Raising money for MCC is the public reason of cycling to Thompson. But there were private reasons for cycling also. In a year of Covid where one couldn’t do much of anything. It was easy to have felt depressed. Biking for me is a way of dealing with depression, bringing a sense of joy and peace. With that in mind I would like to share 3 highlights from my cycling journey to Thompson.

(1) Cycling with my youngest daughter Chantel for the first two days. We did 199 km’s together. That was really special to share that experience.

(2) Cycling through the wilderness in many ways is like experiencing wilderness experiences in our own life’s. Everyone at some point will have some type of wilderness experience to deal with. Not sure what’s ahead, feeling very alone and wanting it too end once your in it.

Before I began my cycling journey into the wilderness, I waited for the right conditions. Taking two full days off, first day was very smoky and there was a North wind. Next day the smoke cleared but there was still a North wind. Finally when I was ready to enter the wilderness, south winds were blowing. In life as much as possible prepare yourself for those wilderness experiences.

I found a place of refuge just when I needed it to have my lunch. A shelter from the rain, a place to eat and enjoy lunch. So it is in living life, we all need to find a place of refuge at different times.

It can get very lonely when cycling in the wilderness. But the amount of encouragement I got from those driving by was amazing. Many waved or gave honks of encouragement. We all need encouragement when we feel alone in the wilderness.

(3) Having Cheryl provide support the first two and last two days of cycling was really special. Stopping every 10 km’s to have a snack together.

Reflecting on this trip as I dream about the next one, I know there are more experiences waiting. Finally, cycling provides a sense of joy that gives me a new perspective on nature and with those you love. So until next time, let’s find ways to encourage each other. Take care.

Day started at 5:45, had breakfast at the Hotel and drove back to Pisew Falls. Started cycling shortly after 8. A light North east wind slowed me down. Of course this is followed with a drizzle and really cool temperatures. Not the way I pictured doing the last 70 km’s.

Cheryl again provided support, such a big help to keep me going.

Arrived in Thompson at 1:30 by bike. On any bike trip you have to enjoy the first and last km the most. Feelings are very different, but they are very special.

After arriving in Thompson we had to catch our 5 pm train to Churchill. So it was a quick changeover and sit on the train for 18 hours. We have just arrived at Churchill.

This cycling journey was also a fundraiser for MCC. My goal was to raise $2 per km with an estimated distance of 780 km’s. (Actual distance was 801 km’s, due to side trip on my day off) Thank you to all those who have donated to MCC. For those who still wish to you can go to my donation page, it will be open until the end of August. Contact me for the link if you wish to donate. Or you can just give me the money in person if that is possible and I can forward it to MCC.

I will do one more blog entry about this trip in the next couple of days. Talking more about my feelings as opposed to just the facts.

When planning a bicycle trip one needs to be flexible and just let things happen. My plan was to meet Cheryl at the same time I would get to Thompson by bike. This would have been on Saturday. Taking an extra day off at St. Martin Junction put everything a day late.

At the end of the cycling yesterday we wanted to find a nice place for night. We ended up driving all the way to Thompson to find a Hotel. On Sunday we planned to meet our daughter at the train station in Thompson. She was taking the train from Churchill, back to Winnipeg. It arrived shortly after 1 and left 2 pm.

From the train station we went back to the Hotel to get ready to bike. We drove 150 km’s back to the point where left the day before.

At 4 I was finally back to cycling. Having Cheryl provide van support was so very helpful. She would have a snack ready for me every 10 km’s. At 9 we arrived at Pisew Falls and ended the cycling day there. Total cycling for this day was 82 km’s.

There is only 70 km’s left to cycle to get to Thompson. Tomorrows plan is to get up early, have the awesome breakfast the Hotel provides. Drive the 70 km’s back to Pisew Falls and finish this cycling trip. Hope to cycle into Thompson by 12 noon. We will be taking the train to Churchill later in the day, it is scheduled to leave at 5. So it will be a full day on Monday.

When you travel through the wilderness, sometimes not much happens. Got on the road by 8 am

Highlights today was talking to a couple of people pulled to the side of the road looking for berries.

Lunch was good.

Best part of the day was finding a full suitcase along the side of the road. I texted Cheryl to make sure she would pick it up. Too bad it was gone by the time she got there. I was hoping for some hidden treasures.

Cheryl met me later in the afternoon. She put all my gear in the van so I could go faster

Total distance today was 176 km’s.

Not sure about tomorrow, calling for thunderstorms. At least I will have Cheryl by my side.

After sitting around for two days it was time to move on. On Wednesday it was way to smoky to cycle. On Thursday it was much better but there was a North wind that I did not wish to battle. Today there was a south wind, little smoke and cool weather that was excellent for cycling.

I did a quick side trip on Thursday to stay in shape. It was 22 km’s long.

When planning this trip I knew that leaving St. Martin Junction and trying to get to Grand Rapids would be the hardest day. I would have to carry enough fuel (water) for the entire day Cooler conditions and a wind that helped was perfect timing. I also had to cycle in the rain for a couple of hours.

A rest area that had a shelter was perfect timing for having my lunch. There was a gas station that serves hot food that was perfect timing for my supper.

I got to Grand Rapids between 7:30 and 8. I really wanted to stay in a Hotel for night. But there is very few options for staying night here. So I am in the tent for this night.

I am very tired from cycling 183 km’s today. I don’t think I cycled that many km’s in one day since I was in my 20’s.

I look forward to Cheryl meeting up with me tomorrow. She will provide van support until I get to Thompson, hopefully on Sunday sometime.

This morning I got up 5:30 took one look outside and went back to bed. It was raining and was still very dark. Smoke from the forest fires was bad all day. So I felt it was the right decision to not cycle today

Cora is a gift from one of my daughters for a past birthday. She now joins me on my cycling tours. She usually travels in my pot set, so doesn’t come out too often when cycling. But she hangs out with me on days off.

Smoke is not improving tomorrow as the North winds continue. I would be fighting the wind and the smoke on a very long cycling day. Plan is to take Thursday off and leave on Friday when there should be a south wind and the smoke should clear.

So another day off in St. Martin Junction with Cora. I wonder what adventures will we enjoy together.

First day on my own and I wanted to get an early start. Got up at 5:30, it took me an hour to pack everything up. Eating breakfast at a restaurant took another hour. Finally got cycling by 7:30.

Campground in Ashern was interesting, doors to the bathroom were bolted shut. I turned this into a free night again, if they don’t open the bathrooms what was I paying for. It was leave money in the envelope kind of place, except I didn’t.

This was a planned short day and it was the perfect plan. It was close to 30 degrees by noon, way too hot to ride. In total I did 69 km’s today.

Checked into the St. Martin Junction Hotel after lunch. A time to relax, clean up and organize.

Debating about taking Wednesday off or not. It will be the longest ride of this trip, most of it in bush country. Plan is to ride as they are calling for scattered showers throughout the day. This could be very helpful to bike in the rain. Hopefully I don’t need as much drinking water. My goal is to ride 180 km’s to Grand Rapids. I don’t think I have ridden this far in one day since I was in my 20’s. See what happens.

I am not really sure when the music ended from the night before. But it was loud for a long time, not a great way to spend the first night. By the time we left the campsite at about 8:30 it was very quite. One more highlight from this campground are the outdoor showers. I would call them semi private.

It felt good getting back on our bikes, well at least for 20 km’s. After this you start feeling the pain at different places in the body.

It was a tough day of riding because of the amount of traffic. For the most part there is no paved shoulder. So you really had to watch traffic going both ways.

Chantel and I did see a bear cross the highway about 100 yards in front of us. We stopped for a minute to make sure other bears would not cross. Once we started cycling again she rang her bell on the bike and I was singing “You are my sunshine”. That was a funny sight to hear and see.

We made it into Ashern by late afternoon. Stopped at a restaurant for supper and set up my campsite for the night. This is where Chantels portion of the trip ends. We did 98 km’s for this day. It was time to repack as I would now be on my own in getting to Thompson. It was hard saying goodbye to Chantel and Cheryl. It was such a pleasure biking with you Chantel. Cheryl you provided such wonderful support during these two days. I look forward to meeting up on Saturday again. Not sure where I will be by then.

Hopefully this will be a quieter night so I can sleep. Tomorrow will be a hot day but I only plan to cycle 60 km’s. So my day should be done by noon.

Over a month of planning and the day finally arrived. This is an attempt to cycle to Thompson. With smoke everywhere in the province it is hard to know how this will go.

Chantel expressed an interest in joining me for part of the journey. Cheryl agreed to provide van support to make it easier for the two of us. So on August 1st close to 8 am we left from our house in Winnipeg.

Once we left the city it was very obvious to see the smoke in the air from forest fires. But we just kept going. It did clear up later in the day when the winds picked. So now we were fighting the winds.

We made it to St. Laurent by late afternoon. We set up camp at Stony Ridge campground and enjoyed supper at a restaurant. At the campground I was informed that it was an adults only weekend due to a music festival. She apologized for the loud music we were about to hear all night and said because of that our stay was free. Well that was a pleasant surprise.

So ends day 1, 101 km’s celebrated to the beat of a drum that lasted all night.

I am a strong believer in riding with wind when training. In one week I plan to leave for Thompson and I needed to get in a full day of riding. Strong winds from the west helped me reach speeds of 30 km’s an hour.

Whenever I would take breaks at different spots I always had people stop to talk to me. That is the beauty of riding a bicycle. Of course if I was in a fancy sports car I guess people would stop and talk to me also.

I concluded that the reason people would talk to me is they were wondering what an old guy like me is doing on a bicycle.

Shortly after 8 in the evening I made it to the Ontario border. A total distance of 171 km’s. This is where Cheryl met me with the van to take me back home.

It would be great if everyday you ride the wind was at your back. Some days you can just make it happen by deciding to go with it. Most times you have a place in mind in where to go despite the wind. That will be me next week. Strong south winds would be the best.