Dist. 178 km, Avg. 24 km/hr. Saddletime, 7:23
06 03 2011
Leaving Swift Current, it was raining and windy. I left late (after 9am, I hate that) The weather got worse in a hurry. High winds, rain. Let's call it a thunderstorm boys an girls. Again ! I've never had so many costume changes before, and I never starred on Broadway.
Freezing cold : add layers,
Sun comes out: strip down.
Clouds thunder in... Repeat.
You get the idea. But the best thing was that most of the time I had a tail wind. I'll take a tail wind through a storm over a sunny day into a merciless headwind anyday! Unfortunately, I had a "Wardrobe Malfunction". My boob wasn't exposed, but it could've bin if not for all the layers I was wearing. The Goddamn zipper on my jacket derailed !! I tried swearing at it, but that didn't seem to have much affect. Maybe it simply didn't hear me over the wind and rain. Crappasaurus. What an awesome time for a Zipper derailement.
I stopped at a nothing town called "Herbert" for a sandbox sprinkle and refuelling. An old man approached me for some conversation. He put his hand on my largest pannier and said, " Too Heavy, you'll hurt the Jalopy ! " Ha Ha . "Where ya goin ?" He said. I replied, "St. Johns NFLD." then he asked, " where ya start ?". I answered with "Victoria BC." He shook his head and mumbled, "that's a long way". Then he told me that his brother had won the 1971 Gold Cup in Winnipeg for Cycling. He went on to tell me that he himself used to ride. He would draft off of buses and reach speeds of 100 km. Tall Tails from a nice old man. He put his hand on my shoulder, and wished me luck on my journey. Brightened my day. I love encounters like that. Older people are much more interesting than the younger variety.
Rolling into Moose Jaw, I was expecting the worse, but was pleasantly surprised. This is a pretty cool town with a nice mix of the "Good 'ol Days" and modern town flare.
So, this is an OK campground, but a bit pricey @ $28.00. I got a site right near the river. Was freezing cold down there in the morning. A few months ago the campground was under 4 ft. of water.
A particularly bad year for flooding. And a good one for mosquitos.
Awesome shoulder much of the way (not always)
OOOPS
Sean's Stormy Face (old School Metal on the Nano for help)
Strange landscape deposits. Not ice, mineral very odd.
Fuelling up... Farley Mackracken was inside talkin up you know wut with them gals.
Well, I don't know his REAL name, but Stanley Macbraggin was good fun. He looked nothing like this crude sketch, but I think that he would've liked me to remember him in this Meatier representation.
Actually, it looks a lot like a Zombie. Blame it on Beer.
Crappy riding when windy with trucks. I took a picture of the wind, but the camera just doesn't do justice. Use your imagination.
A sign telling me that I'm near the end of my day.
Reminds me of a different time
Town Mayor
The most amazing liquor store I've ever seen...
My site for the chilly evening. Not long ago this area was flooded.
The "Comfort Station" and part of the campground
My site, again. I returned with greasy food and beer. Using the smaller front panniers on the back works well when picking up supplies in town. KFC. yikes.
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