Leg 4 - Mantario to Regina, Sask. - June 24 to 29

Leg 4 total - 469.4 km

Grand total - 1986.6 km 

Leg 4 - Mantario to Regina, Sask.

Friday, June 29th
Distance and Time:  31 km at 1:19 (approximate because my odometer zeroed on me)
Route:  TCH and Assinoboine to Wascana Heights (Penny and Allan Hoffman's home)

I got the last leg into Regina in this morning, despite being a bit stiff and bruised.  It was difficult, but only psychologically.  I slowed down for every little piece of gravel.  The rest of the day was spent stocking up on things and taking it easy with Penny and Allan.  I feel so nurtured here, from Penny taking the time to soak the blood stains from my cycling clothes and Allan cooking up some great feeds.  They also accommodated their schedule so that we could have a car to run about.  I could stay here awhile without much persuasion, but we should get on the road tomorrow if we want to be home in late July.  We won't do that, though, until I've seen a massage therapist in the morning for my stiff neck.

Allan, Penny and Christie

"Indy"

Thursday, June 28th

Distance and Time:  56.7 km at 2:10 (approximate because my odometer zeroed when I fell)

Route:  Buffalo Pound Provincial Park (near Moose Jaw) to 30 km west of Regina on hwy 301 and TCH

Thanks Sam for filling in. And a huge thanks to Wayne who came with me to the hospital and stayed at my side throughout.  It was quite a stupid fall, and I'm still kicking myself.  I was just going a little too fast, paying attention to my cell phone instead of the road, and hit some heavy loose gravel. After the last few days of challenging weather conditions this day was picture perfect with sunshine, warm temps and a fresh breeze directly on my back.  I guess I relaxed too much.  Wayne had cycled with me on the TCH and had just turned around towards the RV.  A transport truck honked at me in the gravel so I got up, took a look at my elbow, looked quickly away, and took a picture to make sure my banged up phone still worked.  Instead of staying in one place without any shelter, after a spell I got on the bike to gauge how I was and continued on for another 20 km or so until Wayne caught up.  I was focused on having some lunch and getting back on the road to cycle into Penny and Allan's place (Wayne's daughter-in-law, Kelly's, parents), but then experienced some mild shock symptoms so took Wayne's advice and stayed off the bike.  Penny made an appointment at a clinic for me and came home from work early (the dear soul) to take us there.  The Dr. took a look at it and told me to go to Emergency, so Penny transported us there as well. At triage they apologized because the wait would be close to three hours.  Can you imagine getting looked at within three hours at an Ottawa hospital?  And believe it or not, within three hours I was out of there all cleaned and stitched up.  Best of all, the doctor who sewed up the wound was an old high school friend of Kelly's and we had a great chat throughout the process. It looks neat and tidy and I thank my lucky stars we did go to the hospital.  Kelly's sister Christie came with her mom to pick us up and we were back at the house around 8:00 and treated to a super BBQ.

Thursday, June 28th - 2nd update, post hospital visit

As per my mom's request, I'm adding in before and after pictures of her elbow. Be warned, these are not for the squeamish!!

Before

After

Thursday, June 28th - An update via Sam

Hi Everyone, Sam here with an update from my mom. Unfortunately she is currently waiting in Emergency at a Regina Hospital for stitches to her elbow, due to a fall earlier today that she says was due to "pure inattentiveness on her part". Since she has broken the same elbow twice before, we are just happy that there doesn't seem to be any break and are hoping a few stitches will fix things right up!

If you know my mom as well as I do, you'll know that she'll want to get back on the road as soon as possible. So keep your fingers crossed with me that this is something that will heal quickly!

She wanted me to mention that Kelly's mom, Penny, has been a huge help with getting around and providing support. She assures me she is OK, and an update from her will follow tomorrow while she is (hopefully) taking the time to heal!

Earlier in the day (Lori here)

We started out late in the morning on secondary hwy 301 just east of Moose Jaw, after driving out to the far corner of Buffalo Pound Park to see the Buffalo range and hopefully catch a glimpse or two of the herd.  No such luck!  We did see some fowl-type of wildlife, though.

 

The park itself is quite unique, with the lake and valley and rolling hills appearing suddenly out of the flat prairie.  It was a pretty spot to spend the night.

Wednesday, June 27^th

Distance and Time:  85.8 km at 3:00

Route:  Central Butte to Buffalo Pound Provincial Park (near Moose Jaw) on hwy 42 and 202

2^nd installment…..

Just as I was nervous starting out again on Sunday, I was reluctant to get started today and procrastinated until about 2:30 before Wayne kicked me out to give it a try.  The first 40 or so km sped by with the wind directly behind me (as well as the RV for moral support) and hardly a turn of the pedals.  We passed the some villages with interesting names.

Maybe making fun of the sign was bad luck....note the wind!

The next ten km were a little hairy, consisting of a rough dirt road and cross winds and lots of grit in the eyes and mouth.  I cycled some of it in the opposing lane with the RV on my right to block the wind, but it was a bit awkward going back and forth for traffic and my shoulders are sore from gripping the handlebars so tightly. The final 30 km were good again with the wind on the starboard quarter.  Even with the 10 km of rough road, my overall average speed is the best yet, and I hardly feel like I worked today.  Wayne’s day, however, was a little more difficult in terms of driving in the wind conditions and providing close support for me.  He actually had the rig in neutral and coasted with the wind for awhile. As for keeping an eye on me, he mentioned something about avoiding a headline such as “husband runs down wife on bicycle” and noted that when he drafts for me on his bike and bumps into me, he is the one who falls whereas if he is driving and bumps me I would be taking the fall.  An entertaining guy to have for support!

Thanks to those of you who provided feedback on the Ontario route.  It looks like there are better shoulders and slightly less transport truck traffic on the southern route so I should probably prioritize these safety aspects and suck it up in terms of the hills.  I’ve also heard back from Jesslyn at Travel Manitoba with good advice regarding the northern and southern routes being considered.  The northern route may have more construction and less paved shoulders than the southern route, as well as longer isolated stretches so I will probably opt for the southern route. 

1st installment…..

We are still hunkered down in a swaying RV in Central Butte, which has just been added to the list of wind warning spots on the weather radio.  The clouds racing along the sky and the debris on the road are quite something.  Yes, I moaned about the lack of tail winds so far, but 90 km/hr is a bit too much!  It's more than a little scary to contemplate being on the bike sailing down the road too fast and without much control.  Hopefully conditions will abate this evening and we can get part of the way to Moose Jaw.  We might try and drive there this afternoon to have a look at the tunnels, but the RV won't be pleasant on the road in this wind either.  At least Central Butte has an ice cream shop....

Main Street in Central Butte

Tuesday, June 26^th

Distance and Time:  131.6 at 5:54

Route: Wiseton to Central Butte, Sask. on hwy 44 and 42

I am typing to calm my nerves and take my mind off the weather and tornado warnings.  The RV is shaking in a severe thunderstorm. We have our raincoats on, valuables packed and are ready to exit fast and make a run for a school doorway nearby if we see a tornado.  The wind and rain and sky are fierce and although the RV is fine in a thunderstorm it is not the best place to be if a tornado strikes.  Wayne is in the cab keeping lookout and tuned into the weather radio network.  We just heard that the tornado warning is continued for this particular town.  I am edgy to say the least. 

Let me recount the day.  Last night was very warm and it was difficult to sleep.  We could have started the AC, but it is noisy and would have required noisy generator power as well since we weren’t plugged in.  I had weird dreams of being elderly and in great pain walking to a car where people were impatiently waiting for me.  Then of course, I awoke to a fair degree of back pain and a throbbing headache.  It got me out of bed and on the road early (Wayne couldn't believe his eyeballs with meon the road before 7:30), and I’ve been fine today so will attribute it to overdoing it in the heat yesterday.

We had planned on continuing down hwy 44 past Dinsmore and making a decision later in the morning whether to head on the northern or southern route.  When 44 turned into a dirt road, the decision was made easier since we didn’t want to double back and retrace our route to head north at an earlier junction.  According to the local garage guys, the unpaved leg is 22 km long, and used to be paved up until four years ago (my map of Manitoba was fished out of a travel file at home and could be eons old).  So we headed south on 42 which was pretty barren in terms of any settlements or traffic (Chris was right when he told me there were miles of nothing in Saskatchewan and I wouldn’t be stopping at Starbucks every second night).  Most of the landscape consisted of ranchland instead of the cropland we had passed through yesterday.  I saw a few deer and a large grey coyote who eyed me intently.

We heard there were tornado warnings and the advice from my handy meteorologist was to head for the ditch on the opposite side of the approaching tornado, and lie low but not down at the bottom in case of flash floods.  I was also feeling pretty vulnerable to lightening being on a bike on the wide open prairie but apparently the rubber tires would prevent a strike being able to ground, even though the frame is metal.

We lunched in Lucky Lake, eying the darkening sky nervously.  I decided to make a 20 km run to the ferry across Diefenbaker Lake, hoping the thunderstorm would wait awhile.  Wayne emptied the black and grey water tanks and filled the fresh water in Lucky Lake while I went ahead.  When he caught up I asked that he keep pretty close because lightening and thunder were on the horizon. Luckily we made it to the ferry, crossed the lake and were up on the other side before I had to take shelter.  This was a cable ferry, the longest in Saskatchewan, and open 24/7 in season.  It’s a two person operation, unlike the one guy doing everything on the Bleriot ferry north of Drumheller.  Their schedule is nice – two days, two nights and seven days off!

Diefenbaker Lake cable ferry

By the time the storm hit we were near Riverhurst so waited it out in the local library/museum.  This was another town steeped in the past and it was quite something to browse through the museum artifacts spanning the last century or so.  We’re getting old…..both of us recognized items we grew up with!

The cycle from Riverhurst to our present location in Central Butte was challenging with a strong head/cross wind. Wayne cycled back from Central Butte to meet me and I was able to draft alongside him for awhile which made things easier. We are parked in the school yard here and picking up their guest wifi, thanks to the Saskatchewan board of education.  We are also plugged into the winter car heater outlets!  I am happy to report that the storm has passed, we can see blue sky and both me and the RV have stopped shaking.  It’s cooled off considerably so I’m hoping for a good rest tonight.

fellow traveller in Central Butte

Monday, June 25^th....continued

Distance and Time:  108.7 at 5:06

Route:  Madison to Wiseton, Saskachewan on hwy 44

We departed Elrose after 5:00 and managed to put in a few more km before calling it a day in Wiseton.  The wind veered a bit so it became more of a cross-wind, and hence a little more manageable. We had checked the weather radar while online and although it looked like most of the thunderstorm activity was to the northwest, there still were quite a few rain clouds around.  Hwy 44 was in rough shape again after it left hwy 4, but I had the road to myself and could navigate veering around both lanes as necessary.  Wayne stayed close by, and I played hopscotch with the RV a few km ahead or behind in case of wild weather.  And we ran into the plane again!

Wiseton is an interesting place, looking as if it was lifted from a few decades ago.  We drove around to case the joint, and decided to cook supper and remain in the RV for the evening instead of heading over to the hotel and tavern!
 

downtown Wiseton

our overnight location in Wiseton

The sky was rather awesome as the sun was setting into dusk, with a lot of activity still over to the northwest.

On another note, I’ve received some feedback on the northern ON route and am leaning towards hwy 17 around the east shores of Superior.  It seems the shoulders may be better and there may be less transport truck traffic (although more traffic volume in general).  My pie in the sky wish is for Wayne to be able to cycle with me in the area.  Anybody out there interested in driving support for a week or two in northern ON?  John? We can actually carry two people seeing as we have an extra (and private) double bunk

Monday, June 25^th - part one

Distance and Time:  76 km so far

Route:  Madison, Sask to .... on hwy 44

Launching from Madison, Sask.

This is Madison

I love these big open prairie skies, but where are those prevailing westerly winds I was so confident in (almost to the point of boasting about sailing across the prairies)?  I have been battling headwinds all day and watching my average speed drop off as I struggle to reach anywhere near 20 km/hr.  It is also quite hot with humidex readings - Ontario weather we were told by a local. We are stopped in a little place named Elrose, south of Rosetown and north of Swift Current, waiting for an abatement in wind and thunderstorm activity. We’ve parked near a school and luckily have guest wifi! But although we have internet, we don’t have cell phone coverage, drat!  There seem to be a lot of towers and we see people using their cell phones, but our Rogers account is likely not synchronized with Sasktel or whatever provider is out here.

On a positive note, the road is better today with a bit of a shoulder and not quite so rough.  Traffic is still sparse, although I was freaked out a bit by a plane with quite a large wing span landing in the distance and coasting towards me!  Unfortunately, by the time I fished my camera out it had turned into a driveway, but I got a picture anyway.

We haven’t decided yet whether to continue on hwy 44 to 15 and go north of Regina, or hwy 42 to Moose Jaw and then south of Regina.  Either way we will drive the RV into the city to replenish and pay a visit to Kelly's parents.  ETA Regina will likely be Thursday instead of Wednesday as hoped since we’re not putting in the distance we anticipated. 

As for Manitoba, we are considering two options.  The first is to head north through Dauphine on hwy 5 and across the lake on hwy 68 before coming south and joining hwy 44 north of Winnipeg.  The route intrigues me, especially through the lake area, but I am concerned about wildlife and long stretches of isolation.  The second option is farther south, heading east on hwy 2 and then joining hwy 15 and 44 east of Winnipeg.  This will likely be more populated but perhaps also warmer and with more traffic.  Is anyone out there familiar with either route?

Sunday, June 24^th

Distance and Time:  55.6 km at 2:51

Route:  Mantario to Madison, Sask on hwy 44

It was quite a change to go from driving the Corvette one day to heading down the highway in a big plywood box (Troy’s expression, not mine) the next.  We departed Sylvan Lake mid-morning, and didn’t get into Saskatchewan and on the bike until after 5:00.  It was a slow drive because of rain and wind and a pit stop in Hanna for groceries.  Big mistake – price and selection in small town Alberta is not that great.  The strong headwinds continued throughout the cycle, as you can see by my time and distance logged.  Fortunately, I missed any real amount of rain but I did manage to find what is probably the only hill in this part of the country.

We owe a huge thanks to Teri and Dan for their generous hospitality, and willingness to share their home, food, vehicles and grand-kids.  It was very relaxing to spend the week with them and they didn’t seem to mind my idiosyncratic ways.  I was able to get caught up on a few things, connected with family and some old friends and just had a really nice time hanging out there.  These two are very generous and giving souls, indeed and we hope they'll be able to join us for a spell in the Maritimes this fall.

Good-bye to Alberta a second time.  We certainly appreciate your roads and scenery and hospitality, and will be back soon to get to Head-Smashed-in Buffalo-Jump and more of the mountains!