Winipeg - rest day

Winnipeg – Rest day

I've done over 3000 km so far (not exactly sure how much), and just a bit under 3000 k left until I hit Ottawa (with all those little detours). Fun.

Nice sunny day to be a tourist in town.

The morning was a bit tough. The lovely hosts set me up in a big comfy bed, dark room, with temperatures warmer than outside, and a few brown pops the night before. Just tough to get out of bed (well, lack of sleep hours a bit, but I dont mind).

I got a chance to ride into town in a Pontiac Solstice, a nice little puppy. Taking a simple bus downtown, I headed towards a place to have breakfast. After seeing Portage and Main intersection (apparently the windiest intersection in Canada), I strayed a bit off course and found myself in a bit of a dodgy place. The downtown stip is a mix of nice shops, but a bunch of different types of folks (all walks of life). Pretty interesting.

Breakfast nothing worthwhile talking about. The next stop was The Forks, where the Assiniboine River meets the Red River. It was a major spot for the travellers during the Hudson Bay Company early years. There is a path that runs along the river which is a nice stroll.

I headed towards the legislative buildings afterwards. It seemed like a nice region – tons of polar bear statues all painted differently (like the Vancouver Orcas and those lovely Toronto Moose). There is a gold-plated statue on top of the building, called “Golden Boy”. It's neat. The water fountain in the front of the building is a nice touch. There is also a few different Louis Riel statues all around. I forget my history a bit, but I believe he was a Metis icon, but got hung for being a traitor or something. I dont remember well.

Galivanting downtown, I ventured in and out of shops (mainly at Portage Place, pronounced Portij by the locals). There was also the mandatory MEC store visit, where I bought more gas for the stove and bug repellant (preparing for baren North-West Ontario), more dry-lube for the bike, another dry-bag (for my bread), and some tea-lights (candle thingies, whatever you call them, to see if it can create a bit of heat in the tent on those colder nights).

I also visited a bike shop where I bought a new pair of shorts. My third pair isn't that good of quality, and seemed to be a bit too stretchy. Picture my skinny little legs and arse in baggy spandex shorts.

I tried to visit the spot where the Winnipeg Jets played hockey, but the building got torn down. The new MTS Centre, seats over 16k, is quite nice. The Moose play there, and tons of concerts.

Food – Earl's Restaurant. Major eye candy there. Plus, if the waitresses dont work, they still go there all dressed quite nice and eat at the bar. Easy to get distracted when I ate my meal. Their own beer line, Albino Rhino, isn't bad. I had the honey lager. It tastes a bit like the Palomino Honey Red from Milestones. The dynamite shrimp rolls, which is basically sushi (shrimp tempura, a sweet/garlic sauce), and slightly spicy soy sauce, was very delicious. Although not the best, but quite pleasant, the main course consisted of: Cedar planked salmon with tropical fruit salad (mango, pineapple, red onions, mint and cilantro, and a hint of spicy samfel and sweet honey), with garlic mashed potatos and asparagus. Oddly enough, I was craving asparagus for a little while.

I crossed a neat bridge to St. Boniface, a very french suburb of Winnipeg. It's there where I continued people watching in an internet cafe. To cool down, I had an iced-cap, and a lovely light desert that is similar to angel food cake with strawberries (including sauce) and whipped cream. I got a chance to reply to a bunch of emails. There was some funny ones, thanks.

I didn't get a chance to visit this restaurant that revolves, located on top of a hotel. I planned on having a beer there and write a blog entry or two. Besides that, I believe I did most of the things planned (except to get another haircut – I have a lovely afro happening).

I then met with Yvette at her work to go home. The Solstice had the top down, which made my hair flow all over the place. Fun. Supper – steak, potatos, and peas. Great meal. Oh, with a beer and a glass of wine. Great hosts, top notch. They also explained (took a few minutes) on how I went through the time zone between Alberta and Saskatchewan but didn't change time, but when I cross the Sask/Manitoba border, which isn't a time zone change, the time changes. Simple. (Saskatchewan never changes time). It was just a bit confusing at first, but now it makes sense.

I also got a chance to true my rear wheel. I think the few days of fairly strong cross winds where I was pushed all over the place (off the shoulder, into ruts of broken pavement, etc) took it's tole on the wheel. I am lucky with that wheel. I built it right before heading on my trip with Tanya last year, without testing it before being all loaded up. It stayed true until now. I also had the chance to give Dzie her gift – new handlebar tape (cork gel mixture, by Bontrager). Nice tape, goes on nicely too. I can't wait to ride tomorrow to see how it feels. It looks nice, long overdue.

Now, it's time to retire. Another late night (packing, laundry), but hopefully I will be able to go to bed early tomorrow night. It'll be an interesting trip. I just thought of something today; I will be going through Ontario in close to a month (with that rest before/after Solstice). Hell, big province. But, I will be back in the same time zone as most of you lovely folks.

Ok, petit dodo asteur.

Very special thank you to Dale, Yvette for being excellent hosts, and to Christine to set it all up. Merci.

p2