On to Ontario

First things first, I should apologize for the appalling lack of posts over the last few days... we did not have stellar luck finding internet access in Manitoba. To keep things brief yet comprehensive, here's a bunch of bullet points to bring things back up to speed:

• We set a trip distance and speed record about a week ago crossing from Saskatchewan to Manitoba... 196km in one day, at an average speed of 30.4km/h! Not too shabby!
• We planned our trip through Winnipeg to include time to check out the new Transformers movie. It had giant robot fights between Optimus Prime and Megatron, which was pretty much all I could have asked for.
• Winnipeg gave us an opportunity to practice our newfound expertise at "Hotel Room Economics" (or: "How to justify a $100 hotel room on a student budget"). The trick is staying in a central location so you save money you would have spent on cabs (to go see Transformers), and staying somewhere with free breakfast. If it's a free all you can eat breakfast, we most definitely come out on top. We can eat lots.
• Our only major bike issue over the last few hundred kilometres has been the rear pannier on Andrew's bike, which broke as we were leaving Winnipeg. Luckily, a nearby Home Depot meant that we were able to rig up a solution using two hose clamps, half of the old broken clamp, and half a roll of orange electrical tape. I maintain my suspicion that Andrew's bike is the subject of some sort of Gypsy curse.
• Roads in Manitoba/Ontario are not great. Not only are paved shoulders much more scarce, in some spots the ditch starts about two feet into the right-hand lane.
• We are now near Kenora, staying with the Parrott family at the generous offer of Adam Parrott, a friend of ours from Queen's. So far they've taken extremely good care of us with some delicious meals, beds, and a trip around the huge-and-gorgeous Lake of the Woods in their sailboat. If they keep this up, they might never get rid of us.
• 2000km to go!