Wednesday July 22nd
The agrarian scenery gradually changed today as we progressed northward, wheat and rapeseed have been replaced with mixed grass hay, lush green single variety tall grass hay, and small cattle operations.
As in 2023 our border crossing into Canada proceeded without a hitch. No searching, only wanted our Passports and needed to know we didn’t have any drugs or weapons.
When he came back out from checking our passports he asked a few questions about our trip and when we answered he gave us the now familiar look that SCREAMS “You’re Crazy”
We stopped at a gas station about 10 miles north in Canada. (For a coke and an apple) Very rural setting! I was told to pay with a credit card, no US cash accepted. I meant to dig out my Canadian cash before we left the campground but forgot. Anyway, Scott was going in and I for warned him and just then the owner of the store walked past us and asked us the question— “What are you doing on loaded bikes out here?” we are getting really good at answering that question by sequencing and parsing our answers depending on the listeners attention to our answers…. This guy was interested!!! After our explanation, I asked him several questions which led to a most interesting talk, he was born in Kazakhstan in 1982, so he was born a Russian then in 1991 his family left Russia and moved/escaped to Germany, but because of social and religious friction his family immigrated to rural Manitoba when he was 21. Now he is a Canadian citizen, a Mennonite, owns a small construction company and a gas station/convenient store, he has 6 kids, his oldest son works in the construction business and the next oldest helps out at the gas station…. You are wondering — did Scott ever go into the store and get a drink or a snack? Well he did, but our new friend “Leo” wouldn’t take his money, he gave us 4 bananas and an apple!!!
We saw a bald eagle trying to pick up some carrion in a freshly cut hayfield. No good pics☹️
Thursday July 23 will be remembered as a day from a different dimension!
I suppose that most of you are going through your regular routines, perhaps some of you are complaining, some of you are not even noticing your time going by. Not so for us bike packers. We did laundry at 6:30 this morning, then packed and rode some flat 4 miles to the local post office where Scott was intending to mail a small amount of his excess gear back home. An hour and 45 minutes slipped by. Canada Post Corporation’s app that generates QR codes that allow packages to flow smoothly through customs was on the fritz. We moved on, our ride plan for the day was only 15 miles and we had a tailwind so it should have finished in an hour and 1/2. Ride with GPS has been pretty good to us but today it decided we needed to cross a creek, I said a creek! as in no bridge and no culvert pipe just water and a few rocks. This anomaly was only 4 miles from the train station, Scott tried to ride across— didn’t make it— he’s okay, his bike was wet.
Me I took my shoes off and put on my Crocs and was successfully across the creek just in time to hear Scott screaming that he lost his phone 😫😫😫😫.
We spent the next 45 minutes walking back and and forth looking in water and looking in the weeds and praying to St. Anthony. Nothing, Not-a, Zero phone to be found. They had not set up the Find My app either, so, well what’s a guy to do? Go to a UPS store in Winnipeg and get that package shipped. While Scott was finalizing the transaction I get an email from Via Rail…. They have partially cancelled our train service!!!😫😫😫😫😫Due to a wild fire in British Columbia we can only ride the train to Edmonton!
While we are in Winnipeg we should do some sightseeing and we had a recommendation from our mutual friend Rob A. We rode across the river and via some twisted bike trails to St. Boniface Cathedral.
After spending a few minutes checking out the beautifully restored remains of this amazing burnt out stone house of our lord we sat down on the stone steps at a north facing shady entrance just to reconnoiter.
A few minutes passed, kinda quiet, we were both like thinking: snack, water, and What’s Next!? Into our lives enters Levi —- Levi is a wonderful man of 76 years. He lives in the neighborhood and was taking a sweater home to his wife, she left it at the doctor’s s office and he went to fetch it for her. He saw our bikes and was curious about the riders. We talked for about 45 minutes, apparently we have some of same interests as one of his sons! Great conversations, he’s a retired meat packer, goes to St. Boniface Church, his wife has some health issues, he has to many great grandchildren to count and all of his kids still live in the vicinity of Winnipeg.
Levi recommended a local cafe for our lunch and Scott said a prayer for him and his wife and he ambled on.
Hey Scott you want ice cream from DQ or should we go to Leo’s recommendation for lunch. 10 minute bike and we are at the Shine River Cafe. Hey Scott what are you doing about getting your phone replaced? PureTalk suggested we go to Walmart and buy one and he could remotely activate it… great where’s Walmart, 17 minutes away, let’s go!!! After about an hour Walmart says they can’t provide one. I sat outside with bikes and my phone plugged into an outlet on the sidewalk answering questions from strangers, one guy wanted my picture so I got him to take one for me.
Next it’s on to Best Buy (as a “long shot” suggestion from Walmart). 3 minutes by bike, 30 minutes in store while I again guard our bikes on the sidewalk and answer questions.
By now time has disappeared… we had 2 1/2 hours till our train left, and an 18 minute ride to the station and we needed to check our bikes.
Made it! We are now on our somewhat cancelled train!
I have a bunkhouse mate, Kirk! 76 years old from Ottawa who’s out exercising his right to golf and goof off with some dear friends, his first stop is Vancouver, that’s after they dump him in Edmonton and he takes either our taxi (I hired van with a driver to pick us and our bikes up at the train station and take us to Jasper) or a bus to Jasper to catch his train to Vancouver.
Commentary: Winnepeg has some of the worst, labyrinthine, derelict, sprawling homeless camps I have ever seen! The situation appeared to be concentrated along the river which is also along many of the bike paths
We’re rolling on the train I’ll catch up with you when I can😄
Ken's Adventures 
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