Canada 2016 - Headingley to Winnipeg

Sunday - July 17
We were a little slow getting started today.  It was a short day and we watched a stage of the Tour de France before we left.
 

Donna thought she would try drafting behind this guy for awhile.  However, it did not go well because it was parked.

Crossing the Assiniboine River while crossing Winnipeg.

Winnipeg has many nice parks, and an evolving cycling infrastructure.

A  park/bike path follows the river through a major portion of the city.

We met Asad and Marion on the bike path.  They were interested in bike touring, and asked several questions about it. This led to an enjoyable discussion about several subjects, including our presidential election. It was fun, and we believe the bike touring seed had already been planted before we talked to them.  Hopefully, we provided a little fertilizer that will help that seed to germinate into a ride around The Netherlands in the near future. We forgot to warn them that bike touring is addictive!

 

Donna could not resist the opportunity for fresh lemonade, especially when the two young entrepreneurs included a homemade cookie in the deal.

The city of Winnipeg closes the roads adjacent to both sides of the river to motorized traffic on Sundays and holidays.  This made for an especially relaxing ride along with other bikers and folks just enjoying the day.  However, the clear blue sky continued to become cloudy and dark as the morning progressed.

About noon the thunder storm hit and it just poured.  We found a handy tree to hide under while we got on our rain jackets and helmet covers.  We decided we were going to get about as wet hiding under the leaking tree as we would making a run for more substantial cover.

After a wet 10-minute ride we passed a Ukrainian Catholic Church, and figured God wouldn't mind us taking shelter under the front door overhang.

The storm quit about as quick as it started.  We needed lunch and a Burger King made a handy place to shed wet clothes and refuel. We left a puddle on the floor.

It was too bad we decided to eat earlier, because when we stopped to take pictures of these guys playing "parking lot" hockey, at least 5 different people came over to talk to us, and invited us to have lunch at their company picnic.

Because of all the rain, our bikes' chains were in dire need of lubrication. We stopped at the Alter Ego Bike Shop to get some chain oil, and ended up spending an enjoyable 15 minutes there.  Royce who works at the shop came outside to talk with us between helping another customer trying out several bikes.  As he looked over our bikes and gear, he noticed that the rear tire on Donna's bike was low.  Instead of handing Doug a pump, he proceeded to pump up her tires and replace missing stem nuts. Thank you Royce! 

Jim, the customer Royce was helping, also came over to chat.  It turned out be be an enjoyable conversation with a knowledgeable cyclist who gave us valuable information about the city, road conditions, and places we might want to see while in Winnipeg.  The Terry Fox exhibit was one thing we would have liked to experience, but by the time we got to the motel and showered it was too late. Jim even offered to drive us downtown if we needed a ride.

We have thank you cards that we call our "Angel of the Road"cards.  We give them to people who help us in various ways during our travels.  We thought we were going to run out of them today!  

Dinner and a relaxing evening on the  west bank of the Red River.

The local church, St. Vital, is 2 blocks from the motel, and they have an 8:00 PM mass. It all worked out well. It seemed a little strange to go so late in the evening but it was also still daylight when we walked "home".

The Stations of the Cross are beautifully hand carved wood.

Sometimes you do what you have to do!