Day 20 - Minne-do(h!)-sa

OI knew things were going too smoothly. Today just was not my day. It started out okay. There was a vigorous but manageable headwind. There was just enough cloud cover to keep the temperature comfortable. We were on a quiet road, taking it easy and tyaking in the sights.

Then, about 60 km in, my right knee started to feel not quite right. It's not unusual for me to feel a little knee pain now and then, but this persisted. It could be my punishment for pushing too hard yesterday. On the bright side, it is easy to manage. The pain goes away as long as I stay below a certain speed, kinda like the movie with Keannu Reeves except instead of 60 mph it's 15 km/h (and much less exciting to watch). It's frustrating going at a slower pace but I'm quite happy to do it if it means I can ride another day.

Later on, I got a flat. That's always annoying. And when I finally got to camp, I realized that my GPS track had not been recorded for the day. D'oh! Considering all this, I'm in good cheer. I still get fed (a lot) whether I'm first to camp or last.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.2

Day 19 - (party on,) Binscarth

Another hot one today as we rode out of Saskatchewan and into a new time zone.

Here, as most places on the prairies, we could see evidence of the recent flooding.

Most of these new water features are already populated with ducks and the like. One particular kind of bird (mostly black coloured) makes its nests around these little lakes and is very protective, swooping and squeaking at us as we ride through its territory.

Graham had some drama today when his rear derailleur got caught in his spokes and was catastrophically damaged.

He got a drive to the campsite and will try to get it replaced in Brandon tomorrow.

Ilan and I were riding together yet again. We've developed a system now whereby we take 10 km turns leading and pointing out obstacles. Whoever is riding behind tries to save as much energy as possible using the draft. Depending on the wind direction, this could mean riding directly behind or to either side of the leader. This is more mentally tiring than riding alone but I am starting to get used to it.

We set a fast pace for the conditions today - maybe too fast for me at times but of course I was too proud to say anything. For supper I stuffed myself with perogies, bean salad, pasta salad and cheesecake and quickly fell into a near coma. Despite the time zone change I am more than ready to go to sleep at 9:15.

Today's track

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.2

Addendum

Actually, the day didn't get off to a great start. I locked myself out of my dorm room when I left to use the washroom (in my underwear) at 4:30 am. I had to get security to let me in. As an added bonus, I got lectured about where we were storing our bikes. You can imagine how receptive I was to that. I did whatever groveling I could manage in my semi-conscious state to get him out the door so I could get back to sleep.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.2

Day 18 - (highway to) Mel...ville

This morning started with an all-you-can-eat breakfast, just like Calgary (I'm enjoying these university rest days). Then, thanks to a route I mapped put last night, we had no trouble getting out of Regina. A good start.

The talking point of the day was another bad road with heavy traffic, the number 10.

Reportedly, Isabel was riding in the middle of the lane of this two-lane 100 km/h highway and nearly caused an accident. This triggered a visit from the RCMP. Rick and Graham also got some trouble from a "tough" guy in a truck towing a trailer of horses, who pulled over to tell Graham he was a sexually active mentally handicapped person (but not in those words). Ilan and I stayed out of trouble but did get more honks in that 30 km stretch than on the entire trip so far.

Aside from that unpleasant 30 km, it was a lovely day in the prairies. My shiny white arm covers performed well, keeping the sun off my arms while feeling cool in the 30 plus degree heat. We stopped in a nice town called Fort D'Apelle for a burger and rolled into the campsite at around 4. I felt pretty good considering the heat and the length of the ride (150 km). I think the rest day did a lot of good.

On Main Street in Melville, there was this cool statue dedicated to E. J. Motter, who founded one of the first shops in the town, a heating and plumbing business that his family ran from 1908 to 1979.

Today's track

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.2

Regina Rest Day

I went on a shopping spree today.  At Western Cycle I got new booties and leg warmers for the rainy days, and at the Running Room I got cool white sleeves to protect my arms from the sun.  I also picked up some SPF 60 Coppertone.  Take that, Mother Nature.

I dropped into a clinic this morning to use a scale and found that I have not lost a significant amount of weight so far.  That's a good thing.  Rest assured that I've been eating my wheaties and then some thanks to our tireless support staff, Nieka and Chelsea.  They know who to turn to when there's extra food that needs eating.

My other goal for the day was to catch up with the Tour de France.  As it happened, the restaurant (the only restaurant within easy walking distance) had the coverage playing on the T.V. by our table.  Sitting in a comfy chair eating fettuccine with the rest of the gang and watching the end of the day's Tour stage was a nice way to recharge.

A housekeeping note:  if you don't see a blog post for a few days, it probably means I don't have Internet access -- not unusual in the out-of-the-way campgrounds we visit.  I write the blog entries every night but sometimes I have to wait a day or two before uploading them.  So don't worry, I haven't been eaten by wolves.. or gophers.  Also, thanks for the comments!

Day 17 - (the) Regina (monologues)

This was about as straightforward day as you can imagine. I woke up feeling a million times better than yesterday and Ilan and I left camp at 8:00 sharp. The temperature was about 10 degrees cooler than the 35 degrees we had yesterday, which was good because I had to wear my arm warmers to protect my badly sunburnt arms.

We had a tailwind for most of the day and averaged over 30 km/h, stopping only twice for snacks. It wasn't as fun as it could have been because we were still on the godforsaken number 11, but at least it was over quickly. We arrived at the University of Regina at 1:00.

We're in nice dorms here with sets if four rooms connected by a large common area.

This should be a great home base for doing very little tomorrow.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.2

Day 16 - (let them eat) Craik

After the hard day and late night yesterday, I was in no mood for an early start this morning. I "slept in" until 6:40 and slowly got ready, finally leaving on my own around 9.

I met Chris, Isabel and Jim in Kenaston (blizzard capital of Canada) and we ate at the only cafe we could find, run by a man from Laos. The Chow Mein was great!

The rest of the ride became an exercise in frustration due to the horribly inadequate shoulder and high traffic on route 11, the main corridor between Saskatoon and Regina.

This is really a worst case scenario for a cyclist. You either have to ride on the road and hope that no one runs you over at 110 km/h or test your bike handling on the unpaved shoulder (not easy on skinny tires).

For a while I tried the shoulder while shouting obscenities at Saskatchewan. This is the kind of thing I sometimes do when riding alone. In the middle of one of my rants, "Bunch of f...ing..." I looked over and there was the young woman I had met yesterday comfortably passing me on the road. "oh, hi!" I said sheepishly. She laughed awkwardly and from that point on I stuck to the road.

Now I'm lying in the tent as it is getting pounded by a vicious thunderstorm. So far I'm still dry and cozy, and very thankful it didn't happen a few hours earlier.

Today's track

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.2