During the rest day we had enough time touring around the city to culminate our thoughts on being a cyclist in general. Straight away, it must be said that it has been an utter failure of cycling infrastructure in Manitoba, and particularly in Winnipeg itself. The shoulders have disappeared on the highway and the inner city cycling situation is nothing short of shocking - a true breakdown of cyclist education, driver education, and city planning. We have to voice our dissatisfaction, as it's truly a shame given how potentially great car-alternatives can be for everyone. Totally uncool!
It's really a sign of a culture that's behind the times. While we were in the city, we saw tons of ridiculous things - tons of people cycling on the sidewalk, people cycling on the wrong side of the road, and cars completely unsure how to drive with bikes in the lanes. Jan even had a near collision with a cyclist who was going against traffic and turning into him. All of this is much like Ottawa or Montreal as of 10-15 years ago. When there is a breakdown of city initiative and trust between drivers and cyclists the result is this dangerous mess of a situation.
All that aside...it was a great day of rest in the city and a great day of cycling into the countryside. The attached forecast was right on the money - positively scorching hot. However we didn't mind game ourselves out of the distance and focused on getting half way to Kenora. Ontario, here we come!
Mailbag time!
Plan of attack for Ontario? - Mike
It's hard to call Ontario the home stretch when it spans such a massive distance! As we mentioned, it's actually two and a half weeks of riding days, meaning it will be a bit more depending on how often we rest! There will be a few long treks due to the vast stretches of nothing between certain checkpoints.
What to eat and what to watch out for in Northern Ontario - James
Thanks for the tips, James! We have seen some of the Ontarian dead space you're talking about on Google Maps and are trying to work around it. We will fill our bellies with the delicacies you recommended! Thanks for the heads up about the 17. We just got our first taste of what it will probably be like since a large section of today's ride was actually shoulderless! We'll be careful coming home. Also we actually have yet to do any wild camping on the side of the road. We've heard mixed reports about it and prefer to plan our checkpoints around cities and real campgrounds. ;)
Is there anything of note in Winnipeg - Jeff
Well we loved the downtown core and did all the nice things we couldn't do since Calgary - ate gelato, rested in cafe's and generally relaxed like the city bums we are ;)
What happened to Jay's phone? - Jeff
It's just an old phone that I had dropped a bazillion times and now it finally just crashed on me. Going to get a new one in Ontario as apparently Manitoba is a Bell-free zone?? Argh!
What do you listen to music on? - Jeff
Haha, thankfully we don't listen to music on our phones otherwise I'd be totally screwed! We both picked up little Sandisk mp3 clips. It's a surprisingly awesome no-nonsense, tiny clip. Just drag drop your songs and away you go! The other benefit for us is we can save that phone batter for other more useful things, like finding the closest Tim Hortons ;)
Haha, I wrote that to be supportive. I'm well aware that Winnipeg is closer to a halfway point. But once in Ontario, you're done checking off provinces, at least.
ReplyDeleteI was looking for more detailed information on your route because I do love a good panzerotti, and thought we might wanna grab lunch in the Sault. :)
You'll be reaching Thunder Bay soon. You'll pass by Kakobeka Falls before Thunder Bay. Be sure to make a rest stop there. These falls are higher than Niagara Falls (but less water flow).
ReplyDeleteYou'll be reaching Lake Superior soon. It's a rough ride, but very beautiful. Report when u have conquered "the hill" on Superior (unless it conquers you)... I forget exactly where it is, but you'll know it when u see it.
It looks like your photo map died. :(
ReplyDelete