Day 33: Winnipeg to Prawda (100km)

After a month of cycling in the cold and wet it seems we have now plunged right into a summer inferno. With temperatures soaring above thirty degrees but feeling like forty with the humidity, today's ride put us to the test. We also had the displeasure of pedaling directly into the nastiest headwind we've faced yet, which thrashed against us at 30-35kph. The combination of the two for the very bare stretch out of Winnipeg made for a painfully slow and sweaty first 50km.

At the halfway point, heat exhaustion was threatening to knock us out and we debated camping at the Lilac Campground Resort. This place looked like quite the party with water slides and live entertainment. For the sake of our rest and recovery, I think it was actually fortunate they were full. However, they did allow us to fill our water bottles and use the bathroom, in which I jumped into the cold shower fully clothed.

After Lilac and hydrating we were able to push closer to our regular pace of about 25kph thanks to an increasing density of tree cover that helped block the wind. Another 11km down the road we met another cross-country cyclist, Neil, who had shared a similarly brutal day in the wind and heat. The three of us picked up the pace to clock in another 40km to a campground outside of Prawda for the night. At this point we were also joined by the mass of long weekend traffic out of Winnipeg. The highway shoulder disappeared at the same time so we were left riding right alongside the much larger and faster moving eastward vehicles. Drivers were pretty good for the most part, some gave us waves and props but a few made a point of passing terrifyingly close and honking to emphasize their dissatisfaction with bicycles on the road. We're hoping most of these folks will be at their camps by tomorrow and the highway might be less harrowing.

We're now sharing a campsite and fire with Neil after our first post-ride swim of the trip. It turns out we have kept to our original schedule and now have eight free days to enjoy before we hit Toronto. Yesterday we scrutinized our route and found some longer rides to split and some rest days to insert. This means we'll have a lot more time to enjoy some lakes in North Ontario, which we will pass into tomorrow!