After a breakfast of scones homemade by Orion, the amazing woman who billeted us the last two nights in Winnipeg, Connie and I set off for our first ride/SAG together. The route took us past the longitudinal center of Canada. It’s not the midpoint of my ride, however, because the route does not go straight east … More Centers
Today was a Peace-ful day off the bike. I attended the Winnipeg Quaker meeting and was given time to share my ride and purpose and a few tales from the road and to take deep questions from the group. I shared this discouraging image from a visit to the United Nations building in New York … More Making Peace
It’s a good thing that we conjured up and carried out Plan B because today would have been a difficult day to ride 139 miles. The wind was stiff and from the south – not a headwind but not a helpful one. On the other hand, it was a great day for contemplation — reflecting … More Contemplation, Crenellation, Changing of the Guard
Having a rock solid plan yet being open to adapting it has played out well for me. Yesterday, we showed our route to Judy, our hostess and a cyclist. Immediately, she had a suggestion based on what local cyclists do. Instead of 80 miles on the Trans-Canada Highway, she suggested a parallel side road through … More Dragonflies and Drones
For most of today’s ride, there were four parallel universes from left to right — the place for cars, the place for bikes, the place for wetland birds, and the place for trains. For the most part, each universe was unto its own, but occasionally, one would interact with another. Red-winged blackbirds felt threatened by … More Parallel Universes
When my route was all planned and split into days, there was one piece that worried me — 139 miles from Brandon to Winnipeg. It’s critical that I get to Winnipeg on time because that’s where 1) Susie flies home for a vacation from me and our friend, Connie, flies in to take her place, and … More Plan B
“Cherries? Peanut butter crackers? Raspberries? Potato chips? Omelet? Water? Ice?” Susie drives up behind me and asks what I’d like. She takes really good care of me. I am really really lucky. Today was the one of the rare days I had company for the entire ride — Dave Goodrich. Dave’s ride, Two Holes in the … More Rolling Buffet
