Day 50: Portage la Prairie, MB -> Winnipeg, MB

Date: Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Start: Portage la Prairie, MB (Municipal Campground)
End: Winnipeg, MB (Warm showers)
Distance: 95km

I woke up to another sunny morning and was feeling better after a good sleep.  I packed, ate breakfast (bagels and Aunt Rhonda's remaining energy bites), and left the campground.  I wanted to get to Winnipeg early to explore and grab some camp fuel at MEC.  I rode out of town quickly and was back on the Trans-Canada Highway with all of it's traffic in no time at all.

I was planning to get a hotel in Winnipeg because I hadn't planned ahead and got to Portage faster than I was expecting.

Yesterday I'd listened to BTO and The Guess Who, but today I'd be listening to a favourite band of mine: The Weakerthans.  Winnipeg originals, I popped them in to drown out of the sound of the traffic and flew along in the shoulder as I had a very strong tailwind this morning.

The farmland flew by on the my right.  The traffic flew by on my left.  The Sun shone above.  And the pavement passed below.  And in the middle of all of it was me, with a giant grin on my face.  With a good tailwind, anything is possible.  And today, I was getting a lift into Winnipeg thanks to the mighty breezes of Manitoba, and a truly great Winnipeg band.

I saw signs for strawberries being sold ahead and immediately decided to stop.  Sarah, Tyler, and I had frequently bought strawberries while biking in Belgium last year and I wanted to relive the experience!

As I pulled into the turnoff where the berries were being sold, another cyclist stood there.  He had all the gear and was clearly touring.  I said hi and we traded info on our trips.  But I recognized him for some reason.  Turns out we're both from Calgary, both volunteer for some of the same groups, and frequent the same neighbourhoods.  We're both on the periphery of each other's social circles.  He'd biked from Calgary directly to Winnipeg where he was volunteering for the Winnipeg Folk Festival this weekend.  We'd stayed at the same campground last night but on different sides of the grounds.

And that's how I met Rory!

The strawberry stand only sold them in bunches of 4 litres - too many for us - but told us there was another spot just down the road where we could buy smaller containers.  So we agreed to bike there and buy some!

Rory asked where I was staying in Winnipeg and I admitted I didn't know.  He told me he'd contacted plenty of WarmShowers hosts and could tell me which ones had said yes if I wanted to try contacting them at the last minute.  I opted to message two people and wait and see!

Rory waited at this place for some friends who were going to be driving past towards Calgary.  He was going to say hi to them.  I waited with him for a bit and decided not to intrude on their reunion and hit the road.  We agreed to meet up again in Winnipeg.

I rode along the flat farmlands to the sound of The Weakerthans.  This angsty 2000s music is what I grew up listening to in university and is very much my favourite.

Comment allez-vous ce soir? Je suis comme ci comme ça
Yes, a penguin taught me French back in Antarctica

Not much to say about this part of the ride.  It was flat, the tailwinds were strong, and it was farmlands.

I DID bump into someone walking along the highway.  Her name is Richelle Dubois and she's walking to Ottawa from Regina to demand a public inquiry for missing, murdered, and neglected Indigenous boys, men, and two-spirited people.  Her son was found dead in 2015 after drowning in a creek and it was ruled accidental.  Her and her family pushed for a further investigation and it was granted.  You can read more about it here.

She was a super upbeat, kind person.  I marveled at her strength considering what's happened to her and her son.  I hope she's able to get someone to listen and take action.  It's a really important cause.

I continued down the highway eating strawberries.  As a general rule, strawberries in motion tend to start breaking down and turning into juice/jam pretty quickly.  After I was done eating them...my hands were in a bit of a state.

Eventually I reached Winnipeg, but was still on the highway.  I jumped off it and onto a pathway where I found the Assiniboine River again and rode along it's banks.  I enjoyed views of parks and what I imagine must have been one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in the city.  The houses were mansions, all brick and stone, or else they were newer builds of glass and concrete.  It was impressive!

I turned towards downtown and a nice neighbourhood that was clearly a happening hipster hangout.  I found the MEC downtown, got some camp fuel, and then headed for The Forks which is the area where the Red River and Assiniboine River meet and has lots of parks, pathways, and shops.  I stopped outside the Canadian Human Rights Museum to snap a picture as it's a bit of a landmark!

At this point I got a message from one of the WarmShowers people who agreed to let me stay with them.  I was happy to know I had a place for the night!

Then I found this sign, snapped this picture and said to friends "Where could I be?"

In response, our good friend James sent this back to me.  Perfection.

I continued touring around.

Eventually I found The Forks Market, a kind of indoor food hall with lots of options.  I opted for fish and chips as I wanted the calories!

Eventually Rory found me and we each got a flight of beer and caught up on our day, our trips, and just biking in general.  We were joined by my WarmShowers host: Iris.  At some point it poured rain, but we were under a giant tent and though it was cold we managed to stay dry.

Rory shared some popcorn with us, but eventually we realized it was almost 8pm and we decided we had to get to our respective hosts places.  We all snapped a picture and I joined Iris to head to her place.

On the way there we passed the Manitoba legislature and grabbed a few photos with the Louis Riel statue.

I spent the rest of the time getting to know Iris, showering, going out for dinner with Iris, and eventually calling it a night.  Iris is an awesome person and we really got along!  Because she's such an awesome person, she invited me to stay an extra night and get some time to prep for jumping into Northern Ontario.  I said yes immediately, knowing it would be a long stretch in Ontario and I was still feeling tired from The Prairies.

I fell asleep anticipating a day of errands the next day, but happy that I was almost finished the second major section of the trip (The Prairies).  I vowed to make tomorrow a quiet day.  No serious exploring, no touristing, only preparing for the next jump!