A couple of cyclists, wearing striking “Canada” themed sport outfits, were encountered by a Virden citizen outside a restaurant.
The Empire-Advance caught up to the couple eight kms east of Virden.Dave and Nancy Patterson began their journey from home, in Nanimo B.C., June 1. “We’re hoping to be in St. John’s to dip our bikes in the Atlantic by Sept. 6,” said Dave.
Meeting up with Joanne, a Virdenite, was a bonus.
“We’ve been trying to go into some of the small towns, experiencing them. It was great because Joanne grew up in Virden and remembers … ‘this was the bank’, ‘that was the original post office’, that kind of stuff so it was kind of neat to talk to her.
Their red and white sports gear with the route stamped on their back drew attention.
“Because we crossed the border out of Saskatchewan early this morning we have our ceremonial outfits on today,” he laughs.
Seasoned endurance athletes, Nancy says, “We’ve done marathons and we both did iron man. We’re trying to keep active, trying to keep the grim reaper away,” she grins.
Traffic has been respectful of the cyclists. “The big rigs are fantastic,” said Nancy.
Dave adds, “I’ve got to say, the shoulders for riding bikes in Manitoba are much better than the shoulders in Saskatchewan … so far.”
Their camper trailer and the other two cyclists are farther down the road, having stopped at a fast food restaurant.
“We went for the culture,” Nancy smiles.
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