Today we discovered that we had crossed times zones some time ago. It is funny how you can be travelling on different time than everyone else, and not notice! So we fixed that this morning by changing the clock on the bike, and headed out of Saskatchewan into Manitoba. The southern roads in Manitoba were very flooded, with lots of ‘broken pavement’. One town we passed through (Melita?) was very flooded, with lots of levees to stop the lake from flooding most of the town.
One of the motels in the town was flooded out, with lots of trucks, hay bails, and equipment in the water. The wind started to pick up in the afternoon, and it seemed like a long ride fighting the wind to Winnipeg. But eventually we made it, showered, did laundry and cleaned up. Off to Ontario tomorrow. We have decided to go around the top of the lakes through Canada, as we have a couple of days to do this.
-Lauren
PS. For those who enjoy cider, particularly Sea Cider from Brentwood Bay, I found Sea Cider in Winnipeg! Amazing, and delicious!
We woke up in this nice little campsite just outside of oxbow. Packed our gear and headed out for the main Highway. The road to the campsite is 12km on a dirt road… At the time it seemed like a good idea because we needed to stop for the night.
But as I mount my motorcycle my mind flickers back to Chaco National Park and the hellish washboard dirt roads (wash board means that its lots of little bumps in a row). I had said “that’s the last dirt road I will do on this trip!”. But it wasn’t, we went to my Dads, that’s about 55km in and out of dirt/ gravel road. And we had planned to go on a highway in Saskatchewan to Manitoba call the 501. On the map it’s a paved highway but its not, and that’s a first for me in Canada, an unpaved highway.
Anyway sitting on my bike thinking of the 200 some kilometres of dirt road we have traveled, I wondered how the dirt is fairing after the intense downfall of last nights storm.
Lauren nimbly swings onto the bike and we begin our day.
Within 10 seconds we have managed to build enough speed to gingerly ride around the first corner, I slow down to stop and try to avoid a mud patch, the bike slips to the left, I lean right, at the same time the front tire is pushed hard to the right, I push it to the left and give it a little gas, all this happens in a flash and we pop out of the mud puddle. Lauren can feel how close we where to toppling right into the mud and says
“GOOD JOB!”
“Thanks!”
trying to play it cool as my heart is racing, and knowing full well that this was the hardest save on dirt yet. If we had fallen we would have been ok, except my pride would have mud on its face, and something would have probably broken on the bike, it always does.
We continue on this adventurous day seeing many breaks in the pavement and discovering first hand how flooded Manitoba really is. We saw huge walls of sand bags stacked to keep out the water, many road closed sighs and flooded rivers. It was quite a sight, I feel sorry for these people and how utterly fucked some of them are, but I secretly thanked god or the powerers that be that I was not one of them.
In the begging of the day the skys were nice and clear, the storm the night before had taken all the clouds away, as the day progressed the wind steadily picked up.
I notice the fuel gauge is close to empty and coming up on the right is a gas station. I needed to add air to the shock and as we were riding in I asked Lauren if she would film, the way she answered the question “sure” I knew I didn’t have much time.
We stop, she gets off, I get off, I hand her the camera, she turns it on and hits record. Normally getting off the bike it gets really hot all in black, if you lift the visor you can cool down, typically I forget and sweat it out, literally. But this time I remembered and as I was reaching to the tank bag to get the tools for the ‘shoot’ that Lauren is patiently waiting to start, I lift my visor open. And almost instantly like a wave of greedy pirates, or bugs, or whatever, I am attacked by a swarm of little black fly’s that have been biding their time in the shade, protected from the wind, waiting for some stupid prey to walk by.
Looking over I realize Lauren has already taken off her helmet and is waving her hand around in the air, all I see is my camera in her hand being waved around. My stomach tightens and I almost say something I couldn’t take back, deep breath, “are you ready to start”. We begin the fastest shoot ever, in record speed we take the fairing off (plastic part of the bike) and fill it with air, check and do the same in reverse. Jump on the bike and go.
We are free! Wind in our faces, gliding down the road… I feel movement… its in my helmet, cant be sure, keep riding. I’m watching the road and a bug flys in front of my eyes, wait… that’s IN my helmet, I lift the visor, ahhh fresh air… no bug? …. Cant see a bugs…. I close the visor and my eyes fall back on the road. A Little black bogie does three loop dee loops in front of my eyes and disappears. Little bastered! I whip open my helmet. Take that! Hahaah, and we ride down the road.
I begin to tire of the wind in my face and it seems other bugs on the rode hit my glasses and face and that’s just not fun. Closed… no movement. The wind gusts up and the bike is pushed around the road a bit. I feel something near my eyebrow, like a crawling feeling. That damn bug. OPEN, sticking my finger in my helmet trying to itch… cant….really….get it, damn glasses are in the way, the wind gusts and my hand falls back to the handle bar.
My mind pictures Lauren on the back feeling unsafe. I slow the bike, about 10km below the speed limit and wait. No crawling feeling, no loop dee loops… We ride..
I see him, he slowly walks along the visor, my eyes follow his every step until just the right moment. OPEN!
Counting 1,2,3,4,5 CLOSE, wait… there! OPEN! 1,2,3,4,5 CLOSE. Wait… Loop dee lo… OPEN!!! 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 CLOSE, wait… no movement.
We ride and it finally is over... A hard biting feeling hits my right eye lid, I snap the visor and scratch the best I can with the big aviators in the way, just then we see a little food hut and pull in. We take off our gear and order, I walk to the bathroom were some paramedic half shouts “nice day for a ride” “ya its been great” I reply, thinking to my self. “ look guy I would really like to talk but I really need to go”
“Where you coming from?”
I think…
“Well we left Toronto 36 days ago headed down to Arizona and saw the grand canyon where it snowed on us, then headed to the Oregon Coast up highway 101 to Port Angeles and took the ferry to BC, visited some family, rode up to Banff and back east along the back roads in lower Canada.”
He looked stunned, good my plan worked.
“wow”
“ya its been great, Ok well enjoy the weather!” I hop up the two steps and jump in the bathroom. I didn’t notice but I did desperately needed pee. I finish my business and wash, looking up in the mirror my right eye is swollen… There is a red dot the size of that little basterd that tormented me on the road. Damn bugs…
~Devin
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