Day 30 - Portage la Prairie to Winnipeg

100.4 km - Total so far 2,781.43 km - http://ridewithgps.com/trips/5224282

It started to rain in Portage just as we were about to go to bed at 8:30 and rained on an off all night. As we were about to get up at 5:15 am, it once again started to rain and it continued to rained pretty hard until about 8 am. That blew any chances of us having an early start. After packing a very wet but very clean tent, we headed to Tim Horton's for breakfast. 

Last evening, we also had our first serious encounter with mosquitoes since our trip started. These little nasty beasts were plenty and voraceous. It was our first opportunity to test the bug suits we bought from Lee Valley and they generally worked well as long as you don't have any exposed flesh. We will certainly get another chance to test them in Northern Ontario.

Blogging while wearing bug suit and fingerless gloves

We finally got going at 9:05 am. We cycled on Hwy 1A through Portage la Prairie and got on Hwy 26 after about 6 km. It is a somewhat longer ride to Winnipeg when taking Hwy 26 but much less traffic. We were able to ride side by side when we wanted too. We had favourable winds pretty much all the way. Hwy 26 stops at Hwy 1 at a distance of 14 km from Winnipeg, so for the last bit we had to ride on the shoulder of Hwy 1 that eventually changes to Portage Avenue as you enter Winnipeg.

Amazing how satellite technology (GPS) can impact agriculture. We think the farmer had fun planting his fields.

Our friend Jacques refers to these as 'military fields' as everything is aligned

We spotted this little guy trying to eat his way to the bottom

In Winnipeg, we stopped at Olympia Cycle and Ski for them to balance the front wheel on Hélène's bike and to verify her work replacing a spoke. The new spoke had been installed properly and its tension verified with a spoke tension meter. The technician quickly balanced the wheel for free as a service they provide to touring cyclists. We also bought Pro Link chain oil, that we find to be a superior oil as it lubricates the chain, yet keeps it from getting all gummed up with dust and other such things from the road. 

We also stopped at the Mountain Equipment Co-op to buy a few items. The GPS was still on when we brought the bikes inside which explains the funny track you see on RidewithGPS.

Nutrition: Below we included a few pictures of Hélène's kitchen, showing spice bag, frying pan, one burner stove,1.8l pot and what is left of our seasoned olive oil (bottom right). The stir fry and weiners was for supper and the eggs in the pot are for snacks the following day

Hélène's kitchen and our radio

Spider weiners and the pot cozy helping the eggs finish cooking after being brought to hard boil

Peanut butter and jam tortilla wraps. Using different types of tortillas keeps it exciting even after 30 days on the road. Jalapeno and cheese goes suprisingly well with PB and jam.

Since this our rest day, we have booked oursleves into the EconoLodge for the next two nights. No firm plans yet for the rest day other than a visit to Valour Road.


62.39 miles - Total so far 1,728.30 miles