Julia on a bike

When I arrived at Tim’s, it was later than I had expected. At least, by Manitoba time. I had forgotten that, again, I was changing of time zones once I’ll arrive in Saskatchewan. So, shortly after my unexpected encounter with two deers, I entered Maryfield, a village of 250 souls, known for its curling champions and with almost as many amenities as a town of 2,500: a cinema that runs in spring and winter, a gym, a medical center, a post office, an elementary school, and the Arlington Hotel, a hotel and restaurant that takes you back to 1950. Or almost.

And here I am, discovering this big 55-year-old fellow with a broad smile – a smile he wears constantly, and a smile that’s contagious. I was happy with a day without a drop of rain – well, apart from that little cloud passing over Lake Manitoba – but this encounter was a new highlight, as we say in the local jargon.

« I’ll give you a tour of the house, then you make yourself at home. That’s the only rule« . The groundwork was laid, and I even got reprimanded for asking for a second cup of coffee the next day. Are we really too polite in France? For the third time since the start of the trip, I’m given to understand that I don’t need to ask permission. Once the door is open, it’s like being at home.

Once again, I come face to face with someone who has had several lives in one. He’s been a farmer, a freight truck driver across Canada and the USA, a bus driver in the entertainment industry touring for Mary J. Blidge or Kid Cudi, and now works in the oil industry. After having lived in Ontario, he left it all for the plenitude of Saskatchewan. In this province, there are as many inhabitants as in the Great Toronto area, and on any given day, it’s not unusual to come across as many cars as deers. Seeing these fields of wheat, corn and canola as far as the eye can see, with a few forests or woods, it felt like I’ve stepped back in time, crossing Normandy and Maine in August 2022. It was my little Proust madeleine.

With Tim, I rediscovered these villages where people know each other, greet each other and do each other favors, without asking for anything in return. He was delighted: « Since I arrived in March, I sometimes find vegetables or jam on my doorstep, which still surprises me, but life here is much more pleasant« . He’s lived a thousand miles an hour, on and off the road, and wouldn’t go back.

As it happens, I’m the second Bunk-a-biker he’s met in the flesh, and the first since he moved. He will have welcomed some fifteen people in Ontario, or rather, he will have left the door of his house open to them: « I was constantly on the road when I was receiving requests. My door was never closed, and I’d simply written on a piece of paper ‘if you steal something, please write down what you took so I can easily replace it’ « . He laughed as saying so. At this point, he showed me the book containing the thanks of each traveller who had passed through his home. I knew I was going to read Josée’s note in it, since it was she who had recommended Tim to me. However, I was surprised to see the Monster Yogi Bear and Lyna logo too!

Soon, he’ll be the one experiencing motorcycle hospitality. Riding his Victory, he’s not averse to leaving without a destination, depending on inspiration and the wind, for several hours at a time. But in a province with plains to the south, massifs to the north and west, lakes to the east, he’s found a new playground. And maybe, his encounters with long-distance travelers will encourage him, in turn, to make this trans-Canada journey sonner than later. Fingers crossed.