If it was easy, anyone could do it!

The story of the 2013 Craig Gives Back-2-Back

Cross-Canada Bicycle Tour

MANITOBA > SASKATCHEWAN

DAY #53 Wednesday, September 25, 2013 Busted in Brandon

Day#53: 150kms Brandon, MB to Moosomin, SK

When we awoke we quickly got ready and headed into the main room for breakfast. It was a
nice setup with a reasonable selection of cold breakfast items and coffee of course. We all sat at
one long table and it was not long before we were having conversations with all the other guests
at the motel. It did delay our departure a bit, but it was more than worth it and always we
appreciated anyone that wanted to hear more about our trip and we passed out business cards
to everyone.
Then Bob and I headed down to the bike shop and I referred to Google Maps for directions. On
the way there we passed the head office for McKenzie Seeds which are offered by so many
retailers in Canada including Sobeys. I had talked and emailed Sharon for years, but now with
the opportunity to meet her face to face, I could not resist and I asked Bob if he minded if we
took just a few minutes to stop and of course he did not. Sharon was there and it was a nice
surprise for both of us to meet face to face and after a quick conversation, Bob and I continued
down a few more streets to Stream N Wood bicycle and outdoor retail store.
We went inside and introduced ourselves and our contact was anxious not only to get a closer
look at Janus, but also to check out our buggered rear wheel. He inspected it and checked it for

any signs of fatigue, but like myself he could not find that there was anything visible indicating
failure. He had some rims in stock that were the same size as they are the same as what are
used on BMX bicycles that are used by youngsters for stunts and jumps. He did not have one
that he thought was comparable to what we had and would stand up to the weight of a
recumbent bike. For that he recommended a heavy duty BMX rim and the best option to find
one of those was at Bow Cycle in Calgary, one of the largest bike shops in the country.
Our bicycle wheel consultant told us that the wheels are the part of the bike most affected in a
long ride across Canada as they carry all the weight and many people overload their bikes. Due
to his geographic location he has been visited by many cyclists looking for assistance with wheels
that had failed and therefore it was no surprise we were having issues. After long discussion he
had the same analysis that I had had and that was the wheels had carried us this far so we
should trust them to carry us the balance of the distance. The additional challenge if we did
have a new rim installed is that it would need to be broken in and then after 100kms have the
spokes re-tensioned and checked for true and this was not going to be possible for us as we had
to continue west.
We thanked him for his time and advice, but the best advice he gave us was an alternate route
to leave Brandon and get back on the Trans Canada Highway. It had been flat through much of
Manitoba, however Brandon was built on the side of a long, long hill and the bike shop was at
the bottom so now we needed to climb back up the hill to get back to the Trans Canada
Highway. He suggested a secondary road that ran through the valley until it met up with the
highway and we could get back on then and continue west. We took his advice and saved our
leg muscles for the hill we could not avoid as we left the outskirts of Brandon climbing up out of
the valley and back onto the Trans Canada Highway.
We were following fairly closely the route of the railway across Canada and many of the towns
and cities were built along the rail lines. The Trans Canada Highway did not necessarily follow
the same route as the train and would sometimes divert around the town with access roads from
the highway into the community. Sometimes the only way you knew that you were passing a
community was a series of road side signs that advertised the available services in the town. The
more signs, the larger the town. We had been biking for hours now since we had left Brandon
and both Bob and I were getting a serious hunger that was now growing with every kilometer.
When I saw a series of roadside signs for Oak Lake, we took a chance that the community was
large enough to have a restaurant and today we were in luck and found the Dandy Drive-Inn. It
was not an Inn so I am unsure why the extra n, however the food was excellent and as it was
a beautiful day again we ate outside on the picnic table.
We were now long past Oak Lake and Dandy Drive-Inn and had now been on the bike for over
eight hours and finally we reached the border with Saskatchewan which leaves us with only three
provinces to go! We stopped at the border and of course the tourist information centre was
closed for the season, however there were a few other travelers who had stopped and at the
request of one young lady, we included her in our picture which Kristin would post on Facebook.
It was fun to do this as people would get a kick out of seeing themselves on our Facebook page
and it also helped us get more exposure as they would like the picture and share with their
friends on Facebook.
It was now late in the evening, but we just gained an extra hour as Saskatchewan stays on
Central Standard Time year round. The do not bother with Daylight Savings Time which the rest
of the country follows. In the summer it is the same time in Regina, SK as Calgary, AB, however
when all other provinces put their clocks back in winter, it is then the same time in Regina, SK as
Winnipeg, MB.

We had only another hour to go before we would reach Moosomin, SK and there we were
planning on staying at Fieldstone Campground which we found easily with some help from
Google Maps. Arriving at the campground, we were impressed as for a private campground the
buildings and paved roads were quite extravagant, but then the owner explained it had
previously been a Provincial campground that had been sold and then it made sense. Again they
refused to take payment for a campsite and we headed off to find a campsite that was closest to
washrooms and showers. Starting back in Quebec we encountered our first pay shower and we
now kept quarters on hand for both showers and doing our weekly laundry, so we were not
surprised to find showers requiring payment here.
We found a nice campsite in the trees and bushes that was protected from any wind and was
also close to the washrooms. We setup our tents and then Bob was interested in pizza for
supper, however after trying a few pizza shops, none would deliver to the campground even
though it was only a few kilometers outside of Moosomin. I had mistakenly thought it was the
same time here as it was in Manitoba and therefore we did not have enough time to get to
Moosomin and back before dark. Bob was not excited about another granola bar supper, but I
did not want to bike in the dark. If only I knew we had the extra hour, but at least we can laugh
about it now. It soon would start to rain and the rain would continue most of the night, which is
nice as it drowns out all the other noises that make you wonder what is invading your campsite
in search of food. The rain also made me glad we did not ride to Moosomin for pizza, but I
would not bring that up with Bob who was still stinging from having his pizza supper spoiled by
both me and the pizza shops that would not deliver.
DAY #54 Thursday, September 26, 2013 Take my Cadillac!

Day#54: 126kms Moosomin, SK to Wolseley, SK

We awoke and happily we were warm and dry inside our tents all night while the rain had
continued through most of the night. It had conveniently stopped by morning so we packed up
our gear and headed back into Moosomin for some breakfast before we headed off to Indian
Head.
Bacon and eggs, sausage, pancakes, oatmeal, it really is hard to mess up breakfast so no
surprise when this breakfast was terrific too and then we were out on the highway and making
good time.
Nola lives with her husband Murray on a farm in southern Saskatchewan near the border with the
United States and had been following us on Facebook. She wanted to meet us today for lunch in
Whitewood which was approximately 50kms west of Moosomin. It would normally take us well
over two hours to get there, however we were making good time this morning and we had left
Moosomin early just to ensure we would not be late. We had received a number of invites for
meals during our trip and some were feasible given our route and some were not. It always
helped if our host was flexible if we were running early or late, but none of that mattered with
Nola as she was determined to meet us for lunch. She had been in communication with Kristin
on our Facebook site for some time now and was looking forward to meeting us. Nola is a friend
of my neighbor Elizabeth and Jack Gammon back home and in Lyons Brook, and in particular
friends with their eldest son Russell Gammon. For Bob and I both the location and the time was
more than convenient and we are always happy to accept someones generosity as for every
penny saved meant another penny for our charities at the end of the tour.
All four of us rolled into the parking lot of the truck stop at the same time. Bob and I arrived on
a bicycle, and Nola and Murray in their pickup truck. We might have biked over six thousand
kilometers to get here, but they had over a 100km drive to get here so we had both gone out of
our way to meet each other!
We had a great lunch and again I benefited again from Bobs vegetable free diet and I had two
vegetable soups for my appetizer. We had a great conversation not just about our trip, but also
Nola and Murray and their farm and also how they came to meet our friend Russell and his
parents Elizabeth and Jack. As they had come so far, we did not want to rush off so we took our
time and enjoyed their company. We were also making good time today on the fairly flat road
and there was virtually no wind, so we were confident we would make our final destination by
end of today. Our confidence was misplaced however as the weather would soon take a turn for
the worst.
After we had said goodbye and we headed west once again, a wind began to pick up from the
west which made pedaling harder and slowed our speed. Then it started raining and the wind
picked up even more. We struggled through the afternoon and by evening we were physically
spent and when we saw the Wolseley Motel just off the highway, we had no desire to continue
any further. We were soaked, tired and starving and another 25kms to get to Indian Head would
be just too much today.
On the outside it looked much like all the other motels we had stayed at and we were hopeful
the cost would be much the same too. We did end up paying more and it did not include a
complimentary breakfast, however the owner was more than accommodating and she held the
door so we could take Janus inside and then she returned with a complimentary corned beef and
cabbage that she had just finished cooking for herself. When we had arrived at the motel there
was a large Cadillac Escalade parked in front and seeing us soaked and starving she had actually
offered the use of it for us to drive into Wolseley to get a meal. She actually held out the keys to

two strangers and offered to let us take it. You cannot get much more trusting and generous
than that and we were happy to have found her and the Wolseley Motel.
The meal of corned beef and cabbage was wonderful. The cauliflower must have been covered
in butter as it tasted wonderful and rich, but the best thing about the meal was it was hot and
we were still warming up from our ride. The second best thing about the meal is Bob does not
like vegetables so I got a second helping!
The motel was not new construction, but the rooms were clean and well maintained. We had
cellular coverage so I got caught up on updates for Kristin and our Facebook site, but also sent
an update to Craig who was back in Pictou County keeping busy staying in shape and doing
media interviews to provide updates on our current location. Somewhere mid-text I had fallen
asleep and awoke through the night with my cell phone lying on my chest. Bob and I both
dreamed of better weather tomorrow.
DAY #55 Friday, September 27, 2013 Hi Regina, bye Regina!

Day#55: 174kms Wolseley, SK to Moose Jaw, SK

The wind and rain had subsided by morning and Bob and I were planning on making the most of
it by biking over 170kms from Wolseley to Moose Jaw. If the road gods were kind to us, the
road will be flat and this goal will be achievable, but the day was early and a lot can happen from
here to Moose Jaw and Regina lay somewhere in between.
We stopped at the Wolseley Motel Office to thank our host, however no one was answering the
door bell or our knocking, so we headed into the downtown Wolseley in the search of breakfast
and we found Canada Caf and inside we went.

At a large round table to our left was the local women and the large round table straight ahead
was the local men. We took a table not far from the men and it was not long before they were
asking us questions and sharing stories of themselves. Service was fast and very quickly Bob
and I had three plates of food in front of us. Even though we kept up a conversation with the
gentlemen at the neighboring table, we did not take long at all to devour the feast in front of us.
I had promised Bob we would always try to have a good breakfast and supper and in between if
he was behaving himself and pushing hard on the pedals we would spoil ourselves by stopping
for lunch too. This would be our only stop for food today until the sun disappeared in the west
this evening.
The gentlemen beside us were so impressed with us they wanted to come out to have a closer
look at our bike, so we invited them to have their picture taken with us. We invited the ladies
and also the restaurant owner who seemed to be looking after everything by herself. She was
kept busy cooking and filling mugs of coffee, but she was happy to be invited to join us outside.
Of course after we took our picture for Facebook, they wanted to see us take it for a ride so we
obliged them and drove it down and back the quiet downtown street. Now it was time to head
west, but they insisted we first visit the town of Wolseleys claim to fame.
Wolseley, like many small towns was a railroad town and back in the 1800s the Canadian Pacific
Railway dammed a creek in order to create an artificial lake which would serve as a water supply
for its steam engines. The steam engines are gone, but the lake remains and it can be crossed
on a suspension foot bridge. Wolseley is not a big town so it was not far out of our way and it
was worth the visit so we stopped for a few pictures. Before we could get back on our bike to
continue, one of the gentlemen from the restaurant had come to find us on his gas powered
bicycle as he knew a shortcut back to the Trans Canada Highway. We followed him turning right
then left and then right and then there it was, the divided highway. I did say it was not a big
town! We thanked our escort and we headed back onto the highway towards Regina. Wolseley
may not be a big town, but it has a big heart and we were happy to have the time to meet some
of the local residents. If I ever cross Canada again, I will make it a point to stop at the Canada
Caf in Wolseley again!
The road thankfully remained flat and we made good time to Regina. We originally had a
reception scheduled in Saskatchewans capital city, but had canceled it in an effort to reach the
Rockies ahead of schedule. Traffic was busy going into the city and as two lanes became four,
we had to be a bit bold with other vehicles in order to make a left turn onto a circumferential
highway that would take us around the outskirts of the city. This turned out to be the most
stressful section of highway today as there was road construction, so traffic headed both ways
was diverted onto the one two lane divided highway. It was two lanes of busy traffic and our
bicycle on a narrow paved shoulder for the next few kilometers and Bob was kept busy motioning
for traffic to move over to give us room. The cars were no problem, but when the large
transport trucks passed it was close enough to get your adrenaline flowing as they passed by
within inches of our handlebars. One thing I could not help notice was the signs for the
Canadian Football League Saskatchewan Roughriders, proclaiming this to be Roughriders
Country. They had a good team in 2013 and on November 24, 2013 would win the Grey Cup.
It was now early afternoon and we had covered more than half the distance from Wolseley to
Moose Jaw, but we still had a good distance to go. Once we passed Regina, it meant that we
were committed to reaching Moose Jaw as there was not much in between. We would stop for
the odd break to eat a granola bar and jujubes, but otherwise we maintained a good pace on the
flat highway as we watched the sun get lower and lower in the horizon.

We neared Moose Jaw as the sun settled onto the horizon and we were pushing the pace to get
to our campground before nightfall. The problem with the sun so low is that it was hard to see
and unfortunately I did not see the pieces of tire littering the paved shoulder. I knew as soon as
we rode over it that it was not going to be good news and sure enough Bob gave me the heads
up that air was hissing out of the rear tire. We had to stop on the side of the highway and fix
the tube as quickly as we could so we could get off the highway before dark. I had the wheel off
the bike in no time and quickly removed the tire from the rim and felt the inside looking for
whatever pierced through the tire and into the tube. I found a wire which was part of the steel
belt from the pieces of truck tire we had just run over and I removed it. It is always good to find
what caused the hole in the first place so you can be sure it is not going to puncture the new
tube too! I reinstalled the wheel and now what takes longer than anything else is pumping up
the tire with the small portable hand pump, however it gave me the opportunity to look around
while I kept pumping. We were pedaling parallel to the Moose Jaw River and the landscape
made me think of images I had seen of the bad lands with deep depressions and valleys running
back and forth. It was quite beautiful and too bad we did not have longer to stay and appreciate
it, but with the wheel now pumped up we had to get to our destination and hopefully with no
more delays.
Our goal tonight was to reach the Prairie Oasis Motel and Trailer Park and I can tell you that Bob
was hoping for a motel room over a tent tonight as the evening was cooling off quickly. It felt
like it was going to be a cold night. Bad news for Bob was there were no motel rooms left and it
was now too dark to go pedaling around Moose Jaw in search of an alternate place to spend the
night. We were one of the very few tenting tonight and with the temperatures taking a nose
dive, it was no wonder. All tents were setup in a field between the parking lot and a pond and
we setup our tents next to a tree just in case someone went for a joy ride through the lawn in
the middle of the night. With our tents now setup we bundled up and left Prairie Oasis Motel &
Trailer Park and walked out to the road and down to Prairie Oasis Restaurant for supper. It
seems Prairie Oasis had a monopoly on the development in this area of Moose Jaw!
We arrived at the restaurant just minutes ahead of a bus tour and as the bus emptied the
restaurant filled. Our waitress helped us by taking our order quickly and getting it in before it got
lost amongst the dozens of bus tour riders.
We were soon back in our tents and bundled up in our sleeping bags as the temperature
continued to drop. We would be warm all night in our goose down sleeping bags and little tents,
but before too long the morning would arrive and we would have to emerge from our warm
cocoons and continue west.

DAY #56 Saturday, September 28, 2013 I did like trains once.

Day#56: 116kms Moose Jaw, SK to Morse, SK

It was cold, not quite as cold as White Lake back in Northern Ontario back on September 16 th,
but cold is still cold and I put on a heavy sweater and took my change of clothes with me then
jogged across the lawn and parking lot to the heated washrooms and showers.
We returned to the Prairie Oasis Restaurant for breakfast and coffee and then we were ready to
put in another long day in an attempt to reach Swift Current, SK and cover almost 180kms. The
wind was not cooperating with our plan and there was a brisk wind coming out of the west so we
were pedaling almost straight into it for most of the morning.
Again one of the challenges once you are outside of any major populated area was finding
services such as restaurants or convenience stores. Back in our tiny little Province of Nova Scotia
you cannot go more than 50kms without finding another decent sized community, town or even
city. Out here sometimes you could go for 100kms without seeing anything off the highway.
Again it was due to the towns being built up around the railway and the highway did not always
follow the same route, so we often unknowingly passed by small communities.
It was late morning and we were feeling fatigued and in need of food and out of desperation
followed the road off the highway and into the community of Mortlach. It was so small there was
not even a convenience store, so disappointed we settled for the remaining granola bars and
jujubes in our food bag and then continued west.
After a few more hours of pedaling we reached the community of Morse and the number of
billboards along the highway indicated it might be a large enough community to have some

services so we headed in. We actually found not only a very modest grocery store, but we also
found Morse Caf and when we walked in all the locals were sitting around a large table in the
centre of the restaurant. It reminded me of Canada Caf back in Wolseley!
It was now very late in the afternoon and Bob was not his normal self today and seemed tired all
day, so when our waitress suggested we pitch our tents in the municipal campground I decided
we would stay there, but first we would eat pizza and it was good. During our meal my left eye
started to feel scratchy and I thought I might has some dust or dirt in my contact, so I headed
out to the bike to get my contact case and glasses. I checked my eye in the bike mirror and it
was not dirt, it was pinkeye and it was not looking good at all. There was nothing in Morse that
would help, but tomorrow when we reached Swift Current we would have to find a drugstore so I
could get some Polysporin eye drops.
We finished our meal and pedaled two very short blocks to the campground. There was no staff
and you were on your honour to insert the $15.00 into the payment slot which of course we paid.
There was both electricity and water at all sites, however there were no trees and essentially it
was a field with a couple shrubs and short wooden fence separating the campsites. The
washrooms and shower had recently been painted so it was clean, but smelled strongly of paint
fumes.
As towns were built up around the railway, there were railway tracks that ran through Morse and
not far from the campground. A couple trains went by as we setup our tents and I mistakenly
assumed there would not be more than one or two through the night, however no sooner had I
drifted off to sleep and then it began with trains running back and forth every 20-30 minutes. I
was amazed at the number of trains and they were not short, they sometimes had over two
hundred cars.
Now if our sleep being interrupted by train traffic was not enough, suddenly car headlights lit up
the inside of my tent as a car raced into the campground on the dirt road and then spun around
and pointed straight at our campsite. I had heard the car enter the campground and opened the
front door of my tent. I was ready to run for safety if the car moved towards my tent. Bobs
tent was back beside the picnic table and hidden, meanwhile my tent was out in the open. The
car raced back out of the campground and I hoped it was gone. I could hear it racing through
the town with the engine racing and then it became closer again and it raced into the
campground and spun around like before, but this time it spun right into the light pole beside the
road. The car stopped and the driver got out to inspect the damage to the passenger side and
then got back in and sped off and thankfully that was the last we would see of that car.
I was now wide awake, but gradually settled down and drifted back to sleepand then a train
passed through the town again. It was going to be a long night.

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DAY #57 Sunday, September 29, 2013 Pinkeye vs Stinkeye.

Day#57: 116kms Morse, SK to Gull Lake, SK

We were likely awake anyways when the sun rose in the east and likely a train was passing by at
that very moment. I do not think we had more than a half hour of uninterrupted sleep all night
and we were feeling it this morning, but that was the lesser of our two problems as it was
Sunday morning, we were starving and everything was closed. We headed to the next town,
Herbert, but all we could find open was the Co-op Gas Bar, however they did have prepackaged
sandwiches, deserts and coffee. It was too cold to eat outside, so we sat on crates on the floor
of the Gas Bar. We thanked the young lady for being open and we headed off, hoping the rising
sun would quickly warm us up.
The terrain was not an easy pedal as we headed west. Reports of the prairies being flat had
been greatly exaggerated as the terrain was rolling, not with steep hills, but long steady inclines.
We were expecting it to be more flat than it was, but to put it in perspective, from Winnipeg with
an elevation of 230metres above sea level to Swift Current with an elevation of 817metres we
had climbed a total of 587metres or over half a kilometer higher over the course of the 817kms
we had travelled. No wonder we were dog tired at the end of each day we were constantly
going uphill!
Bob was struggling on the back of the bike today and twice we stopped so he could rest. I being
my stubborn self did not have the patience to sit on the bike on the side of the road while the
day passed by, so I insisted we at least walk with the bike so we were at least making some
progress. Bob believed his blood sugar level was too low due to all the physical activity and the
reason he was feeling so tired. He even suggested that he might have to quit the ride as he felt
he was holding me back, but that was the last thing I wanted now. Depending on how Craig was
recovering, Bob had the opportunity to be the first legally blind person to cross Canada from

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Atlantic Ocean to Pacific Ocean on a tandem bicycle. Definitely the first on a back-to-back
tandem recumbent bicycle! I told him not to pedal so hard, but to pedal a consistent and
sustainable pace and that would be more than enough to help me get us to Swift Current where
we would decide what to do next.
As we approached Swift Current the road sloped down so we were travelling at a good pace and
we passed a school with a couple hundred of children out for recess. The school was adjacent to
the highway and as soon as one student saw us they yelled to us and word spread through the
entire crowd until there was an entire schoolyard of kids cheering at us as we raced by at close
to 40kms/hr. Kids are so awesome!
It was early afternoon when we climbed a hill up into the heart of Swift Current and we were
hungry and tired so first stop was Humptys Restaurant. It had disappointed us back in Brandon,
MB, but we were willing to give it another chance. This was a better experience with a waitress
that actually checked on us occasionally and kept our glasses filled with pop. It is not fancy, the
food is plain, but it was good value and we finally felt like our bellies were almost full for the first
time today.
We left Humptys and headed across the parking lot to the shopping mall as Bob had to visit the
pharmacy to see if he could get a glucose meter, as he wanted to keep a closer watch on his
blood sugar and keep it in the safe zone so he did not hit rock bottom again like he did early this
morning.
I of course still had pinkeye, so I headed to Safeway first, but all I came back with was granola
bars and jujubes. The Safeway had no pharmacy so I had to make a visit to the adjacent
department store. I visited the pharmacy and where the Polysporin would have been, but there
was none. I asked the pharmacist behind the counter if it was possible they had any that had
not been put out on the shelf yet. He simply said No. He did not look up at me, he did not say
Sorry, we do not have any left., he did not smile, he just said No and carried on with his
work. So leaving I was disappointed I had not found any, but also a bit annoyed with the rude
reception in the pharmacy. Maybe there was a pinkeye epidemic in the area and I was far from
the first customer to ask that question today. Anyway, today pinkeye met stinkeye. On my way
out of the store two ladies stopped me as they had seen the bike outside and they wanted to
know more. I gave them the CraigGivesBack story and left them each with a business card, but
they also gave me directions to the closest drug store. They also told me that my eye looked like
crap and I had to agree. At least half my eye was actually black and it looked like I had run into
someones fist. It was definitely feeling scratchy like I had sand under my eyelid. I knew I had
to get something to treat it today otherwise it may become a serious problem.
We followed the ladies directions and had no problem finding the drug store and in addition to
the Polysporin eye drops I purchased bottles of pop to help with Bobs sugar levels. Even quicker
than jujubes, pop gave us a sugar surge and carrying at least one bottle of pop each on the bike
would be our new habit going forward. I would not wear my contacts until my pinkeye cleared
up so could not wear my regular sunglasses so I also purchased a set of sunglasses that fit over
top of my prescription eyeglasses so I would not be blinded by the sun as it settled in the west
each evening.
We left Swift Current and continued west, hoping to get as far as we could before dark and also
find a place to stay before dark as well. As sun dropped in the horizon I was happy that I had
purchased the sunglasses, but soon it was dark and we were still on the highway pedaling along.
I had checked Google Maps and we had approximately 5kms to travel before we would reach
Gull Lake where there was a motel which we hoped would be open. I stopped and dug out our

12

emergency bike lights, not so much to see with, however they did help a little bit, but more so a
truck would not accidentally flatten us on the highway.
We could not miss the Lazy Dee Motel, however the office was locked and we were unable to
locate the owner. We decided to head up the hill to Chinese restaurant instead and even though
we arrived at the end of the buffet and there was just a little bit of everything left, I just
scrapped it all onto my plate and kept returning to the buffet until I thought I would explode.
We headed back down the hill and along the way passed a couple other motels that did not
tempt us, but luck was with us and the owner was back at the Lazy Dee Motel and we were soon
checked into a room. I stopped, cocked my head, but it was true I could not hear any trains
from our motel room. After last night beside the endless train traffic, this motel gets a five star
rating from Bob and myself!
DAY #58 Monday, September 30, 2013 The SaskTel Motel

Day#58: 60kms Gull Lake, SK to a field somewhere in Saskatchewan

After a good nights sleep, we awoke to another sunny day and even though just we had had two
challenging days in a row, covering almost 120kms each day, we stayed optimistic and hoped to
reach Medicine Hat, Alberta today which was a mere 170kms ride.

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Breakfast was an easy task as it was simply down the hill and across the Trans Canada Highway
and into the Gull Lake Diner. We had a great breakfast, however it was a little disconcerting
when the gentleman at the neighboring table started talking about all the tragic accidents that
had occurred on the highway just in this local area. It was not a motivational conversation to say
the least and we were glad when we finished eating so we could politely excuse ourselves from
the conversation.
Back out on the highway we headed towards the sun and we were making decent time, so things
were looking good. We had been biking for well over an hour and then the wind started to pick
up as it typically does. It would often die down in the evening and then be still through the night
and pick up speed again in the morning.
We were climbing up a hill out of a small valley and as we rose to the top of the hill, the wind
became stronger and stronger. Our speed slowed even as we put more pressure on the pedals
as we climbed directly into the wind. A headwind is not a terrible thing as it is not dangerous,
however it makes it slow going and you work a lot harder to cover less ground. It did however
become an issue as we finished the climb and the road turned to the right and now it had
changed from a headwind to a crosswind.
The intensity of a crosswind is what determines how dangerous it is and as the wind speed
quickly increased it became more and more of a safety issue. Luckily through the province of
Saskatchewan there is for the most part a paved shoulder with a decent width, so we are a
reasonably safe distance from traffic, however sometimes it does not matter how wide it is and
today was one of those days.
With the bags hanging off our bike and also Bob and myself, we provide a lot of area for a wind
to catch and as we cycled we had the bike leaning over bracing against the wind to prevent
being blown off into the ditch. More than once I had to work hard to steer us back onto the
pavement after the wind had moved us horizontally over onto the gravel shoulder. Bob and I
were on a fairly unique bicycle that stood out from any other bike in Canada and as we slowly
made progress west across Canada we were passed daily by hundreds of transport trucks which
crossed the country back and forth. We would meet many of the drivers at the truck stops and
they would ask us about our trip and then if they saw us later on the highway would often honk
their horn to encourage us onward. Also and even more appreciated by Bob and myself they
would almost always move over to the far lane of the two lane divided highway to eliminate the
impact to us of a large vehicle passing at a high speed. A truck pushes a lot of air out of its way
as it moves and the faster it moves the more violently it pushes the air out and around the
vehicle as it moves forward. So as a cyclist you have to be ready for the initial gust of wind that
will push you over towards the ditch and then as the truck passes the air quickly moves around in
behind the trailer which has created a vacuum at the rear of the trailer and this will pull your bike
back to the left and into the lane of traffic. The impact of the wind caused by a truck increases
with a headwind, but that is easy to manage compared to the strong crosswind we were dealing
with today.
The trucks were moving over to the far lane, however they would still block the wind. We would
be leaning hard into the crosswind, a truck would pass blocking the crosswind which would send
us out into the traffic lane until I could correct and get us upright and then the truck would be
gone, and the wind was back and we would blow over to the right until we could get leaned back
into the wind. We were zigzagging up the road moving from right to left by as much as ten feet
from side to side, just trying to keep the bicycle upright and out of the ditch. It was slow,
exhausting and dangerous so we eventually gave up and walked with the bike for over a
kilometer. Amazingly even that was incredibly slow as the wind gusts were so intense it would

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stop us dead and then we would restart. After over three hours of cycling and covering less than
50kms we decided to give up.
This being the province of Saskatchewan there was no building, no tree and not even a hill we
could take shelter from the wind. At an intersection with a dirt road that met the highway at a
right angle we laid Janus at the top of the ditch and using both the bicycle and the shallow ditch
as a windbreak, we hoped to wait out the wind and with any luck it would die down through the
afternoon.
The other issue with wind is wind chill and in order to stay warm we put on our rain gear as they
were windproof. The ground also absorbs heat from your body so before too long we had
broken out our sleeping pads and sleeping bags. I guess we must have looked like a traffic
accident as it was a bicycle lying in the ditch with two bodies stretched out beside it. We had a
few cars that slowed down to have a closer look as they passed by, a couple even pulled onto
the gravel shoulder before confirming to themselves we were alive and then finally we had a car
pull to a stop and the driver walked over to check on us. I had been taking cat naps as we laid
there waiting for the wind to subside and quickly awoke to look up at a young lady standing over
me asking if we needed assistance. I said that unless she was willing to drive beside us at
20kms/hr for the next four to six hours, we were fine and would stay to wait out the wind. The
amazing thing was as we talked and explained what we were doing in the ditch in the middle of
Saskatchewan at the end of September, we learned that she was from Atlantic Canada too. She
had grown up in the town of New Waterford, which is just outside Sydney, Cape Breton in the
Province of Nova Scotia. She had come to Saskatchewan to work and now with that finished was
moving on to Alberta in search of employment. We thanked her for stopping to check on us and
then she was gone. Bob and I stayed behind to wait out the wind as dust and small gravel
continued to blow over us from the dirt road. We did not know it yet, but this was part of a
windstorm blowing out from Alberta and would be with us for the next few days.
With it now nearing late afternoon, having nothing to eat since breakfast except the odd granola
bar and jujube, we decided to try it once more. We thought that the wind had maybe died down
just enough that it would not be easy, but would at least be safe. We would get not much more
than five kilometers down the road and the wind was just as bad as it had been earlier. I
checked Google Maps and we were not going to make it to anywhere close to civilization this
evening so we kept pedaling and looked for our best option to setup for the night. There were
no houses or barns, but then in the distance was a building and soon we came to a rectangular
brick building with a SaskTel sign on it. The lawn around the building was large and fenced, so
we lifted Janus over the gate which was simply a pole across the driveway and headed up to the
building. We went straight to the side of the building that was completely sheltered from the
wind and what a relieve it was to be out of the wind chill for the first time since in well over six
hours. I checked the front door, but it was locked so we decided to setup our tents here in the
gravel right up against the side of the building and out of the wind.
There was no problem here with cellular coverage, maybe due to the fact we were right beside a
cell tower. We were in our sleeping bags and finally warm even before it was dark. I promised
Bob we would rise as soon as soon as there was light and head off as early in search of a meal
as the sun was rising. It was a clear night so would likely be frosty as the temperature was
dropping quickly.

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Top left: Day #53 Welcome to Saskatchewan, Top Right: Day #53 Big sky on the prairies, Middle
left: Day #53 Camping in Moosomin, Middle right: Day #55 Our fan club in Wolseley, Bottom left:
Day #55 No time to visit Regina, Bottom right: Day #58 SaskTel Motel.

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