building bikes in bus terminals.

I'm in the province of Alberta, with my trusty panniers full of my things for the next two months, and my beautiful bicycle well put together (by moi dans le Greyhound terminal!) So now let me tell you about the trip on the Greyhound.

Ontario is a huge province, so much of it's beauty is well undiscovered by the populations of Southern Ontario. The minerals making up the Canadian shield of Ontario are stunning, the abrupt end to the shield and beginning of the prairies to the East of Winnipeg is just as stunning. The prairies of Manitoba and Saskatchewan seem rather dull. I hate to subject these areas to the typical stereotype they so often receive, but the prairies seem yellow, empty and lifeless. Perhaps this has much to do with the time of year, the early spring that has not yet yielded green to the fields or seed for wildlife. Perhaps I am not experiencing the area; instead I am drawing conclusions from visual interpretations made from the confines of a container that is the bus. Regardless, I'm sure the prairie lands of our country offer their own unique fruits and pleasures, I just didn't get the change to live them. I will get to live Alberta and BC, from Calgary to Vancouver, as I will dwell within my surroundings from the seat of my bike, rather then by the extended television that vehicle windows are.

I'm not sure I would want to extend the bus ride much beyond the two and a half day length that it already was, but in all, the ride was not so bad at all. People cringed when I reported I was hopping on this long bus ride, but now I can confirm now, it's not horrible. You meet some interesting characters, young tree planters, middle aged adventure seekers, senile old men venturing all the way across the country for a political convention. And unlike the sterile, stuffy regulations that are normal on airplane flights, here, on the bus, the group is smaller, and the 'captain' someone you can actually speak with. Ultimately, I would encourage others who have the time to travel by bus, to do so to look out the window at our beautiful (and huge) country, to save some money and to save some energy, as the efficiency of road travel compared to air travel deserves recognition.

Now is a time for some last minute preparations, some visiting with old friends prior to meeting my new friends. Until next time, Namaste!