June 27, 2015
Take it Easy ....: Day 25 - Regina to Ft. Qu'Appelle
The clerk at the best Western in Regina said check out was at 11 o'clock. We followed the rules and that's when we checked out.
Warm showers, comfortable beds, real towels and blackout curtains conspired against us this morning. Not a bad thing though.
We had reset our target back to the more northern route through Manitoba, passing through Dauphin and The Narrows between Lake Winnipegosis and Lake Winnipeg (I still think this sounds more like a disease than a lake ...... "I'm sorry to tell you sir, but you have contracted a case of Winnipegosis. Your outlook is not good") .
This meant that our immediate goal was Mellville (140 km) and then Yorkton to the north east. We emerged from the comfy hotel into the bright sunshine ........ and the howling wind.
It was blowing pretty hard from the north west which meant more or less a cross wind or at times a headwind. Oh well more payback time. We left Regina on the TCH and followed this east for about 8 km and then turned north east on highway 10 to Ft. Qu'Appelle. The contrast in the road compared to yesterday was huge, in the positive direction. Good wide paved shoulders and almost no big trucks, just weekenders heading towards the lakes in the Qa'Appelle valley. Cycling was good but we were pushing against the cross / headwind, and our own inertia, so we weren't chewing up the km's.
We met two other cyclists today. The first was a guy from Ft. Qu'Appelle who was riding into Regina to go to The Game. For those not familiar with Saskatchewan today was the equivalent of the start of a Papal Conclave. Yes, it was the 'Riders CFL home opener against Winnipeg. If you weren't wearing a green 'Riders jersey or t-shirt you risked getting the stink eye (or worse) from the locals. Anyway it was kinda cool to see someone riding a bike 70 km to the game, in Saskatchewan where the pickup truck is king (he was meeting his wife there and she was going to drive them both back home, presumably in a pick-up).
The next guy was a Winnipeger on his way to Regina. Four bags on a disc Trucker and pulling a Bob! Cycling equivalent of a motorhome and F-150 combo you so often see. But he was on the road... all good!
Pulled into Qu'Appelle at about 4, the temp was about 30 c ( that's hot for any southern friends reading this) spotted a Dairy Queen and a campsite beside Echo Lake. Decision made, a short day with some time to relax.
Went to the coop grocery store, bought a roast chicken and some salad stuff and had a nice dinner by the lake. As I'm writing this the wind has dropped right off and it's a beautiful night. Good choice.
We'll see about getting back on a high kilometre diet again tomorrow
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Song of the day
Echo Beach by Martha and the Muffins ...... Cause it's the first day of summer holiday for the school kids here and were camped at Echo Beach. Can't beat that. Classic Canadiana summer time party tune!
'Gotta love the 80's get-up's too!
Historical Monument of the day
Ft. Qu 'Appelle itself.
Founded originally as a Hudson Bay post in 1864 and was the site of the signing of treaty 4 between the British Dominion and the Cree nation.
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Today's ride: 70 km (43 miles)
Total: 2,364 km (1,468 miles)
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