Friday 20 June TRIPLE BLOWOUT

The bald facts of the day are simple.

We had 3 flat tires on the trailer on one day and spent many hours hanging about, first at a Canadian Tire parking lot in Brandon Manitoba with 1 flat and ragged looking tire, and later on along the highway about 20 mins north of the city with 2 sad flats, one dragging a totally shredded ribbon of rubber behind it.

But it was the various people from “friendly Manitoba” (as per the Manitoba license plate) that we encountered along the way that gave us a lot to reflect upon, and meant that Eric and I managed to maintain a state of commendable equanimity despite the aggravation.

There was the guy outside Canadian Tire who happened to be ambling past, as the spare tire was being put back in its place, curious and keen to offer suggestions as to how it should be done.

There were the 2 guys who stopped when they saw us precariously (I felt) perched on the edge of a busy highway. Both times we thought, “Yay, this is the person contacted by the Emergency Roadside Service, ERS. But no they had both come with offers to help, willing to lie down under the trailer and comment on the whys and wherefores of our situation.

The owner of a property set back a bit from where we were came over to commiserate and offered to let us park on his laneway so that we wouldn’t have to spend the night being rocked horrifyingly by the thundering trucks. He too offered his ideas and company. Finally the young guy sent to change the tires, arrived, only he’d forgotten his big jack and so he had to call his boss. Boss arrives, they change the tires and conclude that the wheels on the one side were far too close to the frame and hence, the problem.

The boss, Neil, (nice guy with a very nice name) tells us there’s a campground not too far away, in a town too small to have a store, but nevertheless, called Rapid City. We limp along behind him as he guides us there. His father and brother-in-law live there and everyone knows everyone. We are welcomed by one of the counselors and allowed to fill up with water at the town’s municipal building, told where we can dump and shown the library with wireless internet etc.

There are many phones calls made back and forth over the weekend to CanAm in London where we’d purchased the trailer and we were halted in our tracks for a couple of days.
Neil returned today, Monday, and installed spacers behind the wheels, and we’re all set to proceed towards Saskatchewan tomorrow.

I could go on and tell you about the townsfolk of Rapid City who gather for breakfast at the local hotel, farmers, and truckers, down-to-earth people of the land, but suffice to say we experienced a great spirit of generosity and willingness to stop and help, in rural Manitoba, and we were grateful.