CCCT 2012 - July 2/12 - Day 44

Cross Canada Cycling Tour - Monday, July 2, 2012 - Day 44
Portage la Prairie to Winnipeg, MB Trip 80.08 kms Time 4 hrs 38 mins Max 27.7 kph Avg 17.28 kph
Once again we were up at the crack of dawn in order to get an early start to avoid the afternoon heat. Yesterday while shopping at Sobey's Bev met the "Kids" as she calls them from Vancouver who are cycling to Halifax. We first met them on Sunday the day we had a nasty head wind on our way to Regina. They had taken a different route hence the reason we met up with them again.
We managed to get away by 7:30 AM. In spite of our early departure it was still very hot and muggy. Fortunately we were able to stop at 2 gas stations along the way for cold drinks, etc. The 2nd even had a picnic table in the shade! 
Just before arriving in Winnipeg a local cyclist, Daniel from Winnipeg, caught up to us and cycled with us for several Kms. He recommended the Olympia bike shop for repairs to Bev's bike. Her derailleurs were acting up. I had also noticed that Bev's rear tire was showing signs of "wear and tear" while I was drafting behind her. We also saw a large field of blue flax which Bev at first thought was a lake.
By noon the wind had picked up and the skies had darkened. A thunder storm was imminent. We quickly found a motel in order to avoid getting drenched and also to get out of the heat. The motel we chose had seen better days. After getting our bikes in our room I checked out the "free" wi-fi. It  was flaky and I was unable to get on the Internet. Bev could only get 4 channels on the TV and 2 were the same. The smoke detector was beeping indicating the batter was almost dead. The hotel receptionists were unable to fix it so they called in the "handyman" who didn't have any success either. We agreed to take a chance without it and they offered us a lower rate on our room. Eventually I was able to get on the Internet by piggy backing on an unsecured nearby router.
We decided to go out for dinner and walked to a nearby Greek restaurant. We both chose to have the  Manitoba Pickerel and a Greek salad. We weren't disappointed. It was delicious. The restaurant was very busy but the waitresses did a wonderful job keeping everyone happy in spite of the heat. Their A/C was not working. For Bev and I the restaurant seemed rather comfortable compared to the heat that we had been cycling in for the past couple of days.
When we returned to our motel room I once again managed to get a wi-fi connection after much frustration. I sent another e-mail to Angel re her apartment. There was some excitement at 30 Downsview Crescent in Neapean. Apparently she had to rescue a bird from the living room fireplace. Thankfully she was there or the poor bird would have most likely died trying to get back up the chimney!!!
Roly and Bev