Day 13
Date: June 3, 2009
Distance: 84 km
Time in Saddle: 3 hours 46 min
Maximum Speed: 43.2 kmh
Average Speed: 22 kmh
Chase driver: Jennifer from Harvest (aka Sacagawea )
Riders: Ken
Today I left Winnipeg to complete the last five days and the eastern portion of the Trans Canada Trail as it runs through Manitoba.
The trail almost passes by my back door so it was easy to access. The leg out to Selkirk was uneventful enough with a couple of exceptions. For one, a fair sized portion of the trail was washed out in a number of sections. (I took a pic.) The trail looked more like a small lake with a series of islands when looked down upon from a near by ridge. The good news is that the water was clear, the bottom was sand and it was no more that knee deep so I was able to ride it in it's entirety. Very cool and different.
The other issue was dogs... too many dogs. Just so you know, two fully grown, barn yard guard dogs can run at a speed of 40 kmh. On this day a 42 year old man on a bicycle was able to reach a speed of 43.2 kmh. Lucky, huh?
Those weren't the only dogs today. As if that wasn't bad enough another dog also chased me. A big brown brute of a dog had been laying in wait for me in a ditch at the side of the road. He jumped out barking his head off and gave chase gnashing the air near my ankles as he went. Good news is that my adrenaline has been topped up for the rest of the trip.
The last dog of the day, (that makes four), I happened across when I became lost at the bottom of a dead end country lane. Unlike the other two situations I was almost stopped. The huge black dog seemed a little bored and disappointed that I was moving so slowly. He could have bit of sport if I was moving faster.
After repeating the mantra of "nice doggy, good doggy" in the calmest most reassuring tone I could muster I skulked away with the realization that I was once again... well... lost. So I called up my navigator. Although I didn't know where I was, she did and was there in no time. As Sacagawea bailed out Lewis and Clark so did Jennifer bail me out.
After that we moved on to the Selkirk BMO to say hello to Kim and her staff and have a couple of pictures taken before calling it a day.
Thursday the ride goes up into the Grand Beach area and a shuttle back to Selkirk for lunch at the soup kitchen. I'll let you know how it goes. No more dogs please.
Thank you for your ongoing support. Ken
