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.
Day 26: Brooks to Medicine Hat. 75 miles. 650 feet elevation. Weather: wonderful tailwind. I will likely just use the picture above for the next 10 or so days, as the scenery is unlikely to change significantly as I cross a bit of what's left of Alberta and then tackle Saskatchewan. Although the scenery may … Continue reading Green Energy
Day 25: Vulcan to Brooks. 77 miles. 1925 feet elevation. Weather lovely. https://videopress.com/v/JHAUAEzL?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true My 6-hour ride summarized in 16 seconds It would probably be best not to count, but I think I turned twice today. The first was out of the parking lot of my motel in Vulcan, and the second was into the parking … Continue reading Prairie Rules
Day 24: Bragg Creek to Vulcan. 90 miles. 2178 feet elevation. The weather chased me. This morning, I awoke in the Rustic, cozy cabin. It was my VRBO in Bragg Creek. It was only about 5 km out of town in the wrong direction. But what's 10 km in a 14,000 km journey? The Rustic … Continue reading Earth is Round
Grumpy Grandpa's Great Bicycling Adventures 