Smoke and Smokies

This morning began, as many mornings do, with the sound of a large freight train (and its obligatory horn blasts) screaming past my tent. Remarkably, it’s a sound that doesn’t disturb me at all. It’s actually rather surprising how much noise can be ignored when you’re really tired. In actual fact, I’ve grown rather fond of the trains – as indicated by the number of pictures I take of them. There’s just something comforting about them.

I crawled out of my tent around 7:45 and had everything pretty much packed up by 8:30. Today had the potential to be one of those “trouble” days. The destination was Regina and, at 75 km away, had the makings of an easy day. I think I’ve mentioned before that the “easy” days often end up being the most challenging as the legs frequently don’t take the day’s task too seriously. I was determined to not let that happen today.

However, before we could hit the road there was the matter of breakfast that needed to be addressed. Moritz saw signs for some restaurants in downtown Indian Head so that’s where we headed. We both noted that we saw a sign along the highway yesterday for a local bakery. We also noted the bakery only operated Tuesday to Saturday. With today being Monday, that was decidedly unfortunate.

It became increasingly more unfortunate as we rode into the downtown area to discover that everything was closed. Everything. So, important notice … don’t go to Indian Head, SK on a Monday – not if you’re hungry anyway.

We made our way back to the highway where there was an Esso station and a restaurant. Apparently everyone knew the rest of the town was closed because the restaurant was rather busy. Luckily, there was an open booth for us and breakfast we were eating breakfast shortly thereafter. It wasn’t as good as yesterday’s feast but it had enough calories to start the day’s ride.

The ride began pleasantly enough. There was a bit of wind but it was primarily a crosswind from the north. The northerly wind grew stronger as the day went on and brought with it a rather noticeable side effect. As Tara mentioned in the Guestbook, forest fires in northern Saskatchewan have had a very noticeable effect on air quality. The effect was minimal over the first 25 km but got worse as the day progressed. Initially, there was the distinct smell of a campfire but it was reasonably mild. By 11:00, the smell of smoke grew stronger and the visibility actually started to fade.

However, forest fires aside, there was some excitement during today’s ride. Okay, maybe not earth-shattering excitement but it was still pretty exciting … or at least unexpected.

As one cycles the Trans-Canada highway, it’s not uncommon to see any number of items that have been discarded (intentionally or not) along the way. Today was no different, except there was one discarded item that was completely salvageable. I initially passed the item in question but a gut feeling told me to go back. I did. My gut proved to be very wise on this day. The red package I had passed moments earlier turned out to be a completely sealed bag of “Chips Ahoy!” cookies. That’s right. I’m not ashamed to admit that I picked up a package of cookies off the side of the road. Like I said, it was sealed. And it was a roadside jackpot!

As the ride to Regina continued, the smell of smoke grew stronger. In the 15 minutes that Moritz and I were stopped at a gas station for a bit of a break, the horizon went from being clear to being covered in a very distinctive haze. It was actually pretty remarkable to witness – especially considering the fact that the forest fires are over 400 km to the north.

As we got closer to Regina, the haze grew even thicker – it was almost like Regina was on fire. And the smoke had a noticeable impact on the weather too. With the sun now partially blocked out by the haze, the temperature definitely took a bit of a dive. Not a huge dive, but a dive nonetheless.

By the time we arrived at the first Tim Hortons we saw in Regina, the air was more than a little unpleasant to breathe. Fortunately, the air inside Tim’s was clean. And there was hot chocolate. Although, before heading into Tim’s, we met and chatted with Berry from Princeton. We talked travel, cycling, gear, the joys of B.C., and other such things before we parted ways and retreated to a less smokey environment.

With another successful day of cycling done, it always nice to just relax over a beverage. However, one cannot stay at Tim’s all day (well, I guess technically you can), so after downing my obligatory hot chocolate, it was time to get back on the bike to meet my Warm Showers host, Gord, who lived about 8 km away. Moritz had other accommodation arrangements so we parted company with the expectation that we’ll meet up again in Moose Jaw in a couple of days.

As for my Warm Showers host, Gord was great. Very welcoming. So much so that there was a French couple, Clement and Justine, who were already staying with him. We had an excellent meal of barbecued smokies (kind of fitting considering the air quality), salad, cake, and ice cream. And of course, there was a lot of talk of travel. The Warm Showers community continues to be an incredible aspect of cycle touring. And a great way to end the day.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 76.83 km
Ride time: 3:41:25
Average speed: 20.82 km/h
Maximum speed: 34.07 km/h