The Moody Weather of the Prairies

Alright so, I've had a few adventurous days since I last wrote. My rest day in Regina was great. I met a few more relatives (this time on the other side of the family), saw a bit of the town, I even had an interview with a local TV station! I'm hoping I'll somehow be able to get that to all of you, but I'm not sure how; I'll let you know.

The morning of my departure, I woke up to rain, but by the time I was ready to go the skies had completely cleared and there was a perfect tailwind :) My cousin, Shelley followed me through the city to make sure I got away alright, and I was off again. As I didn't have anywhere to stay that night, and knew I would be camping I wasn't exactly sure on how far I would go that day, but because of that oh so perfect wind (that had me coasting at 35km/h at one point) I easily covered 140km that day and ended up in a sweet little town called Grenfell. There wasn't a whole lot to do there, but I was comfortable.

In the morning, I packed up and headed out, again not certain of where I would be by the end of the day. But, yet again I covered about 140km! I also passed another border, placing me in Manitoba and in the next time zone. That night was spent in the small town of Elkhorn. I was in a tiny little campground of only 16 sites, and being the only tent I kind of stood out, but that worked to my benefit. I not only received a money donation, but also fresh fruit (a girl biking all day everyday must be starving right?? :D )

The next day I was feeling pretty tired, and it was a hot one! I hadn't gotten the best sleep the night before (there was a train track and cows nearby), but I managed the 110km to Brandon and also spent at least an hour wandering the city attempting to find either a campground or the tourist info booth which would direct me to the campground. I found the latter, and it did what it was supposed to. That night I went to bed with clearskies, but woke up to overcast...

By the time I was packed ready to head out again, the rain had started. All day it was on and off. I had wind, not the good kind, as well as thunder and lightening. I guess my mind was set on the destination of Portage la Prairie, because I still managed 130km that day (I really don't know how). Although, by the time I got there I was drenched, and pretty darn tired. It was still pouring rain, and I decided that it was not going to be a camping night. I called in a...prearranged gift from my auntie and uncle, and rented a motel room for the night. (thank you so much guys) That bed and warm shower felt really good :)

So my original plan was that the next morning I would only have to cover about 70km into Winnipeg where I had a place arranged to stay at and have a day to rest. Unfortunately, mother nature had other ideas. I woke up that morning (I guess that would be June 27th), and looked out the window. The wind was absolutely howling and the rain was still coming down. "Alright," I thought, "I'll just give it a bit of time. It'll calm down and I'll head out. It can't last that long." I waited an hour or so, it kiinda calmed down, and I started out. Well, within about 5 minutes I was soaked, and then I basically got blown off the road. I ended up taking refuge in the only shelter I could find- the doorway of a closed car dealership. I sat in there for probably 2 hours. I pulled out some warm clothes, food, my journal and just watched the storm. I knew there was no way I was going to risk biking that 70km. If I got too far there might not be another cardealership haha. After a while the storm calmed down enough for me to pack my things up and head back to Portage. At that point I went to Tim Horton's for coffee and soup and lulled the situation over. It didn't look like the storm was going to clear up much more that day, so back to the motel it was. I can't stop wondering what people passing me in vehicles must have thought when they saw me trying to bike through that storm and getting blown around (crazy perhaps??)

Not wanting to fall behind on my schedule, that meant I had had my rest day, and that leads us up to today! This morning I woke up in that comfy bed again and hoped that when I opened the blinds it was clear. It was! sort of. There weren't any clouds, but it was still pretty gusty. I had an interesting kind of wind today; it was crazy strong and was heading in a South-East direction, while I was heading East. So it did help me, but it did try to push me over at the same time. I knew that if it changed directions just a bit more, it probably would have succeeded...but I made it to Winnipeg! And then I got lost haha. It was definitely my own fault. I somehow lost my written direction and ended up right downtown. It was alright though, I found the Mountain Equipment Co-op and entertained myself there while I waited for my not-yet-met-friends to call back. Eventually I got here, and have enjoyed yet another evening of a warm, welcoming family :)

Its been raining and gusty this evening, as I watch out the windows, but the forecast says it clears up tomorrow- fingers crossed! Destination for tomorrow is Prawda, although I'm learning to not be too set on my own plans :P