The shoulders today were so smooth! We started the day with an overcast sky. We got on the road around 7 and had a headwind right away. Sara and I drafted with Jim, our 81 year old cyclist. I was in the lead "pulling". Jim appreciated it but it was a bit fast for him so after the rest stop he waved us in ahead. The shoulders were so smooth, it was very nice. We had a little bit of rain but only a drizzle; we could see a lightning storm ahead of us but it passed by, giving a downpour to a few of the fastest cyclists. I was still in a great mood by the 3 rest stop at 72.5km, I was singing and laughing! We ate lunch at that rest stop. After that the wind picked up a bit and we slowed to 16-18km/h. It was tough especially since there was a longer than usual gap between rest stops. Sara and I stopped a lot (only quick stops, 60 seconds or less). We passed a horse and buggy warning sign, but the only thing we saw was evidence a horse had been on the road 💩! We were battling a crosswind for a while then we turned onto the trans Canada highway and faced a strong headwind. I think it was probably our strongest wind yet. Sara and I each took turns drafting behind, switching often to give the other a break. It was tough but at least it was still sunny. We made it into Portage La Prairie (crossing the prairie) and had to go a ways through town, across a bridge under construction with only one narrow lane for each direction and no shoulder. It was a little sketchy. We then got to the causeway which leads to an island in the middle of a river, which is where we are camping. We were going to go to a splash/water park here but it costs 8$ and was on the busier side, so we just had a shower (1$) at the Campground. I hung out by the rv's of some of the volunteers. I had a nice time laughing with them and just chatting. The one family, the husband is cycling to Winnipeg, the wife runs a rest stop(also leaving in Winnipeg) and their daughter who I just found out is only 5 days younger than me, had been our head chef- she's a good chef and a gifted leader. She is also leaving in Winnipeg, which is Tomorrow. We had dinner with cake for dessert for a rider's birthday. At the peloton meeting, all the people leaving this weekend (8 cyclists and 8 support staff) were allowed to say something. The one couple, Frank and Carolyn Van Boom went up at one point. They joined the ride in Calgary. On a day this past week, Carolyn had tried to make sure she knew who we were and had asked if I was Jennifer. With a straight face I said, "no, I am Elizabeth". She laughingly called me a brat. Also when she thought we were twins I told her that I was older. So basically I was giving her a hard time. Getting to the point now, they went up and said they were going to rap up their time with us, but they'd need volunteers. They got a few guys to come up and provide the beat and then they said they'd need some females too. Sure enough she called Deanna, Sara and me up to do the soft beat/melody. Now I am not a good singer so this was not at all in my comfort zone but laughing awkwardly we did it, but never again!!!!! 😳
132km
6h 30min
20.5km/h
163m elevation