Day 38: Vita to Warroad

So in case you haven't figures it out yet, the most important thing to us these days is the wind. When we woke up this morning, to our amazement we found that instead of the predicted SE wind, there was a gentle breeze blowing from the west. Yes, you heard that right, west! To take advantage of it we tore down camp ASAP bit were still faces with one problem - food, or to be precise, the fact we didn't have much.

We try to reduce weight by only carrying one (occasionally two) days worth of food, and so far it's worked rather well. Yes, there have been a couple convenience store meals (think pizza sauce on noodles without cheese because we refused to stoop to Kraft Singles) but overall we've done extremely well. Until now. With the Prairies running out and us entering the wild, lonely forests of eastern Manitoba and northern Ontario, communities are further apart (of existent at all - many of the names on the map were in places that certainly hasn't ha any permanent habitation on awhile) and so we need to stock up on food where ever we can. From looking online, Vita seemed to be the only place that actually existed (had another street) within 100km so we had to finite shopping there. The CO-OP (our food lifeline of the Prairies) on town was only a gas station so we had to consider the other two options. And luckily for us, the Shopperette across the street from our campsite at the farmers market stall open just as we were ready to leave.

I can't remember/pronounce the name of the store (family that owned it), all I recall is that it sounded like 3 European names mashed together, bit what I do remember - clearly - is that though small, the selection and stock of the place was better than any 3 other stores we'd seen in the past week. Gouda, pesto, fresh Danishes, fresh peppers, budgie food - you name it they had it, and so like usual, we bought a good portion of the store (takes a lot of stuff to feed 5 hungry bikers). The bigger challenge was figuring out where/how to pack it all, but as always, we managed. So of you're ever hungry around Vita, check put the Shopperette - you won't be disappointed!

On the road things went well and we zoomed along through the quiet forest without much trouble. Did we mention before that we've left the Prairies? We suspected it when the trees suddenly appeared and stayed yesterday for the last 30km after leaving the Red River valley, but today proves it beyond doubt - it's still flat as anything, but instead of endless (flooded) fields, the scenery is now forest pocked with only the occasional cleared field. It's strange - I'm a forest kind of guy, but I'd gotten used to the prairies and so seeing trees everywhere took some getting used to. Its a welcome change though, not only a new landscape/break from monotonous fields, but because trees shelter us from the wind. Have we told you about the wind lately?

Three milestones also happened today within 3km of each other. We crossed the 3000km mark, finished our 4th province, and entered our second country! Not bad for one afternoon.


The US customs agent didn't seem to fazed when we rolled up to the inspection bay on our bikes, and after the serious questioning with a touch of humor you can't tell is genuine or a trap (so common of border guards) we were allowed into the US and told we could stay for 6 months. 24hrs should be enough though.



From there it was an easy 6 miles (silly Americans and their imperial system, hard to convert and less fun for biking when you're speed suddenly gets cut by about 40%) to Warroad where we managed to evict the local residents (geese) from the last remaining camp site - though not before they left their mark, everywhere! Bring out the popper-scoopers.

Tomorrow we'll try to sneak through the rest of our US segment and escape back to good old Canada. Wish us luck!

Distance: 110.43 km
Time on bikes: 6:09:37
Average Speed: 17.9 km/h
Distance from Vancouver: 3019 km
Start: 9:30 am
End: 6:00 pm
Wind: South-east (none-low head)


Cheers
- The Warpotay Team

Location:Warroad, Minnesota