Bike Touring Canada. Cycling across Canada from Vancouver to Toronto.: Day 20, June 18th, Portage La Prairie to Winnipeg (88km)

Camping in the Park. Portage La Prairie

Last night, the massive rain storm that everyone had been talking about finally hit. As rain pelted the tent and lightning lit up the night, it was the thunder that finally woke me up. My only hope was this would pass by morning. The storm was close. At one point, I couldn't count to two before hearing the thunder after the lightning. Falling back asleep, I woke to bright blue sky.

Newly Planted Fields Near Winnipeg

Today I had to push to Winnipeg. The only bike store in Portage La Prairie is closed on Saturday and Sunday. My bike was in really bad shape. I could see 3 spots on the chain where fractures had appeared. With a broken chain tool, if one link gave out, I would have no way of fixing it. Loading her up, I nursed it onto the road as gently as possible. Today, the prevailing winds finally reappeared. I was happy to have them at my back as they put less pressure on the chain. I carefully pedaled towards the big city. In my mind, all I could think about was the poor condition of the chain. As I got closer to the city, my worries started to ease. With 20km left to go, I knew I could walk it in if something happened.

Slowly, I started counting down the kilometers. At 10km I was ecstatic. Services were appearing beside the road. 8km from the city, I heard a pop. My back wheel seized up and I came to a skidding stop. The chain had give out and taken out my derailleur and broke the hanger. The bike was unrideable. With a grin on my face, I bent the derailleur back out and started to push the bike into town. I had made it! If there was ever time for a big mechanical failure this was it. Winnipeg would have a shop that could fix this.

Walking Into Winnipeg with a Broken Bike

Stopping at McDonalds, I hooked up to the internet and found the location of Olympia Cycle. By this point, they were just a few kilometers up the road. Pushing my bike into the store, I immediately liked what I saw. Olympia Cycle is a small little independent bike shop. Compared to places I had visited in Vancouver, these guys really knew their stuff. 3 of the guys were into cycle touring. Luke immediately put aside all his other jobs and started working on my bike. Luke figures it was a combination of stress and rust from all the rain that weakened the chain. The owner called all over the city looking for a Raleigh Derailleur hanger. While he couldn't find a Raleigh Derailleur hanger anywhere in town, they found a temporary hanger that works. Luke replaced the derailleur, chain, trued the wheels and fitted me for that lower angled bar stem that I've been looking for since hitting Nelson. The price was reasonable and the service was awesome. I only wish we had a store with service this good in Vancouver.

With the bike tuned and running smooth, I made my way downtown to the hostel in the heart of the city. For $30 a night, you get a dorm room in the middle of all the action. There's nothing better than a cold beer on the patio after a day like today!