Day 24 – Erskine

Day 24 – Erskine, Minnesota (Monday, May 25, 2015)

Memorial Day!

As I was eating my lunch in Grand Forks I met a nice group of people who were curious about my bike. It turns out they just came back from a memorial day service. One of the men with a perpetual smile stopped by as he was leaving and gave me an American flag. He talked about his brother, a gym teacher who lived in Perth, Australia, and biked 10 miles to work everyday. He continued “he’s been in a lot of accidents”,”his helmet has saved him”,”he was hit by a car mirror and had to get his hip replaced”. He introduced himself as Winston, proceeded to spontaneously pray for me then left. I get that he thought cycling was dangerous but he was a selfless pastor’s soul. What would become of the likes of him if there was no Christianity?

I gave my flag to Ralph the Trek (as you can see in the picture). I was told he was made in America like Lance Armstrong.

For the record; the wind was mostly in my favour today until I approached Mentor. ‎

When I arrived at Erskine I met a gentleman who was struggling to embed memorial plaques in a brick sidewalk. He looked old enough to have retired so I assume he was a volunteer. I enquired about places to stay. He enquired about my trip. I told him that I was crossing the country going east. He said “then you’ve gone through North Dakota?” with a smile, slightly derisively. I asked what’s wrong with North Dakota and he said “it’s flat.” I guess he figured I would have noticed the difference between Minnesota and North Dakota but I didn’t. I told him I had seen “flat” since Calgary and hadn’t noticed a big difference in North Dakota. He claimed that Minnesota has forests and told me I should see them in the 200 miles or so. I guess there will always be rivalries.

As a result of the conversation I was satisfied that Erskine was as good a town as any to settle for the evening.

I had an early supper at a pub where everyone was singing along with the jukebox including the bar tender. I did my laundry and met a elderly lady preoccupied in her cleaning. We chatted a bit, she complained about people leaving their clothes in the dryer, and I told her I was travelling to St. John’s. I think she got it confused with some place with a similar name in Minnesota. She ended up helping me push the right buttons on the dryer as I attempted to explain Canadian geography.

I set up my tent at the campground by the lake aptly named “Lakeside Campground”.

Campground at Erskine. 7:06 am 2015/05/26

Ralph with a memorial day American flag that Winston gave me. 3:36 pm 2015/05/25

A barn. 4:07 pm 2015/05/25

Day 17 – Chaplin

Day 17 – Chaplin, SK (May 18, 2015)

I had breakfast at the gas station by the transcanada and met Robin Edgar-Haworth, a native artist who had become another long distant traveler. He had set out from Penticton walking to Ottawa on a custom made three-wheel cart. He said that his kids had all grown up and he took this opportunity of a lifetime to protest against Steve Harper and to gather interest in his art. You can check out Robin’s facebook and article here…. Rogin’s Facebook Page and Robin’s Support Page. His art is available here…. Robin’s Art.

Although the temperature had dropped to -7 at night the day looked perfect. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I made up my mind to cover as much ground as possible. I had lunch at Swift Current at a little before noon and set my sites on Chaplin.

Although the day was uneventful the head wind subsided considerably and it continued to be a great day for biking.

I arrived in Chaplin a little after 6pm, ordered a 15 inch pizza (half of which I will save for breakfast) and a beer. The restaurant was run by an outstanding Chinese fellow who had immigrated to Canada with his family and had only been here for six months. He struggled with the language and was generally determined to find out what I was saying.

I rented a fully furnished flat from him for the night at 5 8th Street in Chaplin and crashed a little later than usual.

Robin the long distant traveler. 7:51 am 2015/05/18

Robin the long distant traveler. 8:00 am 2015/05/18

Old farm machinery on the prairie somewhere Swift Current and Chaplin. 2:12 pm 2015/05/18

BikeTracking, BikeRoute

Day 16 – Gull Lake

Day 16 – Gull Lake, SK (May 17, 2015)

I got up and cleaned up camp while it was snowing lightly. Nature couldn’t really decide whether to rain or snow so I ended up with a bit of both. It was miserable!

I was on my bike by about 6:20am and worked my way through the drizzle to the restaurant and the gas station on the Transcanada. I was disappointed to discover that it didn’t open until 7am so I found refuge in the lobby of an old run down motel.

When the restaurant eventually opened I struck up a conversation with a talkative Korean waiter. He was an electrical engineer who quit his job to work in a restaurant in the middle of nowhere. He explained but I couldn’t quite figure it out! He mentioned that he had traveled across Korea and back on his bicycle and complained about chaffing. (luckily I’m probably too skinny to have his problems)

It was a miserable day; cold, windy and wet. The forecast called for a low of -3 which would put my sleeping bag to the test. I decided, given the wind it would too risky to count on making my destination at Swift Current. Instead I initially decided to stop a Tompkins. Tompkins resembles a town out of a western movie. I had lunch at a diner that appeared to be the “respectable” town hangout. Then at 3pm made my way down to the hotel. The hotel had better days. In any respectable city it would have been torn down. There was an old pub down stairs and a sorry looking bar maid that also looked after the hotel. Her kids apparently had been sleeping in rooms 1, 2 and 3 so she was forced to give me the suite.

I settled in, took a shower, and was taking precautions from bed bugs when the electricity went out and I decided that the next town may be a better bet.

So I thanked the lady, packed up my things and took off for Gull Lake 24km East. As it turned out the electricity had gone out in a large area of Saskatchewan and Gull Lake didn’t have power either. The town was only marginally better but I was happier in a small motel room. Because there was no electricity the restaurants were closed and I had mixed nuts and beef jerky in my cold room before hitting the hay.

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Day 15 – Eagle Valley

Day 15 – Eagle Valley Campgrounds, Maple Creek, SK (May 16, 2015)

I left Medicine Hat a little before 7am and like the previous day made good time for the first hour or so. It occurred to me that perhaps at last the forecast wind direction was wrong. I started making plans to go further that Eagle Valley. Alass before too long the wind picked up.

All I can really say about the day is that the wind was the worst yet. The wind gusts were well above 30km. There were no places to stop and eat along the way. At one time I stopped for a short break and was catching up on the texts to Michelle when the wind took my bike and rolled it right over so it was upsidedown momentarily. All the contents of my handlebar bag were left on the ground.

I made Eagle Valley about 2pm, setup my tent, had a shower, did the laundry and then relaxed over a good meal with salmon and shrimp. The campground was very well organized and well maintained. I likely should have gone further today given the time but the wind takes a lot out both mentally and physically and I couldn’t beat the spot.

Calcium deposits beside a pond. There is no drainage for the water, only evaporation. 12:24 pm 2015/05/16

Ralph, and the contents of my handle bar bag on the ground after the wind flipped it over. 11:14 am 2015/05/16

Prairies. 11:55 am 2015/05/16

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Day 12 – Cluny

Day 12 – Cluny, AB (May 13, 2014)

I packed up at the hostel in Calgary and was on the road a little before 7am. Apparently the hostel served breakfast at 7:30am as part of the cost of the room. It would have been nice to take advantage but I find the continental type breakfast insufficient (waiting 40 minutes translates to too long) and I wanted to get started.

Eventually I had my breakfast at a retro Harley Davidson place and ordered the breakfast staple, “Pain dore”. Katie would appreciate it.

After breakfast I weaved my way through the bicycle trails that followed along a dyke of one of the canals.

When I left Calgary the wind started to pick up from the East by South East I as predicted. I knew that if the wind continued I was going to have a hard time making Bassano.

As the hours wore on working against the 20 km head wind a number of things occurred to me.

There is this ‘stinking’ effect somebody came up with. I think it was Beroulli or some other sick person. Basically it says that the air travels faster over a hill. I’d like to tear that out of the text books.
Truck drivers are too nice in Alberta. Imagine this: I get this huge shoulder lane all to myself on the transcanada. Along comes a truck pushing air and the drivers, thinking they are doing me a favour, pull over the passing lane increasing the distance between the truck and me to about 30 feet.

As the day wore on making it to Bassano became a bigger and bigger obstacle. At the first sign of a gas station I stopped and bought some chocolate bars and beef jerkey – no real food.

In Cluny, about 50km from Bassano, at about 4pm, I decided to call it a day.

The was a gas station at the corner at the trancanada. A restaurant was advertised but the restaurant area was cordoned off. It looked like it had been that way for years. The lady at the counter explained there was place to eat at Pete’s Cafe in Cluny “just down the hill”. That worried me since hills in the prairies are up to 5km long but I took the risk.

The population of Cluny was around one hundred. Pete’s Cafe and Bakery was in the center of the town. I was served by a friendly girl in her 30s who scurried about with a low center of gravity. Another lady came by explaining I could camp down the road and wouldn’t be charged. She was a kind magnanimous person who seemed to run things. She could well have been Cluny’s mayor (or should have been.)

After chatting with some local guys about bikes I settled in for the night in an open field by a baseball diamond (the town camp site.)

My bike pointed east with a flag pointing straight out toward the west. 10:39 am 2015/05/13

Pete’s Cafe and Bakery in Cluny. 7:51 am 2015/05/14

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Day 7 – Revelstoke

Day 7 – Lamplighter Campground, Nixon Road, Revelstoke, BC (May 8, 2015)

I got up at about 6 and was on the road at 7:20 am. I knew I had a long day and wanted to get a good start. I rode 138 km from Swan Lake to Revelstoke successfully. No big hiccups.

I stopped and ate lunch at Grandma and Grandpa’s Restaurant in Sicamous after about 4 hours, at 11 am just about the 1/2 way point.

From Sicamous to Revelstoke was a bit tougher. There must be an elevation increase but the biggest issue was a head wind that threw off my schedule. After another 5 hours, I arrived in Revelstoke at 4:50 pm.

The trip was very beautiful. God made a special pass through the mountains just for cars and bicycles.

Today was a tough ride but tomorrow I have even further at 154 km to make Golden. If the conditions are about the same I will have to get going even earlier.

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2:50 pm 2015/05/08