Let's talk about the prevailing winds. We did a lot of preplanning of our trip, including researching gear and reading blogs about popular routes. Everyone stated that the prevailing winds across the prairies was from the west. Period. Exclamation mark. Well, I'm here to tell you that they are all filthy liars, every single of them!
Let me tell you has our last day on the prairies was, because it was an excellent example of the new climate.
For the first time in a long time, it did not dew over night so our tents were nice and dry, alright! That not only means that we usually get out earlier but that the days are getting warmer and the solstice is near.
The day started out fine thanks to, surprise surprise and strong east! It was great because we were heading north for the first 6 km, then we turned east.
Since we entered the foothills/praries we have had 17 of 20 days where the wind has come from the South East, directly against us. Since the fair weather prevailing wind is supposed to be from the west we have been understandably frustrated and confused. We have talked to a lot of people in all of the prairie province and the common thread is that this year and the last have been totally different. It has been cold, flooded with rain and nobody is sure why or when it's going to stop, though they are all praying that it does, especially the farmers who have lost millions of acres of farmland to flooding. This weather is just weird, and I can't help but think that it has got to have something to do with broader climate change. It's frustrating, sad and a real challenge to the wonderful people of the prairies.
For us it means doing 14km/h and 75 km had fought KMs instead of 150 km on a good day. After pushing through heavy wind until lunch, we finally got a little respite by entering the beginnings of trees. Although the wind didn't die, the trees gave us a bit of shelter until we reached our final destination, Vita. Vita is nice small town. We chatted with the owner of a local food store and she was kind to suggest we camp under the Farmers Market shelter. This was perfect because it had started to shower.
All in all, we loved the novelty of the prairies and appreciated the generosity of it people, but we are ready to leave it, because this wind are nuts!
Distance: 78.34 km
Time on bikes: 5:32:12
Average speed: 14.1 km/h
Distance from Vancouver: 2908km
Start time: 9:15 am
End time: 6:10 pm
Wind: south east ( strong-head)
Cheers
- The Warpotay Team
Location:Vita, Manitoba
No comments:
Post a Comment