A Photo Montage Saves My Ass

June 13, 2016

Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba

I assume the cleaning personnel at most motels vacuum the carpet after a customer has vacated his room. If not, tomorrow night's guests at the Kenora Travelodge's room #201 is in for a big surprise. They are going to see an interesting composite of the kinds of things that get dredged up from the streets and stick to a bicycle on a rainy day. I did try to clean it up as well as I could, but I guarantee you there is still plenty of sand and bug parts--and maybe even rat guts--in the pile of that carpet.

I rode away from Kenora on a lovely new day. More hills and a billion trees on "The King's Highway." I really don't know what else to add. Perhaps it's time for a photo montage, if I may.

A last look at the north shore of Lake of the Woods.

Precambrian rock on what is known as the Canadian Shield.

I've seen these rocky cliffs pretty consistently over the last three days.

The King's Highway has been my guide through almost all of my time in Ontario. I like the crown at the top of the sign.

You might recognize that character at the "Bienvenue Au Manitoba" sign as me.

I spent about a half-hour at the Manitoba Tourist Information Center where I was questioned--and praised--by several other car and RV driving patrons. I felt like a celebrity.

If you read a lot of bike touring journals and marvel at major expeditions across continents or around the world, you might start believing your own 500 or 1,000 or 2,000-mile tour is pretty insignificant. No it's not. As far as I can tell, to most of these motorists you are an iron man, a freak of nature, and you are doing something that is unfathomable in their minds.

Manitoba started out with two big hills and then flattened out noticeably and abruptly, but it's still nicely forested. I am spending the night in the Falcon Lake Beach Campground of the Whiteshell Provincial Park. I have my own private corner of this huge campground. It's a hot, sunny day and I made use of the campground's shower. I forgot to bring my camp towel, so when I was done showering I threw on a pair of shorts and air-dried in the hot sun. It felt great. Once I was dry, I changed clothes right out in the open. Only the crows, the horseflies, and the bees saw me and they didn't care.

I ended my day with an early-evening swim in Falcon Lake.

Today's ride: 44 miles (71 km)
Total: 628 miles (1,011 km)

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