Day 30 - Portage la Prairie, MB to Winnipeg, MB

June 12, 2026

Start Time: 6;45 am

Stop Time: 10:30 am

KM Travelled: 91.5 km

Elevation: + 116/ -142 m

Special Stuff: New chain & tires, Dinner with my brother

This morning I take it easy getting out the door. Winnipeg is not that far, and there is a generous tailwind. I’ve secured 2 night’s accommodation near a bike shop where I intend to get my bike serviced.

The ride is comfortable temperature-wise and uneventful. I notice LOTS of water in the fields leading to Winnipeg. The ground looks saturated from the recent turbulent weather.

I took some picture of farm equipment for sale in one town. The big and biggish towns on the prairies have equipment for sale on outskirts of town. There’s machinery in all shapes and sizes - I couldn’t even venture to guess what some of them are designed to do.

I enter Winnipeg through a secondary access. I have to go through a construction zone, so I give it my best effort so I don”t hold up traffic - I reach speeds of 40+ km/ hour! I adapt quickly to city riding. The bike lanes in Winnipeg come and go – often stopping abruptly. 100%+ attention is necessary - as is defensive biking.

I get to my hotel much too early. City hotels are not as accommodating for early check-ins. My brother does not expect to arrive until late in the afternoon so I get to work getting my bike serviced. Popeyes Bike Shop is my first stop. My bike chain is replaced and my fender is fixed. At first he recommends switching out the cassette as well, but he does not have one in stock, so he cleans up my existing cassette (free of charge) and says that it will do the job. As he services my bike while I cross the street to have a pizza that I’ve been craving for hundreds of kilometers.

Popeye’s does not have the tires I’d like, so I go back to the hotel lobby (my temporary office) and start calling around to bike shops to see if I can secure a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires and have them installed. Third call, I get lucky! Natural Cycleworks holds the tires for me, and I bike the 8 km downtown. Because I’m touring, they fit me into a ‘same day’ appointment and have the servicing done in 2 hours. I fill my time shopping. I am drawn to the art galleries where I find I have a new appreciation for prairie art - I feel a lightness inside when I see paintings of the big sky.

The ride back to the hotel, I stop at a sign advertising housing for people 55 + years. I pause for a moment stunned to realize that I would qualify! Somehow I’ve gotten to be a senior but I’m not sure how.

I get back to my hotel room just as my brother checks into his hotel. Talk about an efficient and effective use of my time. No bike maintenance errands to do tomorrow!

A short while later, my brother picks me up and we have the best dinner and catch-up. It is so great to see him. When I came through Alberta, he was out of the country, so he’s made a special trip to come out to see me. At dinner the manager comes by our table to ask about our dinner experience and asks if we are celebrating anything. My brother gets me to share about my bike adventure and then he says in a voice loud enough that the whole restaurant can hear, “I’m so proud of my sister here!” I’m giggling inside. I know those words – and the way he said it - will stick with me for the rest of my days. Thanks big bro!

What a busy, but fabulous day!

Tomorrow is a rest day. I need to balance activity and rest. Being too busy on a rest day can contribute to fatigue and unpleasant rides later on in the week.