In 2018 I rode my bicycle across Western Canada, covering about 2300km. It's been two years and I figured I'd release my journal entries here for anyone interested in what a trip like this does to a person's sanity.
Given that they're real-life jou...
Holy hot damn, I rode down the wildest slope just west of Brandon today. The speed was exhilarating and terrifying. One wrong alteration to my handlebars would've sent me careening perilously along the pavement. I had no idea I'd encounter declines like that in the prairies. Or the demanding inclines that follow.
I've determined that although there's a sort of security in a regulated campground, the long, unkempt grasses of the roadside are infinitely easier to sleep on. But better still is a real bed, which is what I hoped to procure when I set out again. Arriving in Brandon, however, I noticed signs advertising motel rooms for $65. And I thought the campsite was bad...
I stopped in a McDonald's and flashed a gift card at the cashier like the high roller I am. After a while sitting there, a man sat next to me and, noticing my gear, asked if the bicycle outside was mine. He asked me all sorts of questions after confirming this and ended the conversation by stating that he admired my ambition and hoped I made it to Vancouver.
I strongly appreciate every encouraging interaction I experience on the road. From this guy's astonishment to the honks and thumbs ups I receive from passersby. I don't have a Gandalf to convince me, a Catch-22 to force me, or a vineyard paradise to incentivise me. So it falls on my own will to impel me forward through my apprehensions and discomforts. Real life won't contrive a plot for me to mindlessly play a part in. At least not the sort that I want any part in. So it's up to me to figure out the things I want. And if what I do is recognized and encouraged by others, I'll just pursue it more voraciously.
But as it stands now, 25km west of Brandon, my confidence has taken a severe blow. My phone has no data connection.
Edit: tried one last time for a connection that night. 4G. That'll do, Donkey. That'll do.
My new home.
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You mean I don't have to make a pilgrimage to Vancouver to find out?
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Why do they have a nicer sign than us?
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