June 20 - Day 17 - Jawing with the Moose

First things first, I want to wish the best of luck to everyone cycling in the Ride for Sight tomorrow.  You may not read this until you have completed your ride, but we are thinking of you here in Saskatchewan.  Ride strong, ride safe, and have fun. 

We left Swift Current after a nice day off, having met a number of the residents, and found it to be a wonderful, very friendly and outgoing community.  Thanks to everyone who helped us during our stay.

Ready to Roll

The weather was not great, but the breeze was at our back, and to me these days, nothing else matters.  Sid and I put in our usual 2 hour morning stint, covering 60km, and immediately began thinking about pushing our scheduled 130km ride a little farther if the weather held up, and possibly reaching Moose Jaw.  None of us have ever been there so it seemed like a good target.  By 2pm we were at our scheduled destination, the Besant Campground, a few km east of Mortlach (what a name) and even though we were soaked by rain, which kicked in around the 80km mark, we decided to change clothes and push on for Moose Jaw.  On the line was a century ride,  then a shorter ride the next day into Regina on Saturday, where we have a Gord the Great hotel room for the night and a chance to get to the cycle shop for supplies.  

At Besant.......we are soaked through at this point

So here we are in Moose Jaw……..188km later, although admittedly the last 8km or so was spent riding around MJ trying to find the campground, but nonetheless another century ride in the books.  Looking back on the ride, the highlight was a beautiful run along the shores of Lake Reed, where I saw the many species of birds that inhabit its wetlands. 

 Reed Lake - road across the lake

The Town of Morse

Although many cyclist gauge the difficulty of a ride by elevation gained, I can’t tell you how hard it is to sit facing an endless flat road and be able to maintain cadence and speed over a long period of time.  I keep thinking about my training for the ride, and the hours I spent on a spin bike doing just what I did on the road today.  Sid picked up his third flat of the trip, so we are now even 3-3.  Other than that, our ride was uneventful, and couldn’t have been a smoother 100 miles……….we actually joked about continuing on to Regina for a split second, but opted for a trip into town for groceries, a nice BBQ dinner, bottle of wine, and a chance to share our day with you.  WIFI is again a problem here at the campground, so might not get this uploaded until tomorrow morning.  

 Flat #3 for Sid.......now tied 3-3

I don't know if anyone out there grew up on a farm and had cattle, or somehow picked up a little bovine knowledge somewhere along the way, but Sid and I find it hilarious when we pass cattle in a field roadside, they all stop what they were doing, usually grazing, lift their heads, and watch us intently as we cycle past.  They couldn't care less if a million cars and trucks went by, but a bicycle, different story.  Some of the bulls have even made aggressive gestures towards us, sometimes running alongside the fence until we have past.  We have stopped the usual moooooo business, and have now taken to hurling insults and swearing at them, which sometimes results in even more animated behaviour.  I have to get this on video somehow.  So if you know, please let us know.

For sure you have all finished the ride by now.......hope it went well........next update real soon........Hugh

LYJ