Pierre the Dream Walker

Regina, Saskatchewan

The prairies are deep.  The winters are like a deep freeze and the summers like a deep fryer.  But, having said that, they do have a beauty of their own.   Today I rode past immense canola fields that stretched as far as the eye could see.  Perfect oil for deep-frying.

Perhaps I am not getting enough carbs…

As I rode today I kept thinking over and over again just how large Canada is.   That was probably a function of being able to see to the horizon in all four directions.  It truly was awe-inspiring.

And fatiguing.

You ride and ride and you could swear that that stalk of wheat is the same one you have been seeing all day. The horizon is no closer and it appears not to have changed.  On the other hand, I could see Regina on the horizon when I was fifteen kilometers away.

Today I saw a cyclist ahead of me who appeared to be heavily loaded.  As I caught up to him I realized that he was walking and pushing a baby stroller.    His name was Pierre from Quebec and he was walking across the county starting from Tofino. In the baby stroller were his possessions. He had already walked from Vancouver to Acapulco, Mexico and from there to Quito, Ecuador.  This was his fourth time across Canada.   We chatted for quite a while and I asked him if he was doing it for charity but he said no, that he had gotten his pension and this is what he liked to do.   He did not want to go into Regina because there were too many people.  That got me to thinking that he would have to be very comfortable with his own company to walk those distances alone.  He seemed eager to chat and he told me he was writing book called “The Dream Walker” and he wanted to know my name.  As I left, I told him I hoped to see him in St.John’s. He smiled and agreed.   I kind of think of him as mobile hermit with a hint of Forrest Gump.

After all the cyclists I had seen riding across the country and Pierre the walker it made me wonder what it was about Canada that made so many people want to do this pilgrimage.

Once we got to Regina I took Telen on a little tour of my old stomping grounds.   We went by the house I lived in back in the 60’s and my old high school.  The house had changed considerably but the school almost not at all.   Weird.  Mind you, that was the 60’s, so according to the old saw that “if you remember the 60’s, you weren’t there…” perhaps my memory may be faulty.

Telen spent part of day checking out Moose Jaw and decided that she could have enjoyed herself more watching the Canola grow.  She passed me on the road and pulled over to give me an ice-cold Coca Cola.  Sinful, but soooooo wonderful!  That woman is a mistress of temptation...  

Let Pierre walk by himself, I’ll take the sins and temptations!

Canola fields as far as you can see

Re-evaluation

Swift Current, Saskatchewan

We are currently sitting in a B&B in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.   I have had to re-evaluate my whole idea of this ride across Canada.   I am going to have to ride parts of Canada.  It has taken me a while to get here.   I rationalized having to drive through BC to Calgary by saying that I had already ridden that bit.  From Calgary on, though, I would have to ride EFC.   For those of you who are not familiar with the term EFC is mean Every F Centimeter.  You can supply your own word for the F part. 

My ride down the Crowchild trail at 80 kph being chased by rabid Albertans did give me pause at riding in cities that are not bicycle-friendly.   Calgary is more bicycle-hostile.  So I will probably not ride through any cities of any size.  I did ride to Drumheller and I also rode to Brooks Alberta.   Both of which were very pleasant rides in spite of the winds but I found that my sojourn from riding did a number on my fitness.   I could do the distance but it cost.

Change of plan!   Time to think with my head not my pride.   My pride is currently huddling broken and weeping under a stone somewhere.  My disappointment is sitting in my heart and systematically leaching poison into my system.  My brain is going to have to take up the slack.   That is a lot to expect for an under-performing lump of fat.

Time to enjoy myself with my lovely and patient wife seeing the sights that Canada has to offer.   Ride when I can for a distance that I can manage without bonking (for those of you who do not know bicycle jargon- bonking does not mean trying to have sex while riding the bicycle).  Enjoy seeing the country from a bicycle and a car.  Share my joys at seeing the country with Telen and not be so selfish and miserable because I could not ride.  

I think I am there.   Seeing other cyclists on the road still stirs a little evil feeling of jealousy and inadequacy but I am getting over it.  Tomorrow we drive to Moose Jaw and I will ride to Regina.  

I can handle that. 

  lunch break on the prairies!

Drumheller

Drumheller, Alberta

After spending a week enjoying the most gracious hospitality at my sister Holly and her husband Jim’s place in Calgary I felt I had recovered enough to get back on the bike and head off into uncharted territory.   Up to now all the area was known to us and it was really a matter of remembering rather than discovering.  Now I was going to ride in an area of Canada I did not know.   To discover strange new worlds and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before!  

How geeky is that!

I started off in mild drizzle and cool temperatures dressed in all my winter riding gear.   I thought this was July!  However, since this was the prairies I could see clear skies coming.  That is the nice thing about prairies – you don’t need weather forecasts- you can see the whole next week’s worth of weather as it approaches.  

After about 50k or so I started riding eastward and the sky cleared and the wind turned up and started blowing from the southeast.   This is the prairies and you can expect wind.  Not like this you can’t!  It kept increasing exponentially until I was down to 18 kph and struggling to keep it there.  Being as the wind was coming from the southeast it also wanted me to turn into the traffic.  Wobble, wobble, curse, curse.  Then to make matters worse as I was coming down the long winding road into Drumheller the wind got funneled by the hills into a furious crosswind that nearly dumped me.   So I got off the bike and walked until I was out of the wind tunnel.  Now that was embarrassing!   Now, I apologized to Mother Nature many times for my earlier slights and, if necessary, I will apologize further.   But really, enough is enough! 

Up until now the worst pests have been a few mosquitoes, a bear or two and possibly some Albertans with their hats on backwards.  In Drumheller they have dinosaurs.   And they don’t look well fed, either.  I expect to leave here tomorrow with an Albertasaurus or some other large carnivore doing the Jurassic Park thingy behind me.   I keep a glass of water on the table at all times and watch it regularly for unexplained ripples.

Telen has been trying to fill me up with all kinds of great meals.   I am hoping that I will not gain weight rather than losing it on this trip.   Nothing like finishing a grueling day of riding to a wonderfully prepared meal.   I feel like a professional cyclist!   Except for the 18 kph ride, of course.

Telen writes:

The prairies certainly have a beauty of its own.  The mornings tend to be calm, the wind then picks up by noon.  We had a 1 hour tour on the Seven Wonders of the Badlands today at the Royal Tyrell Museum.  The wind was really gusty.  Sand kept being blown into my eyes.  I then appreciated the struggle that Rand had with the wind yesterday riding the last 40 km into Drumheller.  The sunny weather now means pleasant camping and lots of great outdoors cooking.  Rand is still not 100% and I have been putting on the team doctor’s hat to ensure that he does not over doing things.  The Royal Tyrell museum certainly is worth the trip though.  Highly recommended!