June 21st, 90kms - Carlyle to Reston

Jean has just joined our group to do the final run to Halifax. She will be replacing Ernie who wil be leaving us in Winnipeg. Ernie has been our directional leader, making sure we head in the right direction. Earnie is the type of guy who is always happy, can solve any problem and defuse any situation. He also has a great voice!!! Ernie, we have all enjoyed your company and will miss your happy face in the morning. Ron will also be leaving in Winnipeg. Ron joined us in Calgary and could only get enough time to ride with us for 14 days. Ron it has been a pleasure for all of us to ride with you and hang onto those "senior moments". This ride today was better than yesterday. Thie weather was better and we had the wind at our backs again at 30-50kms. We left camp at 8:45am and arrived here at 12pm, including stops. A reporter from the Reston Record came out to our cam and took some pictures and interviewed some members. The rest of us just relaxed in the sun and had a cocktail or two...

Thursday, June 22nd, 107kms - Reston to Wawanesa

We had a nice day to start with but very gradually the clouds caught up with us and the last 5-7kms it dumped. Our campsite was right next to the Souris River. People were fishing just before the falls, but being my cooking night I didn't have time to find out what they were catching. A nice surprise. Fay Wilson's sister Marlene and Mother Amy drove down from Portage la Prairie to meet us and share supper with us. They brought with them a huge bucket of homemade cookies. Of course with 32 hungry riders, no matter how big the bucket, it emptied very quickly. Our sincere thanks for your company and your cookies!!

Friday, June 23rd, 106 kms - Wawanesa to St. Claude

Although we had rain during the night, it cleared completely to bright sunshine and this is what we had to ride into today. We also had a slight tailwind. They opened the arena to us for showers and toilet facilities and we put our tents up in the field. Ed's wife Clarice arrived to pick him up as he will be spending four days with family. The good part of this is that her sister cooked six pies, Saskatoon berries and rubbarb and strawberry, and brought them over to us when picking Ed up. As you can imagine, 30 hungry cyclists cleaned them up faster than a vaccum cleaner could.

Alex will be leaving us today. He will really be missed as he is always ready to help people if they have a problem, he always keeps people laughing and a practical joker. I will never forget the day he came in with the traffic cone on his head. He looked like the "Wizard of Oz". We was also dscribed as "Alex the Greek Gourmet Cook". He loved to be in the kitchen and did an excellent job when he was. Alex it has been a pleasure to know you and all of us will miss you.

Southern Manitoba is completely different than southern Saskatchewan. There are a lot more trees, lush fields and the crops are farther ahead. A man from St. Claude gave us pins of the city. St. Claude is named after a town in France which was famous for making smoking pipes.

Saturday, June 24th, 104kms - St. Claude to Winnipeg

Another great day with the wind again at our backs. Winnipeg has been very wet up to when we arrived. Very few flies or mosquitos. The campground was so wet that the truck was stuck for a 1/2 hour. We found dry tent spots had to come by, but it all works out in the end. Everything settled down and we feasted again on Chinese food prepared by Bosco, Peter and Donna, followed by angel food cake, strawberries and glaze.

Sunday, June 25th - Day Off - Winnipeg

Breakfast: for 30+ people. Bacon, eggs, sausages, toast, coffee and all the trimmings for breakfast prepared by Noreen, Jack, Jan, Bosco, and Gordon. Isn't life wonderful. Horst arranged for a bus to take us into Winnipeg so we could do a little sightseeing. Because of all the extra rain this year, the rivers are flooding again, especially the Red River. The "river walk" is completely underwater! After our nice day in town, we went back to camp to clean our bikes and all the other necessary chores to do on the day off.

Monday, June 26th, 124kms - Winnipeg to Prawda

A cloudless day to start off after a rain and thunder and lightening show during the night. By the way, if you are ever in Winnipeg treat yourself to a hamburger at VJ's Burgers across from the train station. Excellent!! Anyways, down Hwy 100 to Hwy 15 and 11 and then Hwy1. I don't know if this is normal, but the countryside was flooded and sometimes lapping at the edge of the road. It rained almost all the way to Prawda. Jean had a wonderful day as she bought a new computer for her bike. She couldn't blieve how fast she was going and the distance she was clicking off, but someone had to burst her bubble. She had two magnets on her wheel - they forgot to take the old one off. Nice campsite and another great meal. I think we are starting to put weight on!

Tuesday, June 27th, 86kms -- Prawda to Lake of the Woods

Nice ride on a beautiful day. We stopped 40 kms west of Kenora. Ralph Anderson offered his cottage for us to stay at the Lake of the Woods. He ferried us all to his cabin by boat. The truck drove around as the road was too difficult for bikes. He was a great host, some went for a swim, boat ride and the rest relaxed in the luxury of his living room. Some got to sleep in beds, others on the floor and others in tents. The next day he ferried us back and we were all on our way by 9am. Thanks very much Ralph for the nice day - it was just like having a surprise day off!

Wednesday, June 28th, 125kms - Lake of the Woods to Sioux Narrows

Just a note to say that all the horror stories that we were told about the mosquitos and flies in Sask. and Manitoba didn't come true. We hardly had any of either! We did find them in Ontario!!! Renaud has just informed me that the mosquitos picked on him on the last campsite in Manitoba. I guess he was just a little tastier than I...

Another perfect day riding through the lake country. The road was good with a good shoulder for most of the way. It is a lot different than riding along the prairies - we almost forgot how to change our gears. Lots of rolling hills and a bit of a head wind. We were supposed to stay at another campsite down the way, but the 50m of the road to the campsite was under 13 inches of water! Small cars were having trouble. Everyone was quite happy to stop at the Sioux Narrows and give our knees a break. Nice town.

Bad news - Marilyn had a fall and injured her hand in such a way that she is unable to continue the ride. She will be flying home to Ottawa and hopefully she will be able to join us again when we get there. We will miss her fighting spirit, her energy and her smile. Take care Marilyn!!

Donna made up this little skit and presented it to the group in Wawanesa along with Marilyn, Sally, Sonie and Rachelle. It is similar to the commercials...

I DON'T eat blubber, I eat PORRIDGE
I DON'T live in an igloo, I live in a TENT
and I ride on a BICYCLE, NOT on a dogsled!
AND IT IS "ZED", NOT "ZEE"!!
My name is Joe and I am CANADIAN!!!

go to - Part Four

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