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| Hay Field Outside of Swift Current |
He had made it! As I pulled into the Mcdonalds on the service road that exits Swift Current, I bumped into John. "Heck of a storm last night," I said, fishing for a reply. John went on to tell me he had gotten lucky. A local had seen him caught out in the storm and invited him to set up camp in his backyard. We both wondered about Alain. John had met him too. He told me Alain isn't carrying a tent, sleeps under tables or rocks and sometimes in ditches. I told John, that's unbelievable the guy's 62. Shaking my head with disbelief at the type of characters you meet out here, we finished breakfast and wished each other good luck. John is going at a slower pace than me. 80km or so seems to be his typical pace.
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| Modern Grain Elevator |
Today started off with the appearance of the prevailing winds. Out of Swift Current, my bike flew down the flat terrain. At about the 10m mark, my shifter cable came loose. I cursed my luck. I had been going 40km an hour and now I was stuck in the granny gear. Pulling over to the side, I realized it wasn't serious. The vibration from close to 1500km of highway travel must have loosened the bolt that locks the cable. Not wanting to lose the tail wind, I quickly fixed the problem. Temporarily fixed, I got 2 out 3 front gears working.
The first major town on todays leg was Herbert. Still riding a strong tailwind, I passed without stopping. Continuing on, I saw Reed Lake to the right. Reed Lake is famous for its birds. Often times, people think the prairies is devoid of wildlife. The wildlife is hidden in the grass and lakes. Over the last few days, I have seen hundreds of prairie marmots scurrying along beside the road. Sadly, they seem unable to avoid the cars and today I would see dozens of dead ones run over by cars. Halfway along Reed Lake is a massive modern grain elevator that services farms in this area.
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| Old Grain Elevator |
Pushing on, I came upon Morse. I had made good time and needed more water for my bottles. The beauty of 2 old wooden grain elevators drew me into town. Traveling up the main road, everything looked either closed or abandoned. I came across 2 boys on bikes and asked them if anything was open. Nothing till noon on Sunday was the reply I got. Heading back towards the highway, I noticed the convenience store in an abandoned gas station was open for business. When I talk to the owner and casually mentioned nothing seems to be open, he blurted out, the town is dieing. He told me the town had lost it's school and the grocery store was barely stocked. The only thing keeping people here were the two old grain elevators. Inefficient, and needing repairs, if those shut down there'll be nothing left out here. At one time, wooden grain elevators used to dot the landscape of prairie towns. Hundreds of wooden grain elevators have been replaced by dozens of modern grain elevators affecting the culture and way of life along this stretch of highway.
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| Salt Flats Chaplin Lake |
Contemplating what I'd heard, I made my way towards Chaplin for lunch. Chaplin sits on the edge of Chaplin Lake. Approaching the lake flats, I noticed they were white and devoid of the grass that covers all the land around here. Entering into town, I realized I was seeing salt. Chaplin's reason to be is its salt mine. Sitting down for lunch, a man and his kid started talking to me. I found out Martin was the pastor for all the small towns along this stretch of road. Martin told me that in a few years, all that will be left is the town of Chaplin. The new modern grain elevators have consolidated farming operations and were quickly wiping the small towns around here off the map.
Leaving Chaplin, I entered a 100km stretch of highway with little in the way of services. Time slowly rolled by. I passed grass fields, cattle fields and hay fields. Climbing a soft rolling hill for almost 25km brought me up to a plateau where you could an endless highway for almost 20km in front of you. Perseverance is the name of the game. Sometimes it feels like you'll never get there.
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| The Storm That Almost Caught Me. |
With 50km left to Moose Jaw, I noticed the thunder clouds behind me to my right. Great, I was in a race with mother nature once again. I pedaled frantically, glancing at the lightning in the distance every kilometer or so. It was going to be close. The clouds were gaining and the winds had turned. Battling a stiff headwind, I had trouble keeping the bike going at 20km/h. Others must have noticed the storm too. I could hear cars honking. As I pulled into Moose Jaw, I turned around and snapped a picture of the storm. I quickly set up my tent then it started to rain. The storm had arrived 5 minutes after I had set up camp. Sitting in Tim Hortons, the storm ravaged the city. Luck was with me again. These are the types of storms you don't want to ride through.
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| Snowbird Plane at the Information Center |
Distance: 181km
Average Speed: 23.6km/h
Maximum Speed: 48km/h
Time: 7:38
Odometer: 1799km
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