Day 18 - Mortlach to a happy place

(click on title for pictures)

Basant Campground to a fictional yet real place
98 km, 7 hours, average of 14 km/h
Sunny, and windy again.

What a day, very interesting.

Ride out of the campground was fast (tailwind) for a km. Nice. Felt bizarre.

Ride into Moose Jaw – headwind. I thought the winds were less than the day before as my average speed was 15.1 km for the 45 km or so. I thought...

Moose Jaw – Nice little downhill into town, that probably brought up my average speed. I went to the Tunnel's of Moose Jaw (I dont know the official name). The tour I took wasn't the Chinese Freedom one, but the Gangsters of Chicago. It is highly believed that Al Capone would spend lots of time here during hot times back home. Plus, this was a hotbed for booze bootlegging. At the time, Sask was a dry province. You could produce booze, but not consume it, and not really sell it. How's that for logical thinking. With the direct link from Chicago to Moose Jaw by train, it was a fairly major centre in the mob opperations. Very cool and interesting. I highly recommend anyone to do these underground tours. The tour guides were great, especially Gus. It was all acted out, not just the typical tour. Excellent.

I also checked out some murals around town. But, when you see the Mural Capital of Canada (or something like that, near Duncan), maybe these aren't as good. But, fun to look at.

Off to do a detour before (hoping) to end up in Regina for the night. It would be a b*tch of a ride, as I would have to endure a headwind for a good 45 km or so. But, I would enjoy the ending, and once I get back on another highway to head into Regina, I would (should) benefit from a side/tail wind. I knew time was tight, but I accepted the fact that I'd ride probably one hour in the dark tonight (with lights, of course). That was plan A, as I really didn't want to bike on my rest day. I figure Dzie needs a break from me. She's been good to me, I'll treat her to a few little things in Regina (and treat my feet too, hopefully).

Grind, grind, grind. I spent most of the time in my granny gear (85%), and the other gears were the 2nd, and 3rd easiest. I would use those to get out of saddle at times to mash on those pedals (stretch out the old legs and give my butt a 10 second break). Flat, uphill, downhill, they all blended together. Nonetheless, I was holding a constant 12 km/h (plus/minus 1). The average dropped down to 14. Nice. My new record. That last bit, to put things in perspective, someone can walk the same distance, but in double the time, and we'd be at the same place. But, if someone walks fast, it'd be less than double the distance. I was slow. I am slow.

I even took a cheesy picture at one point. Speaking of cheese, I am having cheese withdrawls. I miss some cheese on my spaghetti. Boo hoo. Life is tough.

Arriving at my destination, I couldn't hold back the smiles (and some tears too). I forgot about al the struggles (manageable struggles) of the day. Surreal. I am somewhere where it technically doesn't exist, but does exists. I took pictures, went around the “town” and took pictures of those “establishments” (curling rink, the police station, the Howler bar). I spoke with Alex, a guy who works there for most of the year, and got some fun stories from him about this place.

He also informed me that the route I was planing on taking to head to Regina was not good (rough gravel). I would have to go further down the highway I am on and then take the other highway – a detour of maybe 40 km or so. At that point, since it was getting late (sun was almost setting), I decided to camp here (right behind Emma and Oscar's house!) for free, and head out in the morning to Regina.

Any guesses where I am?

If you guessed Dog River, Saskatchewan, you are right. If you guessed Rouleau, Saskatchewan, you are right. The latter is the real town. This is very bizarre, unreal. Very fun. Unbelievable. When I got into “town”, I pulled out the cell phone to give a call to a few people. Unfortunately, there was no reception here. Dang.

Well, enjoy the pics.

Off to have a dodo, then a sort-of rest in Regina. I am writing a poem; what rhymes with Regina? I know, that teenage witch Sabryna. No, that's a made-up word.

With these winds, and shorter bike days, I am back on the schedule that I originally planned. No more ahead of a day. Crap. Maybe I'll make up some time somewhere, but it's tight. Northern Ontario is loaded with heavy days. Yes Mario, there might even be back-to-back double century (magic?) days. Sorry, I had to pick on you, and I know you can take it.

I hope everyone is still having a blast with things.

Tout mes neveux et nieces, je vous aimes, et vous me manquez. Diddo pour ma famille. Heck, tout le monde.

Pierrot