Happiness Is A Dry Tent

One of the joys of hot summer days and warm summer nights is waking to a dry tent. No dew. No rain. No condensation. It might not sound like much but sometimes it really is the simple things that make the difference. Today was one of those glorious dry tent mornings.

As an added bonus, the glorious dry tent morning followed a very enjoyable and peaceful sleep. Yesterday had been a very full day and, as usual, getting to sleep last night wasn’t an issue. I’d say I was asleep before my head hit the pillow but I don’t have a pillow. But you get the idea.

By 8:00, I was once again packed up and ready to roll. But not before sitting down to a great breakfast with my very generous hosts. Generous is probably a bit of an understatement as not only were they hosting Page and me, but while Dwayne was in town he met two young cycle tourists and invited them over as well. They arrived just as we started breakfast and that’s when the rest of us met Matt and Amy. Newlyweds that are cycling from Winnipeg to Kelowna.

As has become the norm, the social aspect of these encounters had a significant impact on my planned departure time. But that’s a good thing. After all, trips like this aren’t all about the planning. Never underestimate the power of spontaneity. We finished breakfast, chatted some more, and I even remembered to get a group photo before getting on the road around 10:30.

For reasons I can’t explain, I felt incredibly sluggish this morning. I’m sure the headwind didn’t help. Nor did the constant gentle incline I faced early on. Side note: The prairies aren’t really as flat as people think they are. Well, they are in some areas but today the flatness definitely started to disappear as the prairies transformed into long rolling hills. Very scenic rolling hills. But rolling hills that my legs had little interest in tackling today.

The ride to Swift Current from Herbert is only 45 km. Today, it felt like 145 km. No matter what I did, I felt like I was in a battle. I was stopping for breaks regularly and looking for excuses to take photos. I knew none of these tactics were going to get me to Swift Current any faster, but I couldn’t help myself. It was not a fun morning on the bike. And in the prairies, no one can hear you scream. However, I kept pedalling. And pedalling. And pedalling. And when that happens you eventually reach your destination – even though sometimes it doesn’t feel like it.

By 12:40 I finally arrived in Swift Current. Over three hours to travel 45 km. Harsh! But the important thing is that I made it. I never thought I’d be so happy to get to Swift Current. And, once there, I set my course for Tim Hortons. Where else? Well, actually, there was a “where else” on this day. Along the service road I saw a Wholesale Warehouse – no membership required. Upon closer inspection it looked like it was some version of The Real Canadian Superstore. I decided to make a detour to see if they carried the No Name Celebration Mix that has treated me well on the road. They did. Things were already looking up!

Oh, and while I was outside the store I met a woman who had seen me on the road yesterday while I rested at an intersection along the highway at Mortlach. She waved as she pulled onto the highway probably never expecting to see me again. Unrelated (sort of), did I mention my kickstand fell off? Well, it did. I didn’t use it much because I don’t entirely trust it to support all my gear but it would certainly come in handy these days. There is NOWHERE to lean my bike in the prairies. So, even when I stop I can’t get off my bike and walk around because I have no way to support my bike. I know, I know. First world problems. I still have my kickstand though in case I come across a wrench to reattach it. Just what I need, more dead weight!

I ended up buying more than necessary at the Wholesale Warehouse but carrying extra food actually gives me more incentive to eat along the way – it’s easier to carry the food in my stomach than in my bags. But for now, my bags were stuffed with food once again and I resumed my ride to Tim Hortons which was only a few hundred metres away. But not without its own surprises.

As I pulled into Tim’s, I actually laughed out loud – so much so that it caused a couple of people to look at me strangely (more strangely than usual anyway). Sitting outside of Tim’s was a VERY familiar bicycle. And its owner, Moritz, was clearly visible inside. Apparently he didn’t make it to Swift Current yesterday after all. In fact, he had only arrived at Tim’s about two minutes before I arrived. I think it’s safe to say we were equally surprised to see each other.

His ride yesterday was like my ride this morning. As a result, he stopped in Chaplin last night and left early this morning. Had I not stopped at the Wholesale Warehouse it would’ve been me sitting inside at Tim’s while Moritz pulled in. We were literally minutes apart on the road.

We ended up loitering at Tim’s for quite a while. Me hiding from the wind. Moritz hiding from the heat (well, he doesn’t like the wind either but he REALLY doesn’t like the heat – did I mention it was another 30 degree day? So nice.)

At around 3:30, I decided that I had procrastinated enough … almost. In actual fact I decided to procrastinate for 30 more minutes before hitting the road. Having only done 45 km so far, I was still wanting to get to Gull Lake today – another 60 km away. Even though Moritz had travelled an extra 50 km than me already, he was up for riding to Gull Lake as well. We had a plan.

I definitely had more energy and felt better on the afternoon portion of the ride. The winds were more forgiving as they had switched to a more tolerable crosswind. The day was cooling off as well – it was still warm but pleasant. I even managed to take some photos while pedalling – something of which I haven’t been doing much.

The ride out of Swift Current was made easier by the fact that we were able to follow the Service Road rather than the Trans-Canada. Equally smooth, but very little traffic with which to contend. We were able to use the Service Road for several kilometres before it ended – well, it ended by bike standards anyway. The pavement was gone and replaced with very deep gravel. And so, a detour back to the Trans-Canada – and we took the most direct route.

Once back on the Trans-Canada, the ride went very well. There were minimal rest breaks and as Gull Lake got closer, the motivation to keep going increased. The looming dark clouds didn’t lessen the motivation factor either. I arrived at Gull Lake at 7:30 and immediately went to the gas station to get a well-deserved end of day ice cream – something I had been thinking about for the final 10 km. Sadly, the options were limited. And severely overpriced. But I bought a chocolate Drumstick anyway. It really wasn’t as good as I was wanting it to be. Where’s a Dairy Queen when you really want one?

Moritz arrived about 20 minutes later – he had stopped along the way to take a some great photos with a school bus. I won’t go into details, but the photos are great.

We settled into to our $10 campsite and relaxed after a long day on the bike. I cooked up some pretty bad pasta, Moritz had some blueberry bagels and peanut butter. All the while, we sat with our respective laptops transferring photos from each other’s cameras. Clearly, we are not roughing it on this trip.

We finished “dinner” and our photo transfers and packed things up. It was more than three weeks ago that I first met Moritz at the Elliot Lake Information Centre and now, after 2,500 km, this was likely to be our last meeting. At least on this journey. He’s still on a tight timeline to get to Kamloops, and I have to stop to get some work done (and a $10/night campground seems like a good place to do so – except for the lack of WiFi). Our initial random meeting and subsequent travels have definitely been a highlight of my trip so far. Hopefully, we’ll meet again. Maybe I’ll find myself cycling in Germany someday. Until then, Auf Wiedersehen.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 105.30 km
Ride time: 5:40:44
Average speed: 18.54 km/h
Maximum speed: 43.34 km/h