This morning we woke up in Winnipeg and enjoyed brunch of Mimosas and scrambled eggs in the unseasonal sunshine. Today was to be the first step of our polar bear trip. Leaving Winnipeg mid afternoon we took a Calm Air puddle jumper two hours northeast to Churchill, Manitoba. As the plane circled and climbed out of Winnipeg it was really clear how remote the place is. A town that was created thanks to of the local agriculture, all you can see as far as the horizon in all directions is grain fields and flatness. Apart from the airport the only connection with the rest of the world seems to be the railway –  the tracks stretch off into the distance as straight as any Roman road. From several thousand feet the we could see the tape-worm like trains with their infinite procession of carriages.

The flight itself was beautiful – this is easily the furthest north I’ve ever been and as a confirmed townie I was surprised and slightly unsettled at the total absence of civilization of any sort for hour after hour. As the flight progressed, the large lakes we passed changed to many, many small lakes that were increasingly icy. The biggest treat of the trip was the sunset – the whole horizon bathed in reds and oranges.

Churchill itself is tiny – almost a one road town huddled on the edge of Hudson Bay. Remarkably the temperature is currently just around about freezing. I was actually slightly disappointed that it is so warm as I came armed to the teeth with fleeces, ski wear, hand warmers and every sort of thermal clothing I could think of. Trip preparation also involved some rather unseemly fleece fondling in local sportswear shops so all that forward planning will have gone to waste. Still they think it might be colder on Wednesday…

A brief excursion into town revealed that there isn’t a whole lot here, and that they have some pretty crazy licensing laws – many places aren’t licensed, those that are won’t sell booze to take out, and even they only have certain rooms where you can drink it.  The best place to buy some is the state liquor store, which closes at 6pm. (our arrival time; 6.05pm….).

It’s recommended you don’t walk anywhere after approx 10pm as Polar bears sometimes cruise around town. I’m insanely excited and keep checking the windows just in case. In any case it looks like we’ll get to see some tomorrow.

Here’s where Churchill is:

Early print ads

All around lovely Steamboat Colorado is a lot of nothing. It is fantastically beautiful nothing, but pretty empty nonetheless. It was while we were riding along stunning US40 towards Steamboat that we first saw the FM Light and Sons signs. These advertise all the sorts of “Western Wear” that your average well-dressed Cowboy migt require –  from Stetson hats to boots, checked shirts,  even horse blankets and, more inexplicably, dungarees, each category with its dedicated signs.

It seemed like every few miles there was another one that entreated us to visit the store in town. It turns out they actually work. The first few amused us, the next half dozen made us curious, so after a hundred miles or so we felt that we HAD to visit this shop that had given us so much reading material on the way. So go we did. And to cut a long story short we ended up leaving with a pair of FABULOUS boots each and a wonderful boot puller-offer. A device no home should be without.

We marketing folk are suckers for good advertising, so I looked into the history of the shop. It turns out that around 300 of them were erected in the early 1900s by a marketing genius of his time who made sure that anyone coming into town from any direction knew all about his shop.  Many of them were taken down over time but those that remain today are considered historic landmarks and are regularly maintained. Not a bad legacy from the marketing man who secured all that outdoor ad space for free for generations to come 🙂

We just got back from a fantastic long weekend riding the US 50 – the loneliest road. Starting in Denver we travelled the 1000 or so miles all the way over to Lake Tahoe. The name was originally intended as a bit of an insult (let’s face it there isn’t much there) but the enterprising Nevada tourist board decided to reposition the slogan as a positive, highlighting the peace and tranquility that allow you to comune with nature rather than the absence of any apparent civilisation. It was amazing, completely desolate but strikingly beautiful.

We rode along well maintained roads for mile after mile after mile as the scenery subtly changed.  Travelling through these beautiful empty spaces made me think of the earliest pony express riders who took this route coast to coast. Actually apart from the road itself, I don’t think much has changed. You can imagine them dodging Indian arrows in many potential ambush sites.  Judging by the original job ad it is amazing they got anyone at all to do it.

We’re back from an absolutely amazing week’s trip that took us through some of the most breathtaking scenery I’ve ever seen. The roadtrip was 2400 miles in just under 7 days. What an experience.

We had the best of roads and weather (many, many long winding curves and dazzling sunshine) and also the worst (mile upon mile of gravelly bumpy roadworks, driving rain, hail and even crazy sidewinds). I’ve come to the conclusion that long distance bike riding is a bit of a mind game. As soon as I stopped thinking of this as my summer holiday and started considering it to be an adventure – I loved EVERY minute, even the ones when I was getting soaked and hanging on with only grim determination keeping things upright (ok and half a ton of metal).

Highlights: some of the most unspoilt and stunning scenery that rolled past, changing every 20 minutes, long windy roads,  the sheer learning experience (now I KNOW I can deal with almost everything), the companionship of sharing the experience riding with friends (chatting using the headsets helped). I LOVED Denver and the last night having a smart dinner and staying in a plush hotel was the perfect end to the week.

Lowlights: food wasn’t great. In fact I thought I might actually turn into a burger at one point. Bossiness (did I miss the vote for a leader becuase  I’m on holiday and will not be told when and where to stop  thank you).It ended too soon. Bring on the next trip.

I’ll do more of a write up but in the meantime there are some of the pics from the trip here.

 The countdown is on – the big trip starts on Sunday – the bikes are already there and I’m getting insanely excited. Here’s the route:

Starting in Colorado – we head up through Yellowstone, up to Glacier Park near the border and then in a loop back down to the starting point. I saw a tiny fraction of the route last year and it was breathtaking. I can’t wait.

I am a bit worried about a few things though to be honest:

•  quite a lot of rain forecast. Boo. NOT the plan for a summer holiday.
• Likely to be lots of wiggly roads – meaning intense concentration and slow progress. So for a couple of days there will be severe danger of arse coma.
• Idaho. I don’t actually know anything at all about Idaho but most of the vowel states I’ve been in have not been great. Illinois is OK but it is all downhill with Iowa, Indiana, Ohio.