Checkpoint: Camp Hughes, MB

Mission Control...

This is Eco1...

We have set camp in a deeply wooded rest area off the #1 called Camp Hughes. It's about 25 km east of Brandon. It sits on top of a huge underwater lake according to Jim, a friendly local potato farmer. Because of this abundant water source, the locals call it 'God's Country'.

It was sunny, then overcast, then sunny again today. Not cold, but we got wind. The wind has never been with us yet that I can remember. For all that talk from the local yokels and fancy know-it-alls, the wind has yet to come from the west. I will say this, though, a big benefit of riding west to east is that the setting sun is never in you eyes. That's a huge positive.

We got our repairs completed in Brandon (thanks for the guidance, Rusty) at A+L Get Active. Thanks to Gorgon for the repairs and Steve for suggesting we switch to clip-in bike shoes. Hopefully, we'll start using even More leg muscles for our Human Powered Vehicle speed. You know, Aleks, no matter how many times we adjust those gears, 3 hours later they're wonky again. Part of the problem on the tandem is that the cable is so long, it's hard to get precise gearing - according to mechanic Gord (he signed the side of our yellow fairing - a new tradition). It's enough to drive me crazy. Whenever I get this way, I remember the Super Dave Osbourne mantra an repeat: "Balloon Balllll... Balloon Balllll...."

I thought the Saskatchewan roads were bad until we tried to go on some of these Manitoba back roads. To be fair - at leasted they're paved. But after you pave, you gotta maintain it! That Junction 340 south of the TransCanada needs to be closed before someone gets killed. I need to do a Moby Dick style special report on the various types of road surfacesand bore you all to death with my mad obsession with road quality. But not here....

Gone are delapidated while golf shoes as I now have a pair of black bike shoes, Skipper. And, boy, do they hurt.

Guess that's it for now.

This is Eco1 Over and Out.

-- Major Dude


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