Day 47: Grandview, MB -> Erickson, MB

Date: Saturday, July 1, 2023
Start: Grandview, MB (Municipal Campground)
End: Erickson, MB (Municipal Campground)
Distance: 140km

I woke up in Canora to discover that the intense humidity of the previous day had left my tent utterly drenched.  It must have cooled off quite a bit that night, because the fly on my tent was covered with water outside and in.  I gingerly exited my tent, trying to make sure I didn't shake any of the water off the fly and onto my gear.  I pulled the fly off and put it out to dry in the Sun.  I sat and ate breakfast - which I'd beefed up with more oatmeal because I'm always hungry by 10:30am - and looked around and felt lonely.  It was Canada Day and there was no one around.  I made the "Happy Canada Day" post and listened to some Stompin' Tom.  I've spent a lot of this trip contemplating what this country is, and it feels like the further I bike the further I get away from understanding it.

Maybe it will reveal itself when I reach the East Coast.  But I suspect not!

As I biked out of town I snapped a picture of some kind of steam powered steam machine that hauled logs to the timber company in town way back when.  Grandview had rebuilt it and put it on display.

The goal for the day was Erickson, Manitoba.  This would mean 140km of cycling and going through Riding Mountain National Park.  I suspected - based on the name - that it wasn't going to be going downhill through the park but just the opposite.  This would turn out to be true.

About 13km down the road I passed through Gilbert Plains, Manitoba whose mascot is a golf ball.  Because why not?

Dauphin, Manitoba was still about 40ish kilometers away.  I'd had to wait for my stuff to dry and so had left at around 10am.  I had to push to make it to Dauphin!

The road was pleasantly forgiving thankfully!  But the heat and humidity had intesified from the day before.  When you see all the cows standing in water you know it's hot.

I reached Dauphin just after noon and contemplated stopping for the day.  I checked the forecast and saw that the forecast for the next day was even warmer.  It was either now, tomorrow in the heat, or two days from now.  I opted for ice cream.

I grabbed a blended cookies and cream drink and biked to the local library which was closed because of Canada Day.  Thankfully I could steal wifi and managed to get two blog posts up.

When I was done I snapped a few photos of the town and biked south.  Another reason for not stopping was that it was the county fair and ALSO the Dauphin Countryfest AND Canada Day.  I guessed the town and campground would be busy.

As I biked south out of town the heat was killing me.  I decided to duck into an A&W (my first fast food of the trip) for some air conditioning and food.  It was 2pm and I realized I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.  It was too hot to eat outside, so I ordered a burger, fries, and large coke and ate inside.  Even by the window I was sweating.

Eventually I cooked down.  I got the staff to fill my water bottles and set off towards Riding Mountain National Park.

It was 10km to the park.  As I rode out of town the wind was a solid headwind.  I pushed in the heat.

Eventually I started climbing and reached the gateway to the park.  This is when I started climbing.  And it didn't stop for almost 40km.

It was grueling.  It was thankfully getting later in the day and the trees on the side of the road provided bits of shade.  I don't know why, but I just kept pushing and pushing.  It was 85km from Dauphin to Erickson and I HAD to make it through the park.  Every time I crested a hill it felt like there was another one just beyond it.  The downhills were gradual, but were always met by another uphill.  Always.

Here's a photo I found of the relief map of the park:

I had no idea when, but I hoped at some point I would be payed back for all the climbing.

I also took very few pictures during this section.  I felt fine enough, but looking back I was definitely getting close to bonking (hitting the wall).  I was listening to an audiobook and not paying attention to how I was feeling.  I was so determined to get to Erickson.  I could feel the strain in my knees, but I pushed.

About 25km into the park I saw a car stopped with it's flashers on.  I slowed and was going to pull up to ask if they were ok when I stopped the bear laying in the ditch.  I immediately swerved to the other side of the road and kept going...keeping a close eye that the bear wasn't giving chase.

Bear count: 3

There's not much else to say about the park.  There were trails off the road, but I didn't hike them.  There were lakes and ponds but I didn't stop at them.  It seems like a wonderful park, but I never stopped the entire 55km through it.  I just kept going.

The day had become overcast about half way through the park.  This might have saved me.  While the humidity was still intense, the shade broke the heat a bit.  But as I reached the south gate of the park it started to sprinkle.  I still had 25km to go to Erickson, so onward I pushed.  The highway was newly paved outside the park and I was lucky to ride on nice smooth road.  With about 15km left it was 7pm and I put my rear light on blink as the clouds got darker.  Eventually the nice shoulder disappeared because...I guess that's how they do in Manitoba!

By the time I was 2km outside Erickson it was borderline raining.  I kept going and could feel the strain in my entire body.  I felt terrible.  I reached the campground just as it started coming down, and ducked into the cookhouse as there was clear sky on the horizon and I guessed this wouldn't last long.

I managed to stay dry and ate dinner.  But I felt like grim death.  The past three days I'd done about 500km and was now going to pay for it.  I'd probably bonked.  My body felt like it was getting ready to run a fever.  I got chills.  I ate and ate and ate and ate.  When the rain stopped, I went to setup camp and was greeted by two fellow campers: Bruce and Brock.  They offered me tea or coffee but I had to refuse.  All I could think of was sleep.  They offered the coffee in the morning and I said I'd see them then!

I showered.  And it was one of the best showers in a long time.  Two days of biking in the heat and humidty washed off of me.  I felt a little more human, but the body aches were still there.

I tucked in as soon as I could.  And fell asleep to the sound of fireworks in the distance, but I didn't have the strength to get up and watch them.  Happy 156th birthday Canada.

Then at 3am I woke.  Lightning was everywhere.  And thunder was omnipresent.  I couldn't hear any rain though.  I hadn't setup properly for rain so jumped out of the tent and packed things away.  I covered my leather bike seat, tossed a few things in the tent, and tightened down the rain fly.  The moment I got back in the giant drops of rain started falling.

The storm moved directly overhead and one bolt of lightening was followed by the sizzling sound of electricity arcing and cutting out.  I guessed that either my bike had been hit by lightening, or a power transformer.  I wasn't sure which.  But once again I sat in that tent and convinced myself it was the safest place around.  The campground was next to a small lake, and another bolt hit the water.  The sound was deafening.  I gritted my teeth and lay awake.

It was only a short thunderstorm though.  When it had passed, I shut my eyes and didn't wake again till morning.