Spell of the Wild

Chuck:

It is a zero day.  Raining, windy (30 gusting to 50 mph), temps 40 – 45 degrees; not fit for man nor beast.  We wrote the day off.  Not only are these very uncomfortable conditions, but also not safe: impaired visibility, slippery road surface and poor braking on bikes.  The visibility issue is really critical, in the best conditions drivers often don’t see bikers and with rain, foggy windows & mirrors, spray from vehicles, especially big trucks make for conditions that are difficult to see any vehicle and bikes are at the bottom of the list.  And, if that is not enuf, these weather conditions might be more than an already stressed ole bod needs.  Sickness is not on the agenda.  So admin chores, organizing of bike gear, some reading and bean soup cooking all day with a ham bone make for an enjoyable day off.  Unfortunately, tomorrow’s forecast is about the same.  Even worse; the bean soup is now history and the beer supply nearly depleted.

Dry Camp just inside Alberta

In both Saskatchewan and in Alberta we see lots of water – ponds, lakes and just water standing in the fields – probably from the snow thaw.  Must be a problem for the farmers who want to put in crops.

We’re into grazing country so we see lots of cattle or livestock pens.  When we were on our cross country horseback trip we would look for these so the horses could spend the night in a pen as opposed to tied to a picket line or the side of a trailer.  They liked these. 

Chuck:

The wind died off about 2:30 am.  About 7 am, Betty drove me the 5 miles back to the point I reached yesterday.  There was a light breeze; later as it grew, the direction was variable; mostly a quartering tail wind but sometimes a direct cross-wind.  As the day progressed, wind intensified and was mostly behind me, either quartering or directly.  I am on Alberta Highway-13, it is very “biker friendly”; the surface is serrated just outside the right white line and 18 inches to 4 feet of smooth paving to the right of that is for me.  Still most vehicles move to the far left lane if they can.  The terrain is changing from mostly gigantic grain fields to mostly cattle grazing; rolling hills with more trees and spotted occasionally with smaller grain fields.  For lunch, I stopped near a railroad embankment, hoping that it would block some of the wind.  Then a strange thing started happening: truckers honked and waved, local pick-up drivers nodded and gave a “thumbs-up”, even female drivers waved and smiled.  This was not normal.  After some consideration I determined it was only traffic from one direction that acknowledged me and that I was positioned on a curve in the highway so that vehicle drivers coming from the south could see me from a half- mile away.  My bike was leaned against a post nearby and I was sitting back on the grass with a sandwich in one hand and a water bottle in the other.  They were envious!  The sun was peeking through a partial overcast and spring was evident in every direction. Once I figured it out, I lingered a bit longer.

B & B found an RV Park in Killiam, AB and called me with directions.  I wheeled in and went into what is now becoming the routine:  brief exchange of each of our experiences since departing earlier, drink water, shower, drink more water, rest for about an hour, then do miscellaneous chores.  By then it is time for happy hour, followed by dinner (Thanks Betty), then a group effort cleaning up dishes etc.  All TV reception has been questionable, both Direct TV and use of a local antenna, so we each check email, read and sign off for the evening.    Good-night!

This is a picture of the salt that we would see along the road and in ditches in Saskatchewan.  We talked to a fellow who said they use it as road salt in winter.  The quality is not good enough for table salt.

We also came across fields where the stalks looked much whiter than the golden wheat stalk.  We never did find out what it was but perhaps some of you know.

Here you see Chuck against the typical backdrop in Saskatchewan.  Lots of gentle hills with golden fields.

Another fine day for riding north, temps in high 60’s, 20mph winds out of the south and SW. Shoulders of SK-14 varied from none or ragged broken asphalt on the down side to smooth and 10 feet wide. When the shoulders are not useable, I ride about 2 feet inside the white line. If it appears that approaching traffic and overtaking vehicles are going to meet at my location, I get off the road if at all possible. With the wind at my back it is easy to hear big rigs approaching behind me. Much of the time I am cruising along with no vehicles on either horizon. It is a good feeling with the sound of the wind and tires singing on the roadway. About noonish, I was at a junction of a road going to Macklin and there was a monument, kiosk and wide parking area; just right for lunch. Betty and Bren were still behind me so I gave them a cell call and about 15 minutes later they pulled in, just in time for lunch. The monument is a 32 ft high likeness of a horse’s front leg bone. Macklin is the home of the International Bannuck Championship Tournament. Evidently, German Russian immigrants settled here and made a competitive game of setting up these horse bones and throwing more horse bones at those the opposing team had set up. At that time, there were horse bones aplenty and it was cheap entertainment for the entire community. Last August, over 220 teams competed. Oh yes, Bannuck translates to “bones”. Brendan said it must be Russian because the German word for bone is “knochen”.

At lunch time, I had ridden about 50 miles, the plan was for B & B to drive ahead about 20 miles and look for a good spot to dry camp (just a parking place, no hook-ups). As we crossed into Alberta the road shoulders were a little better. We coordinated via cells and they found a small roadside pull-off area, asphalted but only about 30 ft wide. Great! Betty drove back about 5 miles and waited for me at the junction of a road to Metiskow. The tailwind made it a good day, 88 miles probably will not be exceeded on this entire trip.

Betty drives me (we are in the car, while Bren sleeps back in the RV) back to the point they picked me up “on the fly” yesterday afternoon.  It is 23 miles from the RV park in Beggar, we decide they will wait there and when I get there I will help unhook and get the caravan road-ready, in return I get lunch.  Today is even better biking than yesterday; light traffic, wider safety lane, and best of all the wind has shifted and it is now a quartering tailwind.  I am back to the campground in short order.  Betty and Bren have just finished washing the car and Betty fixes lunch.  At the north edge of Beggar, Saskatchewan Highway-4 angles to the NW, which will mean a tailwind (does it get any better than this??).  We decide to meet in Wilkie, it is 20 miles past Landis, which was Plan-A.  The miles just zip along, really fun, I don’t want it to end.  Well not really, at about mile 50 I am glad to see a final countdown. 

Bren drove the RV today, entering Wilkie, they found a large parking area used by tanker trucks to reload with water for field use.  The manager showed them a place that would be well clear of any truck traffic.  They were easy to find.  A hot shower, a little rest time, cold beer followed by a ton of great pasta; what could be better.  Hmmm, Betty likes NCIS which is on Tuesday evenings and we have no TV reception.  We are not close to any local broadcasting and wind-break trees are blocking satellite signals.  Oh well, it was still a great day.

Our nice dry camp at a school bus maintenance shed.  It was a holiday weekend so no activity. 

Chuck leaving for the day’s ride.

A good day, I launched out of the RV and 100 feet later was on Saskatchewan Highway-4 riding north.  Today is a national holiday in Canada, Victoria Day, early morning traffic is almost non-existent.  A light wind, cool morning, no traffic, good riding.  The miles fly by, saw some antelope ‘playing’ (no deer).  Betty and Brendan passed me and drove to Rosetown where they waited in the parking area of a large grain elevator operation.  They always try to select a location that is easily visible from the highway so I won’t miss them.  It might be hard to hide our rig in some of these small towns, many times the highway is their main street.  While having lunch, Brendan spotted four antelope crossing the elevator area, apparently they were being chased by some kids on a 4-wheeler.  The animals escaped into a field and the kids went off to find some other diversion.  After lunch and I rested, then I continued biking north.  Betty and Bren waited a suitable amount of time (until they got bored) then drove north.  Fortunately, when they caught up to me there was a field road which enabled them to almost get off the highway.  We loaded my bike, I jumped in the RV and we drove on to the next town.  Betty had located a campsite in Biggar, SK (she uses a “Good Sam” Travel Guide, and ‘mental telepathy’).  It is a beautiful little campground with trees for windbreaks all around and within.  Brilliant flowers in hanging containers, bright green grass, pale green trees with leaves trying to push out; it is spring in the north country.  We sit in lawn chairs enjoying the warm sun: happy hours.

Big day!  Betty and Brendan both drove the RV.  It was Bren’s first time and the first time in a few years for Betty, they both did fine.  We departed our campsite in Swift Current and they dropped me off when we got to the point I reached yesterday.  They drove on to the little town of Elrose and found a place to park for the night at the edge of a school bus parking area and it was easily spotted from the highway.

My day:  Left my lunch in the car and rode off without.  Relentless headwind.  Egg salad sandwich & ice cream at small gas station.  Tired butt.  Slow going due to headwind.  Finally, Elrose water tower ahead on the horizon.  Arrive 5 miles later. Cold Corona!