Day 21 – Entering Manitoba

Double header today! Catching up with these posts so that we’re back in sync!

Breakfast, As Always

After yet another amazing sleep on a proper bed, and a solid breakfast at Abe and Donna’s (where I ate half their bread, between the toast and the sandwiches – whoops!), it was once again time to get going, and take on my last day in Saskatchewan.

I thanked them for their warm hospitality, and was back at it!

…After of course hitting up the Broadview bakery for a cinnamon bun.

On Prairie Time

It’s funny, like I mentioned a few times during these articles, people in the prairies tend to not be in a rush and take their time to enjoy life, and start up a conversation.

While I was sitting there on the patio table, the first person that walked past me, a lady, right away asked the questions that I’ve started to get accustomed to: “Where are you coming from?”, “Where are you headed to?”, “What made you do this?..”

I’m always happy to share about the trip.

She then carried on to pick up some baked goods of her own. Not even a minute later, another man approached me.

This one was a little more confusing. He might have thought I was someone else? He congratulated me on the new car (I thought he was joking about the bike) and then told me about a program (I did not catch what this was about) that I could still sign up for (we had already apparently talked about it.)

By that point I was already in too deep, so I just went along and that of couuurse I’ll drop by later to check out this program, even if I felt bad for the person that he though I was. Let’s hope he actually signs up for it by end of day!

He eventually went back on his way, and 30 seconds later, as if this was some kind of sitcom, another man pulled up on his bike, and started chatting with me.

Asking about the trip, and sharing some of his roadtrip stories with me. Including the time he was in Louisiana during a flood.

These people and their will to start conversations with strangers are so pure. I will miss this, going back to Vancouver.

I then made my way back to the highway, and was back at it!

TJ’s Pizza

A few hours into the ride, for my lunch break, I noticed one of the nearby towns, Moosomin (love the name), had multiple pizza shops. Something I haven’t had in quite a while (the Pizza Hut in Hope barely counts) and I was just craving some nice carby slices.

After cruising my way by a few restaurants, I found myself at “TJ’s Pizza / Ukrainian”. I parked my bike, made my way in, to see a man staring at me with a curious look.

“Are you hungry?” he went.

Of course I was, cycling makes you consume triple your usual calorie intake! Hahah, and he clearly very well knew that.

“Let me feed you.” He continued. “On the house.”

Once again, I just could not believe what was going on. How are these people so kind??

He sat me in the buffet area, which he re-opened just for me, and what I got was far better than pizza… Homemade pirogues, sausage, meat, vegetables, and a soup!

An absolute dream meal for a cyclist! Roman was his name, and he told me that he just admires people who are doing cross-country treks by human power, and hopes to do some similar trips himself to the West Coast one day!

Just an awesome dude, and the food was just the best thing for what I needed.

Thank you Roman!!

Anotha One

I had planned out a “light” day, 80km, in order to make it to the furthest eastern village in Saskatchewan, rest up the body a little, and cross the next provincial border the next day with fresh legs.

That was the original plan.

But of course, it’s me we’re dealing with. The body felt great, might as well keep it going all the way. So the 80km became 116km, and I made my way across the Manitoba border!

With each province I get further away from BC, the more surreal of a feeling it gets! Can’t believe I’ve biked to Manitoba hahaha. If you told me that I’d be doing this a year ago, I would certainly have a good chuckle.

Calling It

I noticed that my rear wheel has started to act up. I believe that the emergency tube that I used to replace the punctured one was slightly the wrong width of the rim, causing it to not support the weight properly.

As a result, the rims seems to have been slightly deformed, causing it to not roll in a completely straight and efficient way. I knew I would need to get this looked at the nearest bike shop, which was coming up in Brandon, MB.

In the meantime, it was time to call it a day, eat a makeshift dinner from the gas station because everything else was closed, and set up camp in this funny-looking campsite; my very own island!

Daily Stats

• Route: Broadview, SK —> Elkhorn, MB
• Distance: 116km
• Elevation Gain: 63m