Cam navigates the gravel shoulders near Portage la Prairie Ken rode alongside Cam and said "This is a gut check!". "Yes, today has been a grind" was Cam's reply. It was 6PM and there was still about 20 kms to go to reach Portage la Prairie - but it felt like it could be 100. A few kilometres later, the asphalt shoulder disappeared, replaced by soft dirt and gravel to make the final few miles even more challenging.
Eight Hours Earlier...
A&L Cycle in Brandon got us back on the road The breakfast at the Super 8 was excellent and filled them with the fuel they would need for a ride they expected to be about 130 kms to Portage la Prairie. They had to take an unplanned detour into Brandon, which is about 5 kilometres south of the TransCanada Highway to visit the A&L Get Active Cycle Shop. Cam's rear tire was very near retirement with it's primary tread having been worn through by the very rough shoulders ridden the last few days in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. This was the cause for Cam's flat yesterday as a stone had broken through the tread and punctured the tube. As he was repairing the tire, Cam noticed that a spoke had also broken and gone missing (?!?) and so he needed that repaired as well. Ken wanted to practice some preventative maintenance by rotating his tires before they got to the point of Cam's rear tire. He was also adding the optional "cadence" feature to his Garmin cycle computer as Cam hadn't stopped talking about it since he got cadence...
Gord, Clinton and Tyler at A&L received the boys with smiles and cleared their schedule to start the work for them. They were back on the road by 10:45AM, ahead of their expected departure of 11AM. A huge thank you to A&L for your excellent work getting us back in the saddle! You are our Heros of the Day!
Gord, Clinton and Tyler at A&L received the boys with smiles and cleared their schedule to start the work for them. They were back on the road by 10:45AM, ahead of their expected departure of 11AM. A huge thank you to A&L for your excellent work getting us back in the saddle! You are our Heros of the Day!
 Evan was hitching to Ottawa | The theme of the morning was hitchhiking. First, we met Evan who was 5 days into hitchhiking from Nelson BC to Ottawa to visit his family. Another 15 kilometres down the road, we met Celia and Lucy from Montreal who were on their way back after traveling to Montreal. |  Celia & Lucy from Montreal |
Ken went into paternal mode after meeting these kids and wanted to be sure that they were letting their parents know that they were okay. It is a little unsettling for us to imagine our kids doing something like this and we hope for the best for each of them.
Flats: Ken 1(!) Cam 5 Another few kilometres down the road, Ken fell behind and began to inspect his front wheel from above. Cam slowed down and asked if something was wrong, to which Ken replied that he had a flat front tire... Cam let out a whoop and a "finally"! He wasn't happy that misfortune had befallen his buddy, but felt that maybe there was some fairness in the world given that he has had 5 flats, 2 broken spokes, a new tire, 2 new brake pads, and a new chain - whereas Ken is riding all the same equipment he landed in Vancouver with! He was beginning to think that Ken wasn't riding hard enough.
Ken immediately thought that there must have been a problem with the tire rotation completed earlier in the morning, but soon found the culprit - a long sliver of metal impaled in his tire. Although he is less practiced at changing tubes than Cam, he did an expert job and we were back on the road within a short time.
Ken immediately thought that there must have been a problem with the tire rotation completed earlier in the morning, but soon found the culprit - a long sliver of metal impaled in his tire. Although he is less practiced at changing tubes than Cam, he did an expert job and we were back on the road within a short time.
Lunch stop at the Robin's Nest - an oasis! As they started riding again, they remarked that it was nice to be riding with a blue sky as they had ridden primarily in overcast skies since the first 3 or 4 days in BC. They soon regretted this as the temperature moved quickly to 27 degrees with high humidity - something neither Cam nor Ken are accustomed to. At 55 kms, they were ready to take a lunch break at the Robin's Nest in Carberry MB, and between the two of them quickly downed two full jugs of water - the heat and humidity was taking it out on them!
Although they procrastinated through lunch, they got back on the bikes at about 2:30PM with a target to ride 38 kms, take a break, then ride the final 38 kms into Portage la Prairie. They started riding and found that the winds were increasing with the afternoon heat, and what had been a nice cooling breeze turned into a pretty forceful cross-wind from the South. They resumed their drafting routine, each doing 5 kms in the lead and then swapping positions. Cam has found that they generally ride at a pretty good pace doing a cadence of about 80 - 85 RPM's, and Ken's new cadence unit confirmed that he was doing a similar pace. However, with the crosswind and the humidity, they began to wear out well before their target of 38 kms. As they turned a corner about 25 kms later, Ken thought he saw a mirage in the distance - a Co-op gas station and Subway located near Austin. Both agreed that they needed an early break and so they stopped again for cold drinks and some time out of the saddle.
The sun streams through the storm clouds With 50 kms to go, they started out again, agreeing to take it easy over the final stretch. The cross-wind was still strong, and turned a little more from the East. They watched as a serious rain storm passed them just to the North - fortunate to miss the weather. However, they were running out of gas. Ken rode alongside Cam and said "This is a gut check!". "Yes, today has been a grind" was Cam's reply. It was 6PM and there was still about 20 kms to go to reach Portage la Prairie - but it felt like it could be 100. They arrived at their hotel at 7:15PM - exhausted...
A delicious meal of the house specialty ribs at Bill's Sticky Fingers restaurant served to replenish the fuel tanks. After a good nights rest they'll be ready to hit the road again.
We are so relieved to hear the worst of the flooding appears to be over in Southern Alberta! Ken's family was able to return to their home today, and no flooding damage occured.
A delicious meal of the house specialty ribs at Bill's Sticky Fingers restaurant served to replenish the fuel tanks. After a good nights rest they'll be ready to hit the road again.
We are so relieved to hear the worst of the flooding appears to be over in Southern Alberta! Ken's family was able to return to their home today, and no flooding damage occured.
Ride Details
- Distance: 138.2 kms
- Riding time: 6 hours, 35 minutes
- Average speed: 21.1 kms/hour
- Wind: South East (Moderate to strong)
- Cumulative: 2,368.1 kms
Tomorrow's destination - Morris, MB - 135 kms
For more ride details see Strava and our Photo Gallery for more photos from today.
- Distance: 138.2 kms
- Riding time: 6 hours, 35 minutes
- Average speed: 21.1 kms/hour
- Wind: South East (Moderate to strong)
- Cumulative: 2,368.1 kms
Tomorrow's destination - Morris, MB - 135 kms
For more ride details see Strava and our Photo Gallery for more photos from today.