June 17 - Day 14 - Maple Creek for Breakfast

I have mentioned previously that I am relatively new to cycling, this being my fourth season, but I have to say that todays 89km ride from Medicine Hat to Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, was my toughest day on the bike so far.  Waking up in The Hat, looking outside, and at the weather forecast online, I normally would have said forget it, I'll ride tomorrow instead, but we do have a schedule we are trying to keep, so we dressed for the worst, tipped or hats to The Hat, and got it on the road.  It was raining and windy when we left, and remained that way all day long.  Having my new jacket was a treat, as it kept me warm and dry........without it I wouldn't have lasted 5km.

It wasn't the rain that was hard to deal with, it was the wind.........best described it was brutal, punishing, and relentless.  I can't tell you how many times I thought I was coming off the bike today.  Gusts were so strong, they would knock you wacky.  Every pedal stroke today had to have purpose.  There was no coasting or smoothing along.  Best example was when I was on a 2% grade upslope, working hard to maintain 82 rpm cadence, in my biggest gear on the cassette, and could only sustain 12-13km/hr.  Seriously, I was faster than that up sections of Kicking Horse Pass at 6-7%.  But you know, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and it goes back to what I said yesterday, something about a greater feeling of satisfaction when you overcome obstacles like this.  Either way, this ride was one for the memory banks........sorry no pictures, because they would all look droopy and wet.

Hey, we are out of Alberta and into Saskatchewan!  Province #3.  Anyone who tells you Saskatchewan is flat should take a look at the elevation chart on our ride stats, and see the welcome we received.  Absolutely beautiful country that reminded me of parts of Scotland here and there.  We are spending the night just outside Maple Creek, and although we have a day off scheduled tomorrow, there is not a lot going on here, so we may opt to ride to Swift Current and take our day off there instead.

Downtown Maple Creek

We received a cute gift at one of our sendoff parties.........OK it was a table decoration and I stole it.......but told Nancy G. that it would be on the trip with us........evidence!

I am so happy to receive your comments and notes of encouragement, and will do my best to respond when we get some decent wifi at the campgrounds.........sitting outside right now as it is the only place I can get a signal..........best of luck to all of you who are riding in the Ride for Sight this weekend........Yvonne an Jutta have fun out there.......TC, tear it up buddy........thinking of you all.......Hugh

LYJ