Sunday July 26, 2015

Another long day on the bike with a tail-wind, of course. We are flying through the prairies, partly because of the wind and finally I have to admit it, because there is nothing much to see. We have stopped at a few of the small towns, Grenfell, Indian Head etc. but small town Saskatchewan and Manitoba are dying. Most of the grocery stores and bakeries have closed and the only thing the small town might have is a convenience store.

The area survives on agriculture.

We were looking for somewhere to have lunch today and there was nowhere. Finally there was a gas station with a Subway that was doing a roaring business.

By the time we had finished lunch the temperature had soared to 37 degrees. It was a very hot ride into Portage La Prairie. Fortunately we had replenished our water bottles with ice and cold water at the Subway, (thank-you Subway for not charging us for the ice and water) we definitely know how to keep hydrated.

As we left the Subway we spotted another touring cyclist going west. He had his head down and his legs were pumping hard, but he wasn’t going anywhere fast. I felt so sorry for him, he looked thoroughly miserable.

When we got in Portage, we looked for the campsite. It was at the Fairgrounds, which meant no shade. We opted for a motel with air-conditioning. I am glad we did, because a severe storm went through and we would have been sitting in the tent, wondering if it was going to hold up, the wind was really strong. The motel room has a microwave and a fridge, we were able to cook dinner in the room.

Portage La Prairie\’s claim to fame is the giant coca cola can!

Obviously curling is the religion in this Town.

We will be in Winnipeg tomorrow and hope to have a rest day on Tuesday, at  the warmshowers host.