Into the Prairies

Since my last post I've been having a wonderful time. The prairies are really beautiful. The grass on the rolling hills flows when the wind blows ... it's actually quite majestic! And the skies are absolutely wild. All sorts of different clouds zoom across in every direction, and nothing puts the fear of god in you like the big black storm clouds. But don't believe what you hear ... Saskatchewan isn't flat! So far it has been endless rolling hills.

I don't think these were intended for cyclists, but they sure are effective advertising!

Medicine Hat claims to have the worlds largest tee-pee ... I wasn't too impressed with this big, welded, uncovered metal structure.

My first time seeing Buffalo. They sure do look fierce!

Woohoo!

Lake Chaplin. Apparently the second largest salt lake in North America. Lakes like these are the reason there are so many salt water birds in the prairies.

Unfortunately I've had another mechanical problem ... a broken bike pump in combination with a flat tire. This pump hasn't had a problem for the last 6 years, but it decided to start leaking on the side of the road approximately 18km from Swift Current. Once again, hitchhiking was a cinch with a bike ... I was picked up in less than 5 minutes and driven right into Swift Current. A big thanks to Big Sky Cycles who fixed the flat, got me a new pump, cleaned the bike, checked it over, and gave it a tune up for $30! They are also going to see about the warranty on the other pump.

Kevin's Gramma Schriock was generous enough to put me up for the night in Swift Current. She and her friend Willard were both farmers in their day and put up with my endless questions while we stuffed ourselves at a greasy Chinese food buffet.

Yesterday was my biggest day so far, riding 182km from Swift Current to Moose Jaw. I got an early start at 7 to beat the wind, and finished just after 4:15. Most of the day I was riding with a sidewind, but I had a perfect tailwind for the last few km. As a result I flew the last 20km into Moose Jaw at over 35km/hr!

Tailwinds are a wonderful thing ... although I may have pedaled a bit harder for the picture ;)

Now that I'm back on the #1 I am running into other cyclists again. It's wonderful to have company on the road and in the campsite. Since my last post I've ridden with two other cyclists. From Bassano to Brooks I rode with Rachel from Vancouver, who is doing this for a good cause. You can read about her cause and her adventures here. Also, I rode from Brooks to Medicine Hat and shared a campsite for two nights with Pierre-Paul from Quebec City. In both cases we parted ways due to different destinations and schedules, but I will most likely see both of them along the road or in the campsites. Last night I ran into two cyclists from Ontario who I met in Revelstoke two weeks ago!

Pierre-Paul at our campsite in Medicine Hat.

Moose Jaw is a pretty interesting city. Today I went on a tour of the tunnels under the city. During prohibition, Al Capone operated his bootlegging business here. Also, many Chinese immigrants lived and worked in the tunnels in appalling conditions to pay for their passage to Canada and to avoid the harsh racism which faced them in the cities.


Moose Jaw also has one of the nicest city welcome signs so far.

Tomorrow it's a short day to Regina followed by a day of sightseeing. Then I'll head out along Hwy 1 to my next stop in Winnipeg.

Cheers,
Dave