Winnipeg!

Since the last post I've left Regina and made it to my fourth province! Right now I'm spending the weekend in Winnipeg enjoying the sights.

Regina has an awesome park in the middle of the city. Here is the view across the lake to the parliament buildings.

Tommy Douglas ... one of the most influential Canadians!

In the hostel in Regina I ran into Yvon (we had rode together for two days between Hope and Keremeos at the start of the trip). We spent time catching up in Regina and decided to ride to Winnipeg together. It was a quick ride since there wasn't much between cities, most of the hills turned out to be just overpasses, and the wind was blowing somewhat in the right direction. We ended up riding the 590km in four days.

Cyclists love these signs!

This sign sums up the riding conditions on Hwy #1 in Manitoba.

Happy at the end of a long day! Since the prairies are coming to an end, this will probably be my longest day of the trip.

In Winnipeg I'm staying with Navin's uncle Dalip and his family, who are treating me wonderfully. Since I've been here the weather has been horrible ... at one point I was actually blown off my bike! Later I found out that where it happened, Portage and Main, has a reputation of being the windiest intersection in Canada. But the locals don't seem phased. Yesterday I was hiding from the wind and rain over a hot chocolate in a coffee shop and there were people sitting in t-shirts at the tables outside having their drinks! (When I was riding I was wearing all my raingear.) If I make any comments about the weather people just laugh.

Winnipeg is full of history. Today I visited the Forks, where the Assiniboine River joins the Red River. These two rivers were the highways of prairies, so they made an excellent meeting place for Natives and later Europeans. Later I took in Saint Boniface, the French portion of Winnipeg, and visited the Manitoba Museum.

The Red River and downtown Winnipeg

A fisherman at The Forks

I really liked this statue of Louis Riel. Apparently lots don't, so it was moved from in front of the legislature to here in Saint Boniface.

I was able to get some signs for my bike and business cards printed at Staples advertising the MS Society of Canada. It's official now! People can donate a lump sum or pledge a per km amount (1 cent / km would work out to about $70 total) payable when I finish the trip. Stay tuned to be harassed for donations via email!

My fancy new business cards ... ooo la la.

Cheers,
Dave