CCCT 2012 - June 28/12 - Day 40

A scenic stop for lunch on the TCH

Cross Canada Cycling Tour - Thursday, June 28, 2012 - Day 40
Grenfell to Moosomin, SK. Trip 106.44 kms Time 4 hrs 47 mins Max 34.4 kph

On our way to the Manitoba border

I woke up several times during the night. The wind was really howling but our little tent held fast. I had trouble sleeping. My left shoulder was bothering me again and my improvised pillow of jackets stuffed in my rear trunk bag rain cover was to hard. It was giving me a headache. I switched to one of my front panniers that was stuffed with all my other rain covers. This was much better. I got up at 5:50 AM. The trains, that had been quiet during the night, started up at 4:30 AM. We managed to get all our gear and tent packed up by 7:10 AM and cycled to the restaurant at the highway gas station for a breakfast of French Toast. I had mine with sausages and Bev had hers with ham. She was upset that the syrup was cold! Why have hot pancakes or French Toast then cover them with cold syrup? We bought some food from the convenience store and set off for MOOSOMIN at 8:20 AM. We made "pit stops" in Broadview, White Wood and stopped on the highway at a scenic pond to eat our lunch.

We arrived in Moosomin at 1:30 PM mostly due to a very helpful tailwind. We stopped at the DQ for ice cream then looked for a grocery store. We had to stop a local to ask where to find one. He pointed out it was just a few doors up the street. We had just cycled right past it! We then checked into the Twi-Lite Motel at $70 (tax in) a bit pricy but we both needed to check our e-mail, etc. Bev went out to try and get her toe nail looked after but was unable to get a pedicure because of Grad Week. We walked back to the Legion and after signing in  had a cold beer. We were given "guest ribbons" and a Legion pin. We then went across the street for groceries and walked back to our motel. We also got a Manitoba map at the corner gas station.

I had a Hungry Man dinner warmed up in the microwave. Bev got a note from Pat on FB asking if she had heard about Tom? I had an e-mail from Angel saying there was a message on my answering machine from someone called Merve. It turned out to be from Bev's brother who wanted her to call him in Dryden. How he managed to get my number is still a mystery! I replied to Angel and worked on Day 33 of my blog. I also sent an e-mail to Rick Temple in White City to let him know that the repair to my rear rack was still holding and doing a good job. We were both very tired and off to bed at 9:00 PM.
Bev and Roly

CCCT 2012 - June 27/12 - Day 39

Cross Canada Cycling Tour - Wednesday, June 27, 2012 - Day 39
White City to Grenfell, SK. Trip 120.90 kms Time 5 hrs 27 mins Max 41.8 kph

One of the Temple cats

Bev, Lucas & Roly ready to ride

I woke up with a start at 5:45 AM when one of the house cats decided to join us in bed by jumping on my head! We got up at 6:30 AM and went up to the kitchen. Bev made a cup of tea. The Home Care nurse arrived at 7:00 AM and proceeded to get Irene out of bed, etc. Rick got up and made breakfast for us. Bev had cereal with milk (something we haven't had since leaving home) I had juice and fried eggs and toast. I checked my e-mail and the weather forecast on Rick's PC. Lucas and his Mom arrived at 8:00 AM. Bev made PBJs while I finished packing and got our water bottles.

Before leaving for INDIAN HEAD I checked over Lucas's bike. His tires needed to be pumped up. Rick had a compressor so that made pumping up the tires quite easy. We then took some photos before setting off at 8:45 AM. Lucas's Mom informed us she had $200 for MS which Lucas had raised. We asked her to use the link on my blog to make a donation in Lucas's name.

Once we were on the highway we set off for MCLEAN, Lucas's home town. We had a terrific tail wind with winds gusting to 80 kph at times. We were able to coast at 30 + kph without pedaling. Lucas was thrilled to be riding out on the highway for the first time with us. We made a pit stop at the Post Office/Convenience store in McLean. All of Lucas's friends were out on the side of the highway picking up trash. They were quite envious of Lucas cycling with us. We continued on to INDIAN HEAD stopping for a snack on the way. The wind was so strong Lucas had trouble staying on his feet!!! We arrived in Indian Head at 11:30 AM. Lucas, who is 13 years old, had cycled 52 kms with us and was quite proud of himself. He called his Mom and asked her to come and pick him up then treated himself to an ice cream cone. We had our lunch while waiting for his Mom to pick him up in her truck. I had 2 PBJs. Bev doesn't like peanut butter and jam together - seperate OK - but not together! She ordered a hot dog from the chip stand. Lucas's Mom arrived at 12:15 PM. He was beaming when he told his Mom about his adventure on the highway with a terrific tail wind. He had cycled 52 kms in 2.5 hours at an average speed of 22 kph.

The skies began to darken so I convinced Bev we should get going if we were to continue on to WOLSELEY another 24 kms down the road. With such a terrific tail wind we were in Wolseley at 1:30 PM. We decided, after a short stop and a chat with a local cyclist, to continue on to GRENFELL. A young solo Asian cyclist passed us with MS signs on his back panniers. He didn't stop to chat! We arrived in Grenfell at 3:00 PM and by now had cycled 110 kms. We decided to find a place to stay for the night. Another cyclist, from Calgary going to Winnipeg, approached us and wanted to chat. He had already cycled 200 kms from Moose Jaw and was prepared to keep on going. We wished him a safe journey. There was only one motel in Grenfell and they wanted $80 plus taxes so we chose to go camping instead. There was a power failure in town so 1/2  the town (East side of Main St.) was without power. The CO-OP was closed due to the power failure. We cycled to the West side of town and checked in to the campsite at $17/night/tent.

We found a reasonably sheltered spot and after setting up our tent we put our gear in it to weigh it down to keep it from blowing away. We cycled back to the Esso station at the highway for dinner in the restaurant which still had power. Afterwards we cycled back to our campsite and settled in for the night. Bev was off to sleep at 8:00 PM. I stayed up 'til 8:30 PM filling in my journal. No wi-fi. No TV.
Bev and Roly

CCCT 2012 - June 26/12 - Day 38

Cross Canada Cycling Tour - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - Day 38
Regina to White City, SK, by pickup truck
I heard Ian come in at 2:30 AM and Elizah and Aaron get up at 5:30 AM. We slept in until 7:30 AM. I had some Greek yogurt, tea and toast with peannut butter and Nutella for breakfast. I trimmed my beard using Ian's trimmer. Bev, Aaron and Elizah went for a bike ride. Bev left her bike at a bike shop to get new handle bar wraps put on. She had to walk back home. I worked on Day 32 of my blog. Aaron made French Toast for Bev and Elizah. Somehow I missed out. They were back at 10:30 AM. Brandy, Bev's daughter, called at 11:10 AM to wish Bev a Happy Birthday. Aaron had buns, cold meats, water melon, strawberries, etc for lunch plus the left over salads from yesterday's dinner.

Ian's father, Rick, came over with the pickup truck. Aaron had trouble starting the camper van when he took it to go get some groceries. Thankfully he was able to get it started again and made it back home with lunch. Ian finally got up and joined us. Aaron drove the camper van out to White City and came back with the pickup truck. Ian had quite a struggle getting Elizah to have a nap. She put up quite a fuss for over an hour. Meanwhile we loaded our bikes and gear in the back of the truck. It was very hot and humid. I took some photos of the house, Ian, Aaron and Elizah finally asleep in her crib. While loading my bike in the truck Aaron noticed that one of the supporting rods on my rear rack was broken.  He drove us out to White City to Rick and Irene's place. We stopped at a grocery store for a birthday cake for Bev.

We arrived in White City at 4:00 PM. Once we had unloaded our bikes and gear I asked Rick if he could help me somehow fix my broken rear rack. We went in to meet Irene who is confined to a wheel chair because of MS. We had a cold beer while chatting. Richard, a neighbour, came over and offered his expertise on how to fix my rack using JD Weld, etc. Rick prepared a fantastic BBQ chicken and baked potato dinner on his new Father's Day BBQ. Bev helped prepare the salad.

There was a nasty storm brewing and Richard had to go back home to move a jacuzzi because of high winds. Aaron went over to help him. We had a wonderful dinner while the storm lashed away outside. Once the storm passed there was a very unusual cloud formation. It looked like someone had spilt a bag of large cotton balls. I neglected to take a photo!!! Richard went home again and returned with the JD Weld and a few other bit and bobs that we were to use to fix my broken rack. I'm not sure why he couldn't hang around but that's OK. Rick and I decided it would be better to use a 1/2" copper pipe to fix the break. We cut off a 1" length of it and after some filing and bending were able to get it to fit like a glove.

I filled our water bottles with fresh water and placed them in the fridge in the basement along with my CamelBack. We sat around and chatted while waiting for the Home Care nurse to arrive and put Irene to bed at 10:30 PM.  We were then off to bed at 11:30 PM

Bike repair 101

Bev and Roly

CCCT 2012 - June 25/12 - Day 37

Cross Canada Cycling Tour - Monday, June 25, 2012 - Day 37
Regina Rest Day

I slept in until 8:00 AM. Ian, Elizah, Aaron and Bev were already up. Ian offered me some "smoothie" that he had made up in the blender. It was very tasty and very healthy. I needed to renew my prescription for high blood pressure. Aaron took us for a walk to a nearby Shopper's Drug Market where I was able to get my "water pill" Rx re-filled. Only had to wait 20 minutes. I also got a "60" birthday card for Bev and a Lotto ticket. While waiting for my Rx I used the pharmacy blood pressure maching to check my blood pressure. It was OK. We then walked back to the house. It was quite hot. Bev warmed up some butternot squash soup for lunch which we had with some crackers. I was able to do some work on my blog. I lay down for a nap at 1:30 PM while Bev, Aaron and Elizah went for a swim at a local outdoor pool. I got up at 3:30 PM and posted a couple more days on my blog. Bev et al got back from swimming at 5:00 PM. On their way back they picked up some groceries. Aaron did burgers on the BBQ which we had with egg/potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw and beer. Aaron soon had to go out for more beer!!! Bev did dishes. Ian went off to work. I worked on my blog. My back was very itchy. I had to get Bev to put some ointment on my bites. I also took a couple Benadryl. Soon it was time to go off to bed at 9:30 PM
Bev and Roly

CCCT 2012 - June 24/12 - Day 36

Cross Canada Cycling Tour - Sunday, June 24, 2012 - Day 36
I heard someone up in the kitchen using the coffee grinder at 5:30 AM. Bev was up at 5:50 AM and checked her e-mail again for news re our visit to REGINA/WHITE CITY. No replies! We went up to breakfast at 6:40 AM. Sam was busy preparing Western omelettes with chopped red and green peppers, onions and grated cheese. Erika prepared toast, etc. After a wonderful breakfast we finished packing and loaded our gear on our bikes out in the garage while Sam and Erika watched in amazement. Erika took some photos before we set off for Regina at 8:00 AM.

It was a very slow and difficult ride because of a strong head wind. We were only able to pedal at 10-14 kph. Three young cyclist from Vancouver on their way to Halifax caught up to us. We chatted for awhile then they took off ahead of us as they were able to pedal at 15-16 kph. Eventually we caught up to them. They had stopped for an extended lunch break. They took off in a hurry when they saw us approaching. I guess they didn't want the "old farts" passing them!!!

Eventually we were down to cycling 5 kms at a time then stopping for a break and alternating the lead. We finally arrived in Regina at the Timmy's on Victoria Ave at 7:00 PM. It took us 8.5 hours to cycle 90 kms at an average speed of 12 kph. We went in for a chocolate milk and a donut. Bev called her son Aaron who came out on his bicycle to meet us. We had dinner from Wendy's while waiting for Aaron to arrive. He wasn't long in arriving and joined us for dinner. He showed us the way to his place stopping off for some cold beers on the way. We unloaded our gear and put our bikes on the front enclosed porch. We had a cold beer (2 for me) and chatted. I checked my e-mail after connecting on Ian's wi-fi. After a nice hot shower we were off to bed at 11:30 PM

Aaron and Ian

Elizah ... asleep at last!!!

Bev and Roly

CCCT 2012 - June 23/12 - Day 35

Cross Canada Cycling Tour - Saturday, June 23, 2012 - Day 35
Chaplin to Caronport, SK. Trip 65.15 kms Time 3 hrs 53 mins Max 40.5 kph
I woke up several times during the night because of the train horn blast at 2 crossings, animals fighting, highway traffic noise, etc. Neither of us heard my wrist watch alarm go off at 6:00 AM! but we were up at 6:05 just the same. We had yogurt, banana and a small carrot muffin for breakfast.  We finished packing our gear and tent after using the restaurant facilities. We stopped at the gas station convenience store for water and Gatorade before setting off for CARONPORT at 7:40 AM.

Sam and his Flame Thrower

Striped squirrel at bird feeder

Ben, Erika, Eva, Ida-Marie and Sam

At times there was no paved shoulder, other times it was quite rough. There were no facilities on the highway between Chaplin and Caronport. We did see a sign for a picnic Table at 2 KM. I said to Bev that that would be our next stop. We next saw a sign for a picnic Table with CLOSED under it. We both thought this was hilarious. How can you CLOSE a picnic table!!! Not much to see except rolling hills and the occasional duck pond. We stopped several times to give our hands and butts a break and to have snacks. 
We arrived in Caronport at Sam and Erika's at noon. I rang the door bell. There was no answer! I went around the back and found Sam catching a few ZZZs on the rear deck lounger. Erika was having a shower. We unloaded our gear and put our bikes away in the garage. We had a cold drink on the rear deck while watching a great variety of birds come to the bird feeders including some squirrels with stripes on their backs. Erika fed us lunch. A nice turkey noodle casserole with a spinach and strawberry salad. We chatted for awhile, showered and got our laundry started before going for a walk around the village. It was quite hot and sunny. The kids were playing under the sprinklers at the new water park. Sam showed us around the college where he worked as a pastor youth councilor. We returned to the house for a cold beer before Sam fired up the BBQ and grilled some very tasty hamburgers and hot dogs for the kids. Erika prepared coleslaw, potato salad and the toppings for our burgers. 
Ida-Marie (Sam and Erika's daughter) came over with her 2 children Eva (6) and Ben (2). We had a lovely dinner out on the rear deck. While playing, Eva lost her front tooth, which was quite loose, in the grass. Ida, Eva and Ben were all down on their hands and knees looking for it. Luckily it was found thus avoiding a "Tooth Fairy" disaster. Erika also had some Saskatoon Berry pie with frozen yogurt for dessert. 
After dinner, we all gathered out in front of the house so I could take some "family" photos. I went off to pack my things to prepare for an early morning departure. Bev played cards before coming down to do her packing. I got her to put some "After Bite" on the bites on my back. She checked her e-mail and we were soon off to bed at 10:30 PM.
Bev and Roly

CCCT 2012 - June 22/12 - Day 34

Cross Canada Cycling Tour - Friday, June 22, 2012 - Day 34
Swift Current to Chaplin, SK. Trip 93.87 kms Time 5 hrs 44 mins Max 37 kph
We were up at 6:00 AM and after a quick breakfast of yogurt, banana and a small carrot muffin we packed our gear on our bikes and set off for CARONPORT at 7:15 AM. The first 20 kms went well as it was very calm with no traffic to speak of. Only the occassional small Prairie Dog (which I was later to find out are really a species of squirrel) to break up the monotony of clear blue skies and one hill after another. By 11:00 AM the wind out of the East had picked up and this plus several tough hills and the heat all combined to slow us down. Also I was having problems with constant numbness in my hands and Bev was having some pain in her foot. We stopped several times for "butt breaks" and snacks, etc. Finally by 2:00 PM we had reached CHAPLIN, SK, (about 60 kms from Caronport) where there were some "facilities". We decided to check out the Hotel/Motel. We had a little trouble finding it as there were no signs indicating where it was located in the small village. Eventually after asking for directions several times we found it. A double room for the night was $85 (including taxes). I asked for a discount but the manager wouldn't budge. We decided to camp for the night instead. It was only $10. No showers. No nothing. We were not far from a restaurant and a gas station/convenience store. So that would have to do. We set up our tent, etc. I called my friends in Caronport and spoke to Erika to let her know where we were and that we would arrive Saturday around 12:00 noon. We tried out the Watkins Insect Repellant that I purchased at MEC before leaving Ottawa. It was highly recommended to us by Bev's friend Nancy. It really worked well. Just a small amount on exposed skin and the mosquitoes would come near but would not land on us. Amazing stuff!!! I lay down for a "siesta" while Bev walked over to the gas station to check it out. She later joined me for a short nap before getting up at 5:30 PM and walking over to the restaurant for pizza (it was $2.00 off night) and carrot cake. After dinner we went for a short walk around the camp site. There was not much to see. Earlier we had seen a fox but there was no sign of it now. We were back in our tent at 8:00 PM and off to sleep at 9:00 PM. Bev seemed to have no trouble falling asleep. I stayed up to count the number of trains, trucks, etc. that kept me awake for most of the night.
Bev and Roly