Day 52: Winnipeg, MB -> Rennie, MB

Date: Thursday, July 6, 2023
Start: Winnipeg, MB (Warm Showers)
End: Rennie, MB (Bedrock Family Campground)
Distance: 128km

I woke up and started packing.  After a day off it was time to get back to it and at it.  I showered, tossed everything back in the bags, and made sure I hadn't left anything behind.  Iris again offered me breakfast but I declined because I had a bakery lined up in St. Boniface that I wanted to try!  The bakeries I'd checked out the day before were all the kinds of places that make wedding cakes and cupcakes.  I wanted croissants, turnovers, and donuts!

Iris and I chatted while she prepped for work.  She's been my host since I arrived here in Winnipeg and we'd spend a lot of time getting to know one another.  I learned a lot about her and all of it made me sad that I was going to have to leave Winnipeg, because Iris is a solid gold rocker.  Let me tell you about her...

Iris is originally from Saskatchewan and moved to Winnipeg.  She spent almost a year backpacking Europe where she kept coming across people on bikes who were touring around.  Once she'd grown tired of only seeing cities, she grabbed a bike and all the gear she needed and started biking through Europe.  She did so for 2-3 months, and caught the bike tour bike.  When she came back she signed up to host bike tourers on Warm Showers but I'm the first person that's stayed with her.  There are more interesting things about Iris, but in the interests of privacy I'm going to have to omit them.  Ask me if you see me and I'll tell you about it.  

On top of this, Iris is a gardener.  Iris feeds and takes care of a neighbourhood stray cat.  She once did a one woman show at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival that she wrote and acted.  She's plugged into the Winnipeg bike scene, advocates for better cycling options, and loves her city.  If that wasn't enough, she took me in with only hours notice and let me stay two nights.

One of the things we came up with when talking was that "Evil people don't ride bicycles."  We just decided that anyone who rides a bike is generally a good spirited person, and people who bike tour it seems even more so.  They're just all interesting and genuinely happy and nice.  Something about life on two wheels...

I gifted Iris a t-shirt.  She gifted me a bottle of wine that I had to say no to because of how heavy it was.  This might seem like a strange gift to give someone on a bike, but there was a reason she did it.  She'd been gifted a bottle of alcohol when she started her own trip and it had come in handy when he tent leaked and she spent a night in the rain.  I really wanted to take the bottle.  Because it was a gift from a friend.  Because it continued a story.  But after wrestling with it, I said no.  I've spent the days since regretting it.  I should have taken the bottle with me.  IT'S A MUCH BETTER STORY IF I TAKE THE BOTTLE!

When it was time to go, we were biking in the same direction and so I got to bike with Iris for a time!  Eventually it was time to say goodbye.  We hugged, snapped one last picture, and parted ways.

Iris hosted me for three days and two nights.  Her experience, energy, laugh, keen intelligence, and adventuresome spirit made her a joy to spend time with.  As I rode out of Winnipeg I listened to The Weakerthans again and cried as I thought about the friend I'd made and had to say goodbye to.  Tears of sadness, tears of joy.  And I smiled as The Weakerthans sang the line that made me grateful to have a had the opportunity to meet another incredible person:

I know you might roll your eyes at this
But I'm so glad that you exist

Thank you Iris :)

I passed through The Forks again, and stopped to take a moment at the place where The Red River meets The Assiniboine River.  This is an important place in Canada.  These two mighty rivers converge to create this storied place, which has played an important place in Canadian history.

I pedaled across the pedestrian bridge - # Esplanade Riel - and snapped a few photos

On the other side was the neighbourhood of Saint Boniface!  This is a historically french part of Winnipeg.  There I found the bakery I wanted to hit up: La Belle Baguette.  I ordered a croissant and a danish.  They were fan-damn-tastic!

I made a stop at a grocery store to pick up some food and snapped a shot of myself, now shaved and hair cut.

I rode out of town through industrial Winnipeg.  The road had no shoulder and there was a lot of traffic.

I passed by the neighbourhood of Transcona, which had been the riding of an MP I really respected named Bill Blaikie.  He passed away last year and I was sad when it happened.  I thought about him as I went by.

On the edge of Transcona was a cemetery that held the graves of Canadian servicemen.  I recognized the gravestones from the road.  They are the same ones I'd seen in countless cemeteries in France, Belgium, and The Netherlands on my trip there last year.  I took a moment to remember them.

The ring road around Winnipeg is called The Perimeter.  As I passed over it I listened to The Weakerthans again.  I was now out of Winnipeg and back in the countryside.

The first town I passed through was called Dugald.  It was a tiny town, but had a grain elevator!  I snapped a picture, wondering if this might be the last one I saw.  I was only about 120km from the Ontario border, and The Prairies were firmly behind me!

The road was flat and the wind was coming solidly out of the south.  It was a slight crosswind, and it made riding difficult.

The next town was Anola.  Home of a Canadian baseball player of some skill!

From there it was about 60km to the next town.  This was one of the most monotonous stretches of road I've ridden the entire trip.  There were no town.  There were no farms.  It was just forest.  And it went on and on and on.  Very few cars passed me.  I listened to an audiobook and tried to let the time slip by without thinking of what was - or was not - happening around me.

Eventually I made it to Elma, Manitoba.  There I stopped for an iced tea and an iced coffee.  I ate lunch and chatted with the people who were also sitting out there.  I ate some lunch, and then set off again.

It was another 40km to my destination of Rennie, MB.  The road in this section was slightly more interesting.  It was winding and there was the odd farm or property.

Eventually I reached Rennie.  Their sign summed up my feelings about small town who celebrate their sports figures.

I grabbed an orange soda because my blood sugar was tanking.  I then rode the next 3km to the campground and booked a spot online.  The owner came out to meet me and show me where to pitch my tent, where everything was, and to get me some water because there was a boil water advisory on.  She knew I would need water as I was on a bike and gave me some from her stash of cold water.  Tammy saved me.  She also warned me about bears in the area and let me store my bike bags in one of the campground buildings.  She was awesome!

The campground had a pool, and so I pitched my tent and immediately went for a swim.  It felt amazing.  The day was hot and the water was cool and refreshing.  But the moment I got out, the sun went behind clouds.  I wasn't going to be able to dry my shorts.

I went and made dinner.  As I crawled into my tent, the rain started.  It lasted all night.

But I was dry, and my stuff my safe.  It had been tough leaving Winnipeg, emotionally draining to say goodbye to Iris, but I was on my way again!  Tomorrow, there would be more milestones.  But tonight, there was gentle rain and a long sleep.