Follow Ramesh's Journey

Today’s cycling day is one worth not repeating, as it went straight into extremely strong easterly winds. At some points of the day, I was traveling at no more than six km/h on flat land, but the team’s positive attitude and hard work kept my spirits up.

Since we’ve hit the prairies, it’s been easy to identify where the next community is by seeing the tall communications towers or grain elevators from far away. The tower and grain elevator look close at times, and then I realize it can actually still be a couple hours away. I’ll be honest - it’s pretty discouraging at times. The constant prairie wind is, without a doubt, the most physically challenging part of the journey thus far. It’s frustrating to hand cycle down a flat highway, with kilometres and kilometres laid out in front of me, and travel slower than I have on some uphill climbs. All I can do is be patient and know that eventually I’ll make it to the next town.

Each day usually starts with a huge breakfast cooked up by Bertha.  I’ll generally eat 3 eggs, 2 pieces of toast, a bowl of oatmeal, a banana and then drink glasses of milk, water, and whey protein. On top of meals, Bertha also looks after the en-route team’s finances, ensuring everything is in order for head office. She also takes care of the laundry, and tells me not to wipe messes on the RV’s floor with a tea towel. Doug is always there planning our route, setting up the hand cycle and GPS, as well as any number of other tasks. Doug always drives the suburban behind me with the four-ways on. Carly ensures I have the appropriate clothing for the day, prepares snacks, takes care of the laundry, and overall helps with everything. Chris is generally always on the phone talking with media to ensure the campaign is getting the attention it needs, and he gets the details of what to expect in the next town. Chris also assists with my presentations, writes my speaker’s notes, and takes most of the campaign photos you will see.

Together, the en-route team members work together to move us further across the country so we can spread the message of Cycle to Walk.

We have some great community events planned tomorrow in Portage La Prairie, and the plan was to cycle further and come back for the night. I feel somewhat disappointed that I wasn’t able to cycle further today, but the winds just wouldn’t let up. We met Chris’ father, Mr. Brendan Madden, in Portage la Prairie right before we met with the local radio station for an interview. Because Chris is so close to his hometown of Winnipeg, he will be leaving the team tonight to set up some media as we enter into Winnipeg tomorrow.