Day 39. 84 mi. Minidosa to Portage la Prairie. A few hundred feet of elevation. Weather painfully windy When you choose to put yourself on a bicycle and cross a country or a continent, you really can't, or at least shouldn't, complain. That's why this post is late. If I had written it last night, … Continue reading Wind and Whining
Day 38. Dolphin to Minnedosa. 74 miles. TTD 2464. 3100 feet elevation. Weather toasty North Shore Clear Lake Water is essential for life. Apparently, more water also means more life. By number, nematodes (worms) are the most common animal life form, followed closely by zooplankton and insects. In Manitoba, the abundance of water has led … Continue reading Bugs and Books
Day 37: Duck Mountain Lodge to Dauphin. 110 miles. 3600 feet elevation. Weather very helpful. The day started beautifully. Kevin and Cheryl, the kindest people I've met on this entire route, had me over for a wonderful breakfast. They were so nice to be with that they could almost convince me to live in northern … Continue reading Atomic Nuclei
Day 35. Sabbath rest in Esterhazy, which, BTW, is the potash capital of the world. The picture below is the operation just outside the city. I can only assume that the squarish-shaped mound of earth has been brought up from the mine some 3,000 ft below. That makes me a little nervous. Day 36: Esterhazy … Continue reading Vulnerable
Day 34: Fort Qu’Appelle to Esterhazy. 112 miles. 4306 feet elevation. The weather was hot but helpful If you have followed me on previous tours, you know that we always bring our friend Gumby. You likely also know that we rarely bring Gumby home. In fact, my good friend Tim, who has previously "found" (i.e., … Continue reading Gumby & Gratitude
Day 34. Moosejaw to Fort Qu’Appelle. 110 miles. 3800 feet elevation. Weather blessed. Buffalo Pad Park It's a good thing I wrote about my alleged talent for plodding yesterday. Today, when I sat down to lunch at about 12:30, I'd been riding for 6 hours and traveled about 55 miles. I was feeling good about … Continue reading Plod Test
Day 33: Gravelbourg to Moose Jaw. 77 miles. TTT 1977. 1900 feet elevation. Weather helpful This was my view shortly after leaving the motel. It would remain my view for about 48 km. Then I took an exciting left-hand turn. See the thrilling difference. Once I made that left-hand turn, this was my new view … Continue reading Plod
Day 32: Shaunovan to Gravelbourg. 102 miles. TOTAL TO DATE (TTT) 1900 miles, 2600 feet elevation. Weather mostly cooperative. We clearly speak a degenerate and weak form of English. I'm not talking about Americans in comparison to Canadians. I listened to a book by Thomas Paine today called "Common Sense." His language was so powerful … Continue reading Vastness
Day 31: Cypress Hills to Shaunavon. 67 miles. 2300 feet elevation. Weather perfect. Today, I came to my own town. My name is rarely spelled correctly, but this town in Saskatchewan got it right when they named it after me. I thought it was very thoughtful and very Canadian. Leaving Cypress Hills this morning, it … Continue reading My Hometown
Days 27, 28, 29, all the way back in BC, I knew that my bike would be beat up by the time I got across Alberta. Accordingly, I had called a bike shop in Medicine Hat and made an appointment for repairs. That was part of the reason I pedaled quickly and made my own … Continue reading A Hutterite, Cowgirl, and Rancher.
Grumpy Grandpa's Great Bicycling Adventures 