Posted by Ken Mahy - 11 August 2010
After camping in heavy rain last night and riding through a constant drizzle all day Wednesday, the intrepid (but extremely damp) PEDALers caught a welcome break tonight! They are staying in a warm, cozy farmhouse at Oxdrift - just west of Dryden. Their host is Bob Wall, a friend of a friend of Justin Pape. Those of us picturing our heroes camping in a downpour and riding through the raindrops all day are probably almost as grateful to Bob for his hospitality as the bikers themselves!
The route to Bob's farm took them off the TransCanada Highway for an hour of peaceful riding through rolling green countryside this afternoon - then up a dirt road to a warm (and dry) welcome.
The scenery the past few days has included vast bogs, thick spruce forests and enormous grasslands mixed in with rocky rolling stretches - definitely different from their earlier experiences and very interesting in its own way. The 125 km route from Dryden to Kenora which lies ahead promises to be somewhat hillier again after the more level terrain the group has just traversed. Those interested in getting an idea of the terrain they'll be cycling can do so at the TransCanada Highway website. Estimated timeline for crossing the Manitoba border is Sunday August 15th if all goes smoothly the next few days.
In addition to drying out after a soggy 36 hours, the night spent indoors at Oxdrift will also provide our courageous adventurers with some blessed relief from the swarms of mosquitoes that have been the bain of their past few evenings. Bugs don't bug you during the day when you're breezing along the asphalt at 10 - 25 kmh - but they come out in force at nightfall - which is typically when the
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