Day 53

We were woken up by Nicole this morning (as was the plan). We had breakfast with her (her dad made us Bacon and eggs, which was amazing!). Nicole's mom and sister were already gone by the time we got up (but her mom left us a really nice note saying have fun on our trip!), and Nicole and her dad left after breakfast for work. Michael and I spent the morning packing everything up and doing last minute bike repairs. We left Nicole's house just after noon and headed to the perimeter highway until the Trans Canada. We went that route so we could see the official halfway mark of Canada. We then went up north on highway 206, then zigzaged our way up to Beausejour where Michael and Rob went curling two years ago (they randomly went to a bonspeil in rural Manitoba). We met up with Steve, one of the organizers that Michael keeps in touch with. We met him at his work, then went to the local (Howland Hotel) for a drink and some food. The owner came out and Steve told him about what we were doing and he insisted (and said he would be honoured) to pay for our dinner. He put down $20 on the table for us (which was SO nice of him! Talk about friendly Manitoba!). We ended up having four rounds with both Steve and his fiance (they were both so lovely!), and pizza and wings. They paid for it (which we didn't expect at all! It was so nice of them!) and told us to pocket the $20 for later. We contacted Kirk to tell him we were having food in Beausejour. His dad went to Winnipeg to pick up Nicole for the weekend, and on the way, he dropped off Kirk in Beausejour so he could cycle the rest of the way to Pinawa with us (just over 50km away). He was a good tour guide, pointing out all the bush along the way. On highway 211 (the highway that only goes to, and ends in Pinawa), his mom met us in a car to take pictures of us along the way (it was really cute!). We got into Kirk's place at about 10pm, and Nicole and Kirk's dad showed up around 10:30. We showered, and then ate a feast his parents prepared! It was unreal! And there was so much food! It was wonderful! Then we went to bed!