Justin, Daphne, and Brooke were getting ready to spend the weekend at a cabin, so I helped out where I could before they left me and Lucy the cat behind. We’d spent the previous day getting to know each other. Justin went to grad school with my friend Jillian from Halifax. Turns out we both had a shared background working in radio. Justin worked at one of the radio stations that I’d distributed material to when I worked at the Canadian Press. We were able to bond over our experience dealing with Paul Harvey’s daily transmissions.
After they left I headed downtown for some sightseeing and errands. For a place that owes its founding to rivers, it hasn’t done a good job making them accessible. I spent a good amount of the time walking near the Assiniboine without being able to see it, since the banks are blocked off by private residences. The street next to it was nice to walk along, though, with a well-used path in the middle of a wide boulevard with decent amenities for cyclists and pedestrians.
I walked around the legislature and forks before meeting Kevin at the Little Brown Jug brewery.
Kevin’s a transit planner and friend of Henry Lau from Saskatoon who’s working on revamping and modernizing Winnipeg’s transit network. Kevin brought along his toddler son Leopold in a stroller, and took me on a walking tour of downtown Winnipeg and Saint Boniface (Winnipeg’s historic francophone district).
If you ever want to learn a city’s pedestrian failings, go for a walk with a planner dad who regularly pushes a stroller. I loved it, as I’d made many similar observations in the past during my times as a stay-at-home dad.
Later, Kevin invited me back to his house for a bbq with the neighbours featuring local bison burgers and many fresh vegetables (the vegetables are much appreciated on a trip like mine). Afterwards, I took the bus back to Justin and Daphne’s, getting to try out the city’s bus rapid transit corridors along the way. I’ll be off the bike for a few days after this, attending a work conference in Tampa, Florida. I’m looking forward to it, getting to give a couple presentations, and seeing friends I’ve made from previous conferences. It’ll be a good vacation from my vacation.
Today’s Distance: 0 km
Cumulative Distance: 2906 km
